Hōkūleʻa has been packed onto a Matson ship and is headed for Washington on its first leg of the Moananuiākea Voyage. The double-hulled canoe is set to travel 42,000 miles around the Pacific Rim over the next four years.
Amid the hustle and bustle of one of Hawaiʻi's busiest shipping ports, Honolulu Harbor, dozens of dockworkers line the water's edge Sunday to catch a glimpse of Hōkūleʻa.
The canoe, which weighs about 22,000 pounds, was carefully lifted out of the water and hoisted by crane onto Matson’s ship the R. J. Pfeiffer bound for Tacoma, Washington.
"It was like Hōkūleʻa was flying," said Nainoa Thompson, Master Navigator and head of the Polynesian Voyaging Society.
Thompson said the decision not to sail Hōkūleʻa to Alaska in April was made to protect the crew and the canoe itself.
"If we were to try to sail this canoe to get it up there at about 60 degrees north, that is two-thirds away from the North Pole. It is extremely cold water. You’re in extremely cold climate. And fierce, fierce storms," Thompson said.
He added that this is not the first time Hōkūleʻa has been shipped overseas.
In 1995, the canoe was shipped to Seattle, and in 2007, Hōkūleʻa was shipped home from Japan.
Hōkūleʻa is expected to arrive in Tacoma on Friday. From there, the canoe will be transported to Juneau, Alaska, where it will remain until the Moananuiakea Voyage begins in June.
According to the Polynesian Voyaging Society, the tentative schedule for Hōkūleʻa is as followed:
2023:
- June - September: Alaska, British Columbia, Seattle
- September - November: U.S. West Coast
2024:
- January - February: Mexico, Central America, South America
- March - December: Polynesia
2025:
- December 2024 - May 2025: Aotearoa
2026:
- May - March 2026: Melanesia, Micronesia, Palau
- March - September: West Pacific, ending in Japan
- September - December: Shipping from Japan to Los Angeles then sailing home to Hawaiʻi
2027:
- Spring: Tahiti
Stay tuned for HPR's coverage of Hōkūleʻa as reporters interview crew members and track their progress through the Pacific:
