The ’s (PVS) two traditional Polynesian canoes returned to Oʻahu on May 27, after a two-week training voyage to prepare for its 2022 Moananuiākea Voyage, a circumnavigation of the Pacific. Hikianalia arrived at the University of �鶹��ý Marine Education Training Center at Sand Island at 4:30 a.m. followed by ��ō��ū����ʻ�� at 5:30 a.m.

The original sail plan was for the crew to sail to the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (the doldrums), located approximately 5 degrees north of the equator. The canoes, however, were delayed for nine days off Lahaina, Maui due to dangerous conditions in the Alenuihaha Channel. Once the weather cleared and the canoes were able to cross the Alenuihaha Channel, which is considered the second roughest channel in the world, and head to Keauhou on �鶹��ý Island. From Keauhou, they sailed to Kalae (South Point) and then into Moananuiākea, about 100 nautical miles south of �鶹��ý Island.

“Although our intent was to take the crew into the storm of the doldrums, Mother Nature had other plans. We still had a robust training nonetheless and we still hit Moananuiākea,” said PVS President and Pwo navigator Nainoa Thompson. “There have been many gifts of learning that we never ever imagined, because we were forced to change. It’s been a spectacular training program,” he added.

The training voyage also provided an opportunity to test the newly-refurbished vessels in strong winds and rough waters. PVS’s goal is to have 120 new crew trained by the end of the summer in preparation for next year’s circumnavigation of the Pacific.

UH’s role in Moananuiākea Voyage

Several key partners including UH’s Office of Indigenous Innovation, UH ����ԴDz�’s (LAVA), , Arizona State University, Kamehameha Schools and the Omidyar ʻohana are contributing to the educational activities of the training sails and the upcoming Moananuiākea Voyage, launching the first phase of the virtual “Third Canoe.”

UH is developing initiatives that blend ancestral knowledge and contemporary innovation to support the educational goals of the “Third Canoe.” Currently, LAVA is working with and UH West Oʻahu’s to perform photogrammetric scans of ��ō��ū����ʻ�� to create the world’s first fully accurate digital archival model of the historic vessel for future crew training, and capturing events onboard ��ō��ū����ʻ�� and Hikianalia during the Doldrums Sail to provide viewers who may never have the opportunity to sail on a voyage to experience it through immersive virtual reality. These products will eventually be exhibited in the Create(x) emerging media space at UH West Oʻahuʻs new Academy for Creative Media Building.

.

The University of �鶹��ý community is mourning the loss of highly respected, deep-sea voyaging canoe ��ō��ū����ʻ�� captain Chad Kālepa Baybayan, who served as a navigator-in-residence at the .

On April 9, loved ones shared that 64-year-old Baybayan, a UH Hilo alumnus, died. They released a brief public statement:

“Mahalo nui loa to all of our ʻohana, immediate and extended, for your comforting thoughts of aloha, pule and support from places near and far. Thank you also for allowing us this time and space to deal with the passing of our beloved husband, father, grandfather, son, brother, cousin, uncle and friend to so many. Me ke aloha nui nō.”

Baybayan, a Pwo navigator, was one of the original ��ō��ū����ʻ�� crew members. He took part in the three-year Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage, a 42,000 nautical mile journey which consisted of 150 ports in more than 20 countries. The headline-grabbing expedition earned Baybayan and the ��ō��ū����ʻ�� crew a National Geographic nomination.

“Kālepa dedicated his life to perpetuate the voyaging wisdom of his ancestors,” said UH President David Lassner who sailed with Baybayan on ��ō��ū����ʻ��. “I feel fortunate and honored to have been part of the crew for some of his journeys in recent years and to have been able to learn from him. Kālepa’s passing leaves a deep hole within the University and is an immense loss for all of �鶹��ý.”

