A famous Hawaiian canoe on a four-year voyage around the Pacific is coming to Vancouver Island.
Hōkūleʻa (ho-KOO-lay-ah) is the name of an ocean-going canoe built in 1975 to recreate the voyages of Polynesian seafarers, who navigated the Pacific Ocean for thousands of years before Europeans. It’s been used for decades as a teaching tool, promoting science and culture around the Pacific.
Moani Heimuli (muh-WAH-knee HEE-moo-lee) is the captain on this leg of the voyage, and says it’s been rewarding connecting with Indigenous people around the ocean who share a canoe culture.
“As we go through these communities, meeting all these Indigenous peoples, we’re learning from them, we’re learning their stories and how their people lived life,” he says. “We’re taking their stories and sharing them around the world as we go around this Pacific Rim we’re voyaging.”
The canoe is 62 feet long and 20 feet wide with a dozen crew who swap out every six weeks. It is powered only by sail, although it does have solar panels on board to power the crew’s electronics.
It’s currently on the way to Klemtu, and will also visit Port Hardy and Campbell River before travelling down the coast of the Island to end in Seattle. It’s in Hartley Bay this weekend and will be at Vancouver Island in a week or so.
Visit the Polynesian Voyaging Society’s website to track their progress in real time.
