Crew members on board H?k?le‘a are bundling up this week, as temperatures drop on the East Coast. The voyaging canoe recently departed from Hampton, Virginia and is heading south along the Intracoastal Waterway. We caught up with crew member Shantell De Silva as part of our ongoing series, H?k?le‘a: Voyage of Aloha.
On the East Coast's chilly weather:
"When we departed from Hampton, Virginia, it was 34 degrees. It was the first time we saw frost on the canoe. The crew is layering and layering, I think I’ve gone up to four layers of gear to try and keep warm. Today it was 41 degrees this morning, but in the past seven hours the temperature has risen to 73 degrees. So the crew has been layering up and then layering down in the afternoon."
On wildlife sightings along the Intracoastal Waterway:
"We saw some bald eagles, some dolphins. We heard we passed bear territory although we haven’t had any sightings yet. It’s quite different from what we see in the Pacific."
On meeting local boaters and fishermen:
"We’ve been fortunate to come across so many helpful people that have seen us coming into a marina. We had fisherman gift us wahoo, or ono, one night for dinner. Last night we were given a large bag of shrimp and oysters. This is quite a marine area that we’re traveling through on this Intracoastal Waterway."
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