The waves at Hukilau Beach in Laie were just ripples, and the ocean's surface glassy, as Iosepa -- BYU-Hawaii's 57-foot traditional twin-hulled Hawaiian sailing canoe -- left in the early hours of May 20 on its maiden voyage beyond the north shore and windward side of Oahu.
Under Captain Chadd Paishon of the voyaging canoe Makalii, who is training Hawaiian Studies director William K. "Uncle Bill" Wallace III as Iosepa's captain, the beautiful wooden canoe carved from Fijian logs by a combination of community artisans, volunteers and BYU-Hawaii students, left at about 3:30 a.m. In addition to Paishon and Wallace, the crew consisted of Hawaiian Studies faculty and students, alumni, community members, several Makalii hands, and two BYU-Hawaii videographers to document the historic journey.
Wallace said the early-morning departure puts Iosepa in a good position to cross the Kaiwi Channel between Oahu and Molokai, which can be rough.
As a sign of respect and proper Polynesian protocol, Iosepa makes its first voyage to Kawaihae, the home port of Makalii, where it will stay until after the end of spring term. On the return voyage to Laie, Wallace said he tentatively plans to stop at Hana, Maui, and on Molokai.
Wallace stressed that his cousin, the late Clay Bertlemann, along with Paishon -- who are Hokulea voyaging canoe veterans and co-captains of the Makalii -- have played a key role in training the BYU-Hawaii contingent.
"They've helped train us and our students. Whenever we've gone over to the Big Island, they've treated us like family," Wallace said, adding that the family concept extends to the other voyaging canoes, such as the Hokulea, which is still waiting to sail northwest to the Hawaiian leeward islands.
"We're all a family. Within the family membership, we all have different responsibilities and kuleana," he said. "We respect Hokulea as the mama of all the other canoes. During the last few years I recognize that many of them wanted to be a part of building Iosepa, but at the same time they were working on Hokulea and other canoes, doing major construction and repairs."
Wallace, who recently visited with Hokulea's navigator, Nainoa Thompson, reported, "They always ask how Iosepa is doing. There's a strong bond between Iosepa and all the other canoe families. Imagine, Hokulea is going north, Iosepa is going south. We're covering the whole island chain. In terms of voyaging, all the islands of Hawaii are being covered well."
"One of the things I try to stress to our students, we can never look at this as being a Makalii adventure or a Hokulea thing. We're in this together."
Before Iosepa sailed, Wallace said the canoe has also had a major spiritual impact on the lives of all those associated with the special canoe. "My testimony has grown a hundred-fold from all of the experiences from the beginning. We've seen the hand of the Lord directing this whole project."
"We've seen miracles happen right before our eyes. We've seen people's lives change," he continued. "I knew all of this was happening because, number one, we were doing the right thing; number two, it's critical in helping us spread the gospel and touching the lives of everyone we'll be visiting; and number three, it strengthens our students and helps them realize the sacrifices made by their ancestors -- not only in traversing the ocean, but also the sacrifices they made in accepting the gospel."
Watch for a feature article on Iosepa's maiden voyage in the July 2004 issue of BYU-Hawaii Magazine.