Hokulea arrives in Miami

Hokulea arrived Saturday for a three-week stay in Miami, where the crew of the traditional voyaging canoe will share its message of caring for the Earth with local schools and community groups.

The worldwide voyagers will connect with Shake-a-Leg Miami, a nonprofit that gives people a chance to experience water sports and the marine environment. The organization focuses on people with physical, developmental and economic challenges.

“With every person our crew engages with, we get one step closer to growing a global movement of people who share a common passion of malama aina,” said Kalepa Baybayan, navigator and captain for Hokulea’s sail through Florida.

“Miami will be a critical break for our team as we create and engage in conversations with people who nurture and inspire stewardship for our Mother Earth,” he said, according to a news release from the Polynesian Voyaging Society.

Hokulea is moored at Shake-a-Leg Marina and will offer free tours of the Hawaiian voyaging canoe.

Shake-a-Leg clients will have a chance to meet Hokulea’s crew, learn about its mission and hear inspiring stories of its voyage. The nonprofit offers therapeutic sailing and water sports as well as environmental lessons, so its mission dovetails well with Hokulea’s.

Hokulea’s crew will also meet with Florida schools and members of the Miccosukee and Seminole Nations. Representatives of those tribes welcomed Hokulea to Everglades National Park in March, before the canoe spent nine months sailing up and down the East Coast.

Miami is the last stop on the 25th leg of Hokulea’s worldwide journey, which began in Virginia where the vessel was in dry dock. It will re-provision in Miami and prepare for the next leg of its journey.

In about three weeks, a new crew will sail Hokulea to Key West before heading back into the Caribbean and on to the Panama Canal.

To follow the Malama Honua Worldwide Voyage, visit http://hokulea.com/track-the-voyage.