All Topics  
Hokulea

 
Hokulea

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Hokulea
 
 
  Topics Hokulea Topic Home

Hokulea is a performance-accurate full-scale replica
Ship replica

A ship replica is a reconstruction of a no longer existing ship. Replicas can range from authentically reconstructed, fully seaworthy ships, to ships of modern construction that give an impression of a historic vessel....
 of a waa kaulua, a Polynesian double-hulled voyaging canoe
Canoe

A canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes usually are pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be covered....
. Launched on 8 March 1975 by the Polynesian Voyaging Society
Polynesian Voyaging Society

The Polynesian Voyaging Society is a non-profit research and educational corporation based in Honolulu, Hawaii, Hawaii. PVS was established to research and perpetuate traditional Polynesian Polynesian navigation....
, she is best known for her 1976 Hawaii to Tahiti
Tahiti

O Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward Islands group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean....
 voyage performed with Polynesian navigation
Polynesian navigation

Polynesian navigation was a system of navigation used by Polynesians to routinely make long voyages across thousands of miles of open ocean. Navigators traveled to small inhabited islands using only their own senses and knowledge passed by oral tradition from navigator to apprentice....
 techniques, without modern navigational instruments. The primary goal of the voyage was to further support the anthropological theory of the Asia
Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
tic origin of native Oceanic
Oceania

Oceania is a geography, often geopolitics, region consisting of numerous lands—mostly islands in the Pacific Ocean and vicinity. The term "Oceania" was coined in 1831 by French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville....
 people (Oceania maps:detail, region), of Polynesians
Polynesian culture

Polynesian culture refers to the indigenous peoples culture of the Polynesian languages-speaking peoples of Polynesia and the Polynesian outliers....
 and Hawaiians
Native Hawaiians

Native Hawaiians refers to the indigenous Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands or their descendants. Native Hawaiians trace their ancestry back to the first Marquesas Islands and Tahitian settlers of Hawaii , before the arrival of British explorer Captain James Cook in 1778....
 in particular, as the result of purposeful trips through the Pacific
Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan....
, as opposed to passive drifting on currents
Ocean current

An ocean current is continuous, directed movement of ocean water. The currents are generated from the forces acting upon the water like the Earth's rotation, the wind, the temperature, salinity differences and the tide....
, or sailing from the Americas
Americas

The Americas are the region of the Western hemisphere that consists of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions....
.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Hokulea'
Start a new discussion about 'Hokulea'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Hokulea is a performance-accurate full-scale replica
Ship replica

A ship replica is a reconstruction of a no longer existing ship. Replicas can range from authentically reconstructed, fully seaworthy ships, to ships of modern construction that give an impression of a historic vessel....
 of a waa kaulua, a Polynesian double-hulled voyaging canoe
Canoe

A canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes usually are pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be covered....
. Launched on 8 March 1975 by the Polynesian Voyaging Society
Polynesian Voyaging Society

The Polynesian Voyaging Society is a non-profit research and educational corporation based in Honolulu, Hawaii, Hawaii. PVS was established to research and perpetuate traditional Polynesian Polynesian navigation....
, she is best known for her 1976 Hawaii to Tahiti
Tahiti

O Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward Islands group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean....
 voyage performed with Polynesian navigation
Polynesian navigation

Polynesian navigation was a system of navigation used by Polynesians to routinely make long voyages across thousands of miles of open ocean. Navigators traveled to small inhabited islands using only their own senses and knowledge passed by oral tradition from navigator to apprentice....
 techniques, without modern navigational instruments. The primary goal of the voyage was to further support the anthropological theory of the Asia
Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
tic origin of native Oceanic
Oceania

Oceania is a geography, often geopolitics, region consisting of numerous lands—mostly islands in the Pacific Ocean and vicinity. The term "Oceania" was coined in 1831 by French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville....
 people (Oceania maps:detail, region), of Polynesians
Polynesian culture

Polynesian culture refers to the indigenous peoples culture of the Polynesian languages-speaking peoples of Polynesia and the Polynesian outliers....
 and Hawaiians
Native Hawaiians

Native Hawaiians refers to the indigenous Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands or their descendants. Native Hawaiians trace their ancestry back to the first Marquesas Islands and Tahitian settlers of Hawaii , before the arrival of British explorer Captain James Cook in 1778....
 in particular, as the result of purposeful trips through the Pacific
Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan....
, as opposed to passive drifting on currents
Ocean current

