Since then, the Hokule'a has logged tens of thousands of miles using the navigational techniques of ancient Polynesians in voyages to Easter Island, New Zealand, Samoa, Tahiti and island groups throughout Polynesia.

The ancient Polynesians sailed without instruments such as sextants or compasses. Instead, they studied heavenly bodies, winds, ocean swells and the flight paths of seabirds to chart courses that stretched for thousands of miles on the open ocean.

"My main interest was that the canoe be recognized as the central object of the Hawaiian culture. As time moves on, people's memory of the voyages and navigation becomes blurry and then forgotten, a cultural disintegration," Kane said. "I hoped by taking a pounding on the ocean and re-enacting long voyages, the Hokule'a would spark a revival."

Hokule'a has done just that, inspiring other Polynesian nations to construct their own voyaging canoes for travel on the open ocean.

"The Hokule'a used a replica of ancient voyaging canoes to prove people can sail without instruments and migrate from Polynesia to Hawai'i," said Joanne Kahanamoku-Sterling, a past crew member and curator of Kealakowa'a heiau, a Hawaiian temple representing navigation and astronomy.

The 62-foot voyaging canoe left O'ahu this month for a five-month tour of 26 communities throughout the Islands.

Hokule'a arrived at South Point on the Big Island this weekend. It sails this week to Okoe Bay, Honaunau, Miloli'i and Ka'upulehu before mooring at Kawaihae on Friday.

At Honaunau, Kane will be honored for designing the vessel and supervising construction.

Kane, 76, co-founded the Polynesian Voyaging Society and was the first person to recreate a seaworthy ancient Hawaiian sailing canoe. The society, a private nonprofit organization, was founded in 1973 to disprove the notion that Polynesians drifted to islands in the Pacific by chance.