PVS Newsletter / Summer 2003
Message from Patrick Duarte, President and CEO, and Nainoa Thompson, Chairman of the Board
Aloha
The past few months have been very productive for the Polynesian Voyaging Society. After having Hokule‘a in dry dock for over a year, it's been great to be out on the ocean again and to introduce more people to our organization and what we stand for. The first part of the 2003 Statewide Saff gave our neighbor island residents an opportunity to see Hokule‘a up close, and it was also an opportunity to spread our Navigating Change message. Hundreds of students were able to board Hokule‘a while we were in port, and approxiimtely 500 students were able to sail on Hokule‘a.
This year, our Statewide Sail will truly encompass the entire state. In September we will continue on to the Norffiwestem Hawaiian Islands (NWHI), which are part of the State of Hawai'i. The voyage will cover approximately 2,500 miles (from O‘ahu to Kure and back), and is in support of the Navigating Change program. Navigating Change is about creating awareness of the environmental issues we face in the main Hawaiian Islands and motivating people to take responsibility for the stewardship of our islands and our ocean. We will safl to the NWHI because these islands provide a microcosm of island ecology where we can learn to manage and care for a pristine and fragile ecosystem and apply these lessons back to the main Hawaiian Islands. It also provides a basis for comparison of the health of our coral reefs back home. Hokule‘a's mission is to restore an ancient wisdom the Hawaiian concept of malama - of caring for our land and sea to ensure a balance among all forms of life.
After returning from the NWHI, we are invited to participate in the ceremonies pertaining to the transfer of Kaho'olawe from the U.S. Navy control to the State of Hawaii. We will sail Hokule‘a to Kaho'olawe and then to Maui (weather conditions prevented us from s"ing there during the first part of the Statewide Sail) before returning to O‘ahu for a short dry dock before our next voyage. In early 2004, PVS and Na Kalai Wa‘a Moku o Hawai‘i hope to sail Hokule‘a and Makali‘i to Palau for the Pacific Arts Festival. This voyage will honor the ma -that has brought life back to traditional Polynesian Voyaging, our teacher and mentor, Mau Piailug. More informaton about this voyage will be provided in our next newsletter. Until them mahalo for your continued support of PVS.
Marine Education & Training Center
Earlier this year, PVS and Honolulu Conununity College Marine Education & Training Center (METC) signed an affiliation agreement that sets the foundation for future collaboration. METC, which is located on Sand Island, is one of Hawai'i's best kept secrets. The Center is considered one of the finest of its kind in the nation, yet many people in Hawaii have never heard of it. We hope to change that.
Hokule‘a docked at METC
The PVS-METC affiliation provides the Society with access to first-rate classrooms, a boat/canoe maintenance facility a dock with drive up access, and superb boat building and maintenance expertise. METC and the Honolulu Community College will benefit from PVS's reach into the community, our ability to bring groups of people together and our access to potential students.
PVS has already used the METC for our community celebration of Hokule‘a's restoration (E Ola Hokule‘a), our crew training classes, educational programs for more than 300 students, rigging of Hokule‘a, dry dock of Hawai'lloa, and for numerous meetings. METC Director Bob Perkins and Mark Kimura have become an integral part of our PVS 'ohana, providing invaluable expertise, guidance and support. We are truly grateful for this new relationship. For more information about the METC, call (808) 832-3683 or check out their website at http://viww.hcc.hawaii.edu/tech/marmr/index.htrrd.
2003 Statewide Sail
March 15- June 14 (by Ka`iulani Murphy)
As part of Navigating Change, Hokule‘a voyaged throughout the main Hawaiian Islands this spring, completing the first part of the 2003 Statewide Sail. Island coordinators made possible the three-month long voyage: Chad Baybayan, Clay Bertelmann and JoAnne Sterling on Hawai'i, Snake and Myrna Ah Hee on Maui, Gary Suzuki on Lana'i, Penny Martin and Mel Paoa on Moloka'i, and Dennis Chun on Kaua'i. School children and other community members who visited the canoe at various ports were welcomed by Bishop Museum' NOAA and Hokule‘a crewmembers who shared the message of malama.
