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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES             H.R. NO.              
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                     HOUSE  RESOLUTION

COMMEMORATING THE TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE POLYNESIAN
   VOYAGING CANOE HOKULE'A.



 1       WHEREAS, ancient Polynesian voyaging served as the single
 2   means of transportation, exploration, and migration by
 3   generations of Polynesians throughout the Pacific, using the
 4   practice of "wayfinding," or the noninstrument navigation using
 5   elements of nature such as the sun, moon, stars, ocean swells
 6   and currents, winds, and birds, as the sole means of
 7   navigation; and
 8   
 9       WHEREAS, the vision of Dr. Ben Finney, Herb Kawainui Kane,
10   and Tommy Holmes, to build and sail a voyaging canoe along the
11   Polynesian migratory pathways, sparked the creation of the
12   Polynesian Voyaging Society in 1973, and was followed by the
13   completion of Hawaii's first voyaging canoe, Hokule'a, built
14   with the cooperation of many helping hands as a replica of
15   traditional design using modern materials; and
16   
17       WHEREAS, Hokule'a set sail from Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, on her
18   inaugural launch on March 8, 1975, with a mission to test the
19   theories of ancient Polynesian migration; and
20   
21       WHEREAS, Hawaii's call for renewal of the lost art of
22   traditional navigation was answered by a humble and generous
23   man named Mau Piailug, a master of celestial navigation from
24   the distant Micronesian Island of Satawal; and
25   
26       WHEREAS, in 1976, Hokule'a successfully embarked on her
27   first maiden voyage from Hawaii to Tahiti with master navigator
28   Mau Piailug at the helm and a bold new generation of seafaring
29   Hawaiians on board; and
30   
31       WHEREAS, in 1978, tragedy overshadowed an attempt to again
32   sail to Tahiti with the loss of Hokule'a crewmember, lifeguard,
33   and big wave surfer Eddie Aikau, who sacrificed his life at
34   sea, in a heroic effort to swim for help after the canoe
35   capsized in the waters between Oahu and Lanai; and

 
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                                  H.R. NO.              
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1       WHEREAS, inspired to continue the mission to sail, the
 2   Polynesian Voyaging Society asked Mau Piailug to share his
 3   knowledge of voyaging and navigation in preparation of a second
 4   crossing to Tahiti; and
 5   
 6       WHEREAS, in 1980, Hokule'a set sail with Mau's protege,
 7   Hawaiian navigator Nainoa Thompson, leading the voyage; and
 8   
 9       WHEREAS, over a twenty-year period, Mau Piailug unselfishly
10   bestowed generations of knowledge of celestial navigation to
11   two young, spirited Hawaiians, Shorty Bertlemann and Nainoa
12   Thompson, sacrificing time away from his home island of Satawal
13   to train these Hawaiian renaissance men in the lost art of
14   "wayfinding"; and
15   
16       WHEREAS, Hokule'a has embarked on a number of other Trans-
17   Pacific voyages in the largest body of ocean on earth, covering
18   an area of over ten million square miles, thus supporting the
19   theories of purposeful Polynesian exploration and settlement of
20   islands in a period spanning over 1,000 years; and
21   
22       WHEREAS, in 1985 through 1987, Hokule'a sailed on "The
23   Voyage of Rediscovery," a 16,000-mile journey along the ancient
24   migratory routes, stringing a lei of islands that make up the
25   Polynesian Triangle; and
26   
27       WHEREAS, in 1992, Hokule'a sailed to Rarotonga on "The
28   Voyage for Education--No Na Mamo--For the Generations," and for
29   the first time in modern history, bridged Hokule'a navigators
30   of the ancient Polynesian wayfinders with the modern astronauts
31   navigating the new frontier in the orbiting space shuttle
32   Columbia, and with the children of Hawaii classrooms, through a
33   live three-way interactive radio communications link; and
34   
35       WHEREAS, in 1995, Hokule'a sailed along with an expanding
36   fleet of newly-built voyaging canoes, Hawaiiloa and Makalii, to
37   the Marqueseas for the "Na Ohana Holo Moana--the Voyaging
38   Family of the Vast Ocean" journey; and
39   
40       WHEREAS, later that year, Hokule'a embarked on a tour of
41   the West Coast for the purpose of sharing the mana of canoes
42   with a host of communities, including Hawaiians, native
43   Americans, and others along the West Coast communities of the
44   United States, Canada, and Alaska; and

 
 
 
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                                  H.R. NO.              
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1       WHEREAS, by 1996, Hokule'a had completed almost 85,000
 2   miles of voyaging since her first launching, thus preparing her
 3   for the most challenging sail of her history, a voyage in 1999
 4   to the most eastern point of the Polynesian triangle: Rapa Nui;
 5   and
 6   
 7       WHEREAS, this voyage represented the ultimate test of
 8   ancient Polynesian navigational skills, covering more than
 9   4,000 nautical miles and pinpointing the single most remote
10   island in the Pacific between Central Polynesia and South
11   America; and
12   
13       WHEREAS, the arrival of Hokule'a in Rapa Nui in October
14   1999, represents the oral traditions of Hotu Matua and the
15   visions of a small island home, finally linking and making
16   whole the Polynesian Triangle; and
17   
18       WHEREAS, the Polynesian Voyaging Canoe Hokule'a continues
19   to serve as Hawaii's "Ambassador of Aloha" and Hawaiian pride
20   and honor, bridging horizons, and stringing a lei of islands
21   and people in kinship and friendship; and
22   
23       WHEREAS, on March 12, 2000, in honor of Hokule'a and a
24   quarter-century of voyaging, rediscovery, and education, the
25   people of Hawaii, Tahiti, Cook Islands, Aotearoa, Tonga, Samoa,
26   Marquesea, Tuamotu, and Rapa Nui, comprising the largest nation
27   of islands in the Pacific, will gather at Kualoa Beach Park on
28   Oahu to celebrate the bridging of Polynesian horizons; and
29   
30       WHEREAS, bridging Polynesian horizons is an extraordinary
31   achievement in wayfinding and celestial navigation, and the
32   proud heritage and culture of the people who are known as
33   Seafarers of the Wind; now, therefore,
34   
35       BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the
36   Twentieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session
37   of 2000, that this body hereby recognizes and commemorates the
38   Twenty-fifth Anniversary of the Polynesian Voyaging Canoe
39   Hokule'a; and
40   
41       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
42   Resolution be transmitted to Master Navigator Mau Piailug; the
43   President of the Polynesian Voyaging Society; the Executive
44   Directors of Bishop Museum and the Hawaii Maritime Center; and
45   the Governments of French Polynesia, Cook Islands, New Zealand,
46   Tonga, American Samoa, and Rapa Nui.
47 
48 
49 
50                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________

 
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