across thousands of miles of open water. >> nainoa: nobody could see the canoe here. too beaten, knocked out of you, no dreams, no hope, can't see. >> anthony: the polynesian voyaging society, with the help of crewmembers like nainoa thompson set out to prove that that was exactly what did happen. >> nainoa: there were those in the community that, that loved this canoe, prayed for it. and also those who feared this canoe because they sensed change. you have a sixty-two foot, twelve-ton voyaging canoe. i mean, it was powerful, it changed everything. >> anthony: the hokulea. a double-hulled sailing canoe. a replica of the kind of craft believed to have been used in those times. and using only primitive, contemporaneous navigational tools sailed 5,500 miles to tahiti and back. a trip that helped spark a hawaiian renaissance. a rebirth of pride and interest in traditional hawaiian culture