Odyssey for the Earth
When Hōkūleʻa arrived in Tahiti in 1976, 17,000 people—half the island’s population—came to the beach to greet her. The 62’ double-hulled voyaging canoe had sailed successfully from Kualoa to Pape‘ete in 31 days without the aid of modern instruments. In doing so, Hōkūleʻa reconnected Hawaiians to their ancestral roots. The journey affirmed that the Pacific diaspora was the methodical plan of skilled seafarers rather than the chance discovery of accidental drifters. It was a watershed moment in Polynesian history.
For Hawaiians, the event signified a reclaiming of cultural identity that catalyzed the Hawaiian renaissance. Over the next three and half decades, Hōkūleʻa would continue to serve as a living emblem of Hawaiian pride. And in the course of sailing 140,000 miles around the Pacific, she would begin to write her own story.
She would introduce Nainoa Thompson as the young Hawaiian protagonist in search of his own identity and purpose. She would introduce Mau Piailug, the master navigator from Satawal whose traditional knowledge was at risk of being lost forever. Nainoa would seek out Mau in Micronesia and learn celestial navigation, compelled by the message instilled in him by his father, Myron Thompson: “The voyage is not about you. It’s about children not yet born who need this story.”
Hōkūleʻa would introduce a hero named Eddie Aikau, a fearless lifeguard with a perfect track record who would attempt to save his crew as they clung helplessly to the keel of the overturned canoe, drifting away in gale-force winds and gigantic storm swells in the middle of the Kaiwi Channel. He would paddle his surfboard toward Molokai with some oranges and a bag of poi around his waist, never to be seen again. Nainoa would remember why Eddie joined the crew of Hōkūleʻa: “I need to bring pride and dignity back to our kupuna and give it to our children.”
And the story of Hōkūleʻa would propose a dream. It would come from Lt. Colonel Lacy Veach as he gazed at the Hawaiian Islands from the window of the space shuttle while orbiting in the sea of space. “This is the Island Earth,” he realized. “It’s our only home that we have… Infinitely beautiful. Infinitely fragile. We need to take care of it or it won’t take care of us.”
In 1992, when Hōkūleʻa turned 16, Lacy Veach told Nainoa, “You need to go around the world. Take Hōkūleʻa. Let her connect with the earth and let the earth connect with her. Come learn the planet.” Veach believed Hawai‘i could be the laboratory for positive change, and Hōkūleʻa a school that would encourage children to explore and empower them to take care of the planet.
“Every cell in my body says we’re on the wrong sail plan for humanity,” Thompson agrees. “Our world view is in trouble, but never in the history of mankind has there been a movement where strangers, on their own, are responding to the damage of Earth with extraordinary acts of kindness and compassion.” These stories, he says, are the ones that need to be shared, the values that need to be taught.
Hōkūleʻa’s past is now prologue: At the end of May 2014, the voyaging canoe will leave Hawaiian waters, embarking on a mission to circumnavigate the globe as the ambassador of peace that Veach envisioned. The four-year, 47,000-mile odyssey—the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage—will take Hōkūleʻa to 85 ports in 26 countries.
She will be escorted by Hikianalia, a 72-foot, 21st century sailing canoe that will serve as a platform for global story sharing. Hōkūle‘a and Hikianalia are a pair of stars that rise over Hawaii together.) While Hōkūle‘a will travel by the rules of traditional navigation—no instruments to indicate time or location (no iPhones permitted!)—Hikianalia, in contrast, is a very high-tech canoe that houses a digital media center, an array of sixteen solar panels and 186kWh of battery storage that can keep laptops and cameras charged, as well as power twin electric motors for several hours if need be.
Onboard, forty percent of the crew will be under age 40. This was a mandate by the Polynesian Voyaging Society, a formal application of Veach’s theory of change: We can prepare the next generation to redirect the course of the planet by equipping them with the tools for learning and the right values to guide them.
