Round-the-world journey started in 2014 spreading a message of malama honua — caring for the earth

About a dozen crew members for each leg of the voyage relied only on their understanding of nature’s cues ocean swells, stars, wind, birds and their own naau, or gut, to sail across about 40,000 nautical miles to 19 countries, spreading a message of malama honua — caring for the earth.

On Saturday, thousands are expected to welcome double-hulled canoe Hokulea home to Hawaii when it enters a channel off the island Oahu and ties up to a floating dock with iconic Diamond Head in the distance.

“Watching Hokulea crest the waves of Oahu’s south shore as she returns home, much like the canoes of our ancestors, will be a once in a lifetime experience,” said Nainoa Thompson, navigator and president of the Polynesian Voyaging Society who oversaw the expedition and mission.

Traditional way-finding

The voyage is perpetuating the traditional way-finding that brought the first Polynesians several thousand miles to Hawaii hundreds of years ago. The trip also helped train a new generation of young navigators.

Mau Piailug, from a small island called Satawal in Micronesia, was among the last half-dozen people in the world to practice the art of traditional navigation and agreed to guide Hokulea to Tahiti in 1976. “Without him, our voyaging would never have taken place,” the Polynesian Voyaging Society said on the website for Hokulea. “Mau was the only traditional navigator who was willing and able to reach beyond his culture to ours.”

The epic round-the-world voyage that started in 2014 shows how far Hokulea has gone since its first voyage from Hawaii to Tahiti in 1976.

Disaster befell another voyage in 1978 when the canoe capsized off the Hawaiian island of Molokai in a blinding storm. Eddie Aikau, a revered Hawaiian surfer and lifeguard on the crew, grabbed his surfboard and paddled for help, but was never seen again. The rest of the crew members were rescued.

Indigenous cultures

Crew members hope the success of the latest journey will inspire other indigenous cultures to rediscover and revive traditions. Mr. Thompson said he also hopes indigenous cultures can help with solutions to modern-day problems such as climate change.

Native Hawaiian ancestors were not only skilled navigators but good stewards of the islands who farmed and fished sustainably. “They figured it out how to live well on these islands,” Mr. Thompson said. “And I think that is the challenge of the time for planet earth and all of humanity.”

Crew members of the worldwide voyage were mindful to incorporate that into daily life. Fish they caught for meals never went to waste, even when the crew once landed a 49-pound ahi (fish), crew member Naalehu Anthony, who participated in about half-a-dozen legs of the voyage, recalled in a blog post. “The fish was plenty for us for the day,” he wrote. “In fact too much because we do not have any refrigeration, we either need to consume it, share it or dry it.” Crew members slept in plywood bunks covered with waterproof canvas and bathing was simple, recalled Russell Amimoto, a Hokulea crew member for two legs.

The voyage has had challenges and reaching South Africa in 2015 the journey’s halfway point was the most dangerous leg because of complicated ocean conditions. In February, a team of four apprentice navigators spotted tiny, remote Easter Island. Pinpointing the island that is also known as Rapa Nui at sunset was a major accomplishment because it is considered one of the most difficult islands to find using traditional way-finding.