huli

The word "huli" comes directly from the Hawaiian language, meaning to turn, reverse, or flip over. In modern Hawaiian Pidgin, it is most frequently used by paddlers, surfers, and fishermen to describe a boat or surfboard capsizing, but its usage extends far beyond the ocean. Locals will use it to describe flipping meat on a grill (the origin of the famous "huli huli chicken"), turning a car around, or even a situation drastically changing directions.

While it is a completely appropriate and essential word for anyone to use in daily conversation, it carries a specific weight in outrigger canoe culture. In that setting, a "huli" is a serious event that requires coordinated teamwork to right the vessel, making it a fundamental vocabulary word for anyone spending time on the water in Hawaii.

Kekoa stood by the washdown hose at Ma'alaea small boat harbor, flexing his shoulders so the mainland transplant novices could see his traps. "Listen, when we hit the channel past the breakwater, the wind is gonna rip right through the ama," he announced, slapping the fiberglass hull of the six-man outrigger. "You guys just keep your timing. I been steering this exact route since I was twelve. I know every swell from here to Molokini."

He pointed a calloused finger at the new guy in seat three, who was already looking green from the diesel fumes drifting over from the Pacific Whale Foundation boats. "If you catch a crab and throw off the rhythm, we gonna huli. And if we huli because of you, I'm making you swim the rig all the way back to the ramp while I ride the ama." Kekoa smirked, crossing his arms. "But don't worry. With me in seat six, we ain't flipping today."

Naturally, twenty minutes later, a rogue set caught them broadside just outside the harbor mouth. Kekoa was mid-sentence, bragging about his stroke rate, when the entire wa'a went over. He surfaced sputtering seawater, his expensive Maui Jim sunglasses sinking into the blue, while the novices clung to the overturned hull waiting for his instructions.