Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 31, Number 10, 1 October 2014 — VIP SAIL IN SAMOA [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

VIP SAIL IN SAMOA

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon signed the Promise to Ka Pae'Āina aboard the voyaging eanoe Hōkūle'a in Apia, Samoa, in August, as Nainoa Thompson, president and master navigator of the Polynesian Voyaging Society, looked on. Ban and the president of Palau, Tommy E. Remengesau Jr., sailed aboard Hōkūle'a and Hikianalia in Apia Harbor, joining Worldwide Voyage crew and specialists such as Sylvia Earle of Mission Blue, artist Wyland, Blue Planetfounder Henk Rogers and Greg Stone of Conservation lnternational. Ban presented Thompson and his crew with a handwritten message in a bottle that he asked them to carry with them as they circle the globe. The message read: "I am honored to be a part of Hōkūle'a's Worldwide Voyage. I am inspired by its global mission. As you tour the globe, I will work and rally more leaders to our eommon cause of ushering in a more sustainable future, and a life of dignity for all." The canoes' visit to Samoa was timed with the U.N. Small lsland Developing States conferenee focusing on island nations that are particularly vulnerable to climate change and the challenges that face our oceans. - Courtesy: Polynesian Voyaging Society

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