Riding the Tide: Kanaka Boats and Napa’s Forgotten Ferrymen
“Kanaka Boats” were salvaged and restored by Native Hawaiians for use as ferries and cargo shuttles, paddling passengers, provisions, and information from San Francisco to Vallejo—and upriver with the tide to Napa and the Sacramento Valley—from the early 1800s through 1890.
George Yount, Napa Valley’s first settler, hired Hawaiian crews to hunt sea otter near Santa Barbara—despite having never seen the ocean. Meanwhile, John Sutter employed 40 Kanakas at his fort in the Sierra Foothills. In Two Years Before the Mast, Richard Henry Dana Jr. praised their joy, swimming brilliance, unfamiliarity with capitalism, and unwavering loyalty to one another.
One historian claimed, “The Kanaka were as important to the settlement of the Bay Area as the rifle and disease,” citing their natural wave-riding and paddle skills, honed from generations of navigating the islands.
Their dexterity proved vital. Treacherous surf breaks separated coastal ships from riflemen along the rocky shore. Without Hawaiian watermen, boats capsized, pelts were lost, and lives went down with them. But the Kanaka paddled months of bounty safely to shore—with canoe paddles, not oars.
Last winter, we built one.
A hybrid, skin-on-frame version of the St. Ayles whale boat—a hull shape that’s existed for thousands of years. Built by Yountville craftsman and myself as understudy, it was designed for gunkholing the Carneros estuary. He named it Liona Kai.
We’ve since carried hundreds through the Fagan Marsh, often with white pelicans gliding overhead, descending from Lake Hennessey or beyond. They fly 90 miles in a day. We paddle four. But the spirit is the same.
Help us build more.
www.NapaValleyPaddle.com
Drew@NapaValleyPaddle.com | 707.200.5511
