Sam Kalalau, crewmember on the first voyage of Hokule'a from Hawai'i to Tahiti in 1976, passed on on Oct. 21, 2008, at his home in Hana, Maui. He was 85.

Polynesian Voyaging Society Founder Herb Kane composed the following remembrance:

As I recall I believe it was Sam Kaai who first told Sam Kalalau about our Hokulea project. Later when we took Hokule'a to Lahaina from Oahu on the first leg of the shake-down and training cruise, Sam Kalalau and one of his sons would drive all the way from Hana to Lahaina every Saturday morning to sail with us. We would paddle north and catch the brisk Northeast Tradewind off Ka'anapali, then sail to Molokai.

After lunch in a quiet cove and discussion of the morning sail, we would broad reach on the strong afternoon wind back to Maui. No one could hold the steering paddle rock-steady like Sam. He became our principal steersman and trained others, giving me time to work with others in handling the sheets and general seamanship. Sam was no a young man, but he was among the strongest, and the most respected for his knowledge of the sea after many years of fishing the rough waters off windward Maui.

After five weeks we selected a Maui crew and sailed to Hawaii. Our departure was at night  because winds and seas in the Alenuihaha Channel are normally less troublesome at night than during daylight hours. But we did get into a series of rain squalls, each stronger than the one before, and winds piling up waves to 10 feet, judging by the phosphorescence on the wave crests which was the only light, there being no moon. At first light when some judgement of our speed could be observed we were approaching the lee of the Kohala mountains, and with the wind on our port beam, several of us guessed we were reaching at something over 16 knots. As the wind moderated in the wind-shadow of the mountains, I remember Sam turning his steering paddle over to someone else and joining others in bailing the canoe.

Later, when a crew selection was made for the voyage to Tahiti, Sam was an obvious choice.