The Hokule‘a’s latest crews battled high seas, strong winds and canvas-ripping waves to arrive safely in Australia for the first time in the Hawaiian voyaging canoe’s 40-year history.

The Hokule‘a made landfall Sunday in Coffs Harbor, several hundred miles north of Sydney, after its first-ever crossing of the Tasman Sea. The approximately 1,400-mile journey also took the double-hulled vessel out of the Pacific Ocean for the first time. It was accompanied by the escort vessel Gershon II.

It has now reached the point where every stop going forward is new, unfamiliar territory. Hoku­le‘a, Hawaii’s original voyaging canoe of the modern era, is on a three-year sail around the world dubbed "Malama Honua" ("care for the earth").

"We had some rough weather, lots of cloud cover," navigator Kaleo Wong recounted Monday, speaking by telephone from a warm, sunny and dry Coffs Harbor. Wong’s successful navigation from New Zea­land’s North Island to Australia’s eastern coast marked his first time completing such a feat alone. Last year Wong guided the Hoku­le‘a from Samoa to New Zealand with co-navigator Ka‘iu­lani Murphy.

On the most recent 12-day leg, Wong said he had to contend with several overcast days that blocked the stars that he had carefully studied to orient the canoe. During those moments, Wong said, he had to learn to rely more on his instincts — "being able to feel the swells, and the wind still guides you in the right direction."

Leaders of the Oahu-based Polynesian Voyaging Society, which is running the Hoku­le‘a’s global sail, aim to use "Malama Honua" to train a new generation of navigators, including Wong. Wong’s teacher, "pwo" (master) navigator Bruce Blankenfeld, served as captain on the sail to Australia.

"You spend a lot of time studying the stars, and the movements of the stars across the sky," Wong said. Then, when the overcast conditions hit, "it’s just on feel and instinct."

The crew also encountered big seas with waves topping out at heights of about 20 to 25 feet on the journey, Wong said. One such wave broke over the Hoku­le‘a’s starboard-side bow and ripped the canoe’s outer canvas cover, he said, drenching several crew members who were resting on the hull. The canoe’s canvas has torn on previous voyages, however, so it’s not an unheard-of occurrence, he added.

Despite being in unfamiliar seas, Wong said he could feel the presence of his kupuna (ancestors) with the canoe — particularly when a rain squall abruptly dissipated to reveal Lord Howe Island in front of the vessel, several hundred miles east of the Australian continent.

"I still feel like there’s so much to learn. I’ll probably always feel like that, no matter what," Wong said Monday.

Hokule‘a crews will now wait for the proper weather to sail south to Sydney and then on to Brisbane. The canoe is slated to enter the volatile Indian Ocean later this year.