Meet the female captain who just voyaged a canoe from Tahiti to Tauranga

The female captain says often people don't expect to see a woman on board the waka. Photo / Supplied

Close to a month at sea and more than 4300km across the Pacific Ocean, you would think having your feet firmly planted on solid ground would be a relief - but not if you are India Tabellini.

"Being on land is sometimes more complicated than being on the ocean. On land there are so many more things to take into consideration."

The self-confessed water baby has just captained her first long voyage from Tahiti, around Rarotonga and finally to Tauranga on the double-hulled canoe or va'a - Fa'afaite - using traditional celestial navigation.

The double-hulled sailing canoe Fa'afaite arrived safe and sound in Tauranga Harbour on September 13. Photo / Andrew Warner

But she is humble about being a female captain, making sure to point out that the va'a has "her" own wellbeing and everyone on board simply works together to support her needs.

"Being the captain is not a goal for me, I didn't want to be the captain. But if this is what the canoe needs, then I want to give whatever I can.

"It is a male job but on Fa'afaite we try to keep it balanced, so being a woman is okay. My biggest barrier is that I'm young and I'm still learning."

Although in saying this, she hopes people will one day stop looking at her because she's female and start focusing on her knowledge.

"Who cares if you are a woman or a man, or if you are young or old. What counts is what you are doing for the canoe."

India Tabellini (left) at the send-off of the Fa'afite in Tahiti. Photo / Supplied

It has only been six years since Tabellini started sailing. It was, she says, always something she dreamed of doing but growing up away from the ocean made that difficult to achieve.

It wasn't until she moved near the beach in 2013 that she started strolling around the marina looking for opportunities.

"One day I saw the va'a and I just went on board and asked how can I help, it's as simple as this."

Eventually she was sailing every two weeks but it got to a point where the crew decided for the canoe to "bloom" it needed a captain.

Tabellini stood up to do what she thought was best for the va'a but it almost didn't work out as the class was full when she tried to apply - thankfully someone pulled out, and Tabellini filled their place.

Now the 26-year-old will take a break and let someone else captain the va'a while the voyage continues around the country.

Tuia 250 Voyage flotilla kaitiaki Jack Thatcher said the journey of Fa'afaite proves the extraordinary capability and courage of Pacific voyagers who found and settled Aotearoa many generations ago.

"The crew have done an amazing job, holding their course accurately and expertly, whilst Tāwhirimātea (god of the weather) and Tangaroa (god of the sea) challenged them unceasingly once they came into the Southern Pacific Ocean."

Thatcher was responsible for receiving daily reports from the crew as the vessel sailed 4300km across the open ocean.

"The strong winds, cloudy, rainy days and nights constantly assailing them would have been daunting even under normal circumstances."

Why

The Tahitian vessel travelled to New Zealand as part of the Tuia 250 Voyage, recognising 250 years since the first on-shore encounters between Māori and Pākehā.

The Dutch explorer Abel Tasman and his crew had encounters with Māori in 1642 but not on-shore.