The Maui native also served as captain on voyaging canoes �鶹��ýloa and Hōkūalakaʻi. Baybayan brought his ʻike (knowledge) of traditional Polynesian voyaging to ʻImiloa and developed wayfinding activities, curriculum and educational criteria, and coordinated outreach programs and projects. A champion of astronomy, the cherished waterman worked to fulfill ʻImiloa’s mission to merge science and discovery with Hawaiian culture.

“We were honored to know, and work alongside him here at ʻImiloa in his education and outreach endeavors as our navigator-in-residence,” said ʻImiloa Executive Director Kaʻiu Kimura. “But even more than that, we were blessed to have him as a friend and member of our ʻohana ʻImiloa. The impact of his life’s work is evidenced in so many ways all throughout the community and while he will be sorely missed, we are committed to continuing his work of educating future generations about the wealth and applicability of our ancestral knowledge of wayfinding to ongoing pursuit of new knowledge to the benefit of our community and our �鶹��ý.”

In summer 2020, Baybayan co-published a UH study on the severe lack of documentation of Indigenous voyaging data. He found publications on non-instrument wayfinding and voyaging of Pacific Islanders were often ignored in widely used indexes such as the Dewey Decimal Classification in libraries, the Library of Congress and the Web of Science citation database. Baybayan advocated for a more complete database system to benefit those conducting research in traditional wayfinding and voyaging arts.

“Draw your own map, become the map maker…the cartographer for your own life,”
—Chad Kālepa Baybayan

In 2017, after wrapping up ��ō��ū����ʻ��’s historical three-year journey, he was selected to deliver the keynote address at UH Hilo’s fall commencement. Baybayan urged the graduates not to be observers, to get into the race and paddle and be like the oceanic mariners who sailed into the Pacific and discovered the stars.

During the address he noted, “Draw a big circle around where you want to end up and then throw the map away. Draw your own map, become the map maker…the cartographer for your own life. Don’t let anyone tell you what you should be. Donʻt let others define you. Be responsible for owning your own dream and vision of where you want to arrive at. Be persistent and relentless and working that sail plan so that you arrive at your destination.”

UH Hilo Chancellor Bonnie Irwin added “Kālepa personified the finest attributes of a UH Hilo alumnus and staff member, paying forward his education to inspire generations to seek out knowledge and preserve ancestral ways.”

Baybayan’s work through the and UH has helped shape a new generation of navigators, educators, scientists and community stewards.

“Bravo!” shouted the crowd in the Neal S. Blaisdell Centerʻs Concert Hall, as they applauded and rose to their feet.

They were the fortunate witnesses of the March 28, 2019 world premiere of Raise Hawaiki, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience a collaborative artistic interpretation of the , composed by the ’s award-winning Michael-Thomas Foumai.

The performed with the Oʻahu Choral society, joined by choirs from UH ����ԴDz� and with choral participation from Kapiʻolani Community College and UH West Oʻahu. Performers also joined from the �鶹��ý Youth Opera Chorus and community choirs. They sang the words of Polynesian voyaging greats Eddie Aikau, Nainoa Thompson, Mau Piailug, Sam Kaʻai and Sam Low.

Raise Hawaiki was composed by Foumai, a UH Mānoa music lecturer and winner of the 2017 American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Foundation () young composer award.

Inspired by story of the voyaging canoe Hōkūleʻa, the large-scale symphonic work brought together �鶹��ý’s major institutions of performance, learning and voyaging, mirroring Hōkūleʻa’s voyages that bring communities together across the planet to embrace and care for their culture and natural environments.

The event featured a cast of a thousand, including 200 musicians and singers, hula choreographed by Lauren Kanoelani Chang Williams, with projection visuals from the Polynesian Voyaging Society and ʻŌiwiTV, historical photos by Sam Low and Ben Young, artwork by Herbert Kāne and voyager Hana Yoshihata, and a pre-show performance from IONA Contemporary Dance Theatre.

See what composer Michael-Thomas Foumai had to say about Raise Hawaiki.

