In May, 2017 a group of men, women and children
from all over the US and many parts of the world,
came together in Fort Myers, Florida.
They all shared one thing in common.
An interest in Wharram designed sailboats.
I only flew in yesterday
And the day before I was travelling from Greece to England
And all yesterday flying here, so
Truly
Still a bit groggy
Ohhh. So you were in Greece with Spirit of Gaia yeah?
Yesterday was a 22 hour day.
Yes
I saw you sailing in
I cant believe that
I knew it was you
I looked down and I saw, I know
That boat
That must be Luckyfish
Thats amazing, yeah.
Well we came in about 7 or 8pm last night
It was about 5, 5:30
You were near the bridge
You must have been on our first bridge, yeah?
Yes, outside the first bridge
Sun out and its raining
Welcome to Florida
It was nice meeting you
Yeah, very nice
Good luck in everything you do
We'll see you tomorrow right?
Were going this afternoon
Are you going to be there?
Yeah, we are staying at the hotel
OK
The Best Western. Yeah, were there.
Good.
OK see you then.
Bye Bye
The first time I came across the word Hui,
was when we first arrived in the Caribbean.
Its a Polynesian word meaning gathering
and its roots go back 5,000 years
to Asia where it still means meeting
in Mandarin today.
In the case of a Wharram Hui
it means a gathering of double - canoes
and, the people that designed, built and sail them.
It was the prospect of meeting these folks
at a Hui in Florida,
that lead us to sail 1800 miles across the Caribbean and discover
what a Hui would mean to us.
Shall we dock or anchor?
Would it be better to go bow in first?
I think bow first, port side tie yeah?
Good job
OK at the front
These meetings have been going on almost as long as there have been Wharrams.
From the early ones in the mid 70s in England,
to Lake Neusiedl in Austria,
to Lake Ontario, Canada,
to New Zealand,
to Lakes in Italy, and,
for quite a number or years
right here in Florida.
Nice looking sail too
And so we found ourselves in Florida,
at the start of the hurricane season,
without a hurricane plan,
having catapulted ourselves into a sea of complete strangers.
It was a far cry from the normal
peace and solitude we are used to on Luckyfish.
But somehow, we had faith
this Hui would have all the answers.
First, we met everybody..
There was Tony from ScubaTony
the Scuba Diving company on Cozumel
Tony had flown in from Spain
to see Luckyfish before deciding to commission a Tiki 38
build of his own.
We met Mike from Michigan,
round the world sailors finishing he and his wifes
latest project
You got something to say?
I am excited to be here
a huge Tehini 51
Andy had flown in from California
to look at designs
to help him decide on which one for his own boat.
He also won the Communal Spirit award
This person in the
communal spirit of Wharramites everywhere
was happy to drink all the free booze he could get
on any boat that was there
and then, the next morning,
replensish all the booze
[CHEERS]
Andy
[APPLAUSE]
[LAUGHS]
Brandon and Danielle had driven over from nearby Sarasota.
They were a mine of local knowledge, refitting their Tangaroa at a nearby yard,
and extending a huge hand of hospitality to us.
We met reknowned professional boat builder David Halliday
from Boatsmith in Jupiter,
and learned about some big budget,
big Wharrams he was building in fibreglass.
We met fishing guide and sailing rig enthusiast
El Capitan Gerry who we will see a lot more of
in upcoming videos.
So thats what you use to make the videos?
Yeah, we just use cellphones. It works.
No GoPros or nothing like that?
We just bought one.
We are new to it.
We havent used that one.
We have got a drone and the GoPro
I use GoPro all the time
And it works really well
Really?
We would like to learn from you then.
Jimbo made a spectacular entrance,
singlehanded under spinnaker,
on his Narai 40
Huge
Le Sousa and his son Ian had driven in to meet some owners,
look at the boats and go out for a trial sail.
Casey and Shaun from Journey Island Style
spent 3 months cruising the Sea of Cortez on their
21 foot Tahiti Wayfarer outrigger
before building a second canoe,
and turning her into a catamaran.
Now they are rebuilding a 36 Tangaroa in Alabama.
Brent blew in from New Zealand,
via the Mississippi
and blew everyone away with a song
In true Polynesian fashion
he might be the closest thing we have today to an
actual Polynesian
Shaun: Hes a bloody Kiwi!
.[LAUGHS]
Hes also a Mississippian so we arent sure
exactly what program hes on
Hes going to teach us some Polynesian songs!
[CHEERS]
Do you want to learn one?
[YEAH]
So, obviously I am from New Zealand
Which does make me the closest thing you have to a Polynesian
[LAUGHS]
As crazy as that sounds
Obviously, New Zealand is one corner of the Polynesian triangle
I went to school
in New Zealand
I believe you have that here? School?
