An authentic Hawaiian outrigger canoe carved on Hawaii island from a single koa log 70 years ago has found its way home after a journey of nearly a half-century on the East Coast.
"It’s incredible," said an emotional Jenny Mitchell, granddaughter of the man who created the 40-foot canoe. "It’s the spirit of the canoe. It found its way back — not just to Hawaii but to the actual ahupuaa (district) where it was made."
Canadians Tony and Kim Allard purchased the Hawaiian canoe from a Delaware estate — unaware of its history — and had it shipped to the island’s west side intending to decorate a new winter home.
When Tony Allard found out about the canoe’s origin, he was blown away.
"It’s pretty special, even allowing for the fact that it’s a small island," said Allard, who owns an investment firm in West Vancouver, British Columbia, and has been a Hawaii island visitor for decades. "It’s wonderful. I’m so glad to be learning the history of the canoe and to meet the people in the family and to feel a little bit about how they feel about the canoe."
The Allards and family members of Hawaii island rancher and carver Theodore Vredenburg will gather for the first time Wednesday at Kiholo Bay on the Kohala Coast to conduct a formal blessing of the canoe and take it out on the ocean for a ride.
Vredenburg, a man of Scottish, French, Dutch and Hawaiian ancestry, was born in Waimea, West Hawaii, in 1897, attended Saint Louis School on Oahu and returned to Hawaii island for a career managing the sprawling Parker Ranch in Waimea and then Huehue Ranch in North Kona.
When Vredenburg wasn’t conducting ranch business, he was chasing his passion in his workshop. He was a master woodcarver who, among other things, created a 300-piece milo wood luau dining set that was so impressive it was written up in the local newspaper.
Perhaps the rancher’s most prized artwork was the racing canoe he carved from a single koa log while living at Huehue. The log most likely came from the slopes of Hualalai, where koa forests have been largely decimated by cattle-grazing. The canoe was built there during the war years between 1941 and 1945.
His vision was to build the canoe in the most authentic Hawaiian way possible, using native building tools and techniques, and he carved it carefully under the guidance of a canoe expert from Honaunau.
Following his retirement from Huehue, Vredenburg suffered a stroke in 1964 and was living in Kealakekua with his treasured canoe by his side.
During those years, representatives from both Oahu and Hawaii island canoe clubs tried to buy the handsome canoe. But Vredenburg, fearful that his creation would suffer too much wear and tear and possible damage in the heat of competition, turned down all offers, according to his great-granddaughter, La‘i Mitchell Chong.
Vredenburg’s daughter, Theone Vredenburg, remembered that her mother was becoming worried about the morning sun that hit the canoe where it was kept.
It was around that time that members of the prominent Du Pont family, who were vacationing in Kona, heard about the canoe and offered to buy it for $5,000. The Du Ponts, who often stayed at the Kona Inn, may have been inspired to acquire the boat because of the koa canoe that hung in the inn’s lobby, Mitchell Chong said.
Vredenburg ended up selling it with the hope the Du Ponts would care for the boat, preserve it and keep it in their home. Theone Vredenburg said that while her father liked the idea of the boat being "looked at instead of being banged around in Kailua Bay," it still took some convincing to get the man to part with it.
"It was his pride and joy," the daughter said.
Vredenburg died in 1973 at the age of 76 without seeing his canoe again.
MOVE AHEAD to a few years ago. Tony Allard said a re-reading of James Michener’s "Hawaii" inspired him to outfit his new Hawaii island house with genuine artifacts — the most coveted of which would be an outrigger canoe.
Allard hired Edmonton designer Peter Turner to find a canoe, and Turner sought help from Honolulu Hawaiiana dealer Mark Blackburn of Mauna Kea Galleries, who alerted him to one for sale at John du Pont’s Foxcatcher Farm in Delaware. John du Pont was the eccentric heir to the DuPont chemical fortune who was convicted of murdering former U.S. Olympic freestyle wrestling champion Dave Schultz at the farm. The drama is depicted in "Foxcatcher," a major motion picture due for release in November.
But that’s a different story.
Turner traveled to the East Coast only to discover the canoe had been moved from Foxcatcher to Lancaster, Pa. There he found the vessel in good condition but in need of refinishing.
On Turner’s advice, Allard purchased the canoe and later arranged to have it delivered to Hawaii island. The price tag, including delivery, was $40,000.
After the canoe arrived and was placed in storage for several months, Turner started interviewing candidates to perform the refinishing work. That’s when word spread across the island about the newly arrived koa canoe from the East Coast.
One of those who caught wind of the news was Kahu Billy Mitchell, Jenny Mitchell’s husband, who was well aware of the Vredenburg canoe and had a strong feeling this could be the one. He called Turner and asked if he could take a look.
Mitchell, the pastor of Mana Christian Ohana church in Waimea, arrived at Allard’s home in Kukio an hour later with his wife and daughter, armed with enlarged photos showing the thumbprint of the canoe’s wood grain.
It was an exact match.
RECALLING the moment, Jenny Mitchell said her husband pointed to her and announced, "That’s my wife over there — her grandfather built this boat." The woman wept with the realization and then pointed out, with pride and awe, that the canoe was created less than a mile away.
"It was a magical moment for them," Turner remembered. "When you think about it, this was a legend reappeared … a supernatural tale."
That February day turned out to be even more auspicious, as the family realized later that Feb. 27, 2013, was exactly 40 years to the day from the carver’s death on Feb. 27, 1973.
Hearing about the canoe’s journey home was a marvelous gift for Vredenburg’s only remaining daughter.
"I couldn’t believe it," said the 85-year-old Theone Vredenburg. "It’s just amazing to me. My father’s soul is soaring."
Because Vredenburg didn’t allow his boat to be "banged around" in competition or inevitably modified for racing, the canoe reappeared in Hawaii in the same form it was originally created, as if emerging from a time capsule — a pristine example of a 1940s koa canoe.
"It’s beautiful, deep and powerful," Allard said.
"It’s amazing how it found its way home," Jenny Mitchell said. "It’s a wonderful story, an amazing story about a canoe that my grandfather really loved."