—By Kelli Trifonovitch

The , composed by the award-winning Michael-Thomas Foumai, will be performed by the at the Neal S. Blaisdell Concert Hall on March 28 at 7:30 p.m.

This performance is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience the artistic interpretation of the .

A unique collaboration of �Ჹ�ɲ���ʻ��’s arts organizations and artists will perform this world premiere with the �鶹��ý Symphony Orchestra. Collaborators who created this amazing experience include the UH Mānoa Music Department; UH Foundation; the �鶹��ý Symphony Orchestra and the Polynesian Voyaging Society. Performers are from the Oʻahu Choral Society, UH Mānoa, Kapiʻolani Community College, UH West Oʻahu, the �鶹��ý Youth Opera Chorus, community choirs and IONA Contemporary Dance Theatre.

The dream

It was philanthropist Elizabeth Wong who dreamed of a symphony in honor of the Hōkūleʻa and its Mālama Honua Voyage around the world. Through her friend SaraLyn Smith at the UH Foundation, she sought out Foumai to compose it. Together the three of them built a collaborative team to bring the music and artistic communities together with the Polynesian Voyaging Society in a historic retelling of ��ō��ū����ʻ��’s story through symphony orchestra and chorus.

The chorus will be singing the words of Polynesian voyaging greats Eddie Aikau, Nainoa Thompson, Mau Piailug, Sam Kaai and Sam Low.

Composer Michael-Thomas Foumai

Foumai, the winner of the 2017 American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Foundation young composer award, is a UH Mānoa lecturer.

“I would describe Raise Hawaiki as an epic of �鶹��ý,” says Foumai, who says the origins of both music and voyaging are connected through the ancient Greeks. Master Navigator Thompson told Foumai that, early on, when Polynesian voyaging traditions were deemed lost, he and his team studied ancient Greek navigation.

“That for me is what Hōkūleʻa is,” says Foumai. “It is the resurrection. It is the celebration of Hawaiian culture, which was almost lost, but now it is alive, and well and thriving.”

Cast of a thousand

The event features a cast of a thousand, including 200 musicians and singers, hula choreographed by Lauren Kanoelani Chang Williams, with projection visuals from the Polynesian Voyaging Society and ʻŌiwi TV, historical photos by Sam Low and Ben Young, artwork by Herbert Kāne and voyager Hana Yoshihata, and a pre-show performance from IONA Contemporary Dance Theatre.

The evening, including a performance of Brahm’s Requiem, is sponsored in part by the Wallace, Elizabeth and Isabella Wong Family Foundation.

Foumai says,”I hope the audience will take away from the experience of listening to this symphony, as if they were aboard Hōkūleʻa, as if they journeyed around the world.”

Tickets may be purchased at the .

—By Kelli Trifonovitch

Having traveled approximately 40,300 nautical miles, ��ō��ū����ʻ�� is home from traveling around the world, but not for long. This fall she will depart on a mahalo sail around the state. In anticipation of the public’s interest to learn more about navigation, and the (PVS) are offering Level I Basic Crew Member Training starting July 11. The course consists of 15 sessions over eight weeks.

Taught by Honolulu CC Associate Professor and PVS Captain Robert Perkins at the college’s (METC) at Sand Island, students will learn about the history of the Polynesian Voyaging Society, parts of a canoe, seamanship and navigation basics.

“It is amazing to think that the Polynesians, long before the Europeans had ever crossed any oceans, were discovering and settling the largest ocean on planet Earth,” says Perkins.

• Related UH News story: The partnership that gave ��ō��ū����ʻ�� a home, June 16, 2017

Becoming a crew member is an intense and extensive process. Although participants will not be going on a sail at this level, this course will introduce them to the first steps of understanding what it’s like to be a crew member of a canoe.

