WAIKOLOA — Last Saturday, Waikoloa Canoe Club members celebrated the rebirth of their koa canoe, Kama O Ka Lani, which means “star of the heavens” in Hawaiian. Reverend Danny Akaka performed a blessing ceremony before it was returned to the waters in Anaehoomalu Bay.
The Club has raced the canoe for many years, and over time it needed a patchwork of multiple repairs that ultimately no longer sustained it. Members engaged the original builder of the canoe, Ray Bumatay, who took the racing canoe down to its essence and rebuilt it over several months to an even better condition.
Early and generous donors to the fundraising effort received a to scale koa canoe designed by master wood craftsman Henry Biscardi, who transformed seats that needed to be replaced from the racing canoe into six koa models of Kama O Ka Lani.