Hometown
Puʻukapu, Waimea, Hawaiʻi
Voyage(s)
Moananuiākea Voyage – Leg 14 | Hōkūleʻa: Tahiti to Rarotonga
Bio
Kaʻiulani has been navigating for more than 20 years. It’s a journey that began after first stepping foot on the sailing canoe Eala as a haumana in a UH Mānoa Hawaiian Studies Hoʻokele course in the spring of 1998. By 2004 she was navigating Hōkūleʻa to Papahānaumokuākea, then on voyages throughout the Pacific, in the Western Atlantic on Mālama Honua, the Worldwide Voyage, guiding Hōkūleʻa home from Tahiti to Hawaiʻi in 2017. Kaʻiulani has now earned her PhD and is a professor at Honolulu Community College and U.H. Mānoa, teaching voyaging and navigation.
“Hōkūleʻa is hope,” Kaʻiulani says. “She is an empowering, inspiring reminder of who we are and where we come from, and who and where we can aspire to be.” She hopes “voyaging continues to make our keiki feel proud of their heritage and inspires people of all ages to take care of our island home.”
When asked why she wants to be a part of the Moananuiākea Voyage and what inspires her about it, she says: “Nui ke aloha no kuʻu ʻohana, kuʻu one hānau, a me ka ʻohana waʻa. Nui ka mahalo no nā kumu a me ka waʻa mua loa ʻo Hōkūleʻa no ka hoʻāla hou ʻana mai i ka ʻike kupaianaha o kō kākou mau kūpuna. Nui hoʻi ka ʻiʻini e ʻimi ʻike a mālama kuʻu wahi ʻāina aloha.”
Kaʻiulani says what she craves when she returns to land after a voyage is “fresh salad and ice cream.” Her reply when asked what she misses about being at sea when she’s back in her every day life: “I love being able to reconnect to the natural world around us and disconnect from technology. There's nothing like being on the ocean and seeing the sun and moon rise and set every day, the gradual movement of the stars, and the naiʻa, manu and sea life that greet us along the way.”
“Hōkūleʻa is hope,” Kaʻiulani says. “She is an empowering, inspiring reminder of who we are and where we come from, and who and where we can aspire to be.” She hopes “voyaging continues to make our keiki feel proud of their heritage and inspires people of all ages to take care of our island home.”
When asked why she wants to be a part of the Moananuiākea Voyage and what inspires her about it, she says: “Nui ke aloha no kuʻu ʻohana, kuʻu one hānau, a me ka ʻohana waʻa. Nui ka mahalo no nā kumu a me ka waʻa mua loa ʻo Hōkūleʻa no ka hoʻāla hou ʻana mai i ka ʻike kupaianaha o kō kākou mau kūpuna. Nui hoʻi ka ʻiʻini e ʻimi ʻike a mālama kuʻu wahi ʻāina aloha.”
Kaʻiulani says what she craves when she returns to land after a voyage is “fresh salad and ice cream.” Her reply when asked what she misses about being at sea when she’s back in her every day life: “I love being able to reconnect to the natural world around us and disconnect from technology. There's nothing like being on the ocean and seeing the sun and moon rise and set every day, the gradual movement of the stars, and the naiʻa, manu and sea life that greet us along the way.”