On January 18, 1778, English explorer Captain James Cook became the first European to travel to the Hawaiian Islands. Aboard the ship RESOLUTION was the painter John Webber, who accompanied Captain Cook on his third Pacific expedition. John Webber made numerous images of Hawaii, amongst others, about sailing canoes. I noticed he drew lines across some of the sails to illustrate the lauhala mattings (pandanus leaves) the Polynesians sawed together to build the sail. More so, the color alternated from one matting to the next, and it was only after talking to some lauhala weavers that I got the explanation for the alternative color. Indeed, the lauhala leaf’s color is creamy on one side of the matting and darker on the reverse. While carving this 18-inch wide canoe using prime curly Koa, I tried to replicate the visual aspect of those ancient Hawaiian sails sailing with the wind. It takes 3 days to assemble and finish such a sail, but the result is unique.

If you want to purchase such an exclusive piece of Polynesian history, please allow 14 days to build it. The model will be supplied with the signature stand illustrated above and a bronze plaque bearing the model’s and its artist’s names.

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