CREWMEMBER HIGHLIGHT: Todd Yamashita
Todd Yamashita enjoys a colorful office setting as he prepares photos of the crew in the shade Hōkūleʻa's sails.
Crew Profile: Todd Yamashita
PVS Member Since 2011
HOMETOWN:
Kalae, Molokai
PRIMARY DUTY:
Media & Documentation
OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES:
General crew responsibilities – voyager in training
WORLDWIDE VOYAGE LEGS SAILED:
Leg 3: Hikianalia’s Voyage To California, Leg 18: Virgin Islands, Cuba and Florida
Todd Yamashita is the fourth generation of his family to call Molokai home. Dedicated to his ʻohana and community he strives to balance work, community service and the enjoyment of his surroundings. Todd is a full time communications specialist at the Polynesian Voyaging Society and he is the owner of the Molokai Dispatch, the island's only newspaper.
“As long as I can remember, I have been drawn to the nature and people of Molokai–their unfathomable range of character and unrelenting elegance and grace. I’m indebted to this place and the lifestyle it has afforded my family and me. It is with this admiration that I proudly join others in the effort to mālama honua and community-build for the island of Molokai and beyond.”
Todd is also passionate about waʻa. As an outrigger enthusiast, he paddled for Waikiki Beach Boys, and later for Wakinikona Canoe Club in Seattle in the late 90s. As an outrigger coach, Todd started Montana’s first outrigger canoe club during his time there from 2002 to 2005. After moving home, under the approval of Penny Rawlins, crewmember of Hōkūleʻa’s maiden voyage, and guidance of Hōkūleʻa’s late captain Mel Paoa, Todd first sailed aboard Hōkūleʻa in 2011 crossing the Alenuihaha and Pailolo channels.
“The sail was life-changing. Watching the moon rise over Alenuihaha while Hōkūleʻa surfed and danced between swells shifted something within me. I didn’t exactly know how, but I knew then that my life from that point would be different.”
In 2014, Todd was hired to assist with communications at the Polynesian Voyaging Society in support of the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage. There, he helps to steward the website Hokulea.com, and provides support in the areas of graphic design, marketing and media.
“This is the most meaning job I’ve ever had – I am humbled and forever grateful to PVS staff, leadership and volunteers for allowing me to be a part of this amazing organization and ʻohana.”
“As long as I can remember, I have been drawn to the nature and people of Molokai–their unfathomable range of character and unrelenting elegance and grace. I’m indebted to this place and the lifestyle it has afforded my family and me. It is with this admiration that I proudly join others in the effort to mālama honua and community-build for the island of Molokai and beyond.”
Todd is also passionate about waʻa. As an outrigger enthusiast, he paddled for Waikiki Beach Boys, and later for Wakinikona Canoe Club in Seattle in the late 90s. As an outrigger coach, Todd started Montana’s first outrigger canoe club during his time there from 2002 to 2005. After moving home, under the approval of Penny Rawlins, crewmember of Hōkūleʻa’s maiden voyage, and guidance of Hōkūleʻa’s late captain Mel Paoa, Todd first sailed aboard Hōkūleʻa in 2011 crossing the Alenuihaha and Pailolo channels.
“The sail was life-changing. Watching the moon rise over Alenuihaha while Hōkūleʻa surfed and danced between swells shifted something within me. I didn’t exactly know how, but I knew then that my life from that point would be different.”
In 2014, Todd was hired to assist with communications at the Polynesian Voyaging Society in support of the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage. There, he helps to steward the website Hokulea.com, and provides support in the areas of graphic design, marketing and media.
“This is the most meaning job I’ve ever had – I am humbled and forever grateful to PVS staff, leadership and volunteers for allowing me to be a part of this amazing organization and ʻohana.”
Todd Yamashita: Related Posts
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Hikianalia and the Spanish Galleon
Two historic vessels meet off the coast of Southern California in preparation for San Diego Bay arrival -
Hikianalia Update | Oct 20 & 21, 2018: We Love You Redondo!
In the Redondo Beach area it's impossible to go without noticing how Hawaiians here have made this community a place of their own -
Hikianalia Update | Oct 19, 2018: Meet the Leg Three Crew!
The team is sailing Hikianalia from Redondo Beach, to Catalina Island, Dana Point, and our final California destination, San Diego -
Molokai’s Mālama Honua Shines
Culture is front and center in celebrating an icon of mālama honua. -
Crew Blog | Todd Yamashita: Moving Up the Okeechobee
"Why go through the trouble? In the 41 years and 170,000 nautical miles of voyaging, Hōkūleʻa and her intrepid voyagers have always chosen the meaningful path over the easy." -
Crew Blog | Todd Yamashita: Community of Cuban Art
Human teeth make for an interesting if not slightly creepy grin on what appears to Read more -
Hōkūleʻa Update | March 15, 2016
Amid the busy shipping lanes Hōkūleʻa catches the first glimpse of Cuba. -
Crew Blog | Todd Yamashita: Molokai Makahiki
On the island of Molokai, cultural traditions remain steadfast including celebration of the Makahiki games.
