Moananuiākea: a Voyage for Earth
August 2, 2023 3:09 PM Subscribe
The Hōkūleʻa, a traditional Polynesian outrigger, and crew are underway on their 43,000 nautical mile, 4 year journey, circumnavigating the Pacific Ocean. With Port Hardy and Hakai behind them, passing through the Johnstone Straight on the inner passage of Vancouver Island, the boat is soon within range of many a mefite! Follow along or try to catch up with them on the Americas’ left coast September 2023 - April 2024.
Geotagged current location map, route, and planned sailing times at the first post link. Additional reading on the origins of the hull wood for the Hawai'iloa, to remind us of the building of relationships and connectedness of the planet. Previously (1) (2).
Geotagged current location map, route, and planned sailing times at the first post link. Additional reading on the origins of the hull wood for the Hawai'iloa, to remind us of the building of relationships and connectedness of the planet. Previously (1) (2).
I am making my way through the hull wood history link. Wow. Thank you for posting this!
posted by Sockin'inthefreeworld at 3:45 PM on August 2, 2023
posted by Sockin'inthefreeworld at 3:45 PM on August 2, 2023
I was in Alaska in late May of this year, on a dinghy, when my guide went wild! She pointed out the Hokule'a which was across the bay from us. It was like seeing Taylor Swift out of the blue - the level of reverence and super-star quality the project inspires.
posted by Word_Salad at 4:42 PM on August 2, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by Word_Salad at 4:42 PM on August 2, 2023 [5 favorites]
They were here in Ketchikan about a month ago and received a warm welcome.
posted by Nerd of the North at 5:04 PM on August 2, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Nerd of the North at 5:04 PM on August 2, 2023 [2 favorites]
I'll have to see if they'll make Nanaimo before I have to head to work; might wonder over for the day to see them under way.
posted by Mitheral at 5:25 PM on August 2, 2023
posted by Mitheral at 5:25 PM on August 2, 2023
Hawaii Public Radio (link is to stories tagged Hokulea) has frequent interviews with crew members as theirr journey proceeds. You can also take a look at content from their prior around the world voyage
posted by DebetEsse at 6:27 PM on August 2, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by DebetEsse at 6:27 PM on August 2, 2023 [3 favorites]
This is very cool. And yet... something about the writing style of that landing page reminds me of someone wearing way too much perfume / cologne. I don't have the vernacular at this moment to describe what's bugging me about it. It's just so... over the top?
PURPOSE: To ignite a movement of 10 million “planetary navigators” who will pursue critical and inspiring “voyages” to ensure a better future for the earth.
Like this. I don't even know how to take that apart, to criticize it. Who has walked through this decade with enough surviving optimism to read this line without their internal cynic raising their hand and saying "I have notes."? There's so much concentrated pretentiousness there that it needs a material handling sticker on it - that if I even pick at the corner of it I'll destroy three city blocks in an explosive release of pressurized smugness. I don't think I've ever met anyone idealistic enough to say this and mean it in my entire life, and only some of my actor friends could say it could say it with a straight face at all. People are only this noble in eulogies.
Whoever wrote this has a future in writing paragon-path dialogue in Bioware RPGs. Commander Shepard: "I'm going to ignite a movement of 10 million planetary navigators."
posted by quillbreaker at 6:54 PM on August 2, 2023 [1 favorite]
PURPOSE: To ignite a movement of 10 million “planetary navigators” who will pursue critical and inspiring “voyages” to ensure a better future for the earth.
Like this. I don't even know how to take that apart, to criticize it. Who has walked through this decade with enough surviving optimism to read this line without their internal cynic raising their hand and saying "I have notes."? There's so much concentrated pretentiousness there that it needs a material handling sticker on it - that if I even pick at the corner of it I'll destroy three city blocks in an explosive release of pressurized smugness. I don't think I've ever met anyone idealistic enough to say this and mean it in my entire life, and only some of my actor friends could say it could say it with a straight face at all. People are only this noble in eulogies.
