[2] He met King Kamehameha I and joined English sailor John Young, who had arrived in 1790, to command the navy of the Kingdom of Hawaii.

[4] Prince Liholiho (soon to become King Kamehameha II) purchased the ship with sandalwood (Santalum ellipticum), and changed its name to Kaahumanu after his powerful stepmother Queen Kaʻahumanu.

Upon returning October 5, 1817, at Hilo and hearing of the amount Adams had to pay, King Kamehameha decided Hawaii should also generate revenue from port charges.

Some traditions also credit him with designing the flag, though this honor has also been claimed for King Kamehameha I himself or another British sailor of the time, George Charles Beckley.

When HMS Blonde arrived in 1825, Adams helped the Scottish naturalist distribute some plants he thought would be commercially successful in the tropical climate.

[7] Queen Kaʻahuman gave Adams over 290 acres (120 ha) of land in Kalihi Valley (on the island of Oahu a few miles from Waikiki) in gratitude for his services.

Both were daughters of Papapaupu (or Papapaunauapu, the adopted granddaughter of King Kamehameha) and John Harbottle, another Scotsman serving as Honolulu pilot.

Their common tombstone contains the following inscription in the Scots dialect:"Twa croanies frae the land of heather, Are sleepin' here in death th'gether.

[11] One grandson of Lucas was Air Force General Benjamin B. Cassiday Jr.,[12] Another grandson is Nainoa Thompson, who revived the ancient Hawaiian craft of instrumentless navigation and founded the Polynesian Voyaging Society, which sponsors voyages by traditional Hawaiian sailing wa'a (canoes) Hokulea and Hawai'i Loa.