Ka Lā March 2017

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A student publication of the University of Hawai'i-Honolulu Community College

Mark Keala Kimura, has sailed with Hōkūle'a on several legs of its worldwide journey.

March 2017

Photos Courtesy of Oiwi TV

Our Hōkūle'a connection Two play key roles in worldwide voyage By Caitlin Barrett

Ka Lā staff writer

Kaʻiulani Murphy will be the navigator when Hōkūle'a returns to Hawai'i this summer.

Hōkūle'a, the Polynesian sailing canoe, will return home this summer from a historic, round-theworld voyage that covered 47,000 nautical miles, 85 ports and 26 countries. And when it arrives back in Hawai'i, two members of the Honolulu Community College community will be front and center after spending part of the last few years traveling on the canoe. Ka'iulani Murphy, an instructor of Hawaiian language, will be the navigator on board who brings the journey to an end in Honolulu. Mark Keala Kimura, an educational specialist with the Small Vessel Fabrication program, where the Hōkūle'a is homeported, served as a watch captain on several legs of the journey. In February, the two talked

about their experiences before almost 100 people in the HonCC library. Since its initial voyage to Tahiti in the 1970s, Hōkūle'a has served as “a messenger of peace” that brought Polynesians and others together, Murphy said. The current voyage has shown that the message can be shared and welcomed worldwide, she said. As part of the round-the-world trip, the Hōkūle'a made many new friends, including many Native Americans in North America. “We’re all looking down the same direction trying to clean our environment and provide for our kids, take care of our elders,” Kimura said. “Some of the Native American chiefs had not been in the same room for decades. They put aside Continued on Page 3


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