CREWMEMBER HIGHLIGHT: Todd Yamashita
Todd Yamashita enjoys a colorful office setting as he prepares photos of the crew in the shade Hōkūleʻa's sails.
Crew Profile: Todd Yamashita
PVS Member Since 2011
HOMETOWN:
Kalae, Molokai
PRIMARY DUTY:
Media & Documentation
OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES:
General crew responsibilities – voyager in training
WORLDWIDE VOYAGE LEGS SAILED:
Leg 3: Hikianalia’s Voyage To California, Leg 18: Virgin Islands, Cuba and Florida
Todd Yamashita is the fourth generation of his family to call Molokai home. Dedicated to his ʻohana and community he strives to balance work, community service and the enjoyment of his surroundings.
“As long as I can remember, I have been drawn to the nature and people of Molokai–their unfathomable range of character and unrelenting elegance and grace. I’m indebted to this place and the lifestyle it has afforded my family and me. It is with this admiration that I proudly join others in the effort to mālama honua and community-build for the island of Molokai and beyond.”
Todd is also passionate about waʻa. As an outrigger enthusiast, he paddled for Waikiki Beach Boys, and later for Wakinikona Canoe Club in Seattle in the late 90s. As an outrigger coach, Todd started Montana’s first outrigger canoe club during his time there from 2002 to 2005. After moving home, under the approval of Penny Rawlins, crewmember of Hōkūleʻa’s maiden voyage, and guidance of Hōkūleʻa’s late captain Mel Paoa, Todd first sailed aboard Hōkūleʻa in 2011 crossing the Alenuihaha and Pailolo channels.
“The sail was life-changing. Watching the moon rise over Alenuihaha while Hōkūleʻa surfed and danced between swells shifted something within me. I didn’t exactly know how, but I knew then that my life from that point would be different.”
“As long as I can remember, I have been drawn to the nature and people of Molokai–their unfathomable range of character and unrelenting elegance and grace. I’m indebted to this place and the lifestyle it has afforded my family and me. It is with this admiration that I proudly join others in the effort to mālama honua and community-build for the island of Molokai and beyond.”
Todd is also passionate about waʻa. As an outrigger enthusiast, he paddled for Waikiki Beach Boys, and later for Wakinikona Canoe Club in Seattle in the late 90s. As an outrigger coach, Todd started Montana’s first outrigger canoe club during his time there from 2002 to 2005. After moving home, under the approval of Penny Rawlins, crewmember of Hōkūleʻa’s maiden voyage, and guidance of Hōkūleʻa’s late captain Mel Paoa, Todd first sailed aboard Hōkūleʻa in 2011 crossing the Alenuihaha and Pailolo channels.
“The sail was life-changing. Watching the moon rise over Alenuihaha while Hōkūleʻa surfed and danced between swells shifted something within me. I didn’t exactly know how, but I knew then that my life from that point would be different.”
