Hometown
Hawaiʻi Kai, Oʻahu
Voyage(s)
Moananuiākea Voyage – Leg 7: Tacoma to San Francisco
Bio
Matt comes from a voyaging lineage as his father, the late Mike Tongg, was president of the Polynesian Voyaging Society and himself on several Hōkūleʻa voyages. Mattʻs first voyage on a waʻa kaulua was in 1995, when he helped bring Hōkūleʻa from Seattle south, down the west coast of the U.S. And now his first leg on the Moananuiākea Voyage is that same route, on which his knowledge and experience as a Port Captain will be relied upon. He says he looks forward to supporting “the mission of PVS and the complete dedication from crew members and volunteers to continue the mission.”
When asked what Hōkūleʻa means to him, Matt says Hōkūleʻa means “connecting the past to the future by time well spent with good people, their actions and stories they tell through their experiences, which have been binding communities together everywhere they go.”
When Matt is out at sea, he says he misses spending time with his wife and children, but when heʻs back on land what he looks forward to about getting back on the water is “not sitting in traffic!”
When asked what Hōkūleʻa means to him, Matt says Hōkūleʻa means “connecting the past to the future by time well spent with good people, their actions and stories they tell through their experiences, which have been binding communities together everywhere they go.”
When Matt is out at sea, he says he misses spending time with his wife and children, but when heʻs back on land what he looks forward to about getting back on the water is “not sitting in traffic!”