Aloha to our supporters, partners, friends, and voyaging ʻohana,

As we reflect on 2025, we do so with deep gratitude and humility. This year has been filled with extraordinary milestones: moments that honor our past, strengthen our present, and guide our future.

PAE ʻĀINA SAIL
At the beginning of the year, we completed the Pae ʻĀina Statewide Sail, reconnecting our waʻa with schools and communities across Hawaiʻi. Through dockside visits, ceremonies, and learning experiences, our canoes engaged with thousands of students, educators, and community members, reinforcing the power of voyaging as a platform for education, culture, and connection.

“Voyaging has always been about education, about helping our young people understand who they are, where they come from, and their responsibility to care for one another and the places that sustain us,” said Nainoa Thompson, CEO of the Polynesian Voyaging Society.

50th BIRTHDAY OF HŌKŪLEʻA
In March, we marked one of the most significant milestones in our history: the 50th Birthday of Hōkūleʻa. Through celebrations and reflections, we honored the genealogy of Hōkūleʻa’s legacy and the profound impact she has had over the past five decades. This birthday was a powerful reminder that Hōkūleʻa is not just a canoe, but a living symbol of cultural revival, ancestral knowledge, courage, and collective effort. We extend our deepest mahalo to the original dreamers and the many teachers, builders, volunteers, crew, and supporters whose vision and perseverance transformed a dream into a movement that continues to inspire the world.

“Hōkūleʻa was born from a dream that our ancestors’ knowledge still mattered,” Thompson shared. “Fifty years later, she continues to teach us that culture, science, and values must work together if we are to navigate an uncertain future for our earth.”

MOANANUIĀKEA VOYAGE
This year also marked the re-launch of the Moananuiākea Voyage – Hōkūleʻa’s and Hikianalia’s circumnavigation of the Pacific. Departing from Hilo in June, the canoes sailed down Kealaikahiki to French Polynesia, stopping first in Taputapuātea, the sacred marae and ancestral center of Polynesian voyaging, followed by a celebratory welcome in Papeʻetē, Tahiti that echoed the love and celebration that greeted Hōkūleʻa in Papeʻetē on her maiden voyage 49 years ago, an affirmation of enduring relationships across our shared ocean.

Throughout French Polynesia, Hōkūleʻa and Hikianalia reconnected with communities in Papeʻetē, Mataiea, Moʻorea, Bora Bora and Tautira, a place where the people teach us the kinds of values that are important.

From there, the canoes sailed to Rarotonga in the Cook Islands, where we celebrated and reflected on a 40-year relationship that has grown into a shared voyaging revival. We honored the ongoing leadership and vision of Tua Pittman, Peia Patai, and the Cook Islands voyaging ʻohana, whose work continues to strengthen voyaging traditions and ocean stewardship throughout the region.

The journey then carried the canoes to Aotearoa, where we commemorated the 40th anniversary of Hōkūleʻa’s first landfall in New Zealand. In 1985, the canoe arrived at Waitangi giving birth to the Hawaiian tribe Ngāti Ruawāhia and helping spark a Māori voyaging renaissance. This canoes’ visit during this milestone anniversary invited reflection on relationships forged decades ago and tributes to Māori leaders such as Sir James Henare and Sir Hekenukumai Busby, and Hawaiian leader Myron Pinky Thompson as well as the greater Te Tai Tokerau communities the people who were part of the first landing and those who continue to foster the connections between the Hawaiian and Māori peoples. We are grateful to the navigators and teachers who had the vision of unifying Polynesia through the revival of voyaging. These ties continue today through the work of leaders including Pwo navigators Jack Thatcher and Stanley Conrad.

ADVOCACY
Beyond the voyage itself, 2025 was also a year of advocacy. Polynesian Voyaging Society was honored to play a role in advancing the High Seas Treaty, working alongside global ocean advocates to help ensure the protection of our oceans, an effort deeply aligned with the values carried by our waʻa.

2026
As the year closes, Hōkūleʻa and Hikianalia are in Auckland, where they will rest briefly and undergo maintenance and care. During this time, crew training continues as we prepare for the next legs of the Moananuiākea Voyage in 2026. Looking ahead, we anticipate sailing to Tonga, Sāmoa, American Sāmoa, and onward to Micronesia, including Satawal, the home island of our beloved teacher Mau Piailug, whose legacy continues to guide us across the seas.

None of this would be possible without you.

To our partners, supporters, crew members, volunteers, and communities across the Pacific and beyond, mahalo nui loa. Your belief, commitment, and generosity sustain this work and ensure that voyaging remains alive, relevant, and purposeful. Together, we continue to remind the world of the importance of protecting our culture, our natural resources, and now more than ever, our oceans.

With gratitude and aloha,
Polynesian Voyaging Society