The Polynesian voyaging canoe Hokule'a left Palmyra Atoll yesterday afternoon headed back to Honolulu.

Nainoa Thompson, president of the Polynesian Voyaging Society, has said that Hokule'a will first be towed 350 to 400 miles east to escape the doldrums surrounding the atoll.

It will then take another three to four days to properly position Hokule'a for the estimated 11-day return trip to Honolulu.

The 1,000-mile trip to Palmyra using ancient navigational techniques is the first of a dozen inter-island, open-ocean voyages to train new crews for an expected trip around the world.