The Polynesian Voyaging Society began on May 17 the M?lama Honua Worldwide Voyage, a 47,000-mile open-ocean journey of two wa‘a (Hawaiian voyaging canoes) around the world.
Several hundred people gathered to witness as the voyaging canoes left Oahu for their ambitious three-year journey, according to a report in Sailing Scuttlebutt.
The two wa‘a sailing on the voyage, H?k?le‘a and Hikianalia, will be guided by a crew of skilled navigators using ancient Polynesian wayfinding techniques, observing the stars, ocean, wind, and birds as mapping points for direction.
When H?k?le’a completed her maiden voyage in 1976, it was the first time in 600 years that a Polynesian voyaging canoe sailed across the Pacific Ocean.
