The Gaualofa
History
Samoa
Name	Gaualofa
Owner	Samoa Voyaging Society
Builder	Salthouse Boatbuilders
Launched	2009
Identification	MMSI number:518387000 Callsign: 5WGK
Status	Active
General characteristics
Class & type	Vaka Moana
Tonnage	13 tonnes[1]
Length	72 ft (22 m) overall[1]
Beam	21 ft (6.4 m)[1]
Draft	6 ft (1.8 m)[1]
Propulsion	Sail / PV electric
Sail plan	crabclaw sails
Complement	14-16[1]

Gaualofa is a reconstruction of ava'a-tele ("large canoe"),^[2] a double-hulledPolynesian voyaging canoe. It was built in 2009 by the Okeanos Foundation for the Sea.^[3] It was given to theSamoa Voyaging Society in 2012, on the occasion of Samoa's 50th anniversary of independence.^[4] It is used to teachpolynesian navigation.

Gaualofa is one of eightvaka moana built for the Okeanos Foundation for the Sea and gifted to Pacific voyaging societies.^[1] The vaka hulls are constructed offiberglass, The wood beams are connected to the hulls with traditional lashings. The two masts are rigged withcrab claw sails, withbermuda rigged sails for safety during long voyages. It is fitted with a 1 kWphotovoltaic array powering a 4 kW electric motor.^[1] It was constructed at Salthouse Boatbuilders inAuckland,New Zealand.

• In 2010 it served as an environmental ambassador for thePacific Regional Environment Programme andCoral Reef Initiative for the South Pacific, visitingFrench Polynesia, theCook Islands, Samoa andTokelau.^[5]
• In March 2011 it visited New Zealand^[6] before journeying toHawaii.^[7]
• In 2011 it visitedSan Diego as part of a fleet of six traditional canoes which voyaged across the Pacific to the USA.^[8]
• In 2011 - 2012 it was part of theTe Mana o Te Moana (Spirit of the Ocean) fleet which visited 15 Pacific nations to spread knowledge of voyaging culture and advocate for ocean conservation.^[3]
• In 2014 it journeyed toSydney,Australia as part of a fleet to mark the IUCN World Parks Congress.^[9][10]
• In 2017 it visited Samoa's coastal communities as part of a conservation outreach program.^[11]
• In 2018 it journeyed to New Zealand for a festival ofMāori and Pacific navigation, during which it sailed around the country.^[12][13] It attendedWaitangi Day celebrations in the Bay of Islands, a climate change conference, and theNew Zealand Festival of the Arts inWellington.^[14][15] It returned to Samoa in May.^[16]
• In 2020 it voyaged aroundUpolu while engaging in environmental education work.^[17]
• In January 2021 it was dry-docked for maintenance.^[18] It was refloated again in August 2021.^[19]
• In 2022, the canoe was used as a platform for Guardians-linked environmental education through the Manaaki project run with the Samoa Voyaging Society andConservation International Samoa.^[20]

• 
  Gaualofa in 2016
• 
  Ceremony aboard va'akaGaualofa in 2016
• 
  Dignitaries with CaptainFealofani Bruun
• 
  Fealofani Bruun on the Gaualofa

ThisSamoa-related article is astub. You can help Wikipedia byadding missing information.

• v
• t
• e

• Polynesian navigation
• Experimental archaeology
• Replica ships
• Individual sailing vessels
• Sailing ships
• Voyaging canoes
• 2009 ships
• Ships of Samoa
• Culture of Samoa
• Samoa stubs

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• MMSI Number
• All stub articles