Please bring your family and friends for a departure ceremony to ensure a safe journey for the crews of Hōkūle‘a and Kamahele on their voyage to Palmyra Atoll. 

Date: Friday, February 27, 2009

Place: Marine Education Training Center, 10 Sand Island Parkway, Honolulu, HI 96819

5:30 pm  ~  Arrive

6:00 pm  ~  Blessing

6:30pm ~ Potluck & Informal Presentation

Please bring a potluck item to share according to your LAST name:

A-F (Salad)   G-K (Starch)   L-R (Main)   S-Z (Dessert)

Please park in the METC parking lot inside the red/white gate. If you park in the main parking lot by the beach, please park in VEHICLE ONLY stalls).

Please RSVP by February 23rd to Ramona at 842-1101 or pvsramona@hawaiiantel.net.

Hōkūle‘a Voyage to Palmyra Atoll

On or about March 1, 2009, a new crew of Polynesian wayfinders aboard the Hōkūle‘a – the iconic traditional Hawaiian open-ocean voyaging canoe – will set sail for the first time to Palmyra Atoll in the central Pacific. This month-long sail will train young navigators, captains and crew members as well as educators and scientists who will explore the open ocean, coral reefs and land of this remote and magnificent place. Using the Internet, they will interact with students while on the atoll and bring knowledge and lessons learned back home to Hawai‘i to help all of us navigate our own future.

Palmyra Atoll is located  in the Line Islands ,approximately 1,052 miles S/SW of Hawai’i. It is one of the most spectacular marine wilderness areas on Earth. Its 480,000 acres of lagoons, coral reefs, and submerged lands support a complex web of life: everything from sharks, sea turtles, manta rays, and giant clams, thousands of exotic fish, to a million nesting seabirds. Palmyra is a National Wildlife Refuge – and recently named a National Marine Monument – protected in partnership by The Nature Conservancy and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Rats, ants, and parasitic scale threaten the atoll’s unique tropical forest and its reefs face the even greater threat posed by global climate change. Long recognized as an ideal natural marine laboratory, Palmyra is being developed as a center for scientific study.  What is learned at Palmyra promises to inform conservation strategies for island ecosystems throughout the Pacific and around the world.

Estimated departure from Honolulu is Saturday, March 1, 2009 (weather permitting). We are expected to return to Honolulu by March 30, 2009. The Kamahele will escort Hōkūle‘a throughout the short voyage to Palmyra.  The voyage is based on the Polynesian Voyaging Society-Hōkūle‘a crew training and educational efforts.

Hōkūle‘a –  Crew to Palmyra

1. Bruce Blankenfeld – Captain - Navigator
2. Manavaroa Kamaki Worthington – Watch Captain – Apprentice Navigator
3. Kaina Holomalia – Watch Captain
4. Chris Baird – crew
5. Angela Faanunu – crew
6. La`akea Caravalho – crew
7. Heather Nahaku Kalei – crew
8. Eli Witt – Crew
9. Pauline Sato – Crew
10. Jenna Ishii – Crew
11. Dr. Pete Roney

Hōkūle‘a – Crew to Hawai‘i

1. Russell Amimoto – Captain
2. Bruce Blankenfeld – Navigator
3. Kaina Holomalia – Watch Captain
4. Mike Taylor – Crew
5. Kamaka`aina Seipp - Crew
6. Zack Keenan – Crew
7. Heidi Guth - Crew
8. Kaleo Wong – Crew
9. Kealoha Hoe – Crew
10. Kailin Kim – Crew
11. Dr. Rob Frankel

Kamahele  - Crew to Palmyra

1. Mike Cunningham – Captain
2. Gary Bulson - Crew
3. Mark Logan – Crew
4. Zack Keenan - Crew
5. Don Sheets – Crew

Kamahele – Crew to Hawai‘i

1. Mike Cunningham
2. Buddy McGuire – Crew
3. Sam Monaghan – Crew
4. ?? To be determined by 2/21/09
5. ?? To be determined by 2/21/09

Circumnavigating the Globe in Hōkūle‘a 

The training voyage to Palmyra is the first step in preparation for the most challenging and difficult journey yet of – charting a course circumnavigating the globe. This unprecedented worldwide voyage will include ‘ohana wa‘a, an intertwined community of traditional voyagers across the Pacific, joined by people in all walks of life on sea and land in more than 20 countries.

The main message to be carried by  Hōkūle‘a – Mālama (care for) Island Earth – its natural environment, children, and all humankind. Education is core to the mission of the worldwide voyage, inspiring and giving strength to the voices of our youth who will inherit our Earth.

Throughout the voyage, crew members will connect with students in Hawai‘i through the Internet. Upon return from Palmyra Atoll, crew members will share their experiences and knowledge gained about human impact on islands and the resiliency of reefs to recover with a variety of audiences throughout Hawai‘i. And they will continue training along with many more future crew members as they embark on perhaps the most significant voyage of their lives.