Hokule'a – by Gary

While in US Samoa we were fortunate enough to see the Hokule'a and learn more about her.  The Hokule'a is a recreation of a Polynesian voyaging canoe.  Hawaiin based and operated by the Polynesian Voyaging Society, she is used to preserve and foster traditional seamanship and navigation skills – particularly among young people.  I first saw her in the mid 80s when she visited Bora Bora, but she has been going since 1975, making her quite an old vessel.

As the Society accumulates sufficient funds the Hokule'a is used for long distance voyaging, employing the same ancient navigation techniques used by Polynesians hundreds, if not thousands of years ago to explore, populate and trade across the vast Pacific Ocean.  At 61.5 feet and fitted with two traditional claw sails the Hokule'a is totally traditional in overall design, but employs modern materials.    She has absolutely no on-board navigation instruments.  The work of the Society through these voyages has been credited as a major factor in the revitalization of Polynesian culture across the Pacific.  Hokulea's last major voyage was completed in 2007.

This year she has embarked on her tenth and most ambitious voyage, a world circumnavigation.  Having already visited French Polynesia, she arrived in US Samoa just two days after us.  Great fanfare accompanied her arrival, with lots of boats honking and tooting in the harbour, speeches ashore and traditional celebrations.  While here the crew conducted workshops with locals on traditional navigation techniques – Zeke and Nina attended and thoroughly enjoyed the experience (click here if you would like to see Zeke's school report on the subject).

The Hokule'a arriving in Honolulu after voyaging from Tahiti in 1976.

Sternpost detailing.

Her steering paddle. Looks suspiciously like a GPS aerial on the back there huh? Nah couldn't be.

Provisions stowed in nets along her sides.

Her spars and steering oar are heavy, requiring a large, strong crew to sail her. 

While on passage her navigators are unable to sleep, they have to constantly pay attention to the stars, the wind, waves and the boat's progress.  They may only take very short cat-naps.  Training to become a navigator takes years.  A support boat accompanies the Hokule'a on her voyages, carrying modern navigation instruments as a 'just in case'.  Her crew changes at regular intervals during each voyage.

I love this little story, lifted from the Wikipedia's Hokule'a site:

… professional Tongan sea captain Sione Taupeamuhu was aboard during a night passage [in the 1985-87 voyage] from Tongatapu to Nomuka in the northerly Haʻapai Islands group of Tonga.. He was skeptical that Hōkūle‘a navigator Nainoa Thompson could find Nomuka without instruments. When Nomuka appeared on the horizon at dawn as anticipated, Taupeamuhu remarked, "Now I can believe the stories of my ancestors."

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