Hōkūle‘a arrives in Vancouver, British Columbia, completing Leg 5 of Moananuiākea Voyage

Hawaiʻi’s iconic voyaging canoe Hōkūleʻa arrived at Heritage Harbor at the Vancouver Maritime Museum yesterday at 10 a.m. PST, the last port for Leg 5 of Moananuiākea Voyage around the Pacific.

The crew was received by Lamxacha Siyám Mike Billy, esteemed Squamish chief and respected canoe carver.

The Vancouver Maritime Museum is hosting Hōkūleʻa for three days where the crew is
conducting public canoe tours while docked. On Aug. 8, a new crew will take
over for Leg 6 of the Voyage, and the canoe will move to Vancouver’s Granville Public
Marina and dock there until Aug. 12.

Hōkūleʻa has been sailing south from Southeast Alaska since the Polynesian Voyaging
Society held its global launch of the Moananuiākea Voyage in Juneau, Alaska two
months ago on June 15.

Leg 5 started in Prince Rupert, B.C. July 16 then sailed to Klemtu, Bella Bella, Hakai, Port Hardy, Alert Bay and Campbell River, with the crew engaging with First Nations communities at each stop. The remaining stops in British Columbia include Salt Spring and Victoria, then Hōkūleʻa will enter Washington State, returning to US waters.

The Moananuiākea Voyage, led by the Polynesian Voyaging Society, will cover an estimated 43,000 nautical miles around the Pacific, visiting 36 countries and archipelagoes, nearly 100 indigenous territories and more than 300 ports.