Whoever wrote this has a future in writing paragon-path dialogue in Bioware RPGs. Commander Shepard: "I'm going to ignite a movement of 10 million planetary navigators."
posted by quillbreaker at 6:54 PM on August 2, 2023 [1 favorite]
I’ll look forward to seeing them in… checks watch two+ years.
posted by billsaysthis at 9:58 PM on August 2, 2023
posted by billsaysthis at 9:58 PM on August 2, 2023
Pure awesomeness. Couple questions,(that I could probably answer with some light digging), how fast do they travel? How much is sailing versus rowing? How many crew are there?
posted by Keith Talent at 10:32 PM on August 2, 2023
posted by Keith Talent at 10:32 PM on August 2, 2023
Seconding that this is pure awesomeness and SO COOL. And I’ll add that THIS. IS. HUGE. Even better, I’m visiting my mom on Vancouver Island. They are just a little north of me! Tomorrow is going to be a quest to catch sight of them.
posted by house-goblin at 2:44 AM on August 3, 2023
posted by house-goblin at 2:44 AM on August 3, 2023
I don't even know how to take that apart, to criticize it. Who has walked through this decade with enough surviving optimism to read this line without their internal cynic raising their hand and saying "I have notes."?
Honestly it sounds like you've been poisoned by the nasty, sarcastic, "I have notes", culture of the Internet. Not everything benefits from being taken apart.
If native Hawaiians can express optimism after the last century (decade, lol) then so can anyone.
posted by atrazine at 2:55 AM on August 3, 2023 [7 favorites]
Honestly it sounds like you've been poisoned by the nasty, sarcastic, "I have notes", culture of the Internet. Not everything benefits from being taken apart.
If native Hawaiians can express optimism after the last century (decade, lol) then so can anyone.
posted by atrazine at 2:55 AM on August 3, 2023 [7 favorites]
surviving optimism
My first knowledge of the Hōkūleʻa came from Wade Davis's Massey Lectures. CBC has since done follow-ups with him (I urge others to seek out his shifting feelings over time). Not to get distracted by white-guy anthropologist but with time he covers optimism and sorrow about indigenous peoples, and the homogenization and loss of diversity of human thought and experience.
We probably also react with cynicism to the excessive optimism corporate advertising promises, to fix whatever ails you, your life, others, the world; and brace for the expected failure of false promises.
However!, there's a lot of optimism in the back story of the group of Hawaiian-Polynesian wayfinders: laying on the floor during planetarium off hours to learn navigation, building boats, traveling oceans to re-establish cultural traditions that were nearly lost. The native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders feel optimism for this part of their culture. There are continuing losses (see Brazil), but you can also sign up to learn Hawaiian (or Navajo) on duolingo, or download apps and take online courses (at least) for and by indigenous peoples: Native Hawaiian, Canadian First Nations and Australian Aborigines (if not more). When I go to local events by indigenous people's (or even restaurants like Ohlone Cafe & Wahpepah's Kitchen in SF East Bay, Kai in Phoenix, Mitsitam in DC, Owamni in Minneapolis, other's I'm omitting) there is a constant and slow reminder of vitality in the messaging "We are here. Our culture is not dead. It grows and is changing." This trip I think builds on the intersectionality and connectedness of experience, to remind people there is a reason to be optimistic.
Optimism may fail us, but the only way to ensure failure is to give up.
posted by rubatan at 8:40 AM on August 3, 2023 [3 favorites]
My first knowledge of the Hōkūleʻa came from Wade Davis's Massey Lectures. CBC has since done follow-ups with him (I urge others to seek out his shifting feelings over time). Not to get distracted by white-guy anthropologist but with time he covers optimism and sorrow about indigenous peoples, and the homogenization and loss of diversity of human thought and experience.
