A
Proposal to Recreate the Royal Yacht
HA`AHEO
o
HAWAI`I
(Pride
of
Hawaii
)
Recreating the Royal Yacht of King Kamehameha II will generate a
compelling platform for exhibition and education for visitors to the State of
Hawaii. Ha’aheo o Hawai’i is
emblematic of the cultural heritage and the identity of our state and it will
fill a crucial gap in the effort to tell the story of
Hawaii
’s maritime history. The ship
will amplify the significance and potential of Honolulu in the Pacific – one
of the world’s most important and exciting ports.
Because of the role of the Royal Yacht in the founding of
Hawaii
, the Royal Flagship will draw visitors from throughout the world to
Hawaii
’s waterfront to learn about exploration, history, and science.
This remarkable sailing vessel can also be built on
Honolulu
’s waterfront as a public demonstration of historic wooden shipbuilding.
Historical Background
Ha'aheo o
Hawai'i
(Pride of Hawaii) holds a
special place in both American and Hawaiian maritime history.
Ha'aheo o Hawai'i, a hermaphrodite brig, began
her career in
Salem
,
Massachusetts
in 1816 as the first American-built ocean-going yacht, Cleopatra's
Barge. The
191-ton brig was 23-feet breadth, 83-feet waterline length, 140-feet sparred
length, with a square stern, and two decks.
Retire Becket designed her as a pleasure yacht for George Crowninshield
and was fitted out in the grand style of a small
palace.
Model of Ha'aheo
o
Hawai'i
in the
Peabody
Museum
Salem
,
MA
.
In 1817, the luxury yacht
Cleopatra's Barge sailed to 16 ports in southern Europe and the
Mediterranean
. Up to 8,000 visitors would come
out on a single day, just to feast their eyes on the opulent splendor of this
extraordinary vessel.
The
design of the vessel was based upon
Beckett’s earlier design of the privateer America
IV built for the Crowninshields in 1803.
She was constructed with the finest craftsmanship and
materials available and outfitted with fine furnishings in the Federal and
neo-classical styles with all the accoutrements of royalty.
George Crowninshield’s intention was to sail her to
Europe
with the hope of marrying a European princess and hosting Napoleon himself on
board and becoming the toast of the continent.
Mr. Crowninshield returned home that year only to die unexpectedly the
following year.
After his death,
China
traders purchased the vessel.
They brought her to the
Sandwich Islands
in 1821 where she was sold to
Liholiho (King Kamehameha II) for $80,000 of sandalwood.
The Hawaiian wood was highly prized in the Orient by the Chinese
artisans for its clear grain, texture, and sweet smell.
Liholiho cherished the yacht and renamed
her Ha'aheo
o
Hawaii
(Pride of Hawaii) and thus she
became the first Hawaiian “Ship of State.” The
royal court traveled frequently aboard her as they sailed between the islands
and foreign visitors often mentioned the King’s brig in their diaries and
letters to friends.
The
painting by English artist Raymond Massey
depicts King Kamehameha II’s Royal Yacht, Ha'aheo
o
Hawai’i
, entering Hanalei bay on the
island
of
Kaua'i
during the summer of 1821. For two weeks, Kamehameha ll toured the island in grand
style with Kaua'i's King Kaumuali'i. On
the evening of the ship's departure, Kamehameha II ordered his crew to set
sail quietly for O'ahu while Kaumuali'i was sleeping on board.
While the king snoozed, his island kingdom was lost. He
returned only once to his beloved
Garden
Island
. Kaumuali'i lived out his
remaining years on O'ahu as husband of Queen Ka'ahumanu as a virtual prisoner.
King Kamehameha
II was considered less threatening than Kamehameha the Great who had
forcefully unified the Hawaiian Islands, and trade among New England sea merchants with
Hawaii
grew steadily. On April 5th
1824, while the king
was visiting
England
, Ha'aheo
Hawai’i
was wrecked on a reef near the
mouth of the
Waioli
River
on the
island
of
Kaua’i
.
