For the next four years, Hawaiian Voyaging canoe H艒k奴le驶a will be circumnavigating the Pacific Ocean, and Campbell Riverites got a chance to explore it on Aug. 3.
The trip is being described as 鈥淎 Voyage for Oceans, A Voyage for Earth,鈥� Moananui膩kea is the name of the voyage. It also is the name for the vast Pacific Ocean that is a heritage region for Peoples who are Indigenous to the islands and continents that surround the ocean. One of the goals is to 鈥渋gnite a movement of 10 million 鈥榩lanetary navigators鈥� who will pursue critical and inspiring 鈥榲oyages鈥� to ensure a better future for the earth.鈥�
Moani Heimuli is the captain of this leg of the voyage. She is the fourth generation of her family to be a traditional navigator.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got four generations of them now, which is pretty amazing鈥� Heimuli said. 鈥淐oming from Hawai鈥檌, at one point in time. We never had any navigators here. We lost that art 鈥� to say today that we have four generations of navigatiors 鈥� we鈥檙e very, very proud of that.鈥�
That traditional navigation is done without the use of any instruments. Using ancestral methodology re-introduced to Polynesian people by Master Navigator Mau Piailug of Micronesia, navigators are able to travel by using stars, animals, wave direction and winds.
鈥淥nce you get away from the land, it鈥檚 a lot easier because the horizon becomes your compass,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he land blocks swells and things like that. They come clean out on the deep sea. It鈥檚 really nice.鈥�
Over the course of the next four years, H艒k奴le驶a will visit nearly 100 Indigenous territories in 36 different countries and archipelagos. Heimuli said that part of the goal was to build a sense of camaraderie and common heritage between these Nations.
鈥淵ou know, if you really think about it, we鈥檙e the biggest country in the world,鈥� she said. 鈥淎ll these little tiny Islands collectively, if we come together. We are the biggest country in the world. That鈥檚 the people of this Pacific Ocean from all the way up in this Pacific Northwest all the way down south to New Zealand.鈥�
The voyage started in Alaska, and will pass by B.C. through September. From there, the crews will continue south along the west coast of North, Central and South America, before they turn west early next year towards the Galapagos Islands and Rapa Nui. It will pass through Polynesia (Pitcairn Islands, Marquesas, Tuamotus) through next spring, and finish the crossing to Aotearoa (New Zealand) where it will travel through spring 2025.
The voyage will cover Melanesia and Micronesia into 2026, and then travel through Asia and up to Russia by September 2026. By the end of 2026 the voyagers will have crossed the Northern Pacific to Los Angeles, and will return to Hawai鈥檌. It will make one final trip in the spring of 2027 to Tahiti.
As they travel, they will stop in ports to change crew members, restock supplies and also to allow for a cultural exchange. There is also a sustainability component. H艒k奴le驶a is powered entirely by natural means. There is no motor, no GPS and no other navigational tools. They hope that through the voyage they are able to build a sense of stewardship for the ocean all Pacific peoples share.
鈥淲e鈥檙e voyaging for the Earth but also voyaging for seven Generations from now,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o that our kids can continue to eat and thrive in the oceans that we live in now. And it鈥檚 also about gathering all these stories from the communities in the First Nations peoples and you know, we鈥檙e all connected in some way or form.鈥�
Part of that occurred on Aug. 3, when the crew met with local Indigenous Peoples to 鈥渃onnect with everybody, learn our stories together and share stories.鈥�
鈥淵ou know, generations from now, they鈥檒l still be talking about us here in Campbell River. Like 鈥業 remember when that canoe was here, you know? We鈥檙e all people of the canoe.鈥�
H艒k奴le驶a leaves Campbell River on Friday, when the crew will make their way to Vancouver for a few days, before continuing on to Seattle and eventually the rest of the Pacific.
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