Polynesian pioneer

SeaKeepers welcomes navigator Nainoa Thompson as the 2022 SeaKeeper of the Year.

18 August 2022

Explorer, navigator, cultural revivalist, educator and storyteller: Nainoa Thompson has led the rediscovery and revival of the ancient Polynesian art of navigation.

Through his voyaging, teaching and engagement, he has opened a global, multi-generational dialogue on the importance of sustaining ocean resources and maritime heritage.

Thompson has dedicated his life to exploring the ocean, maintaining the health of the planet and ensuring that the ancient marine heritage and culture of Polynesia remain vibrant into the future.

Thompson is the first Native Hawaiian in 600 years to practice the ancient Polynesian art of navigation: long-distance open-ocean voyaging on a traditional double-hulled canoe without the aid of modern instruments.

His work has led to a renewed understanding and revival of traditional voyaging arts lost for centuries due to the disappearance of such travel methods and the colonisation and Westernisation of the Polynesian archipelagos.

A native Hawaiian, Thompson’s impact reaches beyond voyaging. (Credit: Sam Kapoi.)

Currently, the president of the Polynesian Voyaging Society (PVS), a non-profit research and educational organisation, Thompson recently completed a four-year voyage around the world on the Hōkūleʻa, a traditional, double-hulled voyaging canoe.

Through these travels, Thompson and his crew engaged with thousands of people, including world leaders, to highlight the importance of ocean resources, cultural legacies and protection of these critical places in the future.

A native Hawaiian, Thompson’s impact reaches beyond voyaging. The non-instrument navigation system he developed – blending traditional principles and modern scientific knowledge – is taught in schools throughout Hawaii and the Pacific.

This shared knowledge and his broader work with the next generation of ocean stewards are done with the hope that they’ll protect and continue the connection between the ocean’s past and future.

SeaKeepers will officially present Thompson with the 2022 SeaKeeper of the Year award at the Annual Founder’s Event during this year’s Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show.

seakeepers.org

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