Gordon sailed on the return leg from Tahiti to Hawai’i of Hōkūleʻa’s maiden voyage in 1976. He has served as Hōkūleʻa’s captain on many voyages. Gordon is a retired naval officer, Geography professor at the University of Hawaii, and served as director of the Hawaiian Studies Institute at Kamehameha Schools.
Gordon has a strong personal and spiritual connection to Hōkūleʻa and hopes that more people become involved in PVS through the Worldwide Voyage. Gordon craves nothing while at sea; he only craves being at sea while back on land.