Honolulu CC student and ��ō��ū����ʻ�� crew member Maleko Lorenzo says, “Most people don’t know it’s pretty physical to sail these canoes, these big voyaging canoes.”

In alignment with the University of �鶹��ý‘s commitment to serving as a model indigenous institution of higher knowledge, Honolulu CC is promoting Hawaiian values and culture through these non-credit offerings and its Hawaiian studies degree program. Honolulu CC offers courses in Hawaiian astronomy and navigation through its Hoʻokele program at METC in which students receive hands on sailing practice on a 16-passenger canoe Kamauheheu, which was constructed by Honolulu CC students.

The Level I Basic Crew Member Training course is offered as a non-credit option at $60 per session. For more information about the course visit the or call (808) 845-9296.

—By Billie Lueder

On June 17, more than 135 years after King David Kalākaua returned to �鶹��ý after circumnavigating the world, faculty, staff and friends from repeated the spirit of welcome and homecoming for the ��ō��ū����ʻ�� and its escort canoe the Hikianalia upon their return from their worldwide voyage by lighting torches on the summit of Diamond Head, or ��ŧʻ����.

Meeting at 4:30 in the morning, greeters put on their kīhei and tī-leaf lei before they ascended the summit of ��ŧʻ����. The early morning was still and dark, but the members managed the trail, respectful of the Hawaiian flag and a pahu (drum) they carried. When they reached the summit, they were greeted by the sunrise and the break of dawn.

As the flotilla of vessels appeared, members chanted in unison with passion and vigor. Fire from the torches had already burned themselves out, but sounds from the pahu drum proved that one cannot change the sound of an echo. Chanting of the oli provided immutable resonance and repeated itself from energy of its own.

����ɲ�ʻ�� Napoleon, one of the coordinators of the event said, “There is an ʻōlelo noʻeau that sums up the homecoming of ��ō��ū����ʻ�� on June 17, 2017. ‘Umi ka hanu! Hoʻokahi ka umauma ke ��ī���ʻ�dz󾱷ɾ�.’” (Hold the breath! Walk abreast, shoulder to shoulder) Translation: Be of one accord, as in exerting every effort to lift a heavy weight to the shoulder and to keep together in carrying it along.

Kapiʻolani CC is proud of alumnus Nainoa Thompson and prouder still to have his legacy in the Hawaiian Star Compass on campus. It is the Polynesian Voyaging Society through fellow traveler and pwo navigator Bruce Blankenfeld, that helped Kapiʻolani Community College find the North Star, preserved and used in teaching and as a reminder to mind our own moral compass.

Interim Chancellor Louise Pagotto shared her thoughts: “We honored Nainoa, the navigators and crew of the ��ō��ū����ʻ�� by greeting them on their voyage home. We honored their ancestors by chanting the words from long ago. The energies and dedication of Kapulani Landgraf and ����ɲ�ʻ�� Napoleon guided and supported us throughout the planning, preparation and realization of the event. We participated in marking an historic event and I’ve never felt more proud to be of Kapiʻolani Community College.”

Read more UH News on Mālama Honua.

—By Louise Yamamoto

Amid the blowing of pū and the cheering of thousands gathered at Magic Island, the sailed home in June 2017 after .

It was an event of deep significance to the University of �鶹��ý ʻohana. Countless UH students, faculty, staff and alumni served the voyage in myriad ways, as volunteers, navigators, captains and scientific researchers.

At the homecoming, Polynesian Voyaging Society President Nainoa Thompson reiterated his assertion that UH is “hands down” the most important institution in the region.

“The University of �鶹��ý is the most important navigator we have in the Pacific,” Thompson said in an earlier interview. “It’s the most important navigator and it’s the most important waʻa. It’s the most important canoe that we have. It’s what can help us find our destinations that are worthy of our children that the other big institutions cannot.”

