You are currently viewing Chad Kālepa Baybayan

Chad Kālepa Baybayan

Chad Kālepa Baybayan dedicated his life to community, education, Hawaiian culture, exploration and voyaging. He believed that Hōkūleʻa was a vehicle to carry the values of kindness, compassion and generosity. Kālepa first sailed on Hōkūleʻa in 1975 and participated on all major Hōkūleʻa voyages since 1980, including 18 legs of the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage. He also served as captain on the voyaging canoes Hawai‘iloa and Hōkūalaka‘i. A constant learner passionate about teaching, Kālepa shared his knowledge and inspired thousands of students through his work as the Site Director of Honuakai, the Exploration Sciences Division of the ‘Aha Pūnana Leo. As the Navigator in Residence at the ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawai‘i, he developed wayfinding activities, curriculum materials, and conducted outreach. In 2007, Kālepa and four other Hawaiian men were initiated into the order of Pwo, a two thousand year old society of deep-sea oceanic navigators by his teacher, Master Navigator Mau Piailug, on the island of Satawal.