The Hawaii Maritime Center, located in the historic Honolulu Harbor, tells the story of the Pacific's rich maritime history. Polynesians successfully navigated the Pacific Ocean at least 1,500 years before the Europeans. The Center describes the ancient Hawaiian practice of navigation by the stars, the saga of the whaling era, the golden age of the grand trans-Pacific luxury liners, and offers a charming mix of ocean related information from the Transpac sailing races to windsurfing in Hawaii.
The world's largest marlin hangs over the entrance to the center. The 1,805-pound Pacific Blue marlin, caught on a rod and reel with 130-pound test, was landed in 1970 off Makaha on Oahu.
As you move throughout the Center, you'll discover numerous videos designed to help you learn more about the exhibits. A favorite is one about humpback whales and their haunting songs. The piece de resistance is a humpback skeleton that hangs gracefully over almost the entire first floor. The skeleton was found in a cove on the Hawaiian island of Kaho'olawe and named Lei'iwi (a lei of cherished bones) by a school child from Hawaii.
Admission to the Center covers a visit to the Falls of Clyde, the only surviving fully-rigged, four-masted sailing ship left in the world. The ship was built in 1878 in Port Glasgow, Scotland, and she spent her first years sailing to ports in south-central Asia. Her Hawaiian career began in 1899, 20 years after her maiden voyage. She became the first four-masted ship to fly the Hawaiian flag. After a long, vigorous career in the Pacific, the Falls of Clyde came home to Hawaii in 1963. In 1973, the vessel was entered into the National Register of Historic Places.
Also docked near the Maritime Center is the Hawaii Loa, a replica of an ancient Polynesian voyaging canoe. This seafaring vessel, along with the Hokulea and others, was built according to ancient design and is used to test theories of early Hawaiian migrations and navigational techniques.
