WHEREAS, the Polynesian Voyaging Society was founded in 1973 to research how Polynesian seafarers discovered and settled nearly every inhabitable island in the Pacific Ocean before European explorers arrived in the 16th century, and how a Polynesian voyaging canoe was navigated using ancient wayfinding techniques over the long, open ocean migration routes of Polynesia; and

WHEREAS, wayfinding involves navigating on the open ocean without a sextant, compass, clock, radio reports, or satellite reports, but relies on observations of the stars, sun, ocean swells, and other signs of nature to find clues to the direction and location of a vessel at sea, and was used in voyaging for thousands of years before the invention of European navigational instruments; and

WHEREAS, a double-hulled masted sailing canoe was constructed by the Polynesian Voyaging Society and appropriately christened the Hokule'a, the Hawaiian term for the bright star Arcturus that passes directly over the island of Hawai'i; and

WHEREAS, because no present-day Polynesians knew how to navigate according to the ancient methods, Mau Piailug, a traditional master navigator from the Satawal Island of Micronesia, was chosen to guide the canoe using methods similar to wayfinding; and

WHEREAS, the Hokule'a was launched at Honolua Bay, Maui, on May 1, 1976, with a 14-man crew under the expert direction of Mau Piailug, and after 34 challenging days, including days when solid cloud cover hid the sun, moon, and stars, and after travelling approximately 2,400 miles, they kept their course and finally reached Tahiti safely on June 4, 1976, effectively demonstrating and kindling a new appreciation for how the Polynesians used voyaging canoes and traditional methods of navigation to travel vast distances; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2006, that this body hereby congratulates and commends master navigator Mau Piailug, and the crew members of the Hokule'a's inaugural voyage, CAPTAIN Kawika Kapahulehua, Clifford Ah Mow, Shorty Bertelmann, Ben Finney, Tommy Holmes, Sam Kalalau, Boogie Kalama, Buffalo Keaulana, John Kruse, Dukie Kauhulu, David Lewis, Dave Lyman, Billy Richards, and Rodo Williams, some of whom are no longer with us, for their significant contribution to the perpetuation of Hawaiian and Polynesian heritage and culture, and extends to them its warmest aloha and very best wishes.