Update | Swains Island Arrival

Aloha everyone! This is Jenna Ishii reporting from beautiful Swains Island. We were able to bring some crewmembers onshore last night, and we’ve been going back and forth around Swains Islands for two days now. It’s amazing to be on land, and we have a whole new ʻohana of about 40 people that all have relationships to this very special island. People came in from Claifornia, Seattle, and Hawaiʻi just to greet Hōkūleʻa and Hikianalia. This is the first time we’ve ever been here. This morning they cooked coconut crabs for the crew, and they made coconut cream and donuts. We are just really enjoying our time here. This is called the jewel of the Pacific. This atoll has a lush forest and even a freshwater lagoon inside. So today we are going to be exploring the island and learning from the people about the history of this special place.