Jeremiah Benevente paints Den Yo Povi.
500 Sails Executive Director Junior Coleman said Den Yo Povi will be launched this Saturday, Dec. 2, at the Guma Sakman in Susupe, across from Marianas High School.
The day’s festivities begin from around 9:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. with free community canoe rides taking place as part of 500 Sails’ Saturday Sails programmatic activities.
Around 11 a.m. the organization’s newest 15-foot traditional canoe, Den Yo Povi, will set sail in the lagoon for the very first time.
Den Yo Povi was originally scheduled to launch on Nov. 18, but that event was canceled due to inclement weather.
Den Yo Povi will be the third 15-foot Chamorro canoe built by 500 Sails and will belong to their longtime volunteer and lifelong talayeru or cast-net fisherman, Jeremiah Benavente.
The canoe is a reflection of Benavente’s Native American and Chamorro heritage. It is a Chamorro-designed vessel but decorated with Native American motifs. The canoe shares the name with his mother and means “Blue Spruce Blossom.”
