Perhaps it wasn't the most perfect weather to go to Kaho'olawe but twenty-one brave souls packed their gear for a 3-day Sierra Club service trip during a recent state-wide downpour. We rendezvoused at daybreak with skipper Bobby Luuwai and the crew of the Pualele at Maalaea Harbor. We faced a cold north wind, choppy seas, and we were uncertain whether we would be able to shuttle the gear through the surf once we got to the Protect Kaho'olawe 'Ohana (PKO) base camp at Hakioawa.
Successful in our landing, we managed during the glorious days that followed to get hundreds of 'akulikuli, 'a'ali'i, and native sedge seedlings planted as part of the ongoing Kaho'olawe restoration program managed by our leader Dan Holmes of PKO. Never mind surf warnings, flash flood advisories, and the most intense rainstorm to hit the state this year. Never mind the tent filled with water, the three hours in the dark, the down-pour as we broke camp and the final swim out through the brown, swollen waves to where Pualele was loyally waiting.
Teamwork and grace got us through. We returned home with the bonds of 'ohana and the desire to return as soon as possible to check our plantings and the island we hold dearly in our hearts...the island with the spirit of laulima. Dan invites the Sierra Club back and thanks us for enduring the weather. The next service trip to Kaho'olawe is tentatively scheduled for June 27, 1996. Call the Maui Group for details at Tel. (808) 573-4147.
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