Crew Profile

Jonah Apo

Hometown

Nuʻuanu, Oʻahu

Voyage(s)

Moananuiākea Voyage – Leg 1: Juneau to Yakutat, Moananuiākea Voyage – Leg 6: Vancouver to Seattle, Moananuiākea Voyage – Leg 9: Ventura to San Diego

Bio

Jonah says heʻs “been hooked to the waʻa ever since” he first sailed on a waʻa kaulua in 2016. That was on Hikianalia with the Papa Kilo Hoku at Kamehameha Schools. That led him to join Nā Kelamoku, Kānehūnāmoku Voyaging Academy, and the Polynesian Voyaging Society. Now as a college student, he is sailing on Moananuiākea. “I want to be a part of this voyage to contribute to the important mission that voyaging can share,” he says, “I am inspired by the relationships that we have (and will be made) with all the places where our ocean connects us.”


Jonah calls Hōkūleʻa “a symbol that our kupuna were extraordinary explorers. The canoe is a magnet that pulls us to follow the paths of our ancestors and continue the perseverance of our ancestral knowledge.” He carries a vision of “voyaging canoes used in everyday life by all generations, fleets of waʻa traveling together across the ocean together, maybe even regatta races of waʻa kaulua between Hawaiʻi and Tahiti.”


Jonah says when heʻs not sailing, he misses “the ability to be present with the ocean without the distractions of our busy lives on land. Not having to worry about my email is always a great plus.” And when he is voyaging, he has but one craving: Zippyʻs Korean Chicken.