“Fundamentally, our job is about succession,” Nainoa says. “We invest in young people today, because that is going to define what tomorrow is going to look like.”
In 2016, when the canoe reaches Rapa Nui, all the “old guys” will disembark and the young navigators will steer the canoe to Tahiti on their own. Among the apprentices is 27-year-old Lehua Kamalu, who developed the sail plan.
“When you’re trying to do something that no one’s ever done, it all goes back to process,” says Kamalu, explaining how she considered more than a dozen factors that dictate the voyage’s course and timetable. These include ocean conditions and storm seasons, port facilities and availability of provisions. “Basically we’re trying to reduce chaos and risk as much as possible.”
What kinds of risks? After circling the South Pacific through mid-2015, with stops in Tahiti, the Cook Islands, Samoa, Kiribati, Tonga, Aotearoa, and Australia, Hōkūleʻa will sail east, endeavoring to stay ahead of hurricane season. At the tip of Queensland, they will have a tiny window to navigate through the obstacle course of shallow reefs and islands in the Torres Strait, where a dangerously fast current can outrun the canoe.
A visit to Indonesia will deliver Hōkūleʻa into the Indian Ocean, home to the world’s highest incidence of piracy and rogue waves. This segment will be crewed by veteran voyagers, and the canoe will “go dark” while traversing pirate territory.
Leaving Madagascar, the canoe will travel through the Mozambique Channel, where large swirling eddies can wreak havoc for wayfinders. The warm Mozambique current will take them down the east coast of South Africa before intersecting with icy waters from the Antarctic. The convergence of these waters produces the turbulent storms that make the Cape of Good Hope notorious among sailors.
The willingness to voyage to where no canoe has gone before is what the founders of Google X, Google’s think tank for solving the world’s biggest problems, identify as “moonshot thinking.” That’s what inspired Google—whose work in research and development is as forward-thinking as sailing without instruments in a double-hulled canoe is traditional—to partner with the worldwide voyage. While Google X seeks to recreate the process of problem-solving, Hōkūleʻa introduces a new paradigm in the process of learning.
Rich DeVaul, head of the Google X Rapid Evaluation team, talks about the audacity of the Polynesian voyagers in the opening lines of their “Moonshot Thinking” video: “No one had ever been that way before. No one even knew if there was anything that way before. It was amazing, and it changed the world.”
“If we become afraid to take these great big risks, we stop inspiring people. We stop achieving things,” DeVaul continues, describing the same thing that drives the Mālama Honua worldwide voyage. "And the biggest nightmare scenario is that we won’t have what it takes to solve the really big challenges.”
TRAINING AND PREPARATION
“We don’t train for the sunniest day. We train for the worst day,” Nainoa is known to repeat. Safety is the top priority, and training is rigorous.
Most of the preparation takes place at the Honolulu Community College’s Marine Education and Training Center on Sand Island, Hōkūleʻa’s headquarters on land. Training involves both classroom and hands-on, experiential learning—man-overboard and emergency drills, hoisting and dropping the sails, tossing and tying the lines, learning how to use all the equipment, and sailing and steering the canoe. Crewmembers must also pass a demanding fitness test, swim test, and safety exam.
Similarly intense is the labor to ready the canoes: lashing and rigging using miles and miles of rope; sanding and glassing the hulls, the holds, the ‘iako (crossbeams), the deck, the masts and the spars; purchasing and organizing the supplies, food, and water needed for several weeks at sea. So far, volunteers have contributed 26,500 hours to the effort.
A few nights a week, the crew gathers under the fluorescent lights of the chilly METC classrooms, going over long, detailed task lists and filling the whiteboards with even more lists. Among the supplies that must fit into each crew member’s 48-quart cooler: baby wipes and hand sanitizer; clothespins, caribiners, and tweezers; crafting tools and a journal; omiyage (gifts) for foreign hosts; quick-drying clothes that also keep you warm; gloves to prevent rope burn; Gold Bond powder for chafing.
