The Battleship Missouri Memorial hosted members of the Polynesian Voyaging Society (PVS) for a panel discussion in the ship's wardroom, Sept. 14.

Participating in the panel were six crew members of the Hkleʻa who sailed various legs of the voyaging canoe's "Mlama Honua" journey around the world, to include crew that set sail on Hkleʻa's very first journey to Tahiti in 1976. In attendance were Mike Carr, president and CEO of the Battleship Missouri Memorial, and Dan Parsons, director of education, as well as an assortment of former crew members of USS Missouri (BB 64) and educators from the community.

The panel discussion began with a brief video by PVS outlining the mission of Hkleʻa, followed by crew member introductions. The panel discussion centered around the importance of navigation at sea, a concept that struck home with Navy veterans in the audience.

Retired Capt. Gordon Piianaia, veteran crew member of the Hkleʻa, reminded the audience that, "We are all born as navigators, starting from when we are crawling as toddlers. You navigate every day, whether driving along the highway or out to sea, and you are helped to navigate. Navigation is very important, and we are all in this journey together."

Piianaia, whose father was also a naval officer and recreational sailor, said his love of the sea started not with aloha, but with sanding and varnishing his family's schooner. When asked to compare his time in the Navy with his multiple journeys on Hkleʻa, Piianaia honed in on one word: discipline.

"People who go to sea have to be very disciplined and know not everything is going to go their way all the time," said Piianaia. "The camaraderie that's developed is really important."

Others echoed the crucial nature of camaraderie at sea as well, and crew member Eric Co reminded the audience that, "Your ability to take care of [the vessel] is a reflection of your ability to take care of each other. Eating, sleeping, and working in a space that is a third of [the wardroom of Missouri], unsavory parts of humanity boil off, and you're left with the best in us. There is something to be said in the pressures of existence out there."

Co's reflections echoed the "Ship, Shipmate, Self" mantra nearly every Sailor in the Navy has heard at one point. In order to be successful at sea, the crew must be disciplined, work well together, and know how to navigate.

The crew of the Hkleʻa also explained another important aspect of their mission: care for the ocean and mother earth. They reminded the audience that when Missouri left Bremerton, Washington, 20 years ago, the ship pulled into Astoria, Oregon, where the harsh change in salinity killed much of the growth that had accumulated on the ship's hull. This prevented the ship from inadvertently introducing alien species into Pearl Harbor. In 1995, the crew of the Hkleʻa did the same thing, journeying from Puget Sound to Astoria before making their way to Pearl Harbor.

The Hkleʻa is in the midst of a state sail, where the crew is visiting local schools on all the islands and promoting seamanship and navigation to Hawaii's youth. The voyaging canoe's next stop will be the north shores of Kaua'i and O'ahu.

For more information on the Hkleʻa, visit http://www.hokulea.com. For more information on the Battleship Missouri Memorial, visit http://www.ussmissouri.org.

For more information, visit http://www.navy.mil, http://www.facebook.com/usnavy, or http://www.twitter.com/usnavy.

For more news from Commander, Navy Region Hawaii, visit http://www.navy.mil/.