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

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Favorable sailing circumstances greeted voyaging canoes Hokuleʻa and Hikianalia as they approached the Hawaiian Islands this 7 days.

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

Grasp navigator Nainoa Thompson observed the voyage was challenging at occasions, but the crew users experienced persistence and dealt with the challenges that arose.

“Everybody was navigating on the canoe as a workforce,” Thompson stated. “It was an epic voyage. In phrases of mastering, it was more than we experienced envisioned. We’re really grateful that we are the place we are.”

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

“We’re in this article to instruct, but we’re also here to understand. And our activity is to get 20 new captains by 2024.”

“And so we going commence off with 10 new captains up coming year, and double that the next yr. This is the ideal schooling ground for that variety of management,” Thompson included.

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

Hawaiʻi’s Mauna Loa mountain was to start with noticed by the crew on their way back on Tuesday — 17 times following they departed the French Polynesian Tuamotu Island of Rangiroa.

Pulling off these voyages necessitates sacrifices by crewmembers and their family members back residence, which is something Thompson acknowledges and usually takes to heart.

“Now this voyage on the Kealaikahiki excursion has been accomplished, our complete target is now on a person detail: Family,” Thompson explained. “We’re coming dwelling to concentrate on them.”

To discover a lot more about their journey, click listed here and see the ‘Voyaging Dashboard’ tab.

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