Chad Kalepa Baybayan, seafarer who sailed using the stars, dies at 64
By Alex Vadukul New York Times,Updated May 15, 2021, 3:59 p.m.
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In this April 29, 2014, file photo, master navigator Chad Kalepa Baybayan stands aboard the deck of the Hokulea canoe off Honolulu.Oskar Garcia/Associated Press
Chad Kalepa Baybayan, a revered Hawaiian seafarer who was a torchbearer for the art of âwayfinding,â which ancestral Polynesian sailors used to navigate the Pacific Ocean by studying the stars, trade winds and flight patterns of birds, died on April 8 at a friendâs home in Seattle. He was 64.
His daughter Kala Tanaka said the cause was a heart attack. He suffered from diabetes and had had a quadruple bypass over a year ago.
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Polynesian voyaging canoe captain, navigator dies at 65
April 10, 2021
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HONOLULU (AP) Master navigator Chad Kalepa Baybayan, who served as a captain of the Polynesian voyaging canoe Hokulea, has died. He was 65.
Baybayan died suddenly while visiting family in Seattle, his family said in a statement on Friday. The cause of death was not immediately known.
The family thanked people for their thoughts, love and support, and for “allowing us this time and space to deal with the passing of our beloved husband, father, grandfather, son, brother, cousin, uncle and friend to so many,” the statement said.
His mother Lillian Suter told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that the family was shocked.