In
1995, Paul F. Johnston of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of
American History conducted a survey that lead to the discovery of the famous
vessel. It was found that the
Royal Yacht is one of the greatest treasure trove of artifacts from the reign
of Kamehameha II.
Today,
the wreck still lies at the mouth of the Waioli River in beautiful Hanalei
Bay. Excavations have yielded the
few remaining artifacts from King Kamehameha II’s regain, including a conch
shell that was used to announce the arrival of the royal yacht.
Also found at the site were poi-pounders, pieces of armament,
gold-gilded beads kukui nut oil lamps, and chunks of raw ivory.
Her part in
Hawaii
's history was short lived and tragic much like the Hawaiian monarchy itself.
Nevertheless, she will be remembered as a part of
Hawaii
's rich history. Ha'aheo o Hawai’i needs to be reconstructed to remind everyone of
the importance of her role in the history of the
Hawaiian Islands
.
Consistency with the Bishop Museum
Mission
and Philosophy
The Bishop Museum has enjoyed
considerable success with its living history educational programs and it is
only fitting and appropriate that they take the lead role for this important
project. With the Museum's mission
to study, preserve and tell the stories of the cultures and natural history of
Hawai'i
and the Pacific, Ha’aheo o
Hawai’i
will fill an important role as an additional floating classroom.
The Royal Yacht also represents a crucial point in the amalgamation of
the Polynesian and Western cultures. Voyages of exploration and trade were one
of the few areas of human endeavor where such vessels linked cultures.
As a classroom, the recreation of Ha’aheo o
Hawai’i
will further the Museum’s philosophy by serving and representing the
interests of Native Hawaiians as the primary purpose of the Museum. It
will substantially add to the Museum’s collections and activities
that integrate Hawaiian culture and maritime history.
As an operational vessel, the
construction of the Ha’aheo o
Hawai’i
will allow her to be used in recreating King Kamehameha II’s voyages to
all the
Hawaiian Islands
, providing a dynamic series of off-site locations to reach new audiences and
collaborate with other educational institutions. We
anticipate that the vessel will function as an extraordinary floating museum
providing a traveling exhibition recalling our maritime history from the age
of exploration to the early days of Statehood.
Early modern era replica ships
have proven to be most successful and sustainable for the public, attracting
new audiences with each new crop of fourth and fifth graders, and contributing
to regional tourism. After 50
years, the Mayflower replica in
Plymouth
,
Massachusetts
and the
Jamestown
replica ships in
Virginia
remain some of the most popular visitor attractions on the East Coast.
Specific Attraction Goals
- Promote
trade and tourism as the Goodwill Ambassador of the State of Hawaii as
the official “Ship of State” for use by State dignitaries to host
visiting federal officials and foreign dignitaries to enhance the
State’s resourcefulness for the benefit of the residents of Hawaii.
- Add
a rare nautical treasure to the
Bishop
Museum
.
- Be
a valued tourist attraction. The
beautiful sight of a classic wooden sailing ship on waterfronts throughout
the
Hawaiian Islands
will be a valuable attraction to the residents and visitors alike.
Schooner
Pride of
Baltimore
ll in
Baltimore
Inner
Harbor
and under construction
Specific Educational Goals
- Enlighten
and illuminate the ship’s role in the history of the people of
Hawaii
including her role in completing the unification of the
Kingdom
of
Hawaii
.
- Enlighten
and illuminate the role of
Hawaii
in the development of East-West trade relations between
America
and
Asia
, including the China Trade and the history of Hawaiian goods that were
traded.
- Provide
an opportunity for people of all ages to experience sail training while
participating in a various educational and youth development programs.
- Teach
the crafts of model shipbuilding to the local community with the aim of
developing profitable avenues that further the museum goals.
Specific Ambassadorial Goals
·
Be a symbol that pays tribute to
the rich history of
Hawaii
and its people, and in particular to stimulate the state's younger citizens to
continue pivotal roles in East-West relations.