“The university has been instrumental in every part of this voyage,” said UH President who also served as a crewmember. “Most obviously we are the homeport for the ��ō��ū����ʻ��, Hikianalia, �鶹��ý Loa the Polynesian Voyaging Society. They are our partners and residents at our Marine Education Training Center at Sand Island, part of .”

• Related UH News: The partnership that gave ��ō��ū����ʻ�� a home, June 16, 2017

Honolulu CC instructor Kaʻiulani Murphy served as lead navigator during ��ō��ū����ʻ��’s sail home from Tahiti. UH Hilo Navigator in Residence Chad Kālepa Baybayan has also captained numerous legs of the voyage.

Prior to undertaking the worldwide voyage, Thompson consulted with UH scientists from the , , and more. “There were enormous amounts of research, …we knew who to call,” he said.

Doctors at the made sure the crew was healthy enough to voyage and helped to keep them that way. During the voyage, UH held systemwide gatherings at College Hill and to share information and commitments to Mālama Honua or “care for our Earth.” One key commitment came from the UH ����ԴDz� : teach the values of Mālama Honua to the future teachers studying in the college.

The University of �鶹��ý is one of more than a hundred educational partners who have signed the Promise to the Children, which says, in part, “…we promise to create, sustain and navigate a movement dedicated to future generations, one that is imbued with the goodness of ��ō��ū����ʻ�� and the wisdom born of her legacy.”

Thompson said, “Twenty years from now, sustainability, I promise you, will be figured out. We will be on alternative energy 20 years from now. We will have figured out issues of food sovereignty to get off the 95 percent that we import. Itʻs a very dangerous situation that we have in �鶹��ý and there’s no other institution that has the mandate and the mission and the power to do that.”

Read more UH News on Mālama Honua.

—By Kelli Trifonovitch

Since 2002, the (PVS) and Honolulu Community College’s (METC) have been working together to develop a learning center that combines the voyaging and cultural expertise of PVS and the educational background of the University of �鶹��ý into a new, experience-driven format of training for future students.

The partnership actually saved the venerable . After returning to Oʻahu from a historic trip to Tahiti in 1976, ��ō��ū����ʻ�� had no permanent home and bounced around for a few years. PVS was looking for new berthing, and Honolulu CC stepped up. The vision was not only a home for ��ō��ū����ʻ��, but a venue for integrating traditional and cultural skills and values with a community based educational institution.

“We are just so fortunate, so lucky, that there was a Marine Education Training Center and that there was a place to finally take care of ��ō��ū����ʻ��,” says PVS President Nainoa Thompson. “[The METC] was a place that we could conduct the kinds of education that are tied to our values and contribute to the strengthening of Hawaiian culture.”

Restoring ��ō��ū����ʻ��

Honolulu CC would step up again in 2010, when tens of thousands of volunteer hours were donated at METC to repair and refurbish ��ō��ū����ʻ�� in preparation for the . The college is continuing its commitment to further develop navigation curriculum by offering . Participants will learn about the history of the Polynesian Voyaging Society, parts of a canoe, seamanship and navigation basics.

The 10-campus UH System has been an educational partner in the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage, with hundreds of students, faculty and staff participating in multiple ways.

Thompson often cites the late astronaut Lacy Veach when explaining the purpose of the worldwide voyage. Veach once said, “When we figure out how to live well on our islands, we will have the most important gift we can give to the earth, and that is hope.”

Thompson says, “We are going to work towards that dream, and the key is the university. It’s the University of �鶹��ý helping us shine the way.”

