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
and identity. nainoa: the success was monumental. it changed worldview. that our ancestors were powerful, they were extraordinarily intelligent. they were courageous, and they were skilled. and so we come from them. anthony: thompson is a legendary water man. he s continued to sail on hokulea s missions. native hawaiian, his roots in this valley go back 200 years. nainoa: my grandfather was born here. so i grew up milking cows here with my grandfather. anthony: he spent many years learning traditional polynesian navigation techniques from a master. mau piailug, of the small micronesian island of satawan. nainoa: this is a man that was chosen by his grandfather. at one year old he was put into tide pools to be trained, and learning the wind and the water.