There are so many amazing people who volunteer aboard the Hōkūle‘a and Kama Hele. One such person, is Sam Monaghan. You may remember Sam for his much followed blog entries sharing the voyage home to Hawai‘i from Palmyra Atoll. His reports enabled us to follow along and feel as though we were there with them.

Learning how to rig and sail are just a few of the things you need to know if you would like to voyage aboard Hōkūle‘a. The most important thing, and the thing that is absolutely non-negotiable, to be a crew member you have to be ocean safe.

Training crew members spend hours upon hours not only on the canoe, but in the ocean itself, learning safety techniques.

In this video, crew members in training are practicing emergency procedures in case they are thrown overboard.

The haumāna (students) of Kamaile Academy, a K-6 public charter school serving the Wai‘anae area of O‘ahu, are living examples of great resolve and commitment to learning through culture. With the support of their kumu (teachers), the haumāna are integrating the lessons of the wa‘a (canoe) into their daily lessons.

This past Friday, Pearlridge Center invited Hōkūle‘a crew members to share with children affected by Furlough Friday. They offered a wide variety of free educational activities, one of which was teaching keiki how to make their own star compasses.

It was a wonderful day, sharing with the hundreds of children at the Center. And, fortunately, Pearlridge has a large compass design on their floor. We used this large compass as a learning tool (and one of their light fixtures that just happened to be in the perfect spot to represent Hōkū Pa‘a or the North Star).