Molokai Kumu Shares Trip Aboard Exploration Vessel

Photo by Catherine Cluett Pactol

Molokai educator Gandharva Mahina Hou Ross was selected as the only science communication fellow from Hawaii this year for a voyage of deep sea discovery. The trip aboard the Nautilus exploration vessel earlier this month was planned to last a few weeks to explore the depths of the ocean between Hawaii and American Samoa. However, the trip was unexpectedly cut short.
“We had to make some changes to the plans,” said Ross. “We had some problems with the crane, and then there was a hole in the hydraulic tank that kind of controls the thrusters for the ship.”
They were scheduled to leave on July 20 but instead, the 220-foot vessel sat at the dock in Honolulu awaiting repairs for about two weeks. Much of the crew was sent home, said Ross, because a decision was made not to deploy the remotely-operated vehicles (ROVs) on this leg of the voyage, with the mechanical delays.
“We just did a transit from Hawaii to Samoa, where we did the mapping of the sea floor,” explained Ross.
The ROVs were supposed to explore the area around Jarvis Island in the South Pacific. A livestream allows students, educators and the public to see the ocean floor through the eyes of the robotic vehicles in real time. Ross’ job aboard the Nautilus was to reach out to the public and share the scientific discoveries made aboard the vessel.
Though they were disappointed not to be able to fulfill that part of the mission, Ross said the experience was still memorable. As a Hokule’a crew member, he was already familiar with voyaging. But traversing the equator on this trip for the first time was something he had looked forward to.
“I really wanted to go to cross the equator and see the climate changes, the wind changes and how the stars kind of change,” explained Ross. “And so I spent a lot of time watching the stars and looking at things we would see if we were doing traditional navigation or sailing on the canoes. So I was still able to accomplish some of what I wanted to do, as well as do the community outreach for OET [Ocean Exploration Trust, the organization that operates the Nautilus].”
Before they left Hawaii, they did get to do one short dive mission off Makapu’u. It brought an exciting moment for Ross, who is a Hawaiian language immersion teacher at Molokai High School’s O Hina I Ka Malama program.
“They have a live line where you can call in or write in with questions,” he said. “So we had some Hawaiian language questions come in. So, I was able to communicate in ‘Olelo Hawaii to a worldwide audience, whoever was listening in, and was communicating with some people from Hawaii, so that was really cool.”
Once they arrived in Pago Pago, he and a few others were able to see the northern side of the island by boat, which Ross described as similar to Molokai’s north coast.
Back on Molokai, Ross has been sharing the Nautilus experience with his students. He said he hopes to be invited on a future Nautilus voyage, to be able to see the dive portion of the mission firsthand next time.
The vessel is continuing on its planned exploration journeys the rest of this year, which can be livestreamed at nautiluslive.org.