First Hawaii women among six pwo navigators inducted by Polynesian Voyaging Society

News admin August 27, 2026 0 Comments

First Hawaii women among six pwo navigators inducted by Polynesian Voyaging Society

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Six Hawaiʻi captains and navigators were inducted last month as Pwo navigators — a sacred voyaging leadership status — by the Polynesian Voyaging Society.

The historic July 30 ceremony took place for the first time in Hawaii, honoring Pōmai Bertelmann, Archie Kalepa, Kaʻiulani Murphy, Shantell De Silva, Russell Amimoto and Lehua Kamalu in Niu Valley.

Among the six new pwo, five are Native Hawaiian and four are the first women in Hawaiʻi to earn the honor.

“This induction of six new pwo in Hawaiʻi is a statement of the advancement of leadership in voyaging. It’s a graduation of six leaders who will lead voyaging into the next 50 years,” said Nainoa Thompson, pwo navigator and Polynesian Voyaging Society CEO.

Pwo legacy in Hawaiʻi

Pwo is among the highest honors bestowed within Satawal’s Weriyaeng School of Navigation, an ancient Micronesian tradition and lineage of oceanic navigation under which late master navigator Mau Piailug was trained.

The rite of passage recognizes exceptional traditional navigational skill and a lifelong commitment to leadership, community service, education, and stewardship.

Piailug was a key leader in the revival of traditional navigation across Polynesia and Hōkūleʻa’s first navigator in 1976. He inducted Hawaiʻi’s first five pwo navigators on Satawal in 2007: Thompson, Milton “Shorty” Bertelmann, Chad Kalepa Baybayan, Bruce Blankenfeld, and Chad ‘Ōnohi Paishon.

Satawalese pwo navigators Isidore Metewalur, Robert Erailug and Thomas Raffipiy, who represent the family lineage of Mau and Weriyaeng School of Navigation, officiated the event.

About the new Hawaiʻi pwo

Pōmai Bertelmann is a Native Hawaiian educator, voyaging leader and lifelong member of the voyaging community from Waimea, Hawaiʻi Island. She was Hōkūleʻa’s first female captain to lead a voyage on Kealaikahiki, from Tahiti to Hawaiʻi in 2017, and one of the founding members of the ʻOhana Waʻa. Bertelmann is also a middle school instructor at Kanu o Ka ʻĀina Charter School.

Archie Kalepa is a Native Hawaiian waterman, veteran captain and voyaging leader born and raised in Maui. Since 1992, Kalepa has led Hōkūleʻa and Hikianalia on numerous voyages, including as Hōkūleʻa captain during the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage. Recognized globally for his expertise in ocean safety and rescue techniques, Kalepa is a key contributor to PVS safety protocols for the canoes and crew as well as relief efforts for his hometown of Lahaina after the devastating fires in 2023.

Kaʻiulani Murphy is a Native Hawaiian navigator and educator with 20 years of experience from Waimea, Hawaiʻi Island. Murphy was the first woman to navigate Hōkūleʻa to Papahānaumokuākea – and on many other legs through Micronesia in 2007 and on the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage – and from Tahiti to Hawaiʻi in 2017, at the end of the Worldwide Voyage. Murphy earned a PhD and is a professor in the University of Hawaiʻi system teaching voyaging and navigation.

Shantell De Silva is a Native Hawaiian navigator and educator from Kapālama, Oʻahu, with more than three decades of voyaging experience with Hōkūleʻa and Hawaiʻiloa to places such as Tahiti, Alaska, Mangareva, and Rapa Nui. She connected lessons and experiences as a navigator to education through Kamehameha Schools and the larger community.

Russell Amimoto is a canoe crafter born in Wainiha, Kauaʻi, and raised in Kalama Valley, was brought into the Hōkūleʻa ‘ohana through dry docks work at only 16 years old by his mentor, pwo navigator Bruce Blankenfeld. He served as a deep sea captain on some of the longest voyages of Hōkūleʻa and currently serves with the Honolulu Fire Department’s Rescue 2 Company.

Lehua Kamalu is a Native Hawaiian navigator, captain and leader with the Polynesian Voyaging Society born in New York and raised primarily in Kāneʻohe, Oʻahu. Sailing on Hōkūleʻa since 2009, she is the first woman to serve in a dual role as lead captain and lead navigator on a deep sea voyage, including on the Tahitian canoe Faʻafaite from Tahiti to Hawaiʻi in 2017, and holds the most miles of deep sea voyaging in the dual role.