“All of these things are safety issues. Success is 95 percent preparation,” reiterates master navigator Bruce Blankenfeld, Voyaging Director for the worldwide voyage. With more than 100,000 miles of sailing under his belt, Blankenfeld will captain Hikianalia when the canoes head to Tahiti.
An ʻōlelo no‘eau (proverb) points out that tiny details, like small ocean currents, are as important as the big picture: E kuhikuhi pono I na au iki a me na au nui o ka ‘ike. “Instruct well in both the little and the great currents of knowledge.”
EDUCATION AND TECHNOLOGY
The wayfinder sets his course by securing as many clues as possible. He watches where stars rise and set, and he notes their altitude as they cross the sky’s meridian. He observes the rhythm of the swells and the gathering of the clouds. He looks for seabirds and land vegetation adrift.
It makes sense, then, that the worldwide voyage will exercise this traditional approach to encourage people to mālama honua. ‘Oiwi TV staff will participate in each leg of the journey, documenting everything the canoes encounter—from ecological damage to protected marine conservation sites—to illustrate the planet’s health. Crew members will capture video of unseen islands through the eyes of remote-controlled drones. Sustainable practices in local communities will be shared as “learning journeys” to form a library of indigenous knowledge. And through live Google Hangouts, teachers will be able to answer questions from students on the other side of the planet. Thanks to satellite communications installed on Hikianalia, lessons from these floating classrooms will be accessible online at hokulea.com, affectionately referred to as the third canoe on which the whole world can sail along.
As Lacy Veach envisioned, this voyage is not only about education, but also about research. Through a “Science At Sea” program, the crew will study plankton populations, water quality, marine debris, hydroponics, marine mammal acoustics, and fish populations. The data will be relayed to leading scientists at the University of Hawaii, NOAA, and MIT.
The way Nainoa frames it, this research is critically urgent. “The ocean is the engine for climate. It’s the engine for protecting our biodiversity. Of the next four breaths you take, three come from the sea. It’s a thing we need to protect.”
CONNECTION, INTERDEPENDENCE, AND A UNIVERSAL SPIRIT
At a recognition ceremony for the Polynesian Voyaging Society at the Hawai‘i State Capitol in March, legislators assembled to wish the crew well. Rep. Richard Fale underscored the weight of their journey with his simple commendation: “So many hopes and dreams are being carried with them.”
Some of these wishes are expressed on the underside of Hōkūleʻa’s hatch covers, which were painted by students from the Hawaiian arts collective 808Urban. One includes this message: “Voyagers, may your huaka‘i continuously bring you to new places, both physically and spiritually. No matter how far you are from home, your ‘ohana is always with you.”
When things get tough—which they inevitably do—Nainoa says, “We find strength in knowing Hawai‘i is with us.”
And not just Hawai‘i. The flow of blessings bestowed upon Hōkūleʻa and its crew is generous and universal. Contemplating what draws people to the canoe, Nainoa suggests that Hōkūleʻa reinforces a view of the world that is honest. Hōkūleʻa’s crew members believe her spirit absorbs the curiosity of every visitor and the dedication of every volunteer. Engraved in her beams are the names of those who devoted their lives to her. Every time she sails, they sail with her, along with all who have been a part of her story.
Watch captain and apprentice navigator Kaleo Wong, who will conduct cultural protocol during the voyage, reminds the crew about the importance of spiritual safety. “The pule (prayer) is not just to check a box before doing something,” he says. “We are asking for a safe voyage from our ‘aumakua and from our kupuna, the people who are with us that we can’t see.”
As Hōkūleʻa circles the globe, her destiny will be guided by the values that built her—the determination of Herb Kane, the compassion of Myron Thompson, the kindness of Mau Piailug, the courage of Eddie Aikau, and the vision of Lacy Veach.
