Wind and solar powered Polynesian Canoe visits Ventura Harbor
Hawaiian dancers helped welcome a wind and solar powered canoe to the Ventura Harbor on Sunday.
The Hikianalia arrived a day later than expected due to calm winds off the coast of Santa Barbara on Saturday.
The Polynesian vessel is named after the star Spica and serves as a floating classroom to teach the next generation of voyagers.
It is the sister vessel to the Hokulea and sailed from Hawaii to California in 23 days.
When the wind didn’t cooperate they used the electric motor powered by photovoltaic panels able to convert sunlight to electric propulsive energy.
The canoe has a zero carbon footprint.
with a zero carbon footprint, her design supports the “m?lama
Navigator Tua Pittman said, ” This is the Hikianalia we’ve brought Hawaii to California this is a good chance for everybody out there to come down and share in the experience of what Hawaiian traditional culture is all about in voyaging.”
Pittman welcomed people on board during a dockside open-house.
“For me it is a lifestyle, I live in the Pacific and I treasure the place that I live in and to be able to come up here and share our culture and our stories with everybody here in California so that they are aware that the Pacific Ocean is actually part of them as well, we need to care for her.”
Traditional Hawaiian performers included Lorien Sanders & Da Band,
The Hikianalia will sail to the Channel Islands Harbor on Wednesday. It will dock by the Channel Islands Maritime Museum that is hosting another welcome celebration on Saturday.
