Voyaging with Purpose: DAWSON’s Kekaulike (Derek) Mar and the Call of Moananuiākea
For nearly five decades, the Polynesian Voyaging Society (PVS) and its iconic waʻa (canoe), Hōkūleʻa, have carried forward a powerful legacy of cultural revival, exploration, and connection to Island Earth. More than a vessel, Hōkūleʻa represents a renaissance of traditional navigation, indigenous knowledge, and the deep relationship between people, ocean, and planet.
That legacy continues today through Moananuiākea, Hōkūleʻa’s 15th major voyage and one of its most ambitious undertakings yet. Spanning four years, nearly 43,000 nautical miles, and dozens of nations and indigenous territories across the Pacific, Moananuiākea is not a voyage of discovery for new lands, but a voyage of responsibility. Guided by the values of mālama (care) and kuleana (responsibility), the journey calls on communities around the world to protect the ocean and chart a future worthy of the next generation.
A Voyage for the Ocean, A Voyage for the Earth
Moananuiākea is a circumnavigation of the Pacific by the traditional voyaging canoes Hōkūleʻa and Hikianalia, supported by more than 400 crew members sailing in rotating legs. Together, they will visit 36 countries and archipelagos, nearly 100 indigenous territories, and hundreds of ports—connecting communities through shared values of sustainability, cultural knowledge, and environmental stewardship.
The purpose of the voyage is both bold and urgent: to ignite a global movement of 10 million “planetary navigators”—people who take responsibility for caring for the Earth, just as traditional navigators cared for their canoe, crew, and ocean pathways. Through education, cultural exchange, science, and indigenous wisdom, PVS seeks to inspire collective action rooted in ancestral knowledge and modern understanding.
Polynesian Voyaging Society/Danee Hazama
DAWSON’s Kekaulike (Derek) Mar: Hikianalia Crew, Leg 15
Among those answering the call of Moananuiākea is Kekaulike (Derek) Mar, General Manager at DAWSON and a member of the Hikianalia crew for Leg 15, which sailed from Rarotonga to Aotearoa. A native of Papakōlea, Honolulu, Kekaulike’s connection to voyaging spans more than two decades.
His journey began in 2001, when he first sailed aboard a waʻa kaulua (double-hulled canoe) off Oʻahu, traveling from Ko Olina to Haleʻiwa. Since then, he has sailed multiple times on both Hōkūleʻa and Hikianalia, deepening his relationship with traditional navigation and the values it carries.
For Kekaulike, Moananuiākea represents an opportunity to give back to a tradition that has shaped him. He looked forward to the voyage as a chance “to travel the ancestral routes of Polynesian forebears, to play a small part in the perpetuation of a revived cultural practice that was once lost to time, and to motivate a younger generation to discover, connect, and explore through voyaging.”
Polynesian Voyaging Society
Reflections from the Moana
Life aboard a voyaging canoe is demanding, humbling, and deeply rewarding. Days are shaped by wind and weather, watches through the night, and the steady rhythm of the ocean. For Kekaulike, the experience brings both clarity and perspective.
He describes being inspired by Moananuiākea’s “sheer audacity to connect the largest and most influential nation on the planet through science and indigenous wisdom to promote a healthier ocean,” calling it “a monumental task worthy of our attention and support.”
To him, Hōkūleʻa is far more than a vessel. “She is a symbol of pride and hope, a connection to our heritage and a platform to shape our future,” Kekaulike shares. “She is the needle that sews together a lei of peoples and nations throughout the Pacific and the world.”
Highlights of Leg 15
Leg 15 carried moments both profound and simple—each reinforcing the bonds between the crew, the canoe, and the ocean. As land drew nearer, navigators read signs from the natural world: birds in flight, dolphins sprinting across the horizon, subtle shifts that echoed the practices of ancestors who once crossed these same waters.
Even daily meals became expressions of care and creativity. One evening, with freshly caught ono and no formal kitchen, Kekaulike and a fellow crew member prepared homemade fish patties with rice and gravy—nourishment born of teamwork and shared responsibility.
The leg culminated in Aotearoa, where Hōkūleʻa and Hikianalia were welcomed at Waitangi with a pōwhiri, marking 40 years since Hōkūleʻa’s first arrival in 1985. The ceremony honored enduring genealogical ties between Hawaiʻi and Aotearoa and the leaders whose vision sparked a revival of Māori and Polynesian voyaging.
Polynesian Voyaging Society
Carrying the Voyage Home
While voyaging, Kekaulike says he misses “my ʻohana back home, the hustle and bustle of town.” Yet when he returns to everyday life, it is the waʻa he longs for—the ʻohana at sea, and “the solitude and perspective of being in the middle of the ocean.”
Those contrasts are part of the gift of voyaging: a reminder of what matters most and how interconnected we all are.
For DAWSON and Hawaiian Native Corporation (HNC), Kekaulike’s participation in Moananuiākea reflects leadership grounded in humility, cultural respect, and responsibility beyond the horizon. HNC has been a proud supporter of PVS for many years, recognizing the vital role it plays in perpetuating indigenous knowledge, strengthening communities, and inspiring stewardship of our oceans and planet. As the voyage continues, the lessons carried by each crew member ripple outward, into families, workplaces, and communities, inviting all of us to embrace our kuleana as caretakers of Island Earth.
Learn more about the Polynesian Voyaging Society and Hōkūleʻa: https://hokulea.com/