Nainoa refers to his father’s observations: “Seeking, planning, experimenting, taking risks and caring for each other. The same principles that we used in the past are the ones that we use today and that we will use into the future. No matter what race we are or what culture we carry, these are values that work for us all."
A version of this story appeared in Hana Hou! in 2014.
Wakati Hokusai alipowasili Tahiti mwaka 1976, watu 17,000 - nusu ya idadi ya watu wa kisiwa hicho - walikuja kwenye ufuo kumsalimu. Meli hiyo ya 62 ya aina ya Canoe ya kuendesha meli ilisafiri kwa mafanikio kutoka Kualoa hadi Papeete kwa siku 31 bila msaada wa vifaa vya kisasa. Kwa kufanya hivyo, Hōkūleʻa aliwaunganisha tena Wahawaii na mizizi yao ya kale. Safari hiyo ilithibitisha kwamba wahamiaji wa Pasifiki walikuwa mpango wa utaratibu wa mabaharia wenye ustadi badala ya ugunduzi wa bahati mbaya wa wahamiaji wa bahati mbaya. Ilikuwa wakati muhimu sana katika historia ya Polynesia. Kwa Wahawaii, tukio hilo lilimaanisha kurudishwa kwa utambulisho wa kitamaduni ambao ulichochea uamsho wa Hawaii. Katika miongo mitatu na nusu iliyofuata, Hōkūleʻa angeendelea kutumika kama ishara ya kiburi cha Wahai. Baada ya kusafiri kwa kilomita 140,000 kuzunguka Pasifiki, alianza kuandika hadithi yake mwenyewe. Yeye angeanzisha Nainoa Thompson kama mhusika mkuu mchanga wa Hawaii akitafuta utambulisho wake mwenyewe na kusudi. Mau Piailug, Mtaalamu wa Usalama wa Satawal, ambaye maarifa yake ya kitamaduni yalikuwa hatarini pa kupotea milele. Nainua alienda kutafuta Mau huko Micronesia na kujifunza njia za angani, akisukumwa na ujumbe uliomwagika ndani yake na baba yake, Myron Thompson: "Safari hiyo si juu yako. "Huku, Hokusai alimwonyesha Eddie Aikawa, mwokoaji asiye na hofu na rekodi kamili ya kufuatilia, ambaye angejaribu kuokoa wafanyakazi wake walioshikamana bila msaada na kiunzi cha mtumbwi uliopinduka, ukiwa unasafiri kwa upepo mkali na dhoruba kubwa katikati ya Mfereji wa Kai.""" Alipanda ubao wake wa kuteleza kuelekea Molokai akiwa na machungwa na mfuko wa poi kwenye kiuno chake, na hakutambuliwa tena. "Naina alikuwa akikumbuka kwa nini Eddie alijiunga na timu ya Hokule: ""Ninahitaji kuleta kiburi na heshima nyuma kwa kupuna yetu na kuipa kwa watoto wetu.""" Ingetoka kwa Lt. Lt. Col. Lacy Veach akiwa anatazama Visiwa vya Hawaii kutoka dirisha la space shuttle wakati akizunguka bahari ya nafasi. "Hii ni Kisiwa cha Dunia", akatambua. Ni nyumba yetu pekee ambayo tuna... nzuri sana. Ni dhaifu sana. "Hakuna kitu ambacho kinaweza kutufanya tuwe na furaha, lakini pia tunajua kuwa ""Hokula"" alikuwa na umri wa miaka 16 na Lacy Veitch alimwambia Naina kwamba ""Unahitaji kuzunguka ulimwengu.""" Take Hōkūleʻa. Acha yeye kuunganisha na dunia na kuruhusu dunia kuunganisha na yeye. "Veech aliamini Hawaii inaweza kuwa maabara ya mabadiliko