An ocean current is continuous, directed movement of ocean water. The currents are generated from the forces acting upon the water like the Earth's rotation, the wind, the temperature, salinity differences and the tide....
, or sailing from the Americas
Americas

The Americas are the region of the Western hemisphere that consists of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions....
. (Scientific results of 2008, from DNA analysis
Genetic fingerprinting

DNA profiling is a technique employed by forensic scientists to assist in the identification of individuals on the basis of their respective DNA profiles....
, illuminate this theory of Polynesian settlement.) A secondary goal of the project was to have the canoe and voyage "serve as vehicles for the cultural revitalization of Hawaiians and other Polynesians." (Finney, Voyage of Rediscovery, p. 71)

Since the 1976 voyage to Tahiti and back, Hokule‘a has completed more voyages to destinations in Micronesia
Micronesia

Micronesia , from the Greek language mikros and nesos , is a subregion of Oceania, comprising hundreds of small islands in the Pacific Ocean....
, Polynesia, Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
, Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
, and the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, all using ancient wayfinding
Wayfinding

Wayfinding encompasses all of the ways in which people and animals orient themselves in physical space and navigation from place to place.Wayfinding is often used to refer to traditional navigation methods used by indigenous peoples....
 techniques of celestial navigation
Celestial navigation

Celestial navigation, also known as astronavigation, is a position fixing technique that was devised to help sailors cross the featureless oceans without having to rely on dead reckoning to enable them to strike land....
. Her most recent voyage began 19 January 2007, when Hokule‘a left Hawaii with the voyaging canoe Alingano Maisu
Alingano Maisu

Alingano Maisu, also known simply as Maisu, is a double-hulled voyaging canoe built in Kawaihae by members of Na Kalai Wa'a Moku o Hawai'i and 'Ohana Wa'a members from all throughout the Pacific and abroad as a gift and tribute to Satawalese navigator Mau Piailug, who navigated the voyaging canoe Hokulea on her maiden voyage...
 on a voyage through Micronesia
Micronesia

Micronesia , from the Greek language mikros and nesos , is a subregion of Oceania, comprising hundreds of small islands in the Pacific Ocean....
 (map) and ports in southern Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
. The voyage was expected to take five months. On 9 June 2007, Hokule‘a completed the "One Ocean, One People" voyage to Yokohama
Yokohama

is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kanto region of the main island of Honshu. It is a major commercial hub of the Greater Tokyo Area....
, Japan. For Hokule‘a's next voyage, a three-year circumnavigation
Circumnavigation

To circumnavigate a place, such as an island, a continent, or the Earth, is to travel all the way around it by boat or ship. More recently, the term has also been used to cover aerial round-the-world flights....
 is in planning stages, to commence February 2011.

When not on a voyage, Hokule‘a is moored at the Marine Education Training Center (METC) of Honolulu Community College
Honolulu Community College

Honolulu Community College is a public, co-educational commuter college in Honolulu, Hawaii situated in the outskirts of downtown Honolulu near Honolulu Harbor....
 in Honolulu Harbor
Honolulu Harbor

Honolulu Harbor, also called Kulolia and Ke Awa O Kou, is the principal seaport of Honolulu, Hawaii and the Hawaii in the United States....
.

Construction and purpose


Ancient voyaging canoes were a specialized type of wooden sailing vessel used in ancient Hawaii
Ancient Hawaii

Ancient Hawaii refers to the period of Hawaiian history preceding the unification of the Kingdom of Hawaii by Kamehameha the Great in 1810. Included in this period was the first contact made by Captain James Cook in 1778....
, whereas Hokule‘a is built of plywood
Plywood

Sorry, no overview for this topic
, fiberglass and resin
Glass-reinforced plastic

Glass-reinforced plastic is a composite material or fiber-reinforced plastic made of a plastic reinforced by fine glass fibres made of glass....
. Hokule‘a measures LOA, at beam
Beam (nautical)

The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point, or at the mid-point of its length. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position....
, displaces
Displacement (ship)

A ship's displacement is its mass at any given time, generally expressed in tonnes or long tons. The term is often used to mean the ship's mass when it is loaded to its maximum capacity....
  when empty and can carry another between gear, supplies, and 12 to 16 crew. Fully laden, with her sail area, she is capable of speeds of while reaching
Points of sail

