If you’re going to touch the soul of Hawaii, do it with salt in your hair and an outrigger underfoot. That’s what I tell myself as I duck under the woven sail of a hand-carved canoe and plant my bare feet on the smooth wood. We push off the sands of Ko Olina, Oahu’s sun-splashed leeward coast, where high-rises give way to horizon. No engine. No compass. Just wind, water, and Nakoa Prejean, the closest thing to a time traveler I’ve ever met.

Nakoa isn’t just a boatman. He’s a cultural revivalist, a canoe whisperer, a human bridge between ancient moʻolelo (oral stories) and the digital now. His company, Hawaiian Ocean Adventures, offers more than just a sail, it offers a glimpse into the lifeblood of Hawaiian heritage. And today, I’ve got the golden ticket.

The canoe itself is a stunner. Handmade from koa and ohia woods, its hulls are lashed with traditional cordage and its outrigger sweeps like a crescent moon across the sea. Nakoa built it himself, using techniques passed down over centuries, tools fashioned from bone and stone. It doesn’t just float, it sings. Every creak is a chorus, every rope a verse in a long, salt-air poem.

“This is how our ancestors found Hawaii,” Nakoa says, eyes fixed on the horizon like he’s chasing ghosts. “Thousands of miles. No maps. Just stars, birds, swells, and guts.”

As we slice through the water, Nakoa tells the story of how his family helped found the Hawaiian Sailing Canoe Association in the 1980s, a grassroots effort to breathe life back into the lost art of Polynesian navigation. His own voyages have taken him aboard legendary canoes like Hōkūleʻa and Hawaiʻiloa, retracing ancient trade routes across the Pacific. Today, though, he’s guiding a motley crew of tourists and travelers into the past.

We’re not on a cruise, we’re in a story. Spinner dolphins leap off the bow like punctuation marks. Sea turtles drift beneath us like green ghosts. Nakoa lets me steer for a while, and suddenly the sea feels less like a backdrop and more like a living being, moody, breathing, and very much awake.

“This canoe isn’t just a boat,” he tells me as he adjusts the sail. “It’s a classroom, a church, a vessel for knowledge.” That ethos runs deep in everything he does. Hawaiian Ocean Adventures hosts free sailing clinics for local kids, teaches traditional paddle techniques, and even offers nighttime SUP (stand-up paddleboard) trips under the stars. It’s more than a business. It’s a mission.

So if you find yourself on Oahu, and want to experience pure Hawaii, go find Nakoa. Let the wind write your itinerary. Let the waves do the talking. And sail the old way, because sometimes, the best way forward is straight into the past.