(BASED ON PRESS RELEASE)--Seven Pacific islands groups are mounting a joint effort to preserve and develop their traditions of ocean voyaging by double-hulled canoe, following an agreement reached in Auckland last month to form Pacific Voyagers, a pan-Pacific network of voyaging societies.
The Pacific Voyagers’ network includes voyaging groups in American Samoa, the Cook Islands, Fiji, New Zealand, Tahiti, Tonga and Western Samoa.
The participating groups intend to celebrate the formation of Pacific Voyagers by assembling a fleet of seven ocean-going canoes at Raratonga in the Cook Islands in April 2010 for a voyage to Hawaii at the invitation of the Polynesian Voyaging Society and the Makali’i Voyaging Society.
Announcing the development today, the participating groups acknowledged the work of New Zealand actor, whale protection advocate and star of the internationally-acclaimed film Whalerider, Rawiri Paratene, in negotiating its formation.
“We wish to acknowledge Rawiri’s inspiration and his achievement in gaining international funding and support that will help us broaden our effort to preserve and develop the ocean voyaging traditions of our ancestors,” says a joint statement issued by the participating groups.
The Pacific Voyagers’ network project has won funding and support from the Okeanos foundation, an international philanthropic organization based in Germany, formed with the objective of protecting the ocean environment and marine life.
The foundation says it recognizes that Polynesian ocean voyaging traditions are strongly founded on high standards of ecological sensitivity. It is delighted to be able to support a project that will preserve the traditions and build awareness of practices that will enhance the oceanic environment.
Project manager for the Pacific Voyagers’ network project is Te Aturangi Nepia-Clamp, an experienced ocean voyager who has completed many long distance international voyages by double-hulled canoe at the invitation of Hekenukumai Busby and the late Sir Thomas Davis.
The seven participating island groups in Pacific Voyagers have agreed to the construction of the canoe hulls and operating infrastructure to a common design based on traditional concepts, and to a program of certification, training and qualification of crews to ensure that high safety standards are observed during ocean voyaging.
Construction of the first of the fleet of seven new ocean-going canoes has already commenced in Auckland. It. is expected to be launched in Auckland in March 2009, and will be used to provide initial training for crews from the island groups participating in the Pacific voyaging network.
Once Pacific Voyagers’ entry qualifications have been fulfilled, the hulls of the other six canoes will be shipped to the voyaging groups in the participating islands to be completed in accordance with local voyaging traditions and customs.
The Okeanos foundation is funding the construction of the canoes and providing them at no cost to the participating groups for a period of four years to enable them to establish their own voyaging operations on a self-sustaining basis. Each participating group will be able to obtain ownership of their canoe for a nominal price during or at the end of the four year establishment period.
American Samoa’s voyaging society, Aiga Tautai o Samoa’s President, Wilson Fitiao and Vice President Seumanu Sepp Steffany have been working on this project since last year’s Pacific Arts Festival. They recently returned from a Pacific Voyagers conference held in Auckland, NZ, where they viewed the hulls of the first canoe(va’a tele) under construction.
The members of the Aiga Tautai feel privileged to be afforded the opportunity to get a va’atele, and they are honored to be a participant in next year’s historic voyage from American Samoa to Rarotonga, Cook Islands, to join the Pacific Voyagers for the ocean journey to Hawaii.
