The Vaka

Okeanos – Foundation for the Sea have rebuilt seven ocean-voyaging vaka moanas, together with the help and expertise of the Polynesian people. The design of our vakas use a fusion of both traditional and modern methods and materials. We followed our ancestor’s design, but incorporated more sustainable materials to lessen the impact on our environment. Fibreglass hulls replace timbre to protect our forests and we’ve added eight solar panels on the back of each vaka to power our engines. Natural gas is the only fossil fuel used, which is employed solely for cooking. Like our ancestors before us, we use no running water. Voyaging on our vaka, we are continuing to revive our ancient Polynesian cultural traditions while exercising respectful stewardship of our ocean.