About me
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. Nainoa 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 colonization and Westernization of the Polynesian
archipelagoes.
Currently the president of the Polynesian Voyaging Society (PVS), a non-profit research
and educational organization, 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. In June 2023, Thompson and PVS will launch the
Moananuiākea Voyage, a four-year circumnavigation of the Pacific.
A Native Hawaiian, Thompson’s impact reaches beyond voyaging. The non-instrument
navigation system Nainoa developed – blending traditional principles and modern
scientific knowledge – is taught in schools throughout Hawai'i and the Pacific. This
shared knowledge and his broader work with the next generation of ocean stewards is
done with the hope that they will protect and continue the connection between the ocean
past and future.
