Coming this Fall 2017, Patagonia and the Polynesian Voyaging Society have partnered to release Mālama Honua: Hokule’a – A Voyage of Hope written by Jennifer Allen with photos by John Bilderback.  followed by additional information about this exciting book. Photo above by John Bilderback.

Long Live Hōkūleʻa

By Jennifer Allen & John Bilderback

The wind is quiet. The waters, still. The only ripples are those following children on paddleboards making large, awestruck circles around the double-hulled sailing canoe Hōkūleʻa. Ti-leaf garlands drape the bows. Sails remain wrapped and tied around the masts. In full wind, those sails will billow into a 50-foot spray of crimson, the color of a Hawaiian king’s cloak.

Hōkūleʻa has been harbored here in Palekai, a spring-fed cove near Hilo, for nearly a week now. Merchant ships, cargo containers and petroleum tanks surround this lava rock-girded bay. Hōkūleʻa seems like an island unto herself—undaunted, anchored, awaiting the winds to sail.

It has been a big-sun day, with a sharp horizon and no sight of clouds. Her captain is barefoot in blue jeans, adjusting the lines that swing the boom. His name is Charles Nainoa Thompson. He’s known as Nainoa. He has been navigating Hōkūleʻa for 35 years now, more than half his lifetime.

“You do not tell the winds what to do,” Nainoa has told his crew. “The winds tell you what to do.”

Right now, the winds say, wait.

Continue reading the excerpt by visiting our friends at Patagonia!

COMING FALL 2017

Mālama Honua: Hokule’a – A Voyage of Hope

This beautiful hardcover book chronicles Hōkūleʻa’s epic mission to nurture worldwide sustainability. Interwoven with descriptions of Hōkūleʻa’s experiences in port are the voices of the master navigators and crew members, who guide the ship along the ocean’s trackless path, and the local pioneers—scientists, teachers, and children touched by Hōkūleʻa—who work tirelessly to weather the many environmental challenges of our modern lives. 320 pages, with full-color photographs throughout.

Photo: Maui Tauotaha

Author Profile – Jennifer Allen & John Bilderback

Jennifer Allen, the author of two previously published books, has been a journalist for over twenty years. Her reporting has appeared in various publications including Rolling Stone, The New Republic and The New York Times Magazine. She has also been an on-air reporter for the NFL Network and NFL Films. Jennifer feels deeply honored and humbled to witness and document the Worldwide Voyage of Hōkūle‘a.

———

John Bilderback is an internationally recognized ocean sports photographer. As a SURFER Magazine Senior Staff photographer for twenty years on the infamous North Shore of Oʻahu, his photographs have been on dozens of covers and hundreds of magazine pages. Now a member of the board of directors of the North Shore Community Land Trust, his lifelong love for the ocean has led him to care deeply about stewardship of the land as well. When Hōkūleʻa came to Haleʻiwa in 2013, he became deeply captivated by the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage, and the mission ultimately drew him in. Describing it as “the greatest group of people” and “the most meaningful thing” he’s ever been part of, he is now traveling extensively to shoot a book about the voyage, which will be published by Patagonia in the fall of 2017. He has just completed his training to become a core crew member.