Polynesian Worldwide Voyage Sails Endless Pacific Stars

"In the remote Pacific there’s a moment after the sun sets and before the moon rises... " Mālama Honua

Leg III of the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage –a 4 year ocean Polynesia Sailing Voyage which covers in total 47,000 nautical miles, 85 ports, and 26 countries has concluded as the crew speaks of “profound” experiences.

The Polynesian Voyaging Society which seeks to perpetuate “the art and science of traditional Polynesian voyaging and the spirit of exploration” explains that the voyage is taken on by their Polynesian canoes Hōkūle‘a and Hikianalia –perhaps two of the few vessels on these oceans capable of taking on this type of journey.

Forget modern sailing technology, gps, watches and modern maps; strength, courage, sheer spiritual wisdom, ancient tide-sail-wind and night star generation passed down knowledge these are the first things that are packed into the magnificent Polynesian canoes historically used to populated most of the Pacific islands.

“Our Polynesian voyaging canoes, are sailing across Earth’s oceans to join and grow the global movement toward a more sustainable world,” the organization explains. The voyage began in 2013 with a Mālama Hawaiʻi sail around our archipelago. It promises to continue through 2017 with new generations of navigators. Both the Hōkūle‘a and Hikianalia have set sails to circumnavigate the world.

On October 3^rd Honolulu Star-Advertiser correspondent Marcel Honoré reported from his return to Hawaii after spending four weeks as a crew member of the voyaging canoes Hokule‘a and Hikianalia during the Samoa leg of their worldwide voyage.

Polynesian “ocean-men” participating in the Voyage expect to inspire “stewardship for natural and cultural environments”. The open Pacific ocean at night sailed on the silent Hokule‘a twin-hulled canoe-vaka, based on the ancient design of open-ocean Polynesian voyaging canoes deeply impressed the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reporter Marcel Honoré.

“In the remote Pacific there’s a moment after the sun sets and before the moon rises where the clear night sky is impossibly full of stars — so many that they blend into clouds streaking across the heavens. You can’t help but gape at what you’re seeing above,” Honoré reported.

Honoré noted the words of Baybayan, an onboard navigator-in-residence at the ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center. “There,” he said. “That’s the center of the Milky Way galaxy.” Even in that one small glimpse of sky, there must have been millions of stars.

Dr. Greg Stone chief ocean scientist and executive vice president for Conservation International Betty and Gordon Moore Center for Science and Oceans also joined the Voyage and sailed the Pacific.

“Master Hawaiian navigator Nainoa Thompson asked me to join the crew of Hokule‘a months before this journey, I was honored to participate,” Dr. Stone stated.

Crew sailing also met with influential leaders, including United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon who was attending the U.N.’s Small Island Developing States Conference.

The voyage which without a doubt presents physical and sporting challenges also represents more deep psychological challenges which were the first to show down by both reporters.

“The electric feeling from the crew onboard was palpable during our trip,” Dr. Greg Stone stated.

Next year the canoes will once again take to the open Pacific waters and enter the Indian Ocean to keep on sailing the World Wide “to care for our Earth” Mālama Honua Voyage.

“Living on an island chain teaches us that our natural world is a gift with limits and that we must carefully steward this gift if we are to survive together. As we work to protect cultural and environmental resources for our children’s future, our Pacific voyaging traditions teach us to venture beyond the horizon to connect and learn with others,” the Polynesian Voyaging Society explained.

Dr. Greg Stone reporting for Conservation international also spoke about the connection between the ocean and the sky. “When we left the harbor, Nainoa scanned all directions, including the sky above and the sea below, “ the Dr. stated.

CI explains that natural navigation traditionally practiced by Polynesian voyagers today has many generation in the making. It’s based on thousands of observations — stars, birds, waves, sun, moon, clouds, sea life — that are used to make hundreds of decisions to return the seafarers safely to port.

“The Earth is like a really big vaka (canoe)on an endless voyage through space…” Conservation International concluded.

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