We probably also react with cynicism to the excessive optimism corporate advertising promises, to fix whatever ails you, your life, others, the world; and brace for the expected failure of false promises.
However!, there's a lot of optimism in the back story of the group of Hawaiian-Polynesian wayfinders: laying on the floor during planetarium off hours to learn navigation, building boats, traveling oceans to re-establish cultural traditions that were nearly lost. The native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders feel optimism for this part of their culture. There are continuing losses (see Brazil), but you can also sign up to learn Hawaiian (or Navajo) on duolingo, or download apps and take online courses (at least) for and by indigenous peoples: Native Hawaiian, Canadian First Nations and Australian Aborigines (if not more). When I go to local events by indigenous people's (or even restaurants like Ohlone Cafe & Wahpepah's Kitchen in SF East Bay, Kai in Phoenix, Mitsitam in DC, Owamni in Minneapolis, other's I'm omitting) there is a constant and slow reminder of vitality in the messaging "We are here. Our culture is not dead. It grows and is changing." This trip I think builds on the intersectionality and connectedness of experience, to remind people there is a reason to be optimistic.
Optimism may fail us, but the only way to ensure failure is to give up.
posted by rubatan at 8:40 AM on August 3, 2023 [3 favorites]
how fast do they travel?
The geo-labeled map has travel speed at check-ins ~10-16km/h, though wikipedia says 6-10km/h.
how much is sailing versus rowing?
All sail, with a long paddle for steering. No auxiliary motor, they'll sometimes use a towing escort to get them into tight harbors.
How many crew are there?
12-16 active crew, with 400 who are ciriculating in over the 4 years.
posted by rubatan at 8:51 AM on August 3, 2023
The geo-labeled map has travel speed at check-ins ~10-16km/h, though wikipedia says 6-10km/h.
how much is sailing versus rowing?
All sail, with a long paddle for steering. No auxiliary motor, they'll sometimes use a towing escort to get them into tight harbors.
How many crew are there?
12-16 active crew, with 400 who are ciriculating in over the 4 years.
posted by rubatan at 8:51 AM on August 3, 2023
Yeah, so, checking back in to say my mother, daughter and I are planning to drive up to Campbell River this afternoon in the hope of seeing whatever we can.
This morning, when I told my mom about the outrigger she immediately got the enormity of the event and mentioned how an old Kwak’wak’wak friend has Hawaiian ancestry; and then I mentioned that Haidas and Kwak’wak’waks I met at a potlach in Alert Bay told me about longstanding relations they have with Hawaiians (there are dances about them) as well as a strong feeling of kinship they have with all the Pacific peoples with longhouses.
On the cynicism v optimism front I’m with atrazine and rubatan. Ironically, ever since I read quillbreaker’s comment, it’s bugged me in a way that I can’t quite articulate. That “nobody can be that good, there’s got to be an angle etc” attitude, it’s got a type of “code smell.” Like somebody who, for good reasons, has foregone colognes/perfumes and deodorants but have let their armpits get a little too ripe.
posted by house-goblin at 11:43 AM on August 3, 2023 [2 favorites]
This morning, when I told my mom about the outrigger she immediately got the enormity of the event and mentioned how an old Kwak’wak’wak friend has Hawaiian ancestry; and then I mentioned that Haidas and Kwak’wak’waks I met at a potlach in Alert Bay told me about longstanding relations they have with Hawaiians (there are dances about them) as well as a strong feeling of kinship they have with all the Pacific peoples with longhouses.
On the cynicism v optimism front I’m with atrazine and rubatan. Ironically, ever since I read quillbreaker’s comment, it’s bugged me in a way that I can’t quite articulate. That “nobody can be that good, there’s got to be an angle etc” attitude, it’s got a type of “code smell.” Like somebody who, for good reasons, has foregone colognes/perfumes and deodorants but have let their armpits get a little too ripe.
posted by house-goblin at 11:43 AM on August 3, 2023 [2 favorites]
Honestly it sounds like you've been poisoned by the nasty, sarcastic, "I have notes", culture of the Internet. Not everything benefits from being taken apart.
