Hōkūleʻa Crew

08/27/2026

“Itʻs a revolution in education that is tied to who we are.”
- PVS CEO & Pwo Navigator Nainoa Thompson on creating a navigation school shared throughout Moananuiākea

During his June visit to Tahiti, Nainoa met with cultural leaders and navigation schools helping to carry traditional voyaging knowledge forward. Since 2009, the relationship between Tahiti Voyaging Society and vaʻa Faʻafaite has helped open pathways for navigation schools and smaller vaʻa throughout French Polynesia.

Nainoa visited:
🌊 ʻAimeho Vaʻa Taʻie — Moʻorea
🌊 Traditional Vaʻa Taʻie School — ʻĀrue\
🌊 Rapa Ātea School of Navigation — Tautira

These connections are part of a growing vision for a collective navigation school across Moananuiākea—strengthening relationships, sharing knowledge, and ensuring traditional navigation continues to thrive across the Pacific.

08/20/2026

1976 Tahiti to Hawaiʻi - Crew Bio - Nainoa Thompson
__

Follow along as we reflect on this time 50 years ago, celebrating, honoring, and remembering Hōkūleʻa's landmark 1976 maiden voyage through this series of photos, videos, newspaper articles, first hand accounts, and more!

08/19/2026

1976 Tahiti to Hawaiʻi - Crew Bio - Lele Puputauiki
__

Follow along as we reflect on this time 50 years ago, celebrating, honoring, and remembering Hōkūleʻa's landmark 1976 maiden voyage through this series of photos, videos, newspaper articles, first hand accounts, and more!

08/18/2026

1976 Tahiti to Hawaiʻi - Crew Bio - Mel Kinney
__

Follow along as we reflect on this time 50 years ago, celebrating, honoring, and remembering Hōkūleʻa's landmark 1976 maiden voyage through this series of photos, videos, newspaper articles, first hand accounts, and more!

08/15/2026

“There’s family genealogy, there’s waʻa (canoe) genealogy, there’s relationships, there’s languages, and it all came out in Bora Bora.”
— Pwo Navigator Tua Pittman

Challenging and shifting winds delayed Hōkūleʻa, Hikianalia, and the crews’ departure from Bora Bora. Despite the delay, the extra time became an opportunity to listen, learn, and strengthen relationships with the people and sacred places of Bora Bora that so graciously welcomed and hosted them.

The crew was welcomed to visit sacred places and marae, including Farerua, where they gave offerings and paid their respects, as well as the divine pōhaku Tumu Iti, which is connected to the spirit of Taʻaroa and origin stories.

Guided by the cultural organization Te Fare Hiroʻa no Vavau, the crew traveled into the mountains of Vaitape to visit sacred sites such as Te Ofaʻi Honu and Te Pu a Matariʻi. There, organization president Anatole Teraaietepo shared that the spirits of the ancestors live on through the names of the pōhaku. As Captain Bruce Blankenfeld reflected, "by saying those names, the kūpuna continue to walk the land.”

Through these places, stories, and relationships, the crew began to see the many layers of genealogy woven throughout Bora Bora. A genealogy of ʻohana, waʻa, language, ʻāina, and relationships that connect us across Moananuiākea.

Māuruuru roa to our Bora Bora ʻohana for hosting, caring for, and sharing your ʻāina, moʻolelo, and moʻokūʻauhau with Hōkūleʻa, Hikianalia, and our crews.

Watch the full episode! ⬇️
youtube.com/hokuleacrew or click the link in our bio!

08/15/2026

“There’s family genealogy, waʻa/canoe genealogy, language, relationships, and it all came out in Bora Bora.”
— Pwo Navigator Tua Pittman

Challenging and shifting winds delayed Hōkūleʻa, Hikianalia, and the crews’ departure from Bora Bora. Despite the delay, the extra time became an opportunity to listen, learn, and strengthen relationships with the people and sacred places of Bora Bora that so graciously welcomed and hosted them.

The crew was welcomed to visit sacred places and marae, including Farerua, where they gave offerings and paid their respects, as well as the divine pōhaku Tumu Iti, which is connected to the spirit of Taʻaroa and origin stories.

Guided by the cultural organization Te Fare Hiroʻa no Vavau, the crew traveled into the mountains of Vaitape to visit sacred sites such as Te Ofaʻi Honu and Te Pu a Matariʻi. There, organization president Anatole Teraaietepo shared that the spirits of the ancestors live on through the names of the pōhaku. As Captain Bruce Blankenfeld reflected, "by saying those names, the kūpuna continue to walk the land.”

Through these places, stories, and relationships, the crew began to see the many layers of genealogy woven throughout Bora Bora. A genealogy of ʻohana, waʻa, language, ʻāina, and relationships that connect us across Moananuiākea.

Māuruuru roa to our Bora Bora ʻohana for hosting, caring for, and sharing your ʻāina and moʻolelo with Hōkūleʻa, Hikianalia, and our crews.

Watch the full episode! ⬇️
https://youtu.be/dBKpjdkF8ok?si=tQ6GuATr9-Op0LYU

Send a message to learn more

08/14/2026

1976 Tahiti to Hawaiʻi - Crew Bio - Makaʻala Yates
__

Follow along as we reflect on this time 50 years ago, celebrating, honoring, and remembering Hōkūleʻa’s landmark 1976 maiden voyage through this series of photos, videos, newspaper articles, first hand accounts, and more!

08/14/2026

While reflecting on the lessons of Hōkūleʻa’s 1976 Maiden Voyage, we asked original crew members Kimo Lyman, Penny Martin, and Snake Ah Hee: What advice would you give to the next generation?

Their reflections touch on ʻāina, Mālama Honua, ʻike kūpuna, and more. They remind us that caring for our environment and culture begins with how we ground ourselves, connect with nature, and carry forward the knowledge passed down to us.

Swipe through to hear what they had to share➡️

    1    There’s a real world out there. 🌎
    2    Acknowledge our ancestors and ʻike kūpuna.
    3    You’ve got to use your mind.
    4    Flow with nature. 🌿
    5    It’s the ocean itself. 🌊

Their words continue to resonate across generations: ground yourself, learn from those who came before you, care for the world around you, and carry those teachings forward.

08/12/2026

1976 Tahiti to Hawaiʻi - Crew Bio - Andy Espirito
__

Follow along as we reflect on this time 50 years ago, celebrating, honoring, and remembering Hōkūleʻa’s landmark 1976 maiden voyage through this series of photos, videos, newspaper articles, first hand accounts, and more!

08/10/2026

1976 Tahiti to Hawaiʻi - Crew Bio - Snake Ah Hee
__

Follow along as we reflect on this time 50 years ago, celebrating, honoring, and remembering Hōkūleʻa’s landmark 1976 maiden voyage through this series of photos, videos, newspaper articles, first hand accounts, and more!