The Polynesian Voyaging Society (PVS) announced today that it will relaunch the Moananuiākea Voyage this month. The double-hulled voyaging canoes Hōkūleʻa and Hikianalia are tentatively scheduled to depart from Mauliola (Sand Island), Oʻahu on Saturday, May 17, 2025, with a stop in Hilo for community engagement while making final preparations and awaiting favorable weather conditions to resume the four year journey around the vast Pacific. Weather and safety-permitting, the crew is expected to depart Hilo on May 29 or 30, and will head to French Polynesia where the Tahitian communities are planning ceremonial celebrations to welcome the canoes and crew back to Hawaiʻi’s ancestral home and to honor Hōkūleʻa’s 50th birthday.

“From their sacred maraes to their ocean science centers, to places that we know are connected genealogically to us,” PVS CEO Nainoa Thompson said, “every single signal from French Polynesia is making sure that we understand we’re connecting the family and we’re never going to let it go.”

The canoes are expected to make first landfall in mid-June and will remain in French Polynesia for approximately four-weeks, stopping first at the ancient voyaging marae of Taputapuātea, followed by visits to Papeete, Mataiea, Moʻorea and Tautira. After French Polynesia, the canoes plan to visit the Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Aotearoa (New Zealand), the islands of Melanesia, Micronesia, Palau, and eventually major nations along the coasts of Asia, and Central and South America, before returning to Polynesia through Rapa Nui and Tahiti in 2028.

“I think leaving in three weeks we are much stronger than we were if we left a year and a half ago, because we are so much more connected to a movement in Hawaiʻi that I think it’s unlike any other place in the world and we are deeply, deeply grateful to the power of our community,” Thompson said. “Hawaiʻi is the light. Hawaiʻi is the place, Hawaiʻi is the time, and we have this privilege to do a tiny little small sail around the Pacific and to carry that light in a way that can help pull us together in the ocean country, biggest in the world. And we’re just very proud to do that.”

The Moananuiākea Voyage will traverse approximately 43,000 nautical miles, visiting 36 countries and archipelagos, nearly 100 indigenous territories, and more than 345 ports. The voyage involves around 400 crew members from Hawaiʻi and the Pacific.

Voyage Blessing and Community Send-Off – May 16, 2025, 3 to 7pm

The community is invited to a blessing and send-off event on the eve of departure on Friday, May 16 starting at 3pm at the Marine Education Training Center at Mauliola (Sand Island). Supporters can bring lei and expression of aloha for the canoes and crew before they leave Hawaiʻi for three years. The event will also include voyage education activities, speakers, and music.

2025-2028 Moananuiākea Voyage Sail Plan (Subject to change)

May to June 2025
Depart Hawaiʻi, re-launch circumnavigation of the Pacific
French Polynesia

July to December 2025
Cook Islands
Samoa
Tonga
Aotearoa (New Zealand)

2026-2027
Aotearoa (New Zealand)
Islands of Melanesia, Micronesia and Palau

207
Major countries along the coast of Asia (Philippines, China, Taiwan, Okinawa, Japan, South Korea)
Ship canoes to Long Beach, CA
Mexico

2028
Central/South America
Re-enter Polynesia at Rapa Nui
Major archipelagos of Polynesia
Tahiti, Taputapuātea
Return to Hawaiʻi

The ambitious circumnavigation of the Pacific is dedicated to uniting Pacific communities and inspiring a global movement of ocean and cultural stewardship. PVS held its global launch of the four-year circumnavigation of the Pacific in Juneau, Alaska on June 15, 2023. Hōkūleʻa sailed south through British Columbia, to Washington State, and down the West Coast of Oregon and California after engaging with First Nations communities, Native Hawaiian communities, and the general public in 45 ports. Hōkūleʻa returned home from San Diego, California in December 2023, in the wake of the devastating fires on Maui and because of the unprecedented El Nino weather patterns in the Pacific causing unpredictable conditions.

Since her return, PVS has focused on crew training, educational outreach and connecting with communities during the Statewide Pae ‘Āina Sail. Over the last six months, the canoes and crew visited about 25 local communities and connected with more than 12,000 students throughout the State.

Each leg of the Moananuiākea Voyage is designed with a specific purpose, including visits to important cultural, educational, and environmental sites to advance shared values and sustainable practices. The ultimate goal is to create collective action among Pacific peoples and global communities toward a sustainable future for the planet.

PVS invites the global community to follow the voyage through real-time updates, educational content, and events shared online at www.hokulea.com and social media: @hokuleacrew on Facebook and Instagram.

Moananuiākea Voyage Sponsors

The Polynesian Voyaging Society is lifted by the generous support of many organizations and individuals. Top major sponsors of the Moananuiākea Voyage include Hawaiian Airlines, Hawaiian Native Corporation and Nakupuna Foundation.