The tall ship “Kaisei” is set to sail into Hanalei Bay for the weekend of July 30-31. The 151-foot brigantine is the set piece of the two-day Summer Ocean Festival being sponsored by Hanalei-based Save Our Seas. Captain Steve Voris
The tall ship “Kaisei” is set to sail into Hanalei Bay for the weekend of July 30-31.
The 151-foot brigantine is the set piece of the two-day Summer Ocean Festival being sponsored by Hanalei-based Save Our Seas.
Captain Steve Voris is heading up the reef protection and ocean education program.
The ship’s name translates to “ocean planet” in English. Its mission, according to Save Our Seas literature, is a “a sailing adventure dedicated to a global ‘peace-keeping’ mission that promotes ocean conservation…and a foreign-exchange youth sailing program.” A crew of Kaua‘i students is being invited to sail along Na Pali and off Ni‘ihau following the festival.
The event and sail are being filmed by a United Nations organization to be broadcast as part of a new UN-sponsored TV series called “ecoWatch,” Voris said in a call to Hanalei. The show is scheduled to air in 127 countries and be translated into nine languages.
The “Kaisei” is owned and operated by Ocean Voyages out of Sausalito, Calif., and the ship’s base of operations is being moved to Hawai‘i. Voris said to expect to see the ship again in Kaua‘i waters in the near future.
He said environmental cruises to French Polynesia are being planned, with coral reef monitoring and ocean fairs similar to the one being held at Hanalei being staged during cruise stops. Sponsorships for students who would sail on the cruise are being sought, he said.
Voris, who is a veteran yacht master, said he crossed paths with the owner of Ocean Voyages during a sail to the Galapagos Islands in the the 1980s, thus the connection for the ship coming to Hanalei.
The “Kaisei” was operated out of Japan for a number of years, thus its Japanese name. The ship’s look and sail rig are similar to that of the Lady Washington, a historic brig that brought merchant captains to Hawai‘i in the late 1700s.
The ocean festival is free and begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday, July 31 with a “Big Tent Celebration” on the green grass area at Pine Trees beach on Hanalei Bay. Leading organizations in ocean conservation from Hawai‘i and around the globe are to provide information booths, and ocean-themed arts and crafts, activities for children, hula dancing and live music are being featured.
Tours of the “Kaisei” are to be conducted by Save Our Seas crew.
The celebration continues Saturday evening at the Princeville Resort hotel with the screening of the international award winning documentary film “Learning to Sea.” Filmmaker Ziggy Livnat, a National Geographic photographer from Israel, is scheduled to appear at the event, along with scientists and community leaders to “talk story” about Kaua‘i’s marine resource protection and other topics. Doors open at 6 p.m. at the hotel’s ballroom with the movie showing set for 8 p.m. This event is also free, however reservations are recommended.
On Sunday the Kaisei weighs anchor with a crew of Kaua’i students, marine biologists, archeologists, scientists and professional sailors heading for a voyage down Na Pali and on to Ni’ihau.
At Ni’ihau, the students and crew are to conduct an offshore reef survey.
For more information on the event call Save Our Seas at 826- 0354.
On the Web: www.saveourseas.org
