Hōkūleʻa Update | January 16, 2016

English

Aloha ahiahi kākou, eia nō mākou ma Hōkūleʻa from the middle of the Atlantic Ocean as we continue on our journey from Cape Town, South Africa to St. Helena, and now we are on the portion from St. Helena to Ascension, two small islands in the middle of the Atlantic. We left St. Helena about three days ago, and we estimate our current position about halfway between St. Helena and Ascension, a little over 300 miles in this route. We are expecting manu o Kū (white tern) either tomorrow or the day after that will confirm our location in the ocean as we get close to our next target island of Ascension. Navigation has been a little difficult, as it has been for the entire trip. We have these following seas and light winds coming from straight behind us making it difficult to steer the course we want to be steering. We are going north then south. So if you are following us on the tracking map, and we are going north and south, that is why. It is all being done on purpose. We are having constantly shifting wind patterns and clouds that come in that block the stars, moon, and sun. This makes it difficult to navigate, but here we are continuing on our voyage and having faith in our ʻaumakua and kupuna who are traveling with us and helping guide our waʻa to these tiny islands across the Atlantic Ocean. Today, we had rain for the first time in our trip. But right now, you can see blue skies and nice clouds showing us that we’ll have steady winds for a while. I think that’s it for now, and we’ll get back to you in a few days, hopefully with Ascension Island right in front of us. Mahalo for following our voyage at Hokulea.com. Aloha!

ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi

Auhea wale ʻoe e ka pua lililehua a me nā pua makame ʻe aʻe ma Hawaiʻi la a me ka honua holoʻokoʻa e hahai ana iā mākou ma kēia huakaʻi holopuni honua ʻo Mālama Honua. Eia nō hoʻi kēia kahi kipa leo iā ʻoukou ʻo Kaleomanuiwa Wong. Ke kipa aku nei iā ʻoukou mai kēia waʻa mai ma ka Atalanakila aku i ko ʻoukou home pumehana. Eia nō mākou ke noke aku nei ka holo i Ascension, he moku liʻiliʻi nō ia ma ka Atalanakila. Ua haʻalele mākou iā St. Helena ʻekolu lā aku nei, a eia nō mākou i waena konu o kēia māhele o ka huakaʻi mai St. Helena a i Ascension. Aia mākou makahi o ʻekolu haneli mau mile mai Ascension a i St. Helena. No laila, ʻelua aiʻole ʻekolu lā paha e ʻike aku ai i Ascension. Ke noʻonoʻo nei mākou ʻapōpō paha a ia lā aku e ʻike ʻia ana nō ka manu o Kū a kekahi mau manu ʻe aʻe e hoʻōia ana mai iā mākou i kahi o ka waʻa ma kēia moananuiākea. Ua ʻike ʻia nō kekahi manu iwa, he hōʻailona maikaʻi nō ia, ʻo ia nō ka maka mua ka ʻike ana kekahi iwa ma kēia huakaʻi holoʻokoʻa. Ua mahalo nui nō ia. ʻO ka hoʻokele ʻana i kēia wahi waʻa, ua ʻano paʻakīkī ʻoiai ua ke ao o ka lewa, he mea maʻamau ʻikeʻole i ana o nā hōkū, ka lā, a me ka mahina. A wili mau ka makani, ʻaʻole e pā mai ka makani mai kahi wā like no ka wā lōʻihi. Ua paʻakīkī nō ana, eia nō ke holo nei me ka mahalo ʻana i nā akua, nā ʻaumakau, a me nā kūpuna o kākou. E alakaʻi mai ana i kēia waʻa i Ascension, he moku liʻiliʻi. A ʻo ia wale nō no kēia waʻa, e hui hou kākou ma kekahi wē ʻe aʻe. E leo aloha iā ʻoukou e nā kānaka kūpaʻa i ke aloha ʻāina ma ka waʻa mai ʻo Hōkūleʻa, he waʻa kaulua ma ka Atalanakila. He wahi leo aloha iā ʻoukou apau. Aloha!

Written by Bruce Black

The night sky was dotted with stars as few shooting stars streaked overhead. Dark clouds behind are approaching, but they have not caught us yet. In the far distance, the sun is breaking through as winds are beginning to pick back up from 5 mph to 10 mph in front of the rain. In a few hours, the rain has finally enveloped us in a light drizzle, and the sun has disappeared along with the wind. We drop all the sails and hook up for a tow. It has stopped raining but the wind has not returned, creating extremely humid and muggy conditions. A cold bucket shower sounds great. We dropped the tow in the afternoon with some good wind and sailed into the night with a clear sky.

Yesterday, we participated in a Google Hangout with students at Mid-Pacific Institute in Hawaiʻi. One question came from Dr. Turnbull on how can celestial navigational knowledge be used by others around the world. My answer was straight forward: the stars have a designated line of travel across the heavens no matter where you are on Earth. Learn those lines and you can explore new lands and find your way home.  I will add to that when I see him next time, that celestial navigation, though thousands of years old, is still in its infancy.  We understand how to guide ourselves around Earth using the stars, but it will not be long before we use the stars to guide ourselves among them.  Our star compass we use at sea is set on a 180 degrees of rotating sky. The star compass of the future will be four-dimensional, and we will not be floating on the ocean, but floating through space and time.  It is a blessing that the Hōkūleʻa has reignited the fire of future celestial navigation and exploration. The indigenous wisdom of our ancestors hold this knowledge. We see it in the artifacts they have left behind – the Mayan Calendar, Stonehenge, and others from past civilizations. Who knows how many other links to the future we will discover. It is not a stretch they say we must go “Back to the Future!”

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