As part of the continual training and preparations for the Moananuiākea circumnavigation of the Pacific, the Polynesian Voyaging Society (PVS) crews are sailing Hōkūleʻa and Hikianalia to a new training ground, toward the North Pacific Gyre, in June and July 2024.  
 
The hope with the deep-sea training voyage is to reach the gyre at about 31 degrees north. It is an area where warm air from the equator is cooled and descends, playing a vital role in the systems that allow this earth to be livable. 
 
“This trip is a different way to explore and it’s a shift to something new, and I think that’s what exploration is all about,” said PVS CEO and Navigator Nainoa Thompson. “We’ve been focusing on the climate significance of the convergence zone on the equator and now we will explore and learn about its relationship to the North.” 
 
However, due to a low pressure system forming to the north, the National Weather Service forecasts the possibility of thunderstorms that may force the canoes to adjust their sail plan and turn back south sooner than expected. 
 
Thompson added, “We are also looking at how we truly train and graduate the next generation of navigators. We have been focusing, over many of the last 49 years of learning and training, on knowledge, performance and skill, but navigation is more than that. It’s spiritual, and as Mau taught us, there is a code of conduct that includes respect, humility, being quiet.” 

The most recent information on the training sails and other crew seamanship learning resources can be found on the Voyaging Dashboard.