Crew and Leadership Training Program
To train crew and leadership (navigators, captains, watch captains) for its World Wide Voyage, PVS runs a program of of Honolulu Community College’s Marine Education and Training Center on Sand Island.
Navigator Bruce Blankenfeld working with Kamaki Worthington and Na‘alehu Anthony, 1999 voyage from Rapanui to Tahiti.
The program has three levels:
Level 1: To orient individuals to the Polynesian Voyaging Society and its mission; to train individuals to be competent in basic operations and protocols of the canoe.
Level 2: To develop safe, competent crew members for Hawai‘i’s voyaging canoes who can assist in instruction in voyaging education programs.
Level 3: To train individuals to take leadership roles (watch captain, captain, assistant navigator and navigator), in all aspects of safety, planning, and protocol associated with voyaging. The goal is to training another generation of voyagers to carry on the legacy of PVS into the future.
The program covers a wide range of topics: PVS History; PVS Vision, Mission, Goals, and Guiding Values and Process; Health and Safety, Canoe Sailing and Operations; Repair and Maintenance (including drydock work); Canoe Protocol; Meteorology, Oceanography, and Geography related to Voyaging; Sail Planning and Course Strategy; Coordinating and Conducting Sails and Voyages; and Risk Management.
Included in the training are Hand-ons work in canoe repair and maintenance and coastal, interisland, and deepsea sails.
Crew Training, 1995
Prerequisites for level 1 include the following:
- at least 20 years of age
- ability to swim
- experience in ocean activities (swimming, paddling, surfing, sailing, etc.)
- generally good health and fitness
- medical check-up
- open to learning
Call the PVS office for details and schedule.