March-November 1995
Kaupapa of the Voyage –To lift the tapu at the ancient marae of Taputapuatea, to be involved in the voyage Na 'Ohana Holo Moana (The Voyaging Familes of the Ocean) to test the next generation of Navigators.
Ports of Call - Papaete(Tahiti)-Taputapuatea(Ra'iatea)-Nukahiva(Te Whenua 'Enana) Hilo(Hawai'i)-Ngatangiia(Rarotonga)- Mangonui(Aotearoa)
Crew - Ra'iatea-Nukuhiva. Captain: Hekenukumai Busby. Navigators: Jack Thatcher, Piripi Evans. Watch Captains: Stanley Conrad, Tūrakuraku (Lux) Kereopa. Crew: Dean Waharoa, Marty Bursage, Carl Ahlers, Hori Ahlers, Peter Rupapera, Charlie Wilson, Chris Irwin.
Crew - Nukuhiva-Hawai'i. nn
Crew - Hawai'i -Rarotonga. Captain, Navigator: Jack Thatcher. Watch Captains: Ke Ahi Omai(Hawai'i), Tūrakuraku (Lux) Kereopa. Crew: Hector Morris Busby, Hori Murray, Sesario Sewralur(Satawal), Carl Ahlers, Peter Rupapera, Carlos Atan(Rapanui), Hori Ahlers, Te Taka Keegan.
Crew -
Rarotonga - Aotearoa. Captain: Hekenukumai Busby. Navigator: Jack Thatcher. Crew: Te Aturangi Clamp, Paul Le Noel, David Lewis, Cliff, Teresa Busby, Hoturoa Kerr, Carl Ahlers, Hori Ahlers.
Te Haerenga
Hawai'iloa was the second waka built in Hawai'i after Hōkūle’a, and the first Hawi'ian waka to be built from wood. As part of Hawai'iloa's maiden voyage it was suppose to sail from Hawai'i with Hōkūle’a and Makali'i to Tahiti then head northeast onto Hukahiva in Te Henua 'Enana (the Marquesas) and return back to Hawai'i. After seeing the success of the waka reunion in 1992 Nainoa Thompson asked other Polynesian nations if they would meet in Tahiti and sail up to Hawai'i to gain navigation experience. Hekenukumai and Te Aurere were the first to agree, other waka who would make the voyage included Te Ao o Tonga and Takitimu from Rarotonga.
Five out of the six waka were to navigate soley by traditional methods, Takitimu would use GPS. The various navigators being taught by Mau Piailug and Nainoa Thompson were: Chad Baybayan (Hōkūle’a), Bruce Blankenfeld (Hawai’iloa), Shorty Bertelmann (Makali’i), Tua Pittman, Pe’ia Tua’ati (Te Au o Tonga) and Piripi Evans and Jack Thatcher (Te Aurere).
Te Aurere was shipped over to Tahiti where it was meet by the crew and reasembled. The waka then sailed a day and a half to the leeward isle of Ra'iatea.
Taputapuatea
It was decided that all the waka would meet up and start the voyage at the ancient marae of Taputapuatea in Ra'iatea. Hekenukumai had earlier been asked if he would help lift the tapu placed on the marae hundreds of years ago when a Maori tohunga had been murdered there. Hekenukumai asked Te Ao Pēhi Kara if he would perform the karakia which he aggreed to.
Just before dawn on 18 March the waka gathered outside of Te Avamoa (the sacred pass) infront of Taputapuatea, as dawn broke Te Aurere's crew paddled through the pass as Te Ao Pēhi Kara recited the karakia. All the waka then moved through the pass and the crew members were welcomed onto the marae were further karakia, whaikorero, waiata and haka took place.
After the ceremonies at Ra'iatea the various waka sailed northwest to the island of Hukuhiva. Becasue Te Whenua 'Enana islands are to the southeast of Hawai'i and upwind to the tradewinds, they are an ideal location for starting a voyage to Hawai'i. The plan was to sail north over the equator until hitting the northeast trade winds, then move on a course to north-northwest and eventually northwest until they reach the same latitude as Hawai'i, then sail downwind until they could see Mauna Kea, a volcanic peak that rises 4205 meters from the sea.
Nukuhiva-Hawai'i
Te Aurere, Hawai’iloa and Makali’i, set off from Nukahiva on 19 April, the three other waka followed a day later. Sailing north from Nukuhiva over the equator all went to plan, Jacko recalls when Te Aurere made its way into the Northern hemisphere.
'I was sitting on the platform and having a bit of a rest and Mariako wakes me up and says have a look at this. I looked over the side, and there was a pod, must have been fifty to a hundred dolphins. Just everywhere they were, jumping and scooting under the hulls. And straightaway we knew what they were, they were kaitiaki who were leading us across the equator.'
The doldrums is the unstanble zone of calm and light winds inbetween the southeast and northeast trade winds. When the various waka hit the doldrums there was almost no wind for a few days. Nainoa contacted the different waka and requested they be towed by their support boats through the doldrums as Hawai’iloa and Hōkūle’a had unbreakable commitments in Alaska and the West Coast of the USA. Although the various waka preferred to sail through the doldrums they agreed to be towed due to the circumstances.
Once all the waka exited the doldrums the wind picked up and the waka were off again.
Sunday, April 23rd, a roll call began with Captain Randy Wichman routinely calling for the positions of the vessels. The routine is short lived.
"Break, Break, this is On The Way, I have lost contact with my canoe."
Nainoa, aboard Hokule'a comes up on the net to seek details - where, when, how.
"I lost contact with Te Aurere at 2040 hours in a squall and I hove to," reports Bob. "I stayed hove to until 0400 when the visibility improved, then I began a quartering search pattern. The last I heard of the canoe on VHF was at 2240. She was reporting that she was heaving to in another squall."
Losing contact with a canoe in bad weather can be relatively common. Quickly estimating the drift of a disabled canoe, a box search area was established. On The Way sailed up the east side of the box and Gershon II patroled the west side. Aboard Rizaldar, they searched the fleet frequencies for Te Aurere. On the 2182 megahertz band he found them.
"Rizaldar this is Te Aurere. We experienced a serious battery failure last night and we lost radio contact." The signal was weak and dying. Rizaldar requested approximate position.
Te Aurere were forced to heave to and wait for their support vessel On the Way which arrived 4 hours later.
There was another minor hold up when Takitimu's mast was snapped and had to be repaired at sea.
The waka were only a couple days out from Hawai'i when nono flies were found on Hawai'iloa, Makali'i and Te Aurere, these tiny sand flies that infest the island of Nukuhia were not welcome in Hawai'i and the waka recieved a canister drop from the US coast guard to clean and fumigate the waka.
On May 5 Te Au o Tonga entered Hilo bay, 2 days later the remaining waka arrived.
Hawai'i-Rarotonga
On June 1 Te Aurere, Takitimu and Te Au o Tonga left Honolulu for Rarotonga. This leg of the journey was the longest that Te Aurere has done, 2700 miles, sometimes waiting around for wind, other times reaching up to 15 knots.
On June 30 Te Aurere reached the bay of Nga Tangi'ia in Rarotonga, the crew had not touched land for 4 weeks.
Rarotonga-Aotearoa
The voyage from Rarotonga to Aotearoa took 20 days. On November 30 Te Aurere reached Mangonui, ending a journey which took over eight months and 7500 miles.