If native Hawaiians can express optimism after the last century (decade, lol) then so can anyone.
Yeah, it's probably a me problem.
posted by quillbreaker at 1:44 PM on August 3, 2023
If native Hawaiians can express optimism after the last century (decade, lol) then so can anyone.
Yeah, it's probably a me problem.
posted by quillbreaker at 1:44 PM on August 3, 2023
Re the writing style, I think quillbreaker is picking up on a real thing there, and one that I find interesting. I follow a couple authors who write like this and it takes me a while to settle in and decide that that it isn't an elaborate joke at my expense. (This is an exception: no-one starts a years-long sailing trip to troll people on the internet.) It also reminds me of reading in translation: the metaphors and symbolism and references aren't the expected and require extra attention.
And in this specific case, they're deliberately trying to spark thought. They (probably?) aren't literally talking about ten million people embarking on voyages in sailing canoes, so... what might voyaging and navigation mean in other contexts?
As to the canoe and the voyage: amazing. I doubt I will get an opportunity to see them, so wish them safe travels.
posted by mersen at 7:22 PM on August 3, 2023
And in this specific case, they're deliberately trying to spark thought. They (probably?) aren't literally talking about ten million people embarking on voyages in sailing canoes, so... what might voyaging and navigation mean in other contexts?
As to the canoe and the voyage: amazing. I doubt I will get an opportunity to see them, so wish them safe travels.
posted by mersen at 7:22 PM on August 3, 2023
They (probably?) aren't literally talking about ten million people embarking on voyages in sailing canoes, so... what might voyaging and navigation mean in other contexts?
The answer is in the first link in the first post. There are other goals, but it’s mainly about inspiring people to navigate the earth to a “healthy, thriving future” and make better choices for the planet. Ocean voyages in sailing canoes are not required, and probably not recommended for novices.
posted by house-goblin at 12:18 AM on August 4, 2023
The answer is in the first link in the first post. There are other goals, but it’s mainly about inspiring people to navigate the earth to a “healthy, thriving future” and make better choices for the planet. Ocean voyages in sailing canoes are not required, and probably not recommended for novices.
posted by house-goblin at 12:18 AM on August 4, 2023
Yeah, it's probably a me problem.
Hey now. Your doubts were very understandable and if I may wax John Wick-like, “I get it.” Because one of the people inside me is a cynical minded old leftie punk. But, as has already been more or less pointed out, too much cynicism can be self defeating. So, maybe, consider playing through all available paragon paths, and when they run out try the lawful good paths in NWN and its sequels.
posted by house-goblin at 12:54 AM on August 4, 2023
Hey now. Your doubts were very understandable and if I may wax John Wick-like, “I get it.” Because one of the people inside me is a cynical minded old leftie punk. But, as has already been more or less pointed out, too much cynicism can be self defeating. So, maybe, consider playing through all available paragon paths, and when they run out try the lawful good paths in NWN and its sequels.
posted by house-goblin at 12:54 AM on August 4, 2023
There is only room for 400 on this trip. The other 10 million “planetary navigators” will presumably pursue their voyages by proxy. And be inspired to be less of a drain on the planet, of course. It's not so long ago that adventurous 14 y.o.s could ship out on an actual boat. Here's Noel Smith as a Ketch's boy in 1940s South Australia. My FiL ran away to sea from Cardiff aged 14 in 1939. Aged 19, in 1974 I responded to a small ad in The Times [of London] seeking two deck-hands and a cook to help sail a schooner from Maldon in Essex to the Caribbean. The skipper interviewed me on board and said he'd let me know if I made the cut. I didn't. Instead I secured another Gap Year job careering around rural England delivering text-books to primary schools. No salt-water boils and broken sleep on that gig.
