I sensed the change in the rolling and pitching and knew, like the master navigators, that land was nigh. My dream of navigational prowess became a more prosaic reality as a fellow crew member shook me awake in my bunk to let me know that my watch on Hikianalia was starting. I emerged into the predawn light and saw ahead of us Hokulea and the smudge on the horizon that was our destination, Taputapuatea.

What had brought me this far and had given me this extraordinary opportunity had begun five years earlier. Nainoa Thompson requested a short meeting to discuss the Polynesian Voyaging Society. Once in conversation we had lost track of time and the 15-minute meeting became a two-hour conversation periodically interrupted by my increasingly exasperated and long-suffering assistant, Audrey, as she sought to keep me on schedule.

I had assumed the meeting would end with a request for Hawaiian Airlines’ support for this great adventure. Nainoa left without asking for anything. But as he left me I knew that Hawaiian Airlines, which has supported the Polynesian Voyaging Society from its inception, would put whatever resources we could offer behind PVS’ effort to impel a worldwide mandate to “malama honua.”

It is obvious on a superficial level that our company, as Hawaii’s modern-day voyager, would feel a kinship for an organization that celebrates the tradition of exploration and adventure. Our ohana embraced their kuleana without question, arranging crew travel and cargo shipments throughout the four-year, 46,000 nautical mile voyage. It was, at times, extraordinarily complex; weather-related delays could mean serial changes in travel dates and in the complement of crew assigned to an upcoming leg. As always, my colleagues’ enthusiasm for the project never wavered, no matter how much had to be done. They have my heartfelt “mahalo” for their unyielding service to this voyage.

As the voyage progressed, my personal awareness and commitment have deepened into a continuing commitment to its mission. The Malama Honua Worldwide Voyage has created a path for collaboration founded on ancient knowledge that compels me to add my voice to the chorus of hope that this historic journey has orchestrated.

This voyage has ignited the imaginations of our youth and exposed them to cultural practices around the globe that educators can now use to engage keiki in writing their own sail plan for the world they will navigate as adults. This voyage has focused us all on the condition of our planet and our collective responsibility for its perpetuation.

And Hokule‘a’ s triumphant return to Hawaii after four years at sea firmly disproves historic inaccuracies about how knowledge was accumulated over the last millennium. We can release, once and for all, our attachment to the notion that celestial navigation was mastered by Western explorers in the 18th century. We know for certain that it was mastered long before that by Polynesian navigators crossing the Pacific.

There is one more symbol of hope. This voyage was completed without debt through financial support that came almost entirely from Hawaii-based businesses and individuals. It can be said that the Malama Honua Worldwide Voyage is an example of our state coming together around shared values that will guide us, if we let them, toward a solid and pono future. I hope we are all on board.

The voyage has only just begun. I look forward to the next leg.

Mark Dunkerley is CEO of Hawaiian Airlines.