Hōkūleʻa, the iconic canoe of the Polynesian Voyaging Society (PVS) and the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage, will celebrate her landmark 40th anniversary with a series of celebratory events and festivities throughout 2015.
The traditional Polynesian voyaging canoe, designed by artist and historian Herb Kawainui Kane, launched from the sacred shores of Kualoa in Kāne‘ohe Bay, O’ahu, on March 8, 1975. The launch of Hōkūleʻa helped begin a generation of renewal for Hawai‘i’s people that, along with the revitalization of voyaging and navigation traditions, introduced a new-found respect and appreciation for Hawaiian culture and language in the state of Hawai‘i and beyond.
“Hōkūleʻa is more than a voyaging canoe – she awakened us to the importance of bringing people together from all walks of life to perpetuate the values we care about in Hawaiʻi,” said Nainoa Thompson, master navigator and president of PVS. “We have a kuleana to build a future worthy of our children. As we celebrate 40 years of sailing, we look forward to sharing Hōkūleʻa’s story, and hope that she inspires many more people to navigate their own voyages of kindness and compassion.”
In celebration of Hōkūleʻa’s 40th anniversary, PVS will ask community members in Hawaiʻi, the 26 Polynesian islands visited this year, and future ports of the Worldwide Voyage to share a birthday message and submit inspiring local “stories of hope” about young people taking leadership roles in caring for their natural environment and culture. This “Birthday to Earth Day” campaign will run from March 8 to April 23 on hokulea.com.
Anniversary festivities throughout 2015 include a fundraising campaign with local musicians Jack Johnson, Chucky Boy Chock and Paula Fuga, a talk story series and birthday Paʻina hosted by ‘Ulu‘ulu at the University of Hawai‘i at West O’ahu, an Earth Day beach cleanup, summer film screenings, and events in conjunction with the Friends of Hawaiʻi State Libraries. Events will be posted on hokulea.com.
Since her first voyage to Tahiti in 1976, Hōkūleʻa, which means “Star of Gladness,” has brought together hundreds of thousands of people throughout the Pacific Ocean. As she continues to connect stories of hope throughout the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage, Hōkūleʻa will seek to inspire and establish a lasting network of people and cultures around the globe to work collectively to care for our Island Earth.
The Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage is taking Hōkūleʻa and her sister canoe Hikianalia across Earth’s oceans to grow a global movement toward a more sustainable world. The Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage, sponsored by Hawaiian Airlines, will cover 47,000 nautical miles, 85 ports, 26 nations, including 12 of UNESCO’s Marine World Heritage sites, through June 2017. The canoes are currently in Aotearoa, New Zealand.
Hōkūleʻa’s 40th Anniversary March Events (Please check hokulea.com for updates and ongoing events):
March 10 through April 22
Hōkūleʻa “Birthday to Earth Day” campaign at hokulea.com
March 16, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Celebrating Hōkūleʻa @ ʻUluʻulu—University of Hawai‘i at West O’ahu: Talk Story with Keoni Lee.
Keoni Lee, co-founder of ʻŌiwi TV and a crewmember of the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage, will share about ʻŌiwi TV’s efforts to document the voyage using video, social media and other technologies. He will discuss the diverse traditional and new media channels used to share Hōkūleʻa’s story with Hawai’i and the world.
March 17, 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Celebrating Hōkūleʻa @ ‘Ulu‘ulu – University of Hawai‘i West O‘ahu: 40th Anniversary Pā‘ina.
Join us for a pā‘ina celebration of Hōkūleʻa and her 40 years of accomplishments. Polynesian Voyaging activities for students and the public, with music and light refreshments.
March 19, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Celebrating Hōkūleʻa @ ‘Ulu‘ulu – University of Hawai‘i West O‘ahu: Elisa Yadao & Cliff Watson
Elisa Yadao, a former television news reporter, and Cliff Watson, cameraman and producer, will share their experiences documenting Hōkūleʻa’s early voyages and share footage from the archives.
April 25
Earth Day Mauka to Makai Cleanup
Join PVS and Sustainable Coastlines at Kailua Beach Park to help us mālama aina this Earth Day.
Filed under: aloha, Announcements, Environment, Hawaii, Hawaiian, Transportation | Tagged: Hokulea, Hōkūleʻa | Leave a comment »
Commentary – Lack of Redundancy Caused Inconvenience
Hawaiian Telcom’s main fiber-optic trunk cable for West Hawaii was damaged three times over the past year (twice in the same week). These outages were a major inconvenience for anyone making a purchase or trying to make a phone call. In addition, residents living from Waikoloa to Pahala were not able to call 911 to report any emergencies.
The lack of redundancy is the culprit of these outages. Oceanic Time Warner Cable and Hawaiian Telcom have a fiber-optic cables going from Kawaihae to the Kona area. Oceanic’s fiber traverses along Queen Kaahumanu Highway and Hawaiian Telcom’s goes along Highway 190.
However, these fiber-optic cables end in the Pahala area and don’t circle the island. So, a simple tree limb can knock out service to a large part of our island.
The state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs estimates it will cost 6 million dollars to extend the fiber-optic cable between Volcano and Pahala, which will eliminate this dead zone and create a true fiber-optic ring around the Big Island. This added redundancy will help minimize these recent outages in the future.
I hope the County of Hawaii, Oceanic Time Warner Cable, Hawaiian Telcom and the Federal government can work together to help resolve this issue, as our economic well being and public safety is at stake if this not resolved soon.
Aaron Stene
Kailua-Kona
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Filed under: Big Island, Guest Commentator, Hawaii, Technology | Tagged: Aaron Stene, County of Hawaii, Hawaiian Telcom, Oceanic Time Warner Cable | 1 Comment »