—By Kelli Trifonovitch

The iconic voyaging canoe is scheduled to return from the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage to the Hawaiian Islands in June 2017. On June 17, the Polynesian Voyaging Society and its crew members, including many from the ʻohana, will conclude the three-year sail around the globe and make an historic arrival at Oʻahu’s Magic Island after sailing nearly 40,000 nautical miles since departing Hawaiian waters on May 30, 2014. Themed Lei Kaʻapuni Honua, meaning “A Lei Around The World,” Hōkūleʻa’s homecoming celebration will include the following events:

• June 17, Arrival Ceremony and Celebration, Magic Island
  Join thousands of Hōkūleʻa’s ʻohana at Magic Island, including families, students, educators, sustainability organizations, ocean conservationists, voyaging waʻa groups, community residents and visitors.
• June 18–20, Mālama Honua Fair and Summit and Hōkūleʻaa Canoe Tours, �鶹��ý Convention Center
  In celebration of Hōkūleʻa’s homecoming after voyaging around Island Earth, the Polynesian Voyaging Society invites the community to gather for a three-day summit to discuss mālama honua stories of hope inspired by the Worldwide Voyage and to develop sail plans for the future of �鶹��ý and our planet.
• June 17–25, World Youth Summit Reconnecting to Our Ancestral Roots to Build Sustainable Communities, �鶹��ý Convention Center
  In celebration of Hōkūleʻa’s homecoming after voyaging around Island Earth, youth leaders from around the world will join members of the Student Sustainability Coalition of �鶹��ý, a �鶹��ýstudent organization, for a three-day summit to discuss sail plans for the global 2030 sustainable development goals. The World Youth Congress theme is Reconnecting to Our Ancestral Roots to Build Sustainable Communities. It will run synergistically with the Mālama Honua Fair and Summit, will address many of the issues discussed at the 2016 IUCN World Conservation Congress, and is hosted by Peace Child International �鶹��ý.
• June 19, Polynesian Voyaging Society Benefit Dinner, �鶹��ý Convention Center
  Themed Lei Kaʻapuni Honua, A Lei Around the World, this fundraiser is a celebration of Hōkūleʻa’s return benefiting the Polynesian Voyaging Society’s efforts to advance the Mālama Honua mission with activities that enrich our communities and build a sustainable future.

Registration and additional information about these Hōkūleʻa homecoming events can be found at the .

Voting is open to support members of the University of �鶹��ý ʻohana as . The recognition is for extraordinary achievements in exploration, adventure sports, conservation or humanitarianism.

Among this year’s nominees is The , comprised of celestial circumnavigators such as the Polynesian Voyaging Society’s , a former University of �鶹��ý regent, and UH Hilo’s Navigator-in-Residence . The team is currently on a four-year journey across large swaths of oceans in the famed Hōkūleʻa voyaging canoe guided only by the stars and the belief that Polynesian culture should not be lost to the wake of modernization. In the process, they ignited a cultural restoration in �鶹��ý and taught a new generation of adventurers how to navigate by the stars. Thompson was also a 2016 recipient of the National Geographic Society’s most prestigious award, the Hubbard medal.

• Related:

The Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage began in 2013 and will continue through 2017 when a new generation of navigators take the helm and guide the voyaging canoes Hōkūleʻa and Hikianalia back to Polynesia after circumnavigating the globe.

Vote now!

Online voting for the People’s Choice Adventurer of the Year is now open and will run through December 16, 2016. for their favorite honoree. The adventurer with the most votes at the end of the voting period will be announced in January as the 2017 People’s Choice Adventurer of the Year.

Besides The Hōkūleʻa Team, this year’s nominees include a cave diver who discovered the world’s deepest underwater cave, a pair of journalists who embarked on a full-length hike through the Grand Canyon, a kayaker who completed the first solo descent of the 5,464-kilometer Yellow River in China and a teenage rock climber who became the first female (and youngest person) to complete some of the hardest-rated boulder routes on Earth.

“This is the 12^th year that National Geographic has searched around the world for individuals who personify the adventurous spirit in unique ways,” said Mary Anne Potts, National Geographic Adventure editorial director. “This year’s honorees are extraordinary and inspiring people who push the boundaries of exploration.”

Connect online

More on the 2017 People’s Choice Adventurer of the Year is also available at on Instagram or on Twitter using #advofyear.

—By Kelli Trifonovitch