[LAUGHS]
It was good. I had fun. At school.
And part of going to school
was that we would learn to sing songs
in Maori, that is called Waiata
And the waiata we are going to sing
I learnt so long ago I have no idea what it means
[LAUGHS]
I think it means gathering of friends
But dont quote me on that or were in trouble
So, keep drinking
[LAUGHS]
because its going to get better
if we get really good we might go into thirds
but lets try and get it in one
So Im going to say the line
and you are going to
repeat the line to me
and if I remember it properly
we will keep going to the next line
is everyone clear on whats going on
Yeah !
Oh thank you sir
It has no...
Its not like...
I cant say its to the tune of Disneys Frozen
Because Disney Frozen didnt exist when the song was written
So, it goes like this
E toru nga mea (There are three things)
Nga mea nui (Very important things)
E ki ana (As stated in)
Te Paipera (Our tradition)
Tumanako (Hope)
Whakapono (Faith)
Ko te mea nui (And the greatest thing)
Ko te aroha. (Charity/ Love)
[APPLAUSE]
That was beautiful
I assume you are all aware
Aroha means Love
And we could all do with a little more love
[APPLAUSE]
Well done Brent
Hes the closest thing we got to a Polynesian
This boat was designed in memory of James' first voyage
across the Atlantic
it was in the little Tangaroa
its in the book, for people you have got the book
and it was 23 feet 6 inches long
and he sailed with these two lovely German girls
and a dog
and alot of books
across the Atlantic in 1956
So that is now, 61 years ago
So we designed the Mana
and it is exactly the same length
and so it is in memory of that, really
In fact it is exactly between the Tiki 21 and the Tiki 26
both of which are here
James would have loved to have been here
He is trying to write another book
His biography
It's 40% written so far
All the early parts are written
and the later parts, we will be working on
over the next year
and I will be helping him because
he has reached the stage when I joined his life
So, I can at least help him, because I was there
And thank you all for building boats
and being so enthusiastic about it
and having these wonderful meetings
and its been gratifying to see so many people
loving their boats and being here
[APPLAUSE]
The following day Zaya and Marge went to work
on our sail repair
while outgoing Hui organiser, Dan,
performed a boat re-naming ceremony
so not to raise the ire of Poseidon or Neptune.
.... this worthy vessel hereinafter for all time known as "Tortuga"
guarding her with your mighty arms
and ensuring her safe and rapid passage
throughout her journeys within your realm
To celebrate, we must
[HOOTS AND APPLAUSE}
Better do the bows
Not much!
Alright, get the cups!
Cups!
Over here Sir
Its a little warm
but what the hell
its booze
and then James joined us,
via Skype
and we wished him a Happy 89th birthday
The first thing I'd like to say is that
the weather is beautiful!
Cool, crisp, spring, sunshine
And I am told it is hot, sticky and miserable where you are
[LAUGHs]
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday dear James....
Well, that just about covers the 2017 Florida Hui,
Wait, do the ladies have chairs?
I thought they were doing a lap dance
who are they dancing on?
[CHEERING]
but before we get to the parties these Huis
are famous for,
Dan read a rather fitting eulogy to Skip Lichty,
one of the early Wharram pioneers
This year, we lost, one gentleman, Skip Lichty
And, in his memory I would like to read a very brief memorial
and then have a moment of silence
It is later than you think
The clock of life is wound but once
And no one has the power to tell when the hands will stop
At late or early hour
Now is all the time you own
The past a golden link
We cruise or dream of it
Not to escape from life But to prevent life from escaping us.
Go cruising now my friends,
Its later than you think
May fair winds
Calm seas
And bright sun
Follow you always
As you continue your sailing journeys
Through the universe
Now a moment of silence for Skip
Fair winds dear friend. Lets party.
[CHEERS]
Don't step back Mike
I'm going for a different camera angle here
[HOOTS AND MUSIC]
That. That's not on the next episode of Luckyfish
Yeah, Andy was right.
Some things stay at the Hui.
The Hui was supposed to end on a Sunday,
but the last boat didnt leave until Tuesday.
It was like meeting family you never knew you had
James Wharram summed it up 30 years ago
and his words are still just as relevant today
[MUSIC]
Before we leave you this week
wed like to give a shout out to Neil and Gail
who have placed Gleda,
their Tiki 38
on the market in Spain.
In true Wharram spirit,
Gleda is probably the most blogged Wharram construction ever,
with every construction hour and many of her sailing achievements
recorded and shared to the benefit of a great many folks.
The boat is listed on the Scott Brown Multihulls site.
There is a link in the description.
This is a great opportunity
for some-one wanting to go cruising straight away.
Dont forget to subscribe to our channel if you havent already
and thank you for watching.