Welcome home! Hokulea, Hikianalia return to Oahu after Tahiti voyage

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Favorable sailing disorders greeted voyaging canoes Hokuleʻa and Hikianalia as they approached the Hawaiian Islands this week.

The crews returned to Hawaiʻi on Thursday soon after a months-long journey to Tahiti.

Master navigator Nainoa Thompson pointed out the voyage was difficult at periods, but the crew associates experienced persistence and dealt with the worries that arose.

“Everybody was navigating on the canoe as a staff,” Thompson reported. “It was an epic voyage. In terms of studying, it was extra than we experienced anticipated. We’re incredibly grateful that we are exactly where we are.”

Navigators are finding up lessons in every single journey. This journey, named the Kealaikahiki Voyage, is a precursor for their Spring 2023 Moananuiākea Voyage to circumnavigate the Pacific Ocean.

“We’re here to teach, but we’re also listed here to learn. And our activity is to get 20 new captains by 2024.”

“And so we likely commence off with 10 new captains up coming yr, and double that the subsequent year. This is the very best schooling ground for that variety of management,” Thompson additional.

[Related report: A warm welcome: Arrival of Hokuleʻa, Hikianalia celebrated in Tahiti]

Hawaiʻi’s Mauna Loa mountain was very first spotted by the crew on their way back on Tuesday — 17 days after they departed the French Polynesian Tuamotu Island of Rangiroa.

Pulling off these voyages requires sacrifices by crewmembers and their families back home, which is one thing Thompson acknowledges and can take to coronary heart.

“Now this voyage on the Kealaikahiki vacation has been done, our entire target is now on just one issue: Loved ones,” Thompson explained. “We’re coming household to target on them.”

To find out extra about their journey, click right here and watch the ‘Voyaging Dashboard’ tab.

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