Polynesian Voyaging Society Sets Off on a Four Year Pacific Voyage #fortheocean

The Hōkūleʻa Crew has arrived in Juneau, Alaska, for the Global Launch of Moananuiākea Voyage, a ceremony to bless and celebrate the start of Hōkūleʻa’s four year circumnavigation of the Pacific starting on June 15; weather dependent.

We have been supporting the Polynesian Voyaging Society (PVS) through our grant program, funded by the Schmidt Family Foundation, since 2021, when PVS trained students in non-instrument wayfinding and deep-sea voyaging and captured stories of the next-generation navigators. Now, the time has come to embark on the Pacific circumnavigation with an urgent call to care for the earth.

In Hawaiian, the name Hōkūleʻa refers to Arcturus, one of the guiding stars for Hawaiian navigators, which passes directly over Hawaii’s latitude at 50° south, helping guide sailors back to their home island chain.

Goal of the Moananuiākea Voyage
This Moananuiākea Voyage is a global educational campaign to help millions of people understand life systems on Earth, the ocean’s significant role in those systems, and ultimately understanding “mālama,” caring, and “kuleana,” taking responsibility, #fortheocean. The voyage amplifies the vital importance of the ocean and indigenous knowledge through education and storytelling while in port and beyond.

Hōkūleʻa’s sister canoe Hikianalia will join the voyage in Seattle, WA, in August of this year.

Voyage by the numbers
The four year expedition will cover an estimated 43,000 nautical miles around the Pacific, visiting 36 countries and archipelagoes, nearly 100 indigenous territories, and more than 300 ports visited by 400 crew.

Header image credit: Polynesian Voyaging Society