Participants prepare to head out on the water during a Tagaloa Sailing Project session in West Auckland. Photo: Supplied via LDR
A new sailing programme is helping Pacific and Māori reconnect with traditional voyaging knowledge while building confidence on the water.
The Tagaloa Sailing Project is run by Moana Wayfinders Trust and trains participants to become sailing instructors using a mix of Western sailing techniques and traditional Māori and Pacific navigation knowledge.
Founder Sonny Natanielu said his mission is about returning Pacific people back to the ocean.
"It's easy to talk about these stories, but when people actually get on the water themselves, that's when they begin to understand who they are and where they come from," he said.
The programme runs weekly at Hobsonville Yacht Club and brings together participants ranging from teenagers to adults.
Participants spend about 10 months learning sailing skills, water safety and how to read wind and ocean conditions before qualifying to teach others.
Learners at a Tagaloa Sailing Project session. Photo: Supplied via LDR
"The aim is that once this group qualifies as sailing instructors, we'll begin offering lessons to the wider community," Natanielu said.
Auckland Council provided $18,000 in 2024, through its Community Impact Unit, to support the programme's launch.
Dickie Humphries, Auckland Council's head of community impact, said the funding was provided to create a "Pacific Sailing Club".
Alongside cultural learning, the programme teaches practical water safety skills, including life jacket use, capsized yacht recovery and basic ocean safety.
Participants preparing to head out onto the water in West Auckland. Photo: Supplied via LDR
"There are people in the current group who have never touched the water before, and some who are terrified of the water," Natanielu said.
"Life jackets may not look cool, but tell that to the people who died because they didn't have one. Having sail plans and the right gear for the vessel that you have, real simple things like that."
Water Safety New Zealand recorded 78 drowning deaths in 2025. In the most recent data, about 90 percent of craft-related drowning deaths involved people not wearing lifejackets.
The programme has been adopted by Hobsonville Yacht Club, which provides sailing instructors and facilities.
During the Auckland Wooden Boat Festival - part of Moana Auckland, New Zealand's Ocean Festival - Hobsonville Yacht Club will also offer visitors the chance to try sailing with experienced sailors.
However, Cheyne Stevens, head of major events at Tātaki Auckland Unlimited, said the Tagaloa Sailing Project is not formally part of the Moana Auckland programme or the Auckland Wooden Boat Festival.
"Its connection to the festival is through the Hobsonville Yacht Club, which has adopted the programme," Stevens said.
"As part of the Auckland Wooden Boat Festival, the Hobsonville Yacht Club is offering festivalgoers the opportunity to jump on board and try sailing with experienced sailors at the club."
Tagaloa Sailing Project founder Sonny Natanielu with participant Jasmin Holden-Whiu. Photo: LDR/ Taelegalolo'u Mary Afemata
Natanielu said the programme also reflects a commitment to Te Tiriti by bringing Māori and Pacific participants together through shared ocean traditions.
"I've got a young Māori girl and three Māori Pacific people in the group who are involved in their marae."
One of the Māori participants is Jasmin Holden-Whiu, a university student studying environmental science and Māori studies.
"It's really a big privilege to be able to relearn this knowledge and know that you're going to share that back with your community and continue these traditions," Holden-Whiu said.
"A lot of that knowledge has been taken away from us and we haven't been able to learn it for the last few decades."
Learners gather around a navigation mat during a training session combining traditional Pacific voyaging knowledge and modern sailing skills. Photo: Supplied via LDR
Despite the enthusiasm, the programme's location in West Auckland can make it difficult for some South Auckland participants to attend.
Holden-Whiu, who travels from Manurewa each week, said having a similar programme closer to home would make it easier for more rangatahi to participate.
"It's about reconnecting with our traditional knowledge and recognising our past as voyagers."
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
