Voyaging canoe Hōkūleʻa headed to visit San Francisco

The legendary voyaging canoe Hōkūleʻa, which revived the lost art of Polynesian voyaging and navigation and propelled a cultural renaissance in Hawaiʻi, is scheduled to sail into San Francisco’s Aquatic Park Cove for a public welcoming celebration on Sept. 24.

This stop is part of the Moananuiākea Voyage, a circumnavigation of the Pacific that will cover an estimated 43,000 nautical miles, 36 countries and archipelagoes, nearly 100 indigenous territories and more than 300 ports.

Led by the Polynesian Voyaging Society, the Voyage is a global educational campaign that will amplify the vital importance of oceans and indigenous knowledge through port engagements, education and storytelling.

While in the Bay Area, the crew will host dockside canoe tours. The public will come aboard the legendary Hōkūleʻa and the crew will share the history of the canoe, how the lost art of traditional wayfinding was revived and the future-facing mission of the Polynesian Voyaging Society and the Moananuiākea Voyage.

Hōkūleʻa has been sailing south from Southeast Alaska since the Polynesian Voyaging Society held its global launch of the four-year circumnavigation of the Pacific in Juneau, Alaska on June 15. The canoe and her crew sailed through British Columbia where they continued to engage with First Nations communities. They arrived in Washington State in August and were welcomed to Seattle, Tacoma and other areas by their indigenous peoples, large Native Hawaiian communities and general public.