Ohana Surprise Visit
Today I missed the opportunity to witness see something incredible.
Some of you may not know this about me but I am tied to the ocean in many ways and every exotic travel I’ve done in my life had something to do with the sea, mostly competitions in self propelled state of the art and traditional water crafts… so this event peaks my inner soul as a waterman and because of the cultural and historical relevance of the outrigger canoe racing I do.
The Pacific Voyagers project which is a group of Polynesian sailors who set out from New Zealand about four months ago on seven traditional double hull/double mast voyaging canoes to explore the pacific islands the their ancestors settled thousands of years ago in the same fashion, in sail canoes.
Navigating by nature and celestial mapping they hit all the major south pacific islands up to Hawaii, up and across to San Francisco, also stoping in Monterey bay and now working their way south.
This morning they made an unscheduled stop in Santa Barbara to do a minor repair on one of the canoes half mast. I wanted to go down and meet them and check out these canoes as I have been on and sailed these before, briefly.
Turns out they set sail 2 hours before I got off from work. Their next stop is paradise cove sometime tomorrow.
Check out their website and the project, very educational in culture, history and environment.
http://www.pacificvoyagers.org/
A great video trailer is out to promote the documentary of this voyage, due out 2013;
http://youtu.be/UR_nk7ZEKcE
Photos copyright of the pacificvoyagers.org/ website and their photographers.
