Real tools, real water, real discovery.
TAHITI YACHT CLUB • 2026
A floating classroom in the Pacific
Give Youth the Ocean.
They’ll Protect Its Future.
Aboard the sailing vessel Mālama Kai, young people become explorers, researchers and lifelong protectors of our living ocean.
MALAMAKAI.COMSAILING • SCIENCE • STEWARDSHIPPHOTOGRAPH BY BRANDON LIESEN
LIVE FIJI MARINE WEATHER
Weather for every
vessel in Fiji.
A practical marine weather center for Fiji’s cruising community—bringing official forecasts, regional patterns and Captain Christian’s passage-focused analysis together in one easy-to-find place.
DAILY PASSAGE ANALYSISOfficial forecasts.
Official warnings and each vessel captain’s judgment always take priority.
Official forecasts.
Regional patterns.
Clearer decisions.
01 Captain Christian analysis
02 Official marine sources
03 Fiji cruising focus
01 WHY WE SAIL
Give a young person the helm—and a reason to protect what lies beyond it.
Mālama Kai means “to care for the ocean.” It is both our name and our promise.
We turn the Pacific into a hands-on learning environment where curiosity becomes data, data becomes understanding, and understanding becomes action. Students don’t stand on the sidelines. They navigate, observe, sample, record and contribute.
Because the surest way to create the next generation of ocean stewards is to let them experience what is at stake—and show them they are capable of making a difference.
Every observation can help tell the ocean’s story.
Confidence grows when young people take the helm.
02 THE WORK
Curiosity becomes
citizen science.
Our program connects youth with accessible field science, seamanship and navigational knowledge. Each experience begins with curiosity and ends with a deeper responsibility to the sea.
01MICROSCOPY
Plankton & the living sea
Collect plankton samples, use microscopes to identify tiny organisms, and document the drifting communities that feed marine life, influence the carbon cycle and help us understand a changing ocean.
02FIELD SCIENCE
Water & reef health
Measure temperature, clarity, salinity and pH—then connect water-quality observations with coral stress, bleaching risk and the changing conditions affecting reef ecosystems.
Water Quality Monitoring for Coral Health ↗NOAA Coral Reef Watch — Live Conditions ↗Crown-of-thorns Starfish — How Outbreaks Damage Reefs ↗Coral Gardeners — From Tahiti to Fiji ↗NOAA — Ocean Acidification & Coral Reefs ↗Nature — Added CO₂ Suppresses Reef Calcification ↗Nature — Reversing Acidification Helps Reefs Grow ↗Scientific Reports — How Corals Regulate Calcifying pH ↗Scientific Reports — Water Flow & Reef Response ↗NOAA Research — Acidification & Coral Bioerosion ↗
03SEAMANSHIP
Weather, wind & currents
Learn to read clouds, instruments and charts while documenting the forces that carry Mālama Kai across the Pacific.
Weather data ↗→Captain Christian analysis→Mālama Kai Weather page
04POLYNESIAN WAYFINDING
Polynesian & celestial navigation
Learn to find direction from the sun, stars, winds, waves, birds and ocean swells—honoring the knowledge systems that guided Pacific voyagers for generations while also practicing modern sextant-based celestial navigation.
03 HOW DISCOVERY WORKS
From first question
to lasting stewardship.
Observe
Look closely. Ask better questions.
Measure
Use real tools and repeatable methods.
Understand
Turn observations into knowledge.
Protect
Use what we learn to care for the ocean.
04 THE PLATFORM
SV MĀLAMA KAI · WESTSAIL 42
A bluewater vessel.
A boundless classroom.
Built for the open ocean, Mālama Kai carries seamanship, science and story from one island community to the next. Her deck is a laboratory. Her cockpit is a classroom. Every horizon is an invitation to learn.
42′BLUEWATER SAILING VESSELPacificOUR LIVING CLASSROOMYouthOUR FUTURE CREW
05 LIVE VESSEL TRACK
Follow Mālama Kai
across the Pacific.
See the vessel’s latest reported position and voyage path through PredictWind.
Open the live ship track ↗
SV MĀLAMA KAILive Pacific voyage trackView on PredictWind ↗
“
Never let anyone tell you no. Step aboard, take the helm, and discover what you are capable of.
— THE MĀLAMA KAI PROMISE
The words we sail by
Care for this vessel.
Care for this crew.
Care for the ocean.
We sail with aloha, pono and kuleana—love, integrity and responsibility. Following ancestral paths through the Pacific, guided by wind and stars, we remember: the canoe is an island, and the island is a canoe.
06 CREW & VOYAGE STORIES
01
Christian Holm
DIRECTOR AND CO-FOUNDER
Cristiano@malamakai.blueOriginal Member of the Citizen Science Association, now known as the Association for Advancing Participatory Science
Christian is a career aerial firefighter and former firefighter/paramedic, fire officer and training captain who brings decades of leadership, emergency response, aviation and teaching experience to Mālama Kai.
An ocean voyager, advanced rescue diver and former Sea Shepherd bridge crew member, he is building a hands-on platform where young people learn sailing, weather, marine science and stewardship—and discover their own confidence at the helm.
