Crew Profile

Mark Amundson

Hometown

Kuliʻouʻou

Voyage(s)

Moananuiākea Voyage – Leg 6: Vancouver to Seattle

Bio

Mark is a veteran voyager having first sailed on Hōkūleʻa in the late 1990s. He also sailed Hikianalia from Hawaiʻi to California on Mālama Honua, the Worldwide Voyage. Mark serves as Watch Captain, carpenter, and does education outreach; he also gives much of his time during dry dock.

Mark is ever mindful of Hōkūleʻa’s reach, saying “She is our Mama, she takes care of us while we’re out in the ocean. She represents all the people of Hawaiʻi. All the people who have sailed her are still with her; therefore, with us.” He believes in the importance of perpetuating voyaging and raising “awareness of our oceans and the state of them all,” he says, “keeping them alive and thriving.” The Moananuiākea Voyage gives “us a chance to connect with people throughout the Pacific and trade ideas for protecting our oceans. Our earth is in trouble, we must come together and find a way to set things right.”

When voyaging Mark most misses “ice cold water,” and when heʻs back home working as a longshoreman, what he misses most about being out at sea is “the solitude and beauty of the ocean.”