Nainoa Thompson

Nainoa Thompson
Nainoa Thompson (center) with actor Jason Scott Lee (left) and artist Layne Luna (right). Photo taken in 2003 at Hilo, Hawaiʻi.
Born	Charles Nainoa Thompson March 11, 1953 Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Education	University of Hawaiʻi (BA)
Occupation	Ship navigator in the Polynesian traditions
Spouse	Kathy Muneno
Children	2
Father	Myron "Pinky" Thompson
Relatives	Clorinda Low Lucas (maternal grandmother)

Charles Nainoa Thompson (born March 11, 1953) is an American Native Hawaiian navigator and the president of the Polynesian Voyaging Society. He is best known as the first Hawaiian to practice the ancient Polynesian art of navigation since the 14th century, having navigated two double-hulled canoes (the Hōkūleʻa and the Hawaiʻiloa) from Hawaiʻi to other island nations in Polynesia without the aid of western instruments.

Early life and career

Hōkūleʻa sailing off Honolulu, 2009

Charles Nainoa Thompson was born on March 11, 1953, in Honolulu, Hawaii.[1][2] His mother was Laura Kalaukapu Low Lucas (daughter of Clorinda Low Lucas), and his father was Myron "Pinky" Thompson.[3][4] Thompson is a direct descendant of Alexander Adams and James Harbottle, foreign advisors of the Kingdom of Hawai'i, rancher John Palmer Parker, and King Kamehameha I. He graduated from Punahou School in 1972.[2][5]

Thompson earned a BA degree in ocean science in 1986 from the University of Hawaiʻi.[2][5] Thompson was trained by master navigator Mau Piailug from the island of Satawal.[2]

His first solo voyage was from Hawaiʻi to Tahiti in 1980. Since then, Thompson has been the lead navigator on the subsequent voyages of Hōkūleʻa, including the Voyage of Rediscovery from 1985 to 1987.

On March 18, 2007, Thompson and four other Native Hawaiian navigators were inducted into Pwo as master navigators. The ceremony was conducted by Piailug on Satawal.

In June 2014 he was made a commander of the Order of Tahiti Nui for his work with the Polynesian Voyaging Society.[6]

Thompson serves as the chair of the Board of Trustees for Kamehameha Schools (a post that his father Myron "Pinky" Thompson also held), and a member of the Board of Regents for the University of Hawaiʻi.

Family and personal life

Thompson is married to KHON-TV2 television anchor Kathy Muneno. They are the parents of twins.

The success of the Hōkūleʻa's leg trip from Rarotonga landing at Waitangi on 5 December 1985 has earned him honorary membership with other crew of the canoe among the Te Tai Tokerau Māori as part of a sixth iwi inducted by James Hēnare.[7][8]

References

1. Low, Sam; Sam Low (2007). "Nainoa Thompson's Path to Knowledge: How Hokulea's Navigator Finds his Way". In Howe, K. R. (ed.). Vaka Moana: Voyages of the Ancestors. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-3213-1.
2. Arnold, Kathleen R. (2015-02-03). "Charles Nainoa Thompson (1953–)". Contemporary Immigration in America: A State-by-State Encyclopedia [2 volumes]. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 979-8-216-06564-7 – via Google Books.
3. "Aunty Laura Thompson: He Haliʻa Aloha: He Haliʻa Aloha". Ka Wai Ola. September 1, 2020. Retrieved 2024-12-15.
4. "Clorinda Lucas, 90, services Monday". Honolulu Star-Advertiser (Obituary). February 26, 1986. p. 75. Retrieved 2024-12-15.
5. Biography from Kamehameha Schools Archived 2005-11-01 at the Wayback Machine
6. "Voyage de Hokule'a: Le " Aito " Nainoa THOMPSON, Commandeur dans l'ordre de Tahiti Nui" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 26 June 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
7. Thompson, Nainoa (2012). "Recollections of the Voyage of Rediscovery: 1985-1987". Hawaiian Voyaging Traditions. Polynesian Voyaging Society.
8. de Graaf, Peter (20 Nov 2014). "Hawaiian sailors renew ties with Te Tai Tokerau". Northern Advocate.^[page needed]

Further reading

• Lal, Brij V.; Kate Fortune (2000). The Pacific Islands. Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press. p. 81. ISBN 978-0-8248-2265-1.

External links

• Biography from the University of Hawaiʻi Institute for Astronomy
• Biography from Kamehameha Schools