Crew Profile: Tava Taupu
PVS Member Since 1975
HOMETOWN:
Honaunau, Hawai'i
PRIMARY DUTY:
Watch Captain
OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES:
WORLDWIDE VOYAGE LEGS SAILED:
2017 Hikianalia: Hawaiʻi to Tahiti, Leg 3: Tahiti to Sāmoa
Tava grew up and attended school in Taiohae, Marquesas, French Polynesia, where the ways of the ocean - fishing, sailing, and canoe-making - played a big role in her life. For Tava, sailing was not an option but a calling so he joined the Hōkūleʻa crew in 1975. On the canoe, he learned by observing the master navigators and working alongside other crew members. Now a veteran sailor, he looks forward to teaching and exchanging culture and meeting old friends on the canoe.
Tava is a retired Cultural Demonstrator, currently a property caretaker and master carver.
Tava is a retired Cultural Demonstrator, currently a property caretaker and master carver.