Makali'i (Pleiades) Surprise

Our June adventure for Phil’s 75^th birthday offered us a lovely variety of sites, but perhaps none more surprising than unexpectedly meeting “Shorty” Bertelmann.  Shorty was actually an apprentice on the inaugural first voyage of the Hokule'a in 1976 as a young man. His passionate involvement over many decades includes many years of training and teaching. He was the celestial navigator for the 1995 voyage to Tahiti and Marquesas.  

"Shorty" President of Na Kalai Wa'a

The Polynesian Voyaging Society (PVS) and the journey of the “Hokule’a” has certainly made international news during their 3-year world tour using ancient navigational practices that were nearly lost over the last centuries.

Hokule'a world-wide tour 

This cross-cultural renaissance, begun in the 1970’s, has a quieter but equally valuable story here on the Big Island. Two paniolo (cowboy) brothers up in the expansively beautiful cattle country of Waimea wanted to be sure that the cultural heritage of celestial navigation continued to be taught.  “Na Kalai Wa’a” (The Canoe Carvers) was formed in 1993 as a non-profit educational organization by Clay and “Shorty” Bertelmann.

Although we had read this month’s issue of the Big Island’s “Ke Ola” magazine that featured a story about Makali'i -- we could not have anticipated our good fortune to actually meet “Shorty” and volunteers as they were working to retrofit the “Makali’i” (Pleiades) originally built in 1994. Phil and Shorty had a good talk-story and Phil's gifted him one of his hand carved fish.

"He wa'a he moku; He moku he wa'a"

(A canoe is an island; an island is a canoe -- or, on the sea the canoe operates as a whole community, sustaining its people as an island sustains a community.)

Read more about the Makali'i


(Photos shared are from variety of sources:  PVS, KeOla and Big Island Talk-Story)