Hōkūleʻa Crew

06/17/2026

Youʻre invited! Join us this Saturday for the second and final day of the Hōkūleʻa Film Festival in collaboration with Inspiration Hawaiʻi Museum!

Get a preview of what awaits with this recap from Day 1, featuring powerful stories that bring Hōkūleʻa’s history, legacy, and navigational traditions to life, in a beautiful setting in downtown Honolulu.

📅 Saturday, June 20, 2026
📍 Inspiration Hawaiʻi Museum - 900 Richards Street, at the corner of King and Richards streets
⏰ 3:00–5:00 p.m.
🎟️ Free Admission
🥤 Drinks & Snacks Provided

Day 2 Featured films:
• Hōkūleʻa: Proud Voyage Home (1987) — Directors Elisa Yadao & Cliff Watson
• Papa Mau: The Wayfinder (2010) — Director Nāʻālehu Anthony
• Hōkūleʻa: Finding the Language of the Navigator (2023) — Director Ty Sanga

We hope to see you there as we continue celebrating 50 years of Hōkūleʻaʻs legacy, her crews, and the traditions of voyaging and wayfinding.

06/17/2026

Mahalo for an incredible Day 1 of the Hōkūleʻa Film Festival in collaboration with Inspiration Hawaiʻi Museum!

The films took us on a journey through Hōkūleʻa’s history—from her birth and the landmark 1976 Maiden Voyage to insights and lessons shared by Papa Mau on his home island of Satawal, Micronesia.

A special mahalo to original crew members Penny Martin, Snake Ah Hee, and Kimo Lyman for joining us to talk story and share their memories and experiences.

We’re not pau yet! Join us THIS Saturday, June 20, at 3:00 p.m. at Inspiration Hawaiʻi Museum for the second and final day of the film festival.

Featured films:
• Hōkūleʻa: Proud Voyage Home (1987) — Directors Elisa Yadao & Cliff Watson
• Papa Mau: The Wayfinder (2010) — Director Nāʻālehu Anthony
• Hōkūleʻa: Finding the Language of the Navigator (2023) — Director Ty Sanga

06/17/2026

ʻIolani Palace Celebrated the 50th Anniversary of Hōkūleʻa’s Maiden Voyage!

Mahalo nui to everyone who joined us at ʻIolani Palace’s Kamaʻāina Sunday to commemorate 50 years since Hōkūleʻa’s historic 1976 Maiden Voyage to Tahiti and back. It was a day filled with music, education, reflection, laughter, and aloha!

Original crew members Snake Ah Hee, Penny Martin, Kimo Lyman, Billy Richards, and Nainoa Thompson, shared stories with a full house drawn by the legacy of this remarkable journey. (Pictured in order, Slide 1)

A special mahalo to ʻIolani Palace for partnering with us to host this meaningful celebration and honor the crew whose voyage helped inspire generations.

We also extend our gratitude and mahalo to our amazing entertainers and partners including: Kūkūʻena, Kumu Hula Snowbird Bento and Ka Pā Hula O Ka Lei Lehua, Pwo Navigator ʻŌnohi Paishon, Paula Fuga, and the Hōkūleʻa Drydock Band, Mālama Honua Charter School, Kānehūnāmoku Voyaging Academy, and Keoua Nelson.

06/11/2026

“Culturally, when you're given a gift, it's a commitment, a responsibility.”
— 1976 Crew Member Shorty Bertelmann on the knowledge passed down by Master Navigator Mau Piailug

As one of Mau’s students on Hōkūleʻa’s Maiden Voyage, Shorty learned from, cared for, and observed Mau throughout the journey. He reminds us that the knowledge entrusted by Mau, carried forward from thousands of years and generations of ancestors, comes with the kuleana to uphold and perpetuate our voyaging traditions, and to pass down this knowledge to and for our children.

Each generation has a responsibility to do its part, honoring its time and place within a lineage so that this knowledge, culture, and voyaging and wayfinding legacy can continue to guide future generations.

06/10/2026

“We did something for Hawaiʻi.”
— ʻ76 Crew Member Buffalo Keaulana reflecting on the Maiden Voyage

Original crew members John Kruse, Buffalo Keaulana, Billy Richards, and Shorty Bertelmann reflect on the first leg of Hōkūleʻa’s Maiden Voyage and the legacy it helped create. We honor and thank all the crew members and the hundreds of other hands that made the voyage possible. As Shorty Bertelmann reminded us: “The canoe is ready to go because of the village.”

Hōkūleʻaʻs arrival at Papeʻete, Tahiti 50 years ago was a historic and monumental day and its impact continues to ripple through generations of voyagers. As John Kruse says, “This is our second chance... the thing gotta keep going!”

06/08/2026

06/08/2026

The ocean is life, gives life, is a way of life.

Before the maiden voyage 50 years ago, crew members were getting to know Hōkūle’a, on deck and below, and having some fun along the way.. Happy World Oceans Day!

06/07/2026

Join us for a special day of events honoring Hōkūleʻa’s maiden voyage & crew! In partnership with ʻIolani Palace and Inspiration Hawaiʻi Museum, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Hōkūleʻa’s first journey on Kealikahiki to Tahiti and back with hula, music, panels, free admission and a film festival on Sunday, June 14, 2026!

Sunday, June 14th, 2026
ʻIolani Palace | 9 am - 2 pm
Inspiration Hawaiʻi Museum | 2:30 pm - 5 pm

06/06/2026

In celebration of World Oceans Week this week, Pwo Navigator and PVS CEO Nainoa Thompson gave the keynote speech on the final conference day of Capitol Hill Ocean Week 2026 (CHOW 2026). He was joined on stage for an ʻoli by Solomon "Sol" Pili Kahoʻohalahala, before speaking on the importance of earthʻs oceans in our human existence and of the role of national marine sanctuaries as places for learning and cultural connection. He spoke of Master Navigator Mau Piailug and sent the message that "we must make sure that (the next generation) understands theyʻre part of the greatest moment of human history - of exploration and discovery."

06/05/2026

1976 Hawai’i to Tahiti - Crew Bio - Clifford Ah Mow

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!