A traditional Hawaiian double-hulled sailing canoe called Hōkūleʻa left Hawaii on Saturday for its next journey — which will begin in Southeast Alaska, reports Alaska New’s Source.
Voyage around the Pacific
Long trips from Hawaii to New Zealand in 1987 and Easter Island in 1999 have proven Hōkūleʻa is seaworthy, but the next journey will be its longest to date. Over the next four years, Hōkūleʻa and her crew will circumnavigate the Pacific Ocean, covering about 42,000 miles in total. The incredible voyage will begin in Juneau, Alaska in June of 2023, but first, Hōkūleʻa has to get there.
Hōkūleʻa will first be shipped to Tacoma, Wash. where it will then be towed to Seattle and eventually brought to Southeast Alaska.
On Sunday, Hōkūleʻa was lifted from the waters of the Pacific Ocean and placed onto a Matson container vessel to be carried northeast to Alaska. “That’s why I say 42,000 miles — it’s the first half mile, but it might be the most important, to see Hokule’a fly in the air,” Polynesian Voyaging Society President Nainoa Thompson said. “And what made it so special was the people here that took such great care of lifting her.”
The day before departure, there was time for the people of Hawaii to touch Hōkūleʻa before the rigging was stowed in anticipation of the voyage.
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Source: Alaska New’s Source