Lynn Swycaffer Ringseis
DIRECTOR AND CO-FOUNDER
Lynn@malamakai.blueLynn is Mālama Kai’s author, waterwoman, voyager, chef and safety officer. Her stories preserve the wildlife encounters, people and passages that give context to the youth learning mission.
LYNN’S MĀLAMA KAI JOURNAL10 STORIES
JAN 27, 202601
Tranquilo en México
Mālama Kai rests in Banderas Bay among humpback mothers and calves, quiet beaches and tangerine sunrises.
READ LYNN’S STORY ↗JAN 20, 202602
Baja Ha Ha 2025
A years-in-the-making passage filled with green flashes, dolphins by moonlight, generous coastal communities and the joy of finally sailing south.
READ LYNN’S STORY ↗SEP 21, 202503
Autumnal Equinox
A San Diego homecoming, a look back at the voyage from Puget Sound, and the wildlife that accompanied Mālama Kai south.
READ LYNN’S STORY ↗SEP 2, 202504
Eureka, We Found It
Boisterous seas, an autopilot strike and an unexpectedly warm welcome after Mālama Kai enters Humboldt Bay.
READ LYNN’S STORY ↗AUG 4, 202505
The Sailing Tribe
A tribute to the boat community: people who rush to help, share their knowledge and look after one another on a watery planet.
READ LYNN’S STORY ↗JUL 14, 202506
Sea Creatures Fun Facts
A joyful introduction to plankton—the ocean’s wandering gems—and the tiny lives that feed whales and help the planet breathe.
READ LYNN’S STORY ↗JUL 14, 202507
Whale of a Tale
Lynn’s unforgettable Hawaiian canoe encounter with a humpback mother and calf—and the day she became a ‘whale whisperer.’
READ LYNN’S STORY ↗JUL 10, 202508
Captain Christian’s Newsletter
The complete vision for a safe bluewater passage, a floating classroom, citizen science, wildlife logs and youth outreach.
READ LYNN’S STORY ↗JUL 10, 202509
A Sanctuary Expands
Celebrating French Polynesia’s ancestral rāhui tradition and a growing commitment to protect whales, sharks, turtles and coral.
READ LYNN’S STORY ↗JUN 21, 202510
Welcome Aboard
The first invitation to join the voyage for salty tales, wildlife encounters, ocean discoveries and courage to untie the docklines.
READ LYNN’S STORY ↗07 AFFILIATED ORGANIZATIONS
Aligned around a
living ocean.
Mālama Kai is building relationships with organizations whose work complements our youth education, citizen science and ocean-stewardship mission.
These relationships are currently in development. Formal collaborations will be identified here as written agreements are completed.
FIJI · YASAWA ISLANDSRELATIONSHIP IN DEVELOPMENT
Barefoot Manta Island Resort
A dedicated Marine Conservation Centre, local marine-biologist team, reef restoration, ecological education and community-led stewardship.
EXPLORE THEIR MARINE CONSERVATION WORK ↗
FIJI · FRENCH POLYNESIA · THAILANDRELATIONSHIP IN DEVELOPMENT
Coral Gardeners
Science-led coral nurseries, reef restoration, technology-enabled monitoring and education that equips local communities to protect reefs.
EXPLORE THEIR FIJI & PACIFIC WORK ↗
WORLDWIDE CRUISING COMMUNITYAFFILIATED ORGANIZATION
Seven Seas Cruising Association
A worldwide network supporting independent cruisers through shared knowledge, camaraderie, advocacy, education and its enduring “Clean Wake” ethic.
VISIT THE SEVEN SEAS CRUISING ASSOCIATION ↗
GLOBAL PASSAGE NETWORKAFFILIATED ORGANIZATION
Ocean Posse
A captain-driven cruising network connecting voyaging vessels with passage support, trusted marinas, practical information and community across the world’s oceans. Pictured: its South Pacific gathering at Nawi Island Marina.
VISIT OCEAN POSSE ↗
PARTICIPATORY SCIENCEPROFESSIONAL AFFILIATION
Association for Advancing Participatory Sciences
Formerly the Citizen Science Association, AAPS advances research and monitoring conducted by, for and with members of the public.
VISIT AAPS ↗
DIRECT-ACTION CONSERVATIONMISSION-ALIGNED ORGANIZATION
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
Marine wildlife defense through investigation, documentation, direct action and collaboration to uphold laws protecting ocean ecosystems.
VISIT SEA SHEPHERD ↗
OCEAN & WILDLIFE DEFENSEMISSION-ALIGNED ORGANIZATION
Captain Paul Watson Foundation
Dedicated to protecting ocean ecosystems and marine wildlife through direct action, public awareness and environmental education.
VISIT THE CAPTAIN PAUL WATSON FOUNDATION ↗
GLOBAL OCEAN PROTECTIONMISSION-ALIGNED ORGANIZATION
Mission Blue · Dr. Sylvia Earle
Led by oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle, Mission Blue advances a global network of Hope Spots—critical ocean places protected through science, advocacy and community-led action.
VISIT MISSION BLUE ↗Are you a Fijian school, village, resort, research group or conservation organization interested in working with Mālama Kai? Start a conversation ↗
The next generation is ready
Help put ocean discovery
into young hands.
We are building a community of students, educators, researchers, partners and supporters who believe experience can change a life—and informed young people can change the future.