Precision, timing and patience: these meticulous elements are crucial to the success of Hokulea’s most current leg of the Malama Honua Worldwide Voyage, as the canoe and her crew are set to encounter lock after lock on their first-time sail to the Great Lakes of North America. A lock is a complex waterway system used for raising and lowering watercraft between bodies of water of different levels on rivers and waterways.
The traditional voyaging canoe from Hawaii left Waterford, New York early this morning and docked at Riverlink Marina in Amsterdam, New York at around 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Crew members are now prepped to sail the Erie Canal locks and bridges, taking the Oswego detour to pass through 30 locks to reach Lake Ontario.
The canoe first encountered the waterway lock system in March this year during her Florida sail. However, this current series of locks is the most extensive lock system that the Malama Honua Worldwide Voyage has experienced, and the crew will take this time to learn the more intricate details about the physics of the lock system. On this leg of the voyage, the canoe has been elevated by the waterway locks by a collective total of 250 feet.
The Hokulea crew plans to re-start sailing tomorrow morning at 7:30 a.m. ET. After completing the first ten 10 locks today, they are aiming to complete Locks 11-18, with Lock 17 having the highest water lift of 40 feet.
This current leg will bring Hokulea the furthest north that she will travel on the Worldwide Voyage.
Filed under: aloha, Announcements, Hawaiian, Transportation Tagged: | Hokulea, Malama Worldwide Voyage
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