Kim Martinez had given up on ever seeing one of her Hui Lanakila Canoe Club's canoes after it mysteriously disappeared last month.

So when she got a call yesterday from a man on Lana'i who told her the Kaholo'awiwi racing canoe had been found floating a quarter-mile off the island, Martinez was surprised.

"We kind of thought we wouldn't see her again," said Martinez, president of Hui Lanakila. "I was amazed and shocked and happy and couldn't believe it."

And she wasn't alone.

"I was kind of shocked to see it sitting on the pier," said Stephen "Fergie" Ferguson, acting president of the Hui Wa'a O Lana'i canoe club. Ferguson was the Lana'i resident who identified the wayward canoe as belonging to the club on O'ahu.

The tale of Hui Lanakila's own voyaging canoe began on April 14, when a club member noticed it was missing from Maunalua Bay in Hawai'i Kai. Hui Lanakila had moved from the Ala Wai because of the sewage-contaminated water in the canal.

At first, club members thought the canoe was being used, but when it was still missing that following Monday, they knew something was wrong. Martinez said the club believed the $10,000 fiberglass canoe was deliberately pushed into the ocean because other acts of vandalism had occurred in the area that day.

As the days and weeks passed, Hui Lanakila club members realized they might never see the vessel again.

But yesterday morning, a man working for a construction company that is renovating Lana'i's Kaumalapau Harbor pier spotted something floating just outside the harbor. He went to investigate and realized it was a partially submerged canoe.

Ferguson said the man towed the canoe back to the pier and called the Fire Department, fearing there may have been people in the canoe when it was swamped. But when they realized it was an abandoned vessel, the Fire Department called Ferguson.

Ferguson said he went to the pier and "instantly knew" it belonged to Hui Lanakila because he had heard the club was missing a canoe. He got on the phone and called someone on Maui, who called someone on O'ahu, who put him in touch with Martinez.

By 2 p.m. yesterday, the Kaholo'awiwi was on a Young Brothers barge heading back to O'ahu. It is expected to arrive here this morning.

Ferguson said the canoe's finding and location couldn't have been more perfect.

"They kind of lucked out because today is barge day and the canoe just so happened showed up right at the Young Brothers pier," he said. "So when the crane picked it up and put it on the pier, all we had to do was get there and un-rig the canoe and we ended up strapping it to the flat rack and they loaded it up on the barge."

The barge arrives at Lana'i once a week with goods and supplies from O'ahu.

"The barge shows up Thursday morning and leaves Thursday night, so any other day and the canoe would have been stuck here for at least a week," Ferguson said. "It was kind of an interesting day."

Ferguson said the canoe did suffer major damage, although he believes it can be repaired. Martinez said she will have to take the Kaholo'awiwi, which means "to move quickly," to an expert to learn how much repairs will cost.

For now, she and her club members are happy to be getting their canoe back.

"We just want her back," Martinez said. "We're happy to have her back."

Reach Curtis Lum at culum@honoluluadvertiser.com.