A Day in the Life of: Kalani Nakoa

On our catamaran ride, we had the pleasure of meeting our captain Kalani Nakoa who has over 28 years of experience working on the water. Kalani was born in Oahu, but was raised here on the Big Island and moved around frequently. His blood quantum is comprised of just a little over 25% Hawaiian ancestry and his passion for his bloodline is seen. Kalani stressed that nationality is more important to him personally, if someone encompasses “aloha” and the Hawaiian culture on the island that is what matters to him. He also emphasized how everything is connected to the Hawaiian Gods, the land, the sky, and the body. On the catamaran ride he drove us to the women's temple off of the Kona side of the island, a very holy and sacred place. He explained how that area is where surfing was born because no men were allowed inside so the sacred grounds, so they would surf on the water in front of the land. Kalani then went on to inform us of the reproductive processes for Hawaiian royalty, how the act of intercourse was very much a public event. We learned that Hawaiians take family and bloodlines very seriously. It is the oldest child's responsibility to take care of their younger siblings and in return the younger ones are supposed to, in a way, wait on the eldest sibling. Kalani said that he saw this occur in his own family. That it was never asked of him, rather expected that he would take care of his younger siblings.