Hōkūleʻa Update | May 25, 2015

Written by Joia Karen Holman

It is our third day en route to Brisbane, and it has been a day of calm, quiet seas. We have just passed a land mass of small, rolling hills known as Solitary Island, outside of Wooli Wooli River. We are 29 miles north of Coffs Harbour, our previous anchorage and now entering a previously unexplored part of the coastline. We took advantage of the calm weather to inventory all safety gear, sails, and other equipment on deck. We are already preparing for the crew change next week and hope to leave the canoe better than we found her, making the transfer of our specific responsibilities to the incoming crew as seamless as possible.

Sunset stretches into infinite time out at sea. As the cumulus clouds take on diverse gradients of color to the East, and the sky shifts into a palette of color over distant mountains in the West, we start reading about the Quandamooka, the people we are traveling to visit in the Morton Bay and Stradbroke Island region. They have recently gained rights to their land and are operating under their own system of laws and caring for country. We are inspired to learn more from the Quandamooka people, as they have made giant strides that could inform efforts to reclaim indigenous land globally.

Please help keep us sailing for future generations. All contributions make a difference for our voyage. Mahalo nui loa!