Voyage Update: Hōkūleʻa, Hikianalia cross Equator

Two traditional voyaging canoes making their way to Tahiti have made it halfway.

The crews of Hōkūleʻa and Hikianalia woke up early Wednesday, April 27, to conduct a traditional cultural ceremony as they crossed Ka Piko o Wākea, or the Equator, after a cool evening of sailing through the end of the doldrums and studying the latitude stars, according to a press release.

The canoes have now completed half of their Kealaikahiki Voyage, which launched 10 days ago from Hilo on the Big Island.

Hōkūleʻa navigator Lehua Kamalu estimates they are 1,245 miles along their journey and about 130 miles west of their intended course because of winds and currents. According to Kamalu, this is the final section of the voyage, where they are setting up for a tack into the Tuamotu Archipelago and onward to Tahiti.

The crews stopped the canoes to observe the Equator before crossing from the northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere.

“It’s an important place for voyagers to offer gifts of cultural remembrance to the voyagers, navigators and ancestors who sailed Kealaikahiki before them,” said the press release.

To follow the journey to Tahiti, visit the online voyaging dashboard.