As voyaging canoe Hōkūleʻa launches its circumnavigation voyage of the Pacific, the State of Hawaiʻi was praised with a national award for its license plate depicting the iconic canoe.
It's the first time Hawaiʻi has won “best plate” from the Automobile License Plate Collectors Association, the world’s oldest and largest nonprofit organization devoted to license plates.
The Polynesian Voyaging Society’s license plate was designed by Molokaʻi artist Todd Yamashita.
It depicts Hōkūleʻa at anchor at Kualoa Bay, the site of the canoe’s inaugural launch in 1975.
The license plate association said the plate "won by a landslide" for its legibility and its stunning, colorful design.
Yamashita said he’s proud to represent Molokaʻi and the island’s legacy of Hōkūleʻa voyagers.
“There was a little bit of anxiety, how do I do this canoe justice? I really let the canoe and her history and her story, talk to me. There’s just so much beauty in the canoe itself," Yamashita said.
The Hawaiʻi plate, which became available to motorists statewide in February 2022, is a fundraiser for the Polynesian Voyaging Society.
More than half of the 23,632 pairs of plates produced have already been distributed, raising nearly $250,000 for the voyaging mission.
“To be able to fund a cultural movement, to be able to fund voyaging in an Indigenous way, for decades, that’s the most unbelievable legacy I could think of," Yamashita said.
He said he had his kids in mind when considering Hōkūleʻa for the design.
"My kids are going to be at the age where they can learn how to sail, and they can live their culture, they can voyage traditionally at some point. My generation had a chance to do that, I think every generation needs to have that chance, so important," he said.
A pair of plates cost $35 initially and $25 for renewals. $20 per year of those fees go to support the Polynesian Voyaging Society.
Stay tuned for HPR's coverage of Hōkūleʻa as reporters interview crew members and track their progress through the Pacific:
