vt. To leave, desert, abandon, forsake, quit, resign, abdicate, discard, give up, reject, leave unfinished.

Photo courtesy of hokulea.com

Aw. This can be such a sad word. To leave and desert. Abandon and forsake. But like many words, no matter the language, it is all in the perception. Haʻalele can seem like a permanent departure. But it can also just refer to one leaving, as in going on a voyage. Who knows. This person may come back. May not. Regardless. Haʻalele. To leave.

Take for instance the crew that is about to haʻalele iā Hawaiʻi to head for Bali on a jet plane. Another leg of the Hōkūleʻa worldwide voyage. They are merely going to Bali to jump on a double hull canoe to sail the open ocean to the next port. No big deal right? Oh itʻs a heck a big deal. This has never been done before. No Hawaiian sailing canoe has ever left the Pacific Ocean. And without the use of modern navigation tools. And now look. How smart. I glow with pride at how akamai our Hawaiians were/are. While haʻalele typically refers to a departure, it is not necessarily a reflection on the conclusion of the story. As far as the Hōkūleʻa is concerned there will be a return (hoʻi) of the crew heading out to unchartered territory. Just wanted to give a shout out to all our holo waʻa who are returning to our islands and those departing.

Fair wind and following seas.