Wherever she sails, the Ha'aheo o
Hawai'i
and her crew will serve as
Hawaii
’s goodwill ambassadors.
- As
a Sailing Ambassador for the State of
Hawaii
, Ha'aheo o
Hawai'i
will be a symbol that pays
tribute to
Hawaii
and take her rightful place on the world stage of tall ships.
The vessel will immediately become one of the treasured historic
and beautiful Sailing Ships of State in the world.
Vision and Collaboration
Ha’aheo o Hawai’i will
function as an ambassador from a past world. In
all outward appearances, she will be a faithful early 19th-century ship of
discovery and capable of sailing thousands of miles, as did the original. External
appearance will be replicated as faithfully to early 19th-century detail as
present knowledge allows.
Visitors will encounter a ship fully furnished with the equipment and
possessions of her original crew. Her
performance under sail will be consistent with the impressive sailing
performance of the original in her voyage throughout the
Hawaiian Islands
.
The ship will be fully operational, powered with an auxiliary engine
(in order to meet schedules) and certified by the U.S. Coast Guard to carry
passengers and students. Below,
the accommodations of the vessel will recreate the original opulent and
elegant space that was intended to entertain royalty.
The internationally respected naval architect Melbourne Smith, designer
and builder of such well-known ships as
San Salvador
, Californian, Lynx, Pride of
Baltimore
, the US Brig Niagara, Spirit of Massachusetts, et al, will
undertake the research and design for the Ha’aheo o
Hawai’i
. Mr. Smith has considerable
experience in building successful replica ships and he will oversee the actual
construction on a suitable site in
Honolulu
.
William J. Leong will build a museum-quality model based on the design
by Melbourne Smith. The model will provide a visual image to exhibit her
unique historic details and attract the involvement of potential sponsors and
contributors.
Reconstruction
of the Interior of Cleopatra's Barge on display
in
the
Peabody
Essex
Museum
,
Salem
,
Massachusetts
.
Community Involvement
For seaport communities of generations past, the construction of a new
ship involved the widest conceivable spectrum of occupations and industry. For
the majority of American history, “it took an entire town to build a
ship.” While present day
shipbuilding has become more specialized and insular, a renaissance in the
building of traditional replica vessels and museum ships has elsewhere proven
to draw upon the same expansive breadth of community participation and
identity as the original ships did in historic times.
Built on the
Honolulu
waterfront before the public, the vessel will truly become the “Pride of
Hawaii”.
Public access and use
Ideally, in
addition to technical requirements and environmental considerations, the
building site will allow for public viewing and easy access by school groups. Building
the ship in public view will allow the opportunity to exhibit and interpret
the process of traditional ship construction, the first industrial activity of
the
New World
. An apprentice program will be
incorporated as part of the building process, as many of the skills required
to build such a ship are transferable to the construction trades and ship
repair industry.
The Unfinished Voyage
Upon
completion and commissioning, the Ha’aheo
o Hawai’i will reenact King Kamehameha II’s Island voyages, during
which time she will be on exhibit at the Museum’s and other public
waterfront sites throughout the Islands. With
such regular voyages, thousands of visitors and schoolchildren will board her.
Financial
Projections
The
financial program is in four stages: Design, Funding, Construction, and
Operations.
DESIGN STAGE: The first design
step includes ship research, design and specifications, production of a ship
model for presentation, cost projection for construction, cost projection for
operation, establishing a workable marketing/funding plan, and establishing a
community relationship. The
proposed budget to begin the project is $350,000 and will require eight months
to complete.
FUNDING STAGE: After the
groundwork of solid research and design work is completed, the actual
construction costs can be identified, and a marketing/funding plan developed.
With this, a meaningful program to finance the construction can be
organized.
CONSTRUCTION STAGE: Fixed
costs for building the vessel will be established in the design stage.
From previous experience in building replica ships, it can be projected
that construction will cost between $7and $8-million dollars and require two
years.
OPERATION STAGE:
Present costs of similar size sailing vessels for operating and
maintenance is $1-million annually.