Points of sail describes a sailing boat's course in relation to the wind direction.First, there is a distinction between the port_ tack and the starboard tack....
 in trade wind
Trade wind

The trade winds are the Prevailing winds of easterlies surface winds found in the tropics near the Earth's equator. The trade winds blow predominantly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisphere....
s. Her twin masts
Mast (sailing)

The mast of a sailing ship is a tall, vertical, or near vertical, spar, or arrangement of spars, which supports the sails. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the style of ship....
 are rigged
Rigging

Rigging is, on sailboats and sailing ships, the collection of apparatus through which the force of the wind is transferred to the ship in order to propel it forward....
 either crab claw
Crab claw sail

The crab claw sail or, as it is sometimes known, Oceanic lateen or Oceanic Spritsail , is a triangular sail with spars along upper and lower edges....
 or Marconi
Bermuda rig

The term Bermuda rig refers to a configuration of Mast and rigging for a type of sailboat and is also known as a Marconi rig; this is the typical configuration for most modern sailboats....
 style and she flies a small jib
Jib

A jib is a triangular staysail set ahead of the foremost mast of a sailing boat. Its Tack is fixed to the bowsprit, to the bow , or to the deck between the bowsprit and the foremost mast....
; she is steered
Steering

Steering is the term applied to the collection of components, linkages, etc. which will allow for a vessel or vehicle to follow the desired course....
 with a long paddle
Steering oar

The steering oar or steering board is an oversized oar or board to control the direction of a ship or other watercraft prior to the invention of the rudder....
. She has no auxiliary motor
Engine

An engine is a mechanical device that produces some form of output from a given input.An engine whose purpose is to produce kinetic energy output from a fuel is called a Wiktionary:prime mover; alternatively, a motor is a device which produces kinetic energy from a preprocessed "fuel" ....
 so she is towed into harbor by her escort vessel when required. Her name means "star of gladness" in Hawaiian
Hawaiian language

The Hawaiian language is an Austronesian languages that takes its name from Hawaii , the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed....
, which refers to Arcturus
Arcturus

|- bgcolor="#FFFAFA"| note : || H and K emission vary.Arcturus is the brightest star in the constellation Bo?tes. With a visual magnitude of -0.05, it is also the list of brightest stars in the night sky, after Sirius and Canopus ....
, a guiding zenith
Zenith

In broad terms, the zenith is the direction pointing directly above a particular location . Since the concept of being above is itself somewhat vague, scientists define the zenith in more rigorous terms....
 star for Hawaiian navigators. In layman's terms, Arcturus passes directly overhead at Hawaii
Hawaii

File:Pahoehoe and Aa flows at Hawaii.jpgThe State of Hawaii is a U.S. state in the United States, located on an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of Australia....
's latitude
Latitude

Latitude, usually denoted symbolically by the Greek letter phi gives the location of a place on Earth north or south of the equator. Lines of Latitude are the horizontal lines shown running east-to-west on maps ....
 so it helps sailors find Hawaii.

Description of Hokule‘a, the boat, is only part of her story, since she is navigated by non-instrument means. But in 1975, no Hawaiian living knew these ancient techniques for blue water
Maritime geography

Maritime geography is often discussed in terms of four loosely-defined regions: Riverine, brown water, green water, and blue water....
 voyaging. To enable the voyage, the Polynesian Voyaging Society recruited the Satawal
Satawal

Satawal is a solitary coral island located at in the Caroline Islands in the Federated States of Micronesia, the easternmost island in the Yap island group....
ese Master Navigator
Navigator

A navigator is the person onboard a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation. The navigator's primary responsibility is to be aware of ship or aircraft position at all times....
 Mau Piailug
Mau Piailug

Pius Mau Piailug is a Micronesian navigator, one of the best-known living practitioners of the ancient art of navigation without the aid of instruments....
 [of the Weriyeng
Weriyeng

Weriyeng, is one of the last two schools of traditional navigation found in Central Caroline Islands in Micronesia, the other being Faaluush. By tradition these two schools were considered to be the most high of all the schools of navigation that once dotted the islands of Central Caroline Islands....
 school in the Caroline Islands
Caroline Islands

The Caroline Islands form a large archipelago of widely scattered islands in the western Pacific Ocean, northeast of New Guinea. Politically they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia in the eastern part of the group, and Palau at the extreme western end....
 (map) of the Federated States of Micronesia
Federated States of Micronesia

The Federated States of Micronesia is an island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, north of Papua New Guinea. The country is a sovereign state in Associated state with the United States....
 (map) ] to share his knowledge of non-instrument navigation. While up to six Micronesian navigators still used these traditional methods as of the mid-1970s, only Mau was willing to share his knowledge with the Polynesians.

