Nainoa Thompson
2022 SeaKeeper of the Year
SeaKeepers welcomes navigator Nainoa Thompson as the 2022 SeaKeeper of the Year. Presentations will be held at the Annual Founder's Event during the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show.
Nainoa Thompson | Photo Credit: Charles Nainoa Thompson
Explorer, navigator, cultural revivalist, educator, and storyteller: Nainoa Thompson has led the rediscovery and revival of the ancient Polynesian art of navigation. Through his voyaging, teaching, and engagement, he has opened a global, multi-generational dialogue on the importance of sustaining ocean resources and maritime heritage.  Nainoa has dedicated his life to exploring the ocean, maintaining the health of the planet, and ensuring that the ancient marine heritage and culture of Polynesia remain vibrant into the future.  

Thompson is the first Native Hawaiian in 600 years to practice the ancient Polynesian art of navigation: long-distance open-ocean voyaging on a traditional double-hulled canoe without the aid of modern instruments. His work has led to a renewed understanding and revival of traditional voyaging arts lost for centuries due to the disappearance of such travel methods and the colonization and Westernization of the Polynesian archipelagoes.
Nainoa Thompson | Photo Credit: Sam Kapoi
Currently, the president of the Polynesian Voyaging Society (PVS), a non-profit research and educational organization, Thompson recently completed a four-year voyage around the world on the Hōkūleʻa, a traditional, double-hulled voyaging canoe.  Through these travels, Thompson and his crew engaged with thousands of people, including world leaders to highlight the importance of ocean resources, cultural legacies, and protection of these critical places in the future.

A Native Hawaiian, Thompson’s impact reaches beyond voyaging. The non-instrument navigation system Nainoa developed – blending traditional principles and modern scientific knowledge – is taught in schools throughout Hawai'i and the Pacific. This shared knowledge and his broader work with the next generation of ocean stewards are done with the hope that they will protect and continue the connection between the ocean's past and future.
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10.26.22

We look forward to presenting the 2022 SeaKeeper of the Year Award to Nainoa Thompson.

For more information, please contact Melissa@SeaKeepers.org.