On March 15, sixteen dedicated dry dock volunteers and training crewmembers sailed Hokule‘a from O'ahu to Hawai'i to begin the voyage. Hokule‘a stopped in Hilo, Honaunau, Keauhou, Kauna'oa Bav and Kawaihae. Strong trade winds and an unforgiving 'Alenuihaha Channel kept Hokule‘a from sailing to Maui as scheduled. The extended stay in Kawaihae was a welcomed one as it provided a few opportunities to see two voyaging canoes, Hokule‘a and Makali‘i, sailing together. The Makali‘i ‘ohana took care of Hokule‘a and the crew that stayed with her in Kawaihae while they were conducting their own education programs.
On April 27, the strong winds had settled to allow for a safe channel crossing, and Hokule‘a sailed to Manele, Lana'i, in fourteen hours. From Manele Harbor, another crew sailed Hokule‘a to Kaunakakai, Moloka'i. Hokule‘a was headed back to O‘ahu on the evening of May 2 and crossed the Ka'iwi Channel overnight. The first stop was Hakipu'u, where the beloved canoe was first launched twenty-eight years ago. While on O'ahu, Hokule‘a sailed to Hale'iwa, Makua, Poka'i, Ko Olina, and Honolulu Harbor.
After spending the month of May on O'ahu, a crew of seventeen sailed Hokule‘a across the Ka'ie'ie Channel to Nawiliwili, Kaua'i. A week after being welcomed in Kalapaki Bay, the crew of Hokule‘a sailed her to Hanalei, where she spent another week. On June 14, a light crew of twelve sailed back to Honolulu where Hokule‘a would rest before continuing up to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands this fall to conclude the Statewide Sail.
The canoe 'ohana continues to grow and malama Hokule‘a. Mahalo for your kokua.
March 17, 2003 update (by Ka`iulani Murphy)
The 2003 statewide sail began on March 15. The sail will culminate in a visit to the Northwest Hawaiian Islands that reach out 1200 miles beyond Kaua'i to Midway and Kure. (Click here for a map of the NWHI.) Ka`iulani Murphy filed the following report on the first leg of the voyage, from O'ahu to the Big Island of Hawai'i.
Hokule`a left Maunalua Bay on the afternoon of Saturday, March 15 en route to Hilo to begin her sail throughout the islands. Light winds kept her under tow by escort boat Mana Cat, a 40-foot catamaran from Kaua'i. Travelling on a course between the islands, we were south of Moloka`i by sunset. Passing Lana`i, Maui, Molokini and Kaho`olawe overnight, both escort boat and Hokule'a crossed an unusually calm `Alenuihaha channel before dawn Sunday morning. The sun rose and lit up the north Kohala Coast and Mauna Kea in the distance. Terry Hee cleaned and fried up an aku caught along the way for breakfast - mmm good! Making good time, the crew took a break at the beautiful valley of Waimanu, north of Waipi`o. Surrounded by whales throughout the trip, one breached for the camera off the waterfall-laden coast of Kohala.
The crew (photos above) consisted of left to right (front) John Hoapili, Russell Amimoto-Captain, (back) Ann Marie Mizuno, Kona Woolsey, Kana Uchino, Leimomi Kekina Dierks, Na'alehu Anthony, Kawai Hoe, Nainoa Thompson, Catherine Fuller, Sean Marrs, Kaleo Wong, Rick Rogers, Wati Forbes. Not shown are Terry Hee and Ka`iulani Murphy-taking the picture.
We arrived in Hilo one day early! Greeted by the Kea`eloa in Hilo Bay we ended our 26-hour tow inside of the small bay commonly known as Radio Bay. The crew stayed at Nawahi, welcomed by the students of the school the next morning. We returned to the pier to clean up Hokule`a, uncovering the canvas washing everything between manu ihu and manu hope. Mahalo to Chad Baybayan and the crew at Nawahi for welcoming and taking care of us in Hilo.
Catherine Fuller: A Leader on the Ocean and in the Classroom
In 1976, Catherine Fuller opened a National Geographic magazine to find a beautiful two-page article on Hokule‘a's maiden voyage to Tahiti, with a photo of the canoe arriving in Pape'ete iharbor. She recalls, "There were so many people surrounding the canoe, you couldn't see the water. In a sense, it was a homecoming for the Hawaiian people. As a little kid, it was the coolest thing. I thought, 'I want to do that!'"
