Young navigators on Hokule’a Saturday night found their last stop before New Zealand.
“At 220 degrees, a course line at 2 p.m, at 4 knots, along our reference course 235? Yes,” said Hokule’a navigator Kaleo Wong
Kaleo Wong speaking the language of a navigator, checking in with his teacher, navigator and Captain Bruce Blankenfeld.
The other navigator, Ka’iulani Murphy also at his side. This leg of the voyage around the world is their test.
They left Tonga last week, navigating to the Kermadec Islands, about half way to New Zealand, Aotearoa.
“You want to find the last closest single land mass to reorient to know exactly where you are before you go to New Zealand1:45 so instead of it being a thousand mile trip from tonga to New zealand, because they found it, it’s only gonna be a 500 mile trip,” said Nainoa Thompson, Polynesian Voyaging Society President.
Great job, Thompson says they’re about eight miles from Raoul Island, which although is tiny, is higher than Kokohead, about 700 feet tall, a good target.
The Kermadec Islands are protection by the New Zealand government so Thompson says it has an amazing ecological system, another story in the Malama Honua voyage about protecting earth.
It’s been 29 years since Hokule’a last voyaged to the Kermadecs.
He says it was cold. KHON2 will have a funny story on our website Monday night.
(VIDEO TO COME) This is one of Kathy Muneno’s favorite voyaging stories he shared, from that trip to the Kermadecs, a kind of spiritual story involving a whale.