mazuri, na Hokulewa shule ambayo ingewatia moyo watoto kugundua na kuwawezesha kutunza sayari.""" "Kila chembe katika mwili wangu inasema kwamba tuko kwenye mpango usiofaa wa kusafiri kwa ajili ya ubinadamu", Thompson anakubaliana. """Mtazamo wetu wa ulimwengu uko katika shida, lakini kamwe katika historia ya ubinadamu hakukuwa na harakati ambapo wageni, kwa wenyewe, wanajibu uharibifu wa Dunia kwa vitendo vya ajabu vya fadhili na huruma,"" anasema." "Hukula ya zamani sasa ni prologue: mwishoni mwa Mei 2014, ""Kanoe"" itaondoka maji ya Hawaii, kuanza ujumbe wa kuzunguka dunia kama balozi wa amani ambayo Veitch aliona." Safari hiyo ya miaka minne na maili 47,000 - Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage - itachukua Hōkūleʻa hadi bandari 85 katika nchi 26. Hikianalia ni meli ya karne ya 21 yenye urefu wa futi 72 ambayo itatumika kama jukwaa la kugawana hadithi za ulimwengu. Hōkūle‘a na Hikianalia ni nyota mbili zinazochomoza juu ya Hawaii pamoja.) Wakati Hōkūle‘a kusafiri kwa sheria za jadi ya urambazaji <unk> hakuna vyombo vya kuonyesha wakati au eneo (hakuna iPhones kuruhusiwa! Hikianalia ni mtumbwi wa teknolojia ya hali ya juu ambao una kituo cha vyombo vya habari vya dijiti, safu ya paneli za jua kumi na sita na 186kWh ya kuhifadhi betri ambayo inaweza kuweka kompyuta ndogo na kamera zilizofungwa, na pia nguvu mbili za umeme kwa masaa kadhaa ikiwa inahitajika. Kwa mujibu wa ripoti hiyo, asilimia 40 ya wafanyakazi wa meli hiyo wana umri wa chini ya miaka 40. "Hii ilikuwa amri ya Polynesian Voyage Society, matumizi rasmi ya nadharia ya Veitch ya mabadiliko: ""Tunaweza kuandaa kizazi kijacho kuelekeza mwendo wa sayari kwa kuwapa vifaa vya kujifunza na maadili sahihi ya kuwaongoza.""" "Kimsingi, kazi yetu ni kuhusu urithi", Nainoa anasema. "Tunawekeza katika vijana leo, kwa sababu hiyo itafafanua jinsi kesho itakavyoonekana. "" Katika 2016, wakati mtumbwi ufikia Rapa Nui, ""wavulana wakubwa"" wote watashuka na mabaharia wachanga wataongoza mtumbwi kwenda Tahiti peke yao." Mmoja wa wanafunzi hao ni Lehua Kamalu, mwenye umri wa miaka 27, ambaye alibuni mbinu hiyo. "Unapojaribu kufanya kitu ambacho hakuna mtu aliyewahi kufanya, yote yanarudi kwenye mchakato", anasema Kamalu, akielezea jinsi alivyozingatia zaidi ya mambo kadhaa ambayo huamua mwendo na ratiba ya safari. Hizi ni pamoja na hali ya bahari na misimu ya dhoruba, vifaa vya bandari na upatikanaji wa vifaa. <unk>Kimsingi sisi <unk>tunajaribu kupunguza machafuko na hatari kadiri iwezekanavyo.