Canoe returns to Hawaii after epic round-the-world voyage

HONOLULU — No modern navigation instrumentation guided a Polynesian voyaging canoe as it followed the horizon during a three-year journey around the globe.

On Saturday, thousands welcomed the doublehulled canoe Hokulea home to Hawaii when it entered a channel off the island Oahu and tied up to a floating dock with iconic Diamond Head in the distance.

Ka’iulani Murphy, an apprentice navigator on the double-hulled canoe, said the successful journey taught her the value of ancient Polynesian maritime techniques.

“We really are sailing in their [the ancestors’] wake,” said Murphy, 38. “We had to re-learn what our ancestors had mastered.”

The crew held a formal homecoming ceremony on Magic Island, which is in Honolulu, that included welcoming remarks from Gov. David Ige and Mayor Kirk Caldwell and a speech by Nainoa Thompson, a well-known master navigator, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported.

Crewmembers hope the success of the latest journey will inspire other indigenous cultures to rediscover and revive traditions. Thompson said he also hopes indigenous cultures can help with solutions to modern-day problems such as climate change.

Native Hawaiian ancestors were not only skilled navigators but good stewards of the islands who farmed and fished sustainably.

“They figured it out — how to live well on these islands,” Thompson said. “And I think that is the challenge of the time for planet Earth and all of humanity.”

Last week the crew spotted the 10,023-foot high Maui mountain Haleakala looming in the distance, signifying Hokulea’s official return to Hawaii waters.

After returning, Hokulea will embark on an eight-month trip sailing throughout the Hawaiian islands.

“We will go to as many as 70 communities and 100 schools to thank Hawaii’s people and share what we have learned with their children,” Thompson said.