Hōkūleʻa reaches Worldwide Voyage halfway point at Cape Town
On board is Chad Kalepa Baybayan, navigator-in-residence for the ʻImiloa Astronomy Center at UH Hilo.
The crew of Polynesian Voyaging Society Hōkūleʻa has reached the climax of the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage’s most ambitious leg—the final stop on the South African leg of her historic journey. South Africa marks the halfway point of the Worldwide Voyage and the furthest point from Hawaiʻi for Hōkūleʻa and her crew. Hōkūleʻa arrived into Cape Town on Thursday, Nov. 12.
Three members of the University of Hawaiʻi ʻohana are participating in the South Africa leg of the World Wide Voyage. They are Chad Kalepa Baybayan, navigator-in-residence for the ʻImiloa Astronomy Center at UH Hilo; Linda Furuto, associate professor of curriculum studies at UH Mānoa; and Robert Perkins, associate professor and director of marine maintenance and repair at Honolulu Community College.
The Hōkūleʻa and crew are expected to spend one week in Cape Town. They will be joined by a 60 person delegation of Hawaiʻi educators, students, and families. Together, they will support the Mālama Honua mission of the voyage by engaging with the local community through various activities to be held throughout the week including a ceremony of friendship, a service project at Table Mountain National Park, a cultural exchange and a surf session with The Surfer Kids, canoe tours, school visits and more.
UH is an education partner in Hōkūleʻa’s Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage. More than 50 UH faculty, staff and students from UH Mānoa, UH Hilo, UH West Oʻahu, Honolulu Community College, Kapiʻolani Community College, Leeward Community College, Windward Community College, Kauaʻi Community College, and UH Maui College are actively participating in the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage.