<unk> Ni aina gani za hatari? Baada ya kuzunguka Pasifiki Kusini hadi katikati ya 2015, na kuacha katika Tahiti, Visiwa vya Cook, Samoa, Kiribati, Tonga, Aotearoa, na Australia, Hokuto-Lea itaelekea mashariki, akijitahidi kukaa mbele ya msimu wa vimbunga. Kwa upande wa Queensland, watakuwa na nafasi ndogo ya kuendesha mashua kupitia njia ya matumbawe na visiwa vidogo katika Mlango-Bahari wa Torres, ambapo mkondo wa maji wenye mwendo wa kasi sana unaweza kuikimbia mashua hiyo. Ujumbe wa Indonesia kwa Hokkaido, eneo ambalo lina idadi kubwa ya maharamia na wimbi la baharini. Sehemu hii itakuwa na wafanyakazi wa wasafiri wa zamani, na canoe itakuwa <unk>go giza<unk> wakati wa kuvuka eneo la maharamia. Baada ya kuondoka Madagaska, mashua hiyo itasafiri kupitia Mlango-Bahari wa Msumbiji, ambapo miururisho mikubwa ya maji inaweza kuwaangamiza watu wanaotafuta njia. Mtiririko wa Mosambiki unaoendelea kuwa na joto utawapeleka kwenye pwani ya mashariki ya Afrika Kusini kabla ya kukutana na maji ya barafu kutoka Antaktika. Mkusanyiko wa maji hayo hutokeza dhoruba zenye msukosuko ambazo hufanya Rasi ya Tumaini Jema ijulikane sana miongoni mwa mabaharia. "Kuwa tayari kusafiri kwenda mahali ambapo hakuna mashua imewahi kwenda kabla ni kile waanzilishi wa Google X, ""think tank"" ya Google kwa kutatua matatizo makubwa ya ulimwengu, wanachokitambulisha kama ""moonshot thinking"" - ambayo iliongoza Google, ambayo kazi yake katika utafiti na maendeleo ni ya mbele kama kusafiri bila vyombo katika mashua ya kawaida ya mashua ya kawaida." Wakati Google X inatafuta kuunda upya mchakato wa kutatua tatizo, Hōkūleʻa inaanzisha mfano mpya katika mchakato wa kujifunza. "Rich DeVall, mkuu wa timu ya Google X Rapid Evaluation, anaelezea ujasiri wa wasafiri wa Polynesia katika mistari ya kwanza ya video yao ya ""Moonshot Thinking"" ""Hakuna mtu aliyewahi kuwa hivyo kabla." Hakuna mtu hata alijua kama kulikuwa na kitu chochote njia hiyo kabla. """Ilikuwa ya kushangaza na ilibadilisha ulimwengu, ikiwa tunaogopa kuchukua hatari kubwa, tunaacha kuwahamasisha watu." Tunaacha kufikia mambo, DeVaul anaendelea, akielezea kitu kimoja ambacho huendesha safari ya Mālama Honua ulimwenguni. "Na hali kubwa zaidi ya ndoto mbaya ni kwamba hatutakuwa na kile kinachohitajika kutatua changamoto kubwa sana". <unk> Mazoezi na Maandalizi <unk>Hatujifunzi kwa siku ya jua. Tunafanya mazoezi kwa ajili ya siku mbaya zaidi", Nainoa anajulikana kurudia. Usalama ni kipaumbele cha juu, na mafunzo ni magumu. Sehemu kubwa ya maandalizi hufanyika katika Chuo cha Jumuiya ya Honolulu Kituo cha Elimu na Mafunzo ya Bahari kwenye Kisiwa cha Mchanga, makao makuu ya Hōkūleʻa kwenye nchi kavu. Mafunzo ni pamoja na darasa na mikono juu, kujifunza uzoefu - mtu-overboard na drills dharura, hoisting na kuacha matanga, kutupa na kufunga mistari, kujifunza jinsi ya kutumia vifaa vyote, na kuendesha na kuongoza canoe. Wafanyakazi wa meli hiyo lazima pia wapate mtihani mgumu wa afya, wa kuogelea, na wa usalama. Kazi ya kutayarisha mashua hizo ni ngumu sana: kuunganisha na kuunganisha kwa kutumia maili nyingi za kamba; kusaga na kuunganisha magurudumu, mabamba, iako (vipande vya