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The Polynesian Voyaging Society (PVS) is a non-profit research and educational corporation based in Honolulu, Hawaii that was established to research and perpetuate traditional Polynesian voyaging methods. It is best known for undertaking voyages throughout Polynesia using replicas of traditional double-hulled canoes, navigated without modern instruments.PVS was founded in 1973 by anthropologist Ben Finney, Ph.D., Hawaiian artist Herb Kane, and Tommy Holmes, to show that ancient Polynesians could have purposely settled the Polynesian triangle using non-instrument navigation. Their first project was to build a replica of a double-hulled voyaging canoe. On March 8, 1975, the Hokule'a was launched, the first voyaging canoe to be built in the Hawaiian Islands in over 600 years.
The Hokule'a left Hawaii on May 1, 1976 for Tahiti in an attempt to retrace the ancient voyaging route. Micronesian navigator Mau Piailug , using no instruments, successfully navigated the canoe to Tahiti, arriving there on June 3, 1976.
After an attempted voyage to Tahiti in 1978 was aborted when the Hokule'a capsized near Lana'iLna‘i (usually spelled outside Hawai‘i as Lanai is sixth largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is also known as the "Pineapple Island" from its history as an island-wide pineapple plantation. The island is somewhat circular in shape with a width of 18 miles and crew member Eddie AikauEddie Aikau was born Edward Ryan Aikau, May 4, 1946 March 17, 1978 on Maui, Hawaii. He became very famous for surfing the big Hawaiian surf and won many surfing championships. The Polynesian Voyaging Society was seeking volunteers to follow the ancient ro was lost at sea, Piailug trained Nainoa Thompson in the ancient navigation methods. Two years later in 19801980 is a leap year starting on Tuesday. Events January-February January 1- April 1 National steel strike in United Kingdom January 1 Changes to the Swedish Act of Succession creates Victoria of Sweden, Crown Princess over her younger brother January 5 He, Thompson replicated the successful 1976 voyage to Tahiti, becoming the first modern Hawaiian to master the art of Polynesian navigation.
Since that voyage, the Hokule'a and her sister canoe the Hawai'iloaHawai‘iloa is the hero of an ancient Hawaiian legend about the settling of the Hawaiian Islands. After having accidentally stumbled upon the islands, he returned to his homeland which he called Ka 'aina kai melemele a Kane "the land of the yellow sea of K have undertaken five other voyages to other islands in Polynesia, including SamoaThe Independent State of Samoa (conventional long form) or Samoa (conventional short form) is a country comprising a group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean. Previous names are Western Samoa from 1914 to 1997 and German Samoa from 1900 to 1914. Malo S, TongaThe Kingdom of Tonga is an archipelago in the southern Pacific Ocean, about a third of the way between New Zealand and Hawaii. It lies south of Samoa and east of Fiji. Pule'anga Fakatu'i 'o TongaKingdom of Tonga ( In Detail) (Full size) National motto: Ko, and New ZealandFor alternative meanings, see New Zealand (disambiguation). New Zealand is a country formed of two major islands and a number of smaller islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. A common Mori name for New Zealand is Aotearoa popularly translated as Land.
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