Wakas—Polynesian Double-Hulled Canoes—Arrive from the Solomon Islands

September 2012

Fijian, Tongan, and Cook Island Wakas arrive at Vuda Point, Fiji; A tour on Hine Moana, the Tongan Waka; Meeting the purpose.

Fijian, Tongan, and Cook Island Wakas slice through the channel toward Vuda Point, Viti Levu, Fiji

One Sunday while listening to the live band play old American songs like Hallelujah and Brown-Eyed Girl on Vuda Point, I looked to the horizon and saw three unusually-rigged boats slowly making headway toward the channel. I did a double take and realized these were the Polynesian double-hulled canoes we had seen in Tonga in 2010.

Soon more people were lining up to watch them slowly slice through the channel waters and into the marina to tie up. Russ put himself into first gear and moved his spindly legs up the opposite end of the channel walkway, from where I was, to see the action.

The first to come into their homeland was the Fijian Waka, Uto Ni Yalo. The second –as visitor--was the Tongan Waka, Hine Moana, and last but not least was the Cook Islands' visiting Waka. I never did see her name.

What made their arrival more exciting is that they had just come in—after checking in at Lautoka—from the Solomon Islands! They were there for the Pacific Arts and Music Festival held once every 4 years—a festival we had hoped to attend, but missed having gone to the USA.

So with them came mystique. And they were welcomed with bowls of kava.


Wakas—Polynesian double-hulled canoes--approaching the channel into Vuda Point.  


The Fijian Waka—coming from the Solomon Islands having checked into Fiji--enters the channel at Vuda Pt., Two others: the Tongan and Cook Island Wakas soon follow suit.

These Wakas are replicas of the Traditional double-hulled Polynesian canoes of long ago. The ‘modern’ replicas run with the wind in their sails, use solar energy for GPS and running small twin electric engines for maneuvering in and out of harbors, when needed. I have seen a fleet of 5 Wakas sailing into Neiafu, Tonga. We were sailing in behind them!

The skippers and crew are purists. They use the same navigation methods handed down by their ancestors—the ancient Polynesians--from master to student: the sun, stars, wind, wave direction, clouds, and birds. 

 

The Fijian Waka—Uto Ni Yalo-- is first to come in.






 
The Tongan Waka—Hine Moana—is second in. See Russ running to see the action, and our friend Peter’s boat—Tavake—on the hard in the background resting on twin keels. The agile long-haired crew person stands ready on the carved bow sprit then jumps into action to tie sails down. The woman skipper gives direction for bumper placement.
 
 
 The Cook Islands’ Waka is third to arrive, and eases through silent waters into a berth. Notice the port bowsprit is broken-- hit by a huge wave at sea.

 


The Fijian crew dry hosed-down sails at the same time using them for shade in sweltering heat.




Foul weather gear—and hosed-down sails—hang to dry on the Cook Islands’ Waka. A crewperson speaks to an always-curious passerby.

A tour on Hine Moana, the Tongan Waka

During their brief stay we get to talk to some of the Tongan crew through introduction from our Tongan friend, Katalina who now lives in Fiji.

Hine Moana had planned to go to New Caledonia from the Solomons, but the winds were not favourable. Going against the Trades to Tonga from Fiji will not be a piece of cake either. But the woman skipper, Aunofo, will undoubtedly get them there. So proud of her we women were! In Tonga she used to run the whale-watching boats and took her current position as the previous skipper stepped down for undetermined time.

There are 16 on board each Waka. So life on passages is cramped with little to no privacy. And for the most part the sailors stay on deck during the day while underway and get WET a lot. 

Cramped plus wet equal’s discomfort, so having the right mix of crew is imperative. They carry musical instruments and song which creates a bond for cementing realization of purpose.
 
Anna, the cook on board shows us around Hine Moana. She is calm and centered and unassuming. What a chore to cook for 16 people in heaving seas. Hopefully flat seas prevail for the most part?

They sleep aft, 8 in each hull. There are 8 upper and lower bunks in each hull. The upper bunks are where they sleep and the lower bunks are used to store personal belongings and food. So there would be 4 divided sections in each hull for 8-of-sixteen crew.

The galley is on deck under a very small woven straw structure. With no refrigeration, they eat fresh fish and lots of canned food with rice and pasta.

A bucket at the back of the canoe is used for showering.


Katalina—next to her Canadian husband Peter in the black shirt--and her sister, Maria in red pants introduced us to Anna, the Tongan cook on Hine Moana. She sits in front middle to the right of Russ. 


The Tongan skipper, Aunofo, in yellow; Anna the cook next to her; and another crew person off Hine Moana smile for my camera. We’re proud of these women sailors!
      


Anna gives us a tour: the deck of Hine Moana; the small structure houses the galley where she pours hot water onto sausages in a pan; rock carving with shells are perhaps talisman for the journey; down below in one hull are 2 sets of double-decker bunks—the top for sleeping and the bottom for storing food and personal belongings. So there would be 4 divided sections in each hull for 8-of-sixteen crew.

These Wakas, believe it or not, can get up to a speed of 24 knots! What a beautiful, hair rising ride that must be. The Cook Islands’ Waka had one of their “bow sprits” broken off by a mammoth  breaking wave. Such force! The faint of heart would not make it on one of these  ocean passages. You need grit and calm and nerves of steel and team work. Smile.

Meeting the purpose

One night on the Point the sailors put on a slide show that was mesmerizing. You could ‘sail’ with them. You could feel the wind and the motion of the waves through the medium. You could feel the exhilaration and the apprehension. You could feel the joy of meeting purpose.

That is to sail Pacific Ocean passages together with multiple island nations to strengthen connection to the sea, commit to healthy ecosystems, to gain knowledge and share it for future generations, and to honour their ancestors who have gone before them. They recapture the traditional voyages and raise awareness of the issues that threaten the ocean and island inhabitants.

Then late into the night a crewperson from each Waka danced their island story.In my mind’s eye I saw the hundreds of Wakas like these coming out to meet Captain Cook on his earlier landfalls—some friendly and some not. What a sight that must have been.

The meeting of cultures took place then as it was taking place on a small scale in Vuda Point , Fiji this day.  And as it takes place every day on the earth, which is our home—if only in the end for better understanding.


Dark as it was, I barely captured Aunofo, the skipper of Hine Moana—in mat costume-- in a Tongan Traditional dance. Get your flashlight out!

Note: The Okeanos Foundation in Germany is the sponsor for these modern replicas of Traditional double-hulled canoes. They produced a documentary on a voyage that islanders took in Wakas from New Zealand to the west coast of the USA called Blue Canoe.