If my anecdote sounds anachronistic, it was . . . by about 40 years. "In April 1932 Peter Fleming replied to an advertisement in the personal columns of The Times: "Exploring and sporting expedition, under experienced guidance, leaving England June to explore rivers central Brazil, if possible ascertain fate Colonel Percy Fawcett; abundant game, big and small; exceptional fishing; room two more guns; highest references expected and given."
posted by BobTheScientist at 1:38 AM on August 4, 2023
If my anecdote sounds anachronistic, it was . . . by about 40 years. "In April 1932 Peter Fleming replied to an advertisement in the personal columns of The Times: "Exploring and sporting expedition, under experienced guidance, leaving England June to explore rivers central Brazil, if possible ascertain fate Colonel Percy Fawcett; abundant game, big and small; exceptional fishing; room two more guns; highest references expected and given."
posted by BobTheScientist at 1:38 AM on August 4, 2023
Okay. Now it is my somewhat sad duty to report that the sailing canoe has not yet reached Campbell River. In hindsight, the lack of social media posts or local news stories about its arrival should have made it obvious. But we were just too excited and anxious not to miss it. Plus it’s a nice drive that we haven’t made in a while.
Mission wasn’t a total scrub though. We went for food and my mom asked an indigenous guy eating in the place if he knew anything about the canoe. He did but he hadn’t heard anything about it being anywhere close. Then we had a good conversation that touched on potlaches, powwows, a certain cannibal woman of the woods from whose earrings dangle the heads of children she has taken, and more. I’m glad the sailing canoe brought us together.
posted by house-goblin at 2:01 AM on August 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
Mission wasn’t a total scrub though. We went for food and my mom asked an indigenous guy eating in the place if he knew anything about the canoe. He did but he hadn’t heard anything about it being anywhere close. Then we had a good conversation that touched on potlaches, powwows, a certain cannibal woman of the woods from whose earrings dangle the heads of children she has taken, and more. I’m glad the sailing canoe brought us together.
posted by house-goblin at 2:01 AM on August 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
The shipped was towed into Snug Cove on Bowen Island tonight. The crew were gracious and let me come aboard and poke around. Tomorrow morning they sail for the Maritime Museum in Vancouver. https://mastodon.social/@JoshuaLenon/110835233147263816 (self post of a photo
I took off the ship at dock.)
posted by Apollo's Favorite Mistake at 10:33 PM on August 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
I took off the ship at dock.)
posted by Apollo's Favorite Mistake at 10:33 PM on August 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
Sounds awesome AFM. There has been much dejection and sighs of disappointment today for myself as I found out they were in Campbell River when I went there. We went by the wrong pair of docks though, and, except for one person, nobody we asked had even heard about it. If only I had just zoomed in on their map updates. Sigh…
posted by house-goblin at 12:21 AM on August 5, 2023
posted by house-goblin at 12:21 AM on August 5, 2023
I managed to step aboard the canoe while it was docked in Vancouver! One of the crew members graciously gave his time to show a few of us around, and share some stories. I wish I could have stayed longer.
I find their Instagram to be regularly updated. People in the Seattle/Tacoma area, they'll be in your neighbourhood soon!
posted by invokeuse at 10:44 PM on August 16, 2023 [2 favorites]
I find their Instagram to be regularly updated. People in the Seattle/Tacoma area, they'll be in your neighbourhood soon!
posted by invokeuse at 10:44 PM on August 16, 2023 [2 favorites]
« Older It's counter-intuitive, but too much Disney might... | “Truthfully, I try not to analyse my own... Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
this blog entry from June has an overview map of the whole route, if you're like me and need to put the up-to-the-minute update map into context.
It's a pity that they'll probably be just a titch too late to cross paths with the canoes on the Muckleshoot Canoe Journey - I bet they'd have some fun seafaring stories to trade.
posted by The demon that lives in the air at 3:34 PM on August 2, 2023 [3 favorites]