Mau, who "barely spoke English," realized that by reaching beyond his own culture, through sharing what had been closely-guarded knowledge, he could possibly save it from loss. Through his collaboration with the Polynesian Voyaging Society, Mau's mentorship
Mentor

In Greek mythology, Mentor was the son of Alcumus and, in his old age, a friend of Odysseus. When Odysseus left for the Trojan War he placed Mentor in charge of his son, Telemachus, and of his palace....
 has helped "spark pride in the Hawaiian
Culture of Hawaii

The culture of Hawaii has its origins in the traditional culture of the Native Hawaiians. As Hawaii has become a home to many different ethnic groups in the last 200 years, each ethnic group has added elements of its own culture to local life....
 and Polynesian culture
Polynesian culture

Polynesian culture refers to the indigenous peoples culture of the Polynesian languages-speaking peoples of Polynesia and the Polynesian outliers....
," leading to "a renaissance
Hawaiian Renaissance

The Hawaiian Renaissance was the Hawaiian resurgence of a distinct cultural identity that draws upon traditional Native Hawaiians culture, with a significant divergence from the tourism-based "culture" which Hawaii was previously known for worldwide....
 of voyaging, canoe building, and non-instrument navigation that has continued to grow, spreading across Polynesia
Polynesia

Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising a large grouping of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean....
 (map) and reaching to its far corners of Aotearoa
Aotearoa

Aotearoa is the most widely known and accepted Maori language name for New Zealand. It is used by both Maori and non-Maori, and is becoming increasingly widespread in the bilingual names of national organisations, such as the National Library of New Zealand / Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa....
 [New Zealand] and Rapanui
Easter Island

Easter Island is a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeastern most point of the Polynesian triangle. The island is a special territory of Chile....
 [Easter Island]." (Thompson, Reflections on Mau Piailug, 1996)
Hokulea

Hokulea is a performance-accurate full-scale Ship replica of a waa kaulua, a Polynesian double-hulled wiktionary:voyage canoe. Launched on 8 March 1975 by the Polynesian Voyaging Society, she is best known for her 1976 Hawaii to Tahiti voyage performed with Polynesian navigation techniques, without modern navigational instruments...


List of voyages

* Shown at first mention of the crew person's name, denotes this person has passed away according to Polynesian Voyaging Society website, or other source as noted.

1976 Inaugural Voyage




1977 Kealaikahiki Project



1978 Tahiti Voyage



1980 Tahiti Voyage



1985 - 1987 Voyage of Rediscovery

1992 No Na Mamo

1995 Na Ohana Holo Moana



1999 - 2000 Closing the Triangle

2003 - 2004 Navigating Change project

2007 One Ocean, One People



Images


See also

  • Hawaiiloa
    Hawaiiloa

    Hawaiiloa is the hero of an ancient Hawaiian legend about the settling of the Hawaiian Islands. After having accidentally stumbled upon the islands, he returned to his homeland which he called Ka aina kai melemele a Kane, "the land of the yellow sea of Kane"....
  • History of the Pacific Islands
    History of the Pacific Islands

    History of the Pacific Islands covers the history of the islands in the Pacific Ocean....
  • Pacific Islands
    Pacific Islands

    The Pacific Ocean contains an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 islands . Those islands lying south of the tropic of Cancer but excluding Australia are traditionally grouped into three divisions: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia....
  • Experimental archaeology
    Experimental archaeology

    Experimental archaeology employs a number of different methods, techniques, analyses, and approaches in order to generate and test hypotheses or an interpretation, based upon archaeological source material, like ancient structures or Artifact ....


Footnotes


External links

  • on YouTube.com, performed by the Hawaiian artist Israel Kamakawiwoole
  • website
  • website section on the building of Hokule‘a
  • website for Wayfinders: A Pacific Odyssey, a film about the ancient Polynesian sea voyaging tradition
  • personal website on Hokule‘a, by Charles Kauluwehi Maxwell Sr.