Lehua Kamalu • What you learn when you sail around the world without a compass

Sailing around the world is very, very hard. But sailing around the world without the help of modern navigation technology? Shouldn’t that be impossible? Not for Lehua Kamalu, who has captained her way across our great oceans as the Voyaging Director for the Polynesian Voyaging Society, an organization based in Hawaii that perpetuates traditional Polynesian voyaging and the spirit of exploration. Lehua travels the ocean in Hōkūle’a, a double-hulled canoe designed to replicate ancient Polynesian voyaging vessels, powered only by traditional wayfinding methods that rely on the natural elements—the sun, stars, and ocean wildlife. In this episode, Lehua tells Dwayne about the valuable leadership lessons she’s learned from captaining her team across thousands of miles of ocean; what she has realized about the beauty of the natural world; and how we should think about humanity’s place on this planet. Plus, she helps coach Dwayne through his fear of the ocean. Lehua is currently leading her most important voyage yet—a 4-year, 43,000-mile voyage around the Pacific. Follow her journey: https://hokulea.com/moananuiakea/ To learn more about Almost There and to read the transcript of this episode: https://www.emersoncollective.com/almost-there-podcast For more on Emerson Collective: https://www.emersoncollective.com/ Learn more about our host, Dwayne Betts: https://www.dwaynebetts.com/ Almost There is produced by Eric Nuzum and Jesse Baker of Magnificent Noise for Emerson Collective. Our production staff includes Eleanor Kagan, Julia Natt, Patrick D’Arcy, Amy Low, Alex Simon, and our sound designers Paul Schneider and Kristin Mueller. Email us at almostthere@emersoncollective.com. Subscribe to the Emerson Collective Fellows newsletter: http://www.emersoncollective.com/fellows-newsletter To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Om Podcasten

On Almost There, a new podcast from Emerson Collective, poet and lawyer Dwayne Betts talks to creative problem solvers—architects, doctors, writers, voyagers, organizers, and artists—about their approach to making meaningful social change. In each episode, we’ll learn about the journeys that have led our guests to the big questions driving their work: How do we keep our families and communities healthy? How do we build a fairer immigration system and promote civic participation? How can we stay alert to the beauty around us and harness human ingenuity to protect our planet? The conversations on Almost There will explore these pressing questions and new possibilities. Produced by Magnificent Noise.