Crew Profile: Heather Nahaku Kalei
PVS Member Since 2009
HOMETOWN:
Hilo, Hawaii
PRIMARY DUTY:
Watch Captain
OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES:
Rescue swimmer and science specialist
WORLDWIDE VOYAGE LEGS SAILED:
Leg 5: Samoa to Aotearoa
Nahaku Kalei, originally born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, first touched Hōkūleʻa in 2008 when she returned from her voyage to Japan.
To Nahaku, Hōkūleʻa has different meanings on different levels of life. At her core, Hōkūleʻa is a symbol of hope - hope and faith in ancestral knowledge and the genius of of our kupuna. Hope that the good in this world is profoundly stronger than the darkness, and that each individual can do and choose what we bring into this world. On Nahakuʻs personal level, when she steps out on Hōkūleʻaʻs deck, she is on the training grounds for her soul. And that with each shift of her hull, she will be forever changed - broken down, cleaned out, built up again and better than she was before.
During this leg of the journey, Nahaku would like to see an explosion of the practice of kindness toward each other and the world. She wants to be part of the platform of people that are able to exchange her appreciation for new experiences of the diverse range of world cultures and where strategies on healthy interactions with land and sea are highlighted and honored.
Without a doubt, Nahaku will miss her Ohana while out to sea, but when she returns home from this journey, she will miss the simplicity of moving in sync and functioning with a collective mind with her crewmembers.
To Nahaku, Hōkūleʻa has different meanings on different levels of life. At her core, Hōkūleʻa is a symbol of hope - hope and faith in ancestral knowledge and the genius of of our kupuna. Hope that the good in this world is profoundly stronger than the darkness, and that each individual can do and choose what we bring into this world. On Nahakuʻs personal level, when she steps out on Hōkūleʻaʻs deck, she is on the training grounds for her soul. And that with each shift of her hull, she will be forever changed - broken down, cleaned out, built up again and better than she was before.
During this leg of the journey, Nahaku would like to see an explosion of the practice of kindness toward each other and the world. She wants to be part of the platform of people that are able to exchange her appreciation for new experiences of the diverse range of world cultures and where strategies on healthy interactions with land and sea are highlighted and honored.
Without a doubt, Nahaku will miss her Ohana while out to sea, but when she returns home from this journey, she will miss the simplicity of moving in sync and functioning with a collective mind with her crewmembers.