msalaba), ngazi, nguzo na miamba; kununua na kupanga vifaa, chakula, na maji yanayohitajika kwa majuma kadhaa baharini. Hadi sasa, wajitoleaji wametoa saa 26,500 kwa ajili ya mradi huo. Usiku mmoja au mbili kwa wiki, wafanyakazi hukusanyika chini ya taa za fluorescent za vyumba vya darasa la METC, wakichunguza orodha ndefu za kazi na kujaza ubao mweupe na orodha zaidi. "Miongoni mwa vifaa ambavyo lazima viingie katika chombo cha kila mshiriki wa wafanyakazi ni: vitambaa vya kuosha nguo na dawa ya kuondoa uchafu wa mikono; vitambaa vya kuondoa nguo, vitambaa vya kuondoa nguo, na vitambaa vya kuondoa nguo; vifaa vya kuondoa nguo kwa wageni; nguo za kukausha haraka ambazo pia hukupunguza joto; kinga za kuzuia moto wa kamba; poda ya ""Gold Bond"" kwa ajili ya kupasuka." <unk>Vitu hivi vyote ni masuala ya usalama. "Hata hivyo, kwa sababu ya hali hiyo, ni muhimu sana kwamba tunafanya kazi kwa bidii ili kufanikiwa,"" alisema Bruce Blankenfeld, mkurugenzi wa safari hiyo ya kimataifa." Baada ya kusafiri zaidi ya kilomita 100,000 kwa meli, Blankenfeld atakuwa nahodha wa Hikaliya wakati mashua hizo zitakapelekea Tahiti. "Anolo no eho (mithali) inaonyesha kwamba mambo madogo madogo, kama vile mawimbi madogo ya bahari, ni muhimu kama picha kubwa: ""E kuhikuhi pono I na au iki a me na au nui o ka.""" "Kufundisha vizuri katika wote wachache na kubwa mikondo ya maarifa. ""Elimu na Teknolojia"" Wayfinder kuweka mwelekeo wake kwa kupata clues nyingi iwezekanavyo." Yeye huangalia mahali nyota zinapoinuka na kutua, na anaona urefu wao zinapovuka meridian ya anga. Yeye huona mwendo wa mawimbi na mkusanyiko wa mawingu. Yeye hutafuta ndege wa baharini na mimea ya nchi kavu inayotiririka. Kwa hiyo, ni jambo la akili kwamba safari ya ulimwenguni pote itatumia mbinu hiyo ya kitamaduni kuwahimiza watu wajiunge na Ma Lama Honua. "Wafanyakazi wa Oiwi TV watashiriki katika kila hatua ya safari hiyo, wakirekodi kila kitu ambacho mashua hizo zinakutana nacho - kuanzia uharibifu wa ikolojia hadi maeneo ya uhifadhi wa baharini yaliyohifadhiwa - ili kuonyesha afya ya sayari. Washiriki wa wafanyakazi watachukua video ya visiwa visivyoonekana kupitia macho ya ndege zisizo na rubani zinazodhibitiwa kwa mbali. Mazoea endelevu katika jamii za mitaa yatashirikiwa kama "safari za kujifunza" kuunda maktaba ya maarifa ya wenyeji. Kwa kutumia programu ya Hangouts ya Google, walimu wanaweza kujibu maswali ya wanafunzi kutoka sehemu nyingine ya dunia. "Kwa sababu ya mawasiliano ya satelaiti yaliyowekwa kwenye Hikianalia, masomo kutoka kwa madarasa haya ya kuelea yatapatikana mtandaoni kwenye ""Hokule.com,"" inayojulikana kwa upendo kama ""baharini ya tatu ambayo ulimwengu wote unaweza kusafiri.""" Kama Lacy Veach alivyofikiria, safari hii si kuhusu elimu tu, bali pia kuhusu utafiti. Kupitia programu ya "Science At Sea", wafanyakazi watajifunza