Hui o Waʻa Kaulua celebrates 10th birthday of Moʻokiha o Piʻilani, Maui’s own double hulled voyaging canoe on Nov. 23

After the devastating Lahaina fire swept through the town last year, one of Maui’s voyaging canoes was floating offshore—the 62 foot, 12 ton Moʻokiha o Piʻilani. She was in waters fronting 525 Front St., outside of Kamehameha Iki Park where she was built.

Captain Tim Gilliom almost didn’t make it out of the fire trying to rescue Moʻolele, which is considered the mama canoe by those in Maui’s sailing community. Unfortunately she burned down along with all of Hui O Waʻa Kaulua’s operations.

As the crew mourned Lahaina and the loss of Moʻolele, they knew they needed to evacuate Moʻokiha O Piʻilani. The canoe and her crew set forth to the shores of Molokaʻi as a safe haven.

From there she sailed to Oʻahu to go into dry dock because she was covered in black ash. As Hui O Waʻa Kaulua contemplated what to do next, they realized the community needed help. Hui O Waʻa Kaulua delivered 6 million pounds of goods through their hub to Lahaina survivors.

A new canoe, Naleilehua, is being built from the same molds as Moʻolele and is almost complete. “Everyone in the waʻa world knows Moʻolele and how special this is,” said organization leaders.

Hui O Waʻa Kaulua is celebrating Moʻokiha O Piʻilani’s 10th birthday Nov 23, 2024 at the Seascape Restaurant in Māʻalaea. A lei draping ceremony will be held at the slip below the restaurant at 5 p.m. with dinner to follow at 5:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the Hui O Waʻa website.

More updates are available at the following links:

• Facebook: Hui O Waʻa Kaulua
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