Aloha,

The launch of Hokule`a on April 8 concluded dry dock. Many, many thank you’s to all our wonderful volunteers who gave up weekends and evenings to kokua Hokule`a dry dock. Everyone did an awesome job!!
She is now in the water and will begin coastal sails, including training of our captains, navigators and crew.

Ramona

Dry dock is going very well. We have lots of participation from the schools and community and we appreciate it very much!! The excitement of voyaging is just as strong as it’s ever been. We continue to encourage everyone to come out to get the canoe ready for the State Wide Sail and more voyaging.

The dry dock schedule is:

Wednesday’s 6 – 9 pm
Saturday’s 9:30 am – 4 pm.

Bruce Blankenfeld, Coordinator

PVS admininstraton office will be moving to METC on February 27, 2008. Our new address will be:

Polynesian Voyaging Society
10 Sand Island Parkway
Honolulu, HI 96819

Our new phone number after February 27 will be (808) 842-1101 and (808) 842-1112 (fax).

On January 11, Hokule'a was drydocked at Honolulu Community College's Marine Education and Training Center at 10 Sand Island Access Road, where the 62-foot long, 9-ton double-hulled voyaging canoe will be serviced for the first time since her 5-month, 9,000 nautical mile voyage to Micronesia and Japan in 2007.

Hokule’a has been in the water for 14 months and PVS president Nainoa Thompson says “although she is structurally in very good shape and is seaworthy, we pushed her hard and she sailed hard and it’s time to care for her. It’s more an expression of care and respect for the canoe. We sailed her hard and she took care of us.”

In addition to the more than 180 crewmembers who sailed Hokule’a during the voyage, when Hokule’a came home, more than 1,000 people sailed her, many children, during community and education-based sails. Hokule’a will be in dry dock for touch-ups and painting, which are scheduled to be completed by mid-April. After drydock, Hokule’a will embark on a 7 month, 3,000 mile statewide sail to 26 communities to continue PVS’ education and outreach programs and to train the next generation of crew leadership.

Ka’iulani Murphy notes: "Now that she's safely on dry land, we're planning work parties on Saturdays beginning next week Sat, 1/26. Work will be from 9:30am till pau, at least by 4:30pm. If a group of 5 or more would like to volunteer, or if volunteers would like to help on a weekday, contact the PVS office 536-8405 or pvshawaii@hawaiiantel.net"

"Most of the work to be done involves sanding and varnishing, so come prepared to get a little dusty. If you have rags or plastic cups for varnish (old yogurt cups) that you could bring, it would help a bunch. Lunch will be provided for volunteers on Saturdays. Look forward to seeing you down here!"

From a press release by the Honolulu Foundation

“Gaia Symphony No. 3,” a documentary series produced by Jin Tatsumura and featuring Hokule'a navigator Nainoa Thompson, Michio Hoshino (Wildlife photographer, Japan) and Freeman Dyson (Physicist, USA), will premiere in Hawai'i in October.

The Friends of “Gaia Symphony,” a part of the Honolulu Foundation, has scheduled a screening at the Doris Duke Theatre of the Honolulu Academy of Arts on Saturday, October 27 at 2 pm. (Sold out.). A second screening will be held on Sunday, October 28, at 2 pm in Spalding Auditorium at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa. Director Tatsumura will be at the screenings. Tatsumura and Thompson are scheduled for short talks at a Friends of “Gaia Symphony” reception and dinner at the Halekulani Hotel on October 26 (Friday) to raise funds in support of the activities of Thompson and the Polynesian Voyaging Society who are nourishing the Hawaiian cultural heritage.

Tickets for the screenings ($10) are available at Catch USA, located on the second floor of the Waikiki Trade Center, and through the members of Friends of “Gaia Symphony.”

For information about the “Gaia Symphony No. 3” screening and the reception/dinner, call (808) 457-1740, fax to (808) 732-8430, or email gaia3@honolulufoundation.org.

From the Gaia Symphony Website: "Gaia Symphony No. 3 is dedicated to the late Michio Hoshino, a photographer of Alaskan wildlife, who died immediately before the production of this film started, in which he was to appear. The film traces Hoshino's life and death while introducing people surrounding him, such as a native American storyteller, a wildlife guide, a whale researcher, a canoe builder, and others, who chose to live their lives in the rhythms of nature. Their stories eloquently illustrate the eternal cycles of life on the Mother Earth, Gaia.

Freeman Dyson, an astrophysicist and a mathematician, talks about the meaning of life circulating in a cosmic scale through his broad scientific view and deep insight into human nature. Nainoa Thompson, a native Hawaiian ocean canoe navigator, expresses the importance of knowing and perpetuating the wisdom possessed by our ancestors. Gaia Symphony No. 3 depicts wondrous connections and interactions, from ancient times through the present day, between the native peoples of Alaska, Hawai'i and northern Japan all linked by the Pacific Ocean. It awakens our deeply-stored memory from over five thousand years ago, and takes our thoughts to the "mind of Gaia" and the "mystery of life."

The “Gaia Symphony” documentary film series—the first section of which was released in Japan in 1992—delivers the message that planet earth is a living organism and we humans are given lives as part of that organism. This strong message captivated the hearts of many viewers who were interested in environmental protection as well as the relationship between the earth and people, and eventually led to the production of a total of six films to date. Films in the “Gaia Symphony” series have been presented in many places, both inside and outside Japan solely on a non-profit basis. Indeed, the series is a hidden, enduring hit that has not resorted to commercial distribution.