idadi ya plankton, ubora wa maji, taka za baharini, hydroponics, sauti ya mamalia wa baharini, na idadi ya samaki. Takwimu hizo zitapelekwa kwa wanasayansi mashuhuri katika Chuo Kikuu cha Hawaii, NOAA, na MIT. Kwa njia ambayo Nainoa anaelezea, utafiti huu ni wa haraka sana. <unk> Bahari ni injini ya hali ya hewa. Ni injini ya kulinda utofauti wetu wa kibiolojia. Katika pumzi nne zinazofuata, tatu hutoka baharini. "Hii ni kitu tunachohitaji kulinda. ""Uunganisho, Utegemezi, na Roho ya Ulimwengu Katika sherehe ya kutambuliwa kwa Polynesian Voyaging Society katika Hawaii State Capitol mnamo Machi, wabunge walikusanyika kuwatakia wafanyakazi mema." "Mjumbe wa Bunge la Marekani Richard Fale alisisitiza umuhimu wa safari yao kwa kusema: ""Tumaini na ndoto nyingi zinaendeshwa pamoja nao, baadhi ya matakwa haya yameonyeshwa kwenye sehemu ya chini ya vifuniko vya nyumba ya Hokusai, ambavyo vimechorwa na wanafunzi kutoka kwa kikundi cha sanaa cha Hawaii cha 808 Urban." Moja inatia ndani ujumbe huu: <unk>Wasafiri, huenda huaka‘i yenu ikawapeleka daima kwenye maeneo mapya, kimwili na kiroho. Haijalishi uko mbali na nyumbani, ohana yako daima ni pamoja na wewe. Wakati mambo yanapokuwa magumu, ambayo ni lazima yafanye, Nainoa anasema, tunapata nguvu katika kujua Hawai'i ni pamoja nasi. Na si Hawai'i tu. Mtiririko wa baraka zilizopewa Hokūleʻa na wafanyakazi wake ni wa ukarimu na wa ulimwengu wote mzima. Kwa kufikiria kile kinachowashawishi watu waende kwenye mtumbwi, Nainoa adokeza kwamba Hōkūleʻa huimarisha maoni ya ulimwengu yaliyo ya uaminifu. Washiriki wa wafanyakazi wa Hōkūleʻa wanaamini kwamba roho yake hufyonza udadisi wa kila mgeni na kujitolea kwa kila mshiriki. Majina ya wale waliojitolea kumtumikia yamechongwa kwenye mihimili yake. Kila mara anaposafiri, wao husafiri pamoja naye, pamoja na wote ambao wamekuwa sehemu ya hadithi yake. Kapteni wa meli na mwanafunzi wa meli, Kaleo Wong, ambaye ataongoza utaratibu wa kitamaduni wakati wa safari, anakumbusha wafanyakazi kuhusu umuhimu wa usalama wa kiroho. "Pule (sala) si tu kuangalia sanduku kabla ya kufanya kitu", anasema. """Tunaomba safari salama kutoka kwa 'aumakua' yetu na kutoka kwa kupuna yetu, watu ambao wako pamoja nasi ambao hatuwezi kuwaona, wakati Hokula anazunguka ulimwengu, hatima yake itaongozwa na maadili ambayo yalimujenga - azimio la Herb Kane, huruma ya Myron Thompson, fadhili ya Mau Piailug, ujasiri wa Eddie Aikau, na maono ya Lacy Veach." Nainoa anarejelea uchunguzi wa baba yake: <unk>Kutafuta, kupanga, majaribio, kuchukua hatari na kutunza kila mmoja. Kanuni ambazo tumezitumia zamani ni zile ambazo tunazitumia leo na ambazo tutatumia katika siku zijazo. Haijalishi sisi ni wa jamii gani au utamaduni gani, hizi ni maadili ambayo yanatufaa sisi sote." Toleo la hadithi hii lilionekana katika Hana Hou! Mwaka 2014 na 2014.