Years later in 1993, Fuller would get her chance when a friend invited her to a PVS event. She began by helping with the construction of the canoe, Hawai'iloa. Since then, she has participated in five dry dock restorations, sailed on two long voyages to Tahiti and the Marqueses Islands and helped train other crewmembers.
Cat Fuller with her family, before leaving for the Marquesas Islands in 1999
Fuller, who recently passed the US Coast Guard Captain's License test, has taken several important steps to becoming a captain of Hokule‘a. Honored to have this kind of leadership role, she shares, "Sailing Hokule‘a is such a big responsibility. I value learning from our mentors - seeing their decision making process and how they evaluate certain situations."
As Fuller learns from these mentors and teachers, she exercises her own teaching skills in the classroom. This fall, she will teach social studies to sixth graders at lolani School. "Iolani maintains a strong focus on values - values similar to those of PVS. I find myself applying a lot of what I have learned through PVS in my classroom. As crewmembers, we are expected to work together, be team players and take care of each. other. These are the same things I expect of my students," says Catherine.
Support Aloha United Way and Polynesian Voyaging Society at the Same Time
We are very pleased to announce that the Polynesian Voyaging Society has been approved as an Aloha United Way (AUW) donor choice agency. This means that individuals and corporations can make contributions to the AUW and designate their contributions for PVS. Although PVS is not an AUW agency, we are eligible to receive funds from AUW if donors designate their contributions to PVS through the Donor Choice Program.
AUW will soon be launching their 2004 campaign, an opportune time to help AUW achieve their campaign goal while supporting PVS. Ask for an alternative designation form from your employer and indicate on the form that you want all or part of your contribution to benefit PVS. It's as simple as that. Please tell your friends and co-workers about Donor Choice.
To qualify as a Donor Choice organization, PVS had to meet certain criteria established by AUW. In addition to being an IRS authorized 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit organization, PVS had to demonstrate that our programs and services were in keeping with the mission of AUW. Our community building efforts and our programs for youth enabled PVS to meet this requirement.
All of us at PVS would like to thank you for your continued support. We rely on your contributions to fund our educational programs and to help us perpetuate the art of traditional Polynesian voyaging and the spirit of exploration.
Zippy’s Keiki Drawing Contest
Our primary corporate sponsor for PVS's involvement in the Navigating Cange program, which includes our Statewide Sail, has been Zippy's Restaurants. Zippy's has teamed up with PVS because both organizations share a common vision - healthy people and a healthy environment. Their efforts to raise awareness of our environmental issues go beyond their support of the Navigating Change program. Zippy's has used their keiki menus as a vehicle for environmental education and they recently held a drawing contest with an environmental theme.
The contest winners were promised a sail on Hokule‘a, courtesy of PVS. Out of the many drawings that were submitted, the contest judges (Nainoa Thompson, Brickwood Galuteria, and Paula Akana) selected the following individuals as the winners: Matthew Byers, Mary Chong, Kara Doles, Chaz Inouye, Lauren Shitanishi, Alana Siaris, Marc Viernes and Darcy Yogi.
These young artists and future environmentalists sailed on Hokule‘a with a parent on July 19th. Captain/navigator Nainoa Thompson welcomed the young crewmembers aboard and thanked them for their interest and concern for our islands and ocean. Each youngster had an opportunity to help set Hokule‘a's sails and to steer the canoe. After an exciting morning of sailing, the contest winners enjoyed a gift from Zippy's and were given a Polynesian Voyaging Society T-shirt.
Board of Directors
Chairman: Nainoa Thompson
Directors: Kenneth Brown, Dennis Fern, Catherine Fuller, Brickwood Galuteria, Harry Ho, Rey Jonsson, Corbett A.K. Kalama, Lilikala Kame'eleihiwa, Wiliam Ornelles, Barry Raleigh, Randall K. Schmitt, William Tam, Dr. Ben Tamura, Laura Thompson, Michael Tongg, Dr. Nathan Wong, Bob Worthington, August Yee
Consultant: Ben Finney
President and CEO: Pat Duarte