Mission Blue Hope Spot: False Bay, South Africa

Hōkūleʻa crewmembers take a tour of one of the most ecologically rich coastlines in the world, False Bay, which is designated a Mission Blue Hope Spot. Award winning documentary filmmaker, Craig Foster, educates the crew on the inhabitants of this ecosystem, and guides them through the chilly waters to experience kelp forests, sharks and other marine life.

Before their momentous arrival in Cape Town, Hōkūleʻa and her crew made an important stop in False Bay near Simons Town, South Africa.

Nainoa Thompson, master navigator aboard Hōkūleʻa said, “We had no reason to go to False Bay, but we made a decision because of the extraordinary work of the many people that are there, that are in this area doing exceptional things to protect the world’s oceans. We aloha our great friend and mentor and teacher and inspiration, Dr. Sylvia Earle who has created this as one of the world’s great ocean hope spots.”

In 2014, False Bay was one of 6 areas in South Africa designated a Mission Blue “Hope Spot” — a special place critical to the health of the ocean. Mission Blue is an initiative of the Sylvia Earle alliance that works to ignite public support for the protection of our oceans by creating a global network of marine protected areas.

Craig Foster is an internationally recognized award winning documentary filmmaker, whose films reflect a deep passion and commitment to the natural world. He has been exploring False Bay nearly every day for years, building an intimate relationship with the place and its inhabitants in one of the most ecologically rich coastlines in the world.

After a tour of the coastline it was time to get in the water.

Craig led the crew through the breath taking kelp forest, braving bone chilling waters, without wet suits. An exercise, Craig believes, helps divers get into the mind set of our earliest ancestors and experience what they might have experienced thousands of years ago.

“It was an honor and privilege to be with him, and get an eye blink into his work,” said Thompson.

“We were taken on a tour of an amazing ecological system, some of the richest oceans, nutrient rich oceans of the world.”

Thompson said, “We were here to do what we were supposed to do on the canoes, that’s to capture stories. Not just hope, but people taking extraordinary action to protect the oceans and in doing so you protect the earth.”

To learn more about Craig Foster and his work towards protecting the earth, visit www.senseafrica.com.