Sailing Happy

The deflation to help whales 🐳 is growing. Please share.

Scientists and Indigenous leaders are now working together on this through a partnership with an actual whale communication research program

On March 28, 2024, in Rarotonga, Cook Islands, Indigenous leaders from across the Pacific signed He Whakaputanga Moana, or the Declaration for the Ocean, the first Indigenous-led declaration recognizing whales as sentient beings with inherent legal rights. Signatories included the late Māori King Tūheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero VII of Aotearoa New Zealand, alongside leaders from the Cook Islands, Tonga, Tahiti, Hawaiʻi, and Rapanui.

The declaration goes beyond typical conservation language. It recognizes whales as legal persons entitled to specific rights: freedom of movement, cultural expression, a healthy environment, healthy oceans, and the restoration of their populations. The idea draws directly from precedent already established in New Zealand law. In 2014, the country's parliament passed the Te Urewera Act, granting legal personhood to Te Urewera, the ancestral homeland of the Tūhoe people. In 2017, the Whanganui River became the first river in the world to receive legal personhood, represented by appointed human guardians acting on its behalf. Both frameworks have since been used to slow or overturn development projects and to force formal consultation with local Indigenous communities before land or water use decisions are made.

The whale declaration was spearheaded by the Hinemoana Halo Ocean Initiative, named after the Māori goddess of the ocean, Hinemoana, meaning "Ocean Woman." The initiative has since partnered with New York University's More-Than-Human Life Program and Project CETI, the Cetacean Translation Initiative, bringing together Indigenous legal frameworks, environmental science, and cutting-edge research into whale communication to build out what enforceable protection could actually look like in practice.

Māori King Tūheitia framed the effort in explicitly ancestral terms. "The sound of our ancestor's song has grown weaker, and her habitat is under threat, which is why we must act now," he said, describing the proposed legal status as "a cloak of protection for our taonga, our ancestor, the whales." Cook Islands high chief Travel Tou Ariki added, "We can no longer turn a blind eye. Whales play a vital role in the health of our entire ocean ecosystem. Their decline disrupts the delicate balance that sustains all life in Te Moana."

The declaration itself is not a binding international treaty and would require recognition from national governments to carry enforceable legal weight. But it has already reshaped global conversation, prompting Pacific Indigenous leaders to raise the issue at COP28 and sparking discussion around the idea of appointing whales as ocean ambassadors to the United Nations.

On February 5, 2026, the declaration was publicly released in Waitangi, New Zealand, marking what organizers describe as the start of a global movement to put its vision into practice.

Whale populations worldwide have declined sharply due to hunting, ship strikes, entanglement, and ocean noise pollution. For the Indigenous nations behind this declaration, protecting them isn't simply an environmental policy question. It's framed as an obligation to family.

Anchor b**r in Neah Bay!

Day 19 from Kona. So close!

So close!

Storyline from Kona to halfway point of the trek back to Victoria. Hugh and David chose a good wx window to depart. Plenty of time lately with ‘Cody’ (aka code zero) during the day in light winds. Who would’ve thought light winds returning from Hawaii?

New friends in Kona! Ellen offered to take us for a flight around Big Island - was amazing! Thank you!

Hello from Happy in Kona!

It is all well here and we landed in Kona on Thursday—now settled for the hurricane that is passing tonight! We made the first leg in 16 days which is pretty fast—especially given we were fleeing the hurricane! The sailing was great at 7-8 kn on a broad reach once we got through the storm cells and out of the ITCZ zone—we’d had enough of playing ‘frogger’. 🐸 We motored a total of 60 hours in the total 2450 kn. Not bad!

Another small storm follows this one but less severe and where we are tucked in, winds should be minimal.

We are glad we get some chill time to relax and recoup as I fly out the night of 22nd for BC. Hugh and David leave the morning of the 23rd (wx pending) for Honolulu to get a few parts and when the weather window is right, go north and home. The sail should be 3 weeks.

Here are a few pics of where we are tucked in. Thanks for your support! It is much appreciated!

Lunch on repeat. Wraps with cabbage slaw, bean dip, Hugh’s homemade hot sauce from Hiva Oa, and the last of our fresh tomatoes with canned corn and beets. Topped with vegan chipotle mayo. Yum!

The things we do at sea with Starlink…

https://suno.com/s/s5YlxQVoKgzeigSG