PVS Newsletter / Winter 2003
Message from Patrick Duarte, President and CEO, and Nainoa Thompson, Chairman of the Board
Aloha
Winter is a time for reflecting on the accomplishments and events of the past year: Hokule‘a's successful journeys throughout the main Hawaiian Islands and to Nihoa, the development of the Navigating Change educational program, and the disappointment of the postponed voyage to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. It is also a time for looking ahead. We envision yet another busy year at the Polynesian Voyaging Society (PVS), especially as we begin to tackle the ambitious goals we have set for 2004.
PVS has enjoyed 30 years and 100,000 miles of voyaging on the Hawai'iloa and Hokule‘a. We would like to share the knowledge we've gained and our experience with the youth of Hawai‘i by expanding our educational programs in 2004. PVS is in a position to offer students a truly unique learning experience. Imagine living on a traditional voyaging canoe, exploring the Pacific Ocean, experiencing the rigors of sailing, and learning about the cultural values associated with voyaging. We believe that PVS's educational programs will challenge students - physically, mentally, and morally - and they will, in turn, gain a greater appreciation for their natural and cultural environment. With an expanded educational program, PVS will be able to reach more students and provide them with this opportunity of a lifetime.
To establish our educational programs, we will need to train additional crew members and captains to man an increased number of voyages. We will also need to hire qualified individuals to conduct our programs. As an organization composed primarily of volunteers, our goal to have permanent positions within PVS is a giant leap forward.
We are excited about the many great possibilities the New Year has to Offer, but to fully realize our vision, PVS genuinely needs your continued support. We hope that you will renew your PVS membership and encourage your family and friends to join our 'ohana to help keep the spirit of voyaging alive.
Beauty Is in the Eyes of the Beolder / Cindy MacFarlane
[Cindy MacFarlane teaches 3rd and 4hi grade at Epiphany School, soon to become Mid-Pacific Institute Elementary School.]
Cindy (front right) pulling lashings with the crew. Malama Wa‘a 2002
While preparing Hokule‘a for her journey to Nihoa, the crewmembers and I experienced a whirlwind of feelings: pride in our ancestry and family heritage, a commitment to service and stewardship, humility and honor, and the thrill of adventure and leaming. I felt inspired to instill environmental values into my students so they can grow up to be stewards of our islands. Hokcie'a was embarking on one of her most impactful voyages - to teach our children about Navigating Change, and I was chosen to be a crewmember with the responsibility of "educator on board." My students would never forget their year in my classroom, and neither would I. I was humbled, honored, and ready!
One of my duties was to use a satellite phone to call three different classrooms while anchored off the western side of Nihoa. Students had preplanned questions to ask crewmembers. It was extremely rewarding for me, as I listened to the innocent, well-thought-out questions of children eager to know how island and ocean ecosystems work together. This voyage evoked curiosity and wonder and created the best conditions for learning. As if nature were proving this point, as I spoke with my students on satellite phone and Hokule‘a anchored at the 7.2 million year-old kupuna island, a mother monk seal swam around us with her pup and hundreds of birds glided overhead. Navigating change was just beginning.
The islands, ocean, and sky were transformed into a limitless classroom - lessons of Hawaiian culture, navigation, space, weather, the ocean world, birds, the impact of an introduced species, endangered and endemic species of plants and animals, ecosystems, food chains, island formation, volcanoes and hotspots, plate tectonics, erosion, atolls, reefs, mapping, degrees, measurement, scaling, fractions, distance, time, legends, poetry, writing, drawing, and joumaling, history, monarchy, music, sharing, cooperating, etc.! In just one week, I envisioned a two-year curriculum integrating every subject area!
The light of dawn lit up islands for Nainoa's incredibly keen senses, and the full moon lit our path each night. As my shift of crew duty was from midnight to six a.m., I slept from sunrise to late morning. When I awoke, I unattached my velcro bunk door to the most beautiful blue sky above us. As I crawled out to the deck, my skin felt the sweet, warm sunshine, my ears heard Braddah lz's hauntingly smooth "Hawai'i 78", and my eyes beheld the island of Nihoa ahead. I thought that I had stepped into heaven, and as lz's words sang Ua mau ke ea o ka 'aina i ka pono, o Hawai'i, I knew that this was the beginning of my lifetime dedication to Navigating Change. I knew, as we all sat in silence with smiling lips and stargazed eyes, that each and every one of us were meant to be there; that we would forever hold that moment in our minds and hearts. That memory, along with the students' curious questions, inspires me to continue teaching others about the importance of perpetuating our culture, customs, and traditions.
