After a day’s delay due to weather, Hōkūleʻa and Hikianalia sailed from Palekai in Hilo on Tuesday headed to French Polynesia, continuing the Polynesian Voyaging Society’s Moananuiākea Voyage.
A cultural departure ceremony led by Kumu Hula Kekuhi Kealiʻikanakaole and her haumana spoke of Hōkūleʻa’s genealogy, honoring the people and places from the voyaging canoe’s 50-year legacy and the ancestral knowledge that guides the crew. At its conclusion, a downpour over the gathering and canoes gave way to sunshine and fair winds.
Family members, supporters, and well-wishers gathered on the dock and along the shoreline to bid farewell as the resonating calls of pū (conch shell) and traditional Hōkūleʻa voyaging chants filled the air.
On this leg roughly three-week journey to Tahiti, PVS CEO and Pwo navigator Nainoa Thompson captains Hōkūleʻa with a crew of seven focused on traditional navigation and deep immersion into nature while retracing Kealaikahiki, the ancestral sea road to Tahiti.
Serving as a support vessel for the voyage, Hikianalia is captained by Archie Kalepa with a crew of 12. The canoe will assist with safety, education and science while supporting navigation training led by Pwo navigator Bruce Blankenfeld.
After arriving in French Polynesia, the canoes will stop at the sacred voyaging site of Taputapuātea on Raʻiātea, and at Papeʻete, Tahiti. During a one-month stay in French Polynesia, crew changes will occur, as well as community engagements before the journey continues.
“This leg is about listening deeply to the ocean, to the stars, to nature and to our ancestors,” said Thompson in a release. “We are sailing the ancient sea road to reconnect with Tahiti, our ancestral homeland. This voyage honors the teachings of Master Navigator Mau Piailug passed down to us and reminds us of our kuleana to carry them forward.”
The four-year-long, 43,000-nautical-mile Moananuiākea Voyage began in Alaska in June 2023, then paused as canoes and crews returned to Hawaii following the Lahaina wildfires and due to unpredictable El Niño weather conditions. In Hawaii, canoes and crews underwent the Pae ʻĀina Statewide Sail.
In the days, months and years to come, people can keep up with the voyage via the PVS website and social media: @hokuleacrew on Facebook and Instagram.