Two of Hawaiʻi's voyaging canoes, Hōkūleʻa and Hikianalia, have postponed their departure to Sāmoa until June 2026 due to complicated weather conditions.
Crew members on Leg 15 were supposed to fly to the Cook Islands on Monday, with a plan to sail to Aitutaki, then onward to Sāmoa, American Sāmoa and Tonga.
Nainoa Thompson, a pwo navigator and CEO of the nonprofit Polynesian Voyaging Society, said he was concerned about the safety of the crew as the delays in the canoes' departures would put them at risk of sailing until the South Pacific's hurricane season, which runs from Nov. 1 to April 30.
“It's just the way the South Pacific system aligns itself,” he said.
The announcement comes as the canoes are in the midst of their Moananuiākea voyage, which is a three-year voyage around the Pacific Ocean where crew members reconnect with the ancestral roots of wayfinding using the natural elements around them.
The new plan is to sail to New Zealand when weather conditions are safe for crew members to continue their journey. The canoes are expected to arrive in New Zealand in early to mid-November, where they will engage with communities in Waitangi, Auckland and Aurere.
The double-hulled canoes are still docked at Avana Harbour in Rarotonga under the care of pwo navigator Peia Patai.
Thompson said this year has been particularly challenging due to the weather and that the canoes are running more than two weeks behind.
“We have to adapt that sail plan to the actual weather conditions that are in front of us,” he said. “Last year could have been very different from this year. Next year might be different again. We don't know.”
His primary concern was the safety of the crew and to ensure that they return home to their loved ones.
In the meantime, the crew members will undergo storm training while still in Hawaiʻi.