As I try in each aspect of my life to participate in activities that help me to inspire learning in my students, I am constantly reminded of the impact that people have on the land and sea. Overfishing is an overused word today. Hiking trails in the highest mountain altitudes show evidence of other hikers from litter left behind. Countless pieces of garbage line our roads. Invasive vines and other plant species creep over those that should be there. News reports highlighting ocean catastrophes are endless. And each year, more and more students have little daily, or even weekly, contact with nature. As Nainoa stated so aptly, "We need to learn again how to live on islands."
The short voyage to Nihoa changed me, and I now know that I will devote my life to teaching others to respect nature. We must integrate new values of change while old values reverberate their messages still... malama, aloha, and lokahi. Or, as my students say, "Heal Hawai'i and Navigate Change!"
Ka‘iulani Murphy - Inspired as a Child, Destined to Lead
Ka‘iulani Murphy, 25, first encountered PVS as a Waimea Elementary school student on the Big Island, hen her class visited Hokule‘a during an island wide sail similar to this year's Statewide Sail. Later, in the fall of 1997, she signed up for a Polynesian Voyaging and Navigating class while attending college at the University of Hawai'i. With Hokule‘a in dry dock that year, Ka'iulani's class lab was to help with the restoration process and sail to Moloka'i on a sea trial. Before she knew it, her passion ignited and she was hooked!
Ka'iulani steering, 2000 voyage to Hawai‘i. Photo by Sam Low
Ka'iulani, a U.H. graduate in Hawaiian Studies, is now on staff with PVS, coordinating projects, creating photo documentaries of voyages, planning events and scheduling crewmembers and volunteers for projects and voyages. A crewmember herself, Ka'iulani voyaged from Tahiti to Hawai'i on a return voyage from the Rapa Nui sail, as part of the navigation team. She recently passed the U.S. Coast Guard Captain's License. Under the guidance of mentor Nainoa Thompson, she has captained several coastal sails on the canoe she fell in love with as a child.
She shares, "Hokule‘a has been guiding me for several years now. Voyaging has exposed the bare necessities of life, helping me to realize what I should be focusing on and what my goals really are. The metaphor of Hokule‘a being like an island is so true. On the canoe, we learn how to care for each other and how to use the use the resources we have fodd good. We can and should use those lessons here at home, on land."
A leader for her generation, Ka'iulani likes the fact that voyaging brings all kinds of people together. People who share the same mission - of taking care of and preserving our islands and ocean resources.
Voyage to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Postponed
For nearly two years, PVS has been planning a voyage to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) as part of the Navigating Change program.
Crews were selected and undergone extensive training to prepare them to go ashore in protected areas. Food for the return voyage had been shipped to Midway courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard. Just four days before Hokule‘a was to leave for Kaua'i on the first leg of the voyage, the boat which was to serve as her escort broke its mast. Time was too short to make repairs or find a replacement escort boat and the voyage could not be delayed because of weather considerations and flight schedules.
In spite of the setback, all of the Navigating Change partners agreed that the voyage should be re-scheduled for May 2004. Plans are underway for Hokule‘a to sail to each of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands on a 30-day voyage. Because the islands are so ecologically delicate, crewmembers will only go ashore where we can do so without harm to the environment.
Sailing to the NVVHI in May will provide added benefits. Many, of the birds that nest on these islands will be there (this would not have been the case had we gone in September). Certainly the islands will be spectacular in late spring and we will have much more to share with the students that follow Hokule‘a's voyage.
The Navigating Cliange program will also take Hokule‘a on another voyage throughout the main Hawaiian Islands beginning in February or March of 2004, to highlight efforts taking place by communities to care for our natural environment and encourage more communities to take responsibility for the stewardship of our islands and our ocean resources.
Support from Zippy's Restaurants has enabled PVS to conduct these statewide sails. With more voyages on the horizon and the implementation our educational programs, we will need the support of other local businesses like Zippy's. We encourage all of you to support our sponsors without them Hokole'a would not be sailing.
New Membership Program in 2004
The Polynesian Voyaging Society is very pleased to announce that beginning January 1, 2004, a new membership program will be implemented. An annual contribution of at least $25 (tax deductible) will qualify an individual as a PVS member. Becoming a PVS member is a great way of showing your support for our organization, our programs, and our values. Donors who make contributions to PVS will be automatically enrolled in our membership program. All members will receive a membership card, PVS newsletter and announcements, and invitations to PVS member events. Members will also be included in a drawing for a sail on Hc)kflle'a, and in the future we expect to provide discounts from local merchants. Additional benefits will be offered to those who contribute more than $100. See the PVS web site (www.pvs.hawaii.org) or call the PVS office (808) 536-8405 for more details.
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