A young Hawaiian, Joseph Kaʻehu, wrote his mele to describe the schooner Hetty passing Kuhiau Heiau with its masts and sails tilting in the breeze. The ship's boom falls backward as the billowing waves shift the rudder. The deck rocks violently as the frigade birds of Kaʻula appear, forecasting the coming storm. The ship is able to find safe shelter in the calm of Kuhiau.