The Ocean Knows No Borders follows the story of Aunofo Havea, the first female licensed captain in all of Polynesia and the creator of the whale swimming industry in her native country of Tonga, as she inspires other women to face the unknown and break the glass ceiling. The documentary is produced by Northeast Maritime Institute.
Brief Bio of Captain Aunofo: Aunofo Havea has broken gender barriers in Polynesia by becoming the first female Captain in the region. She is one of the most experienced whale-swim and vaka voyaging skippers in Tonga and the South Pacific and one of the pioneers of swimming with whales in the early 1990s. When she’s not whale-watching, Aunofo is also the President of the Tonga Voyaging Society and trains young Tongans in ocean voyaging, keeping a proud heritage alive. She participated in the Te Mana o Te Moana Voyage, which included 7 traditionally built Vakas across ten island nations sailing on a voyage that began in April 2011 and was completed in August 2012, traveling through the Pacific Islands and to San Francisco, completing 210,000 nautical miles of open ocean.
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Web: www.theoceanknowsnoborders.com
Director // Jack Gordon
Executive Producer // Eric R. Dawicki – President (Northeast Maritime Institute)
Sound Editing // Bijan Sharifi & Omar Gonzalez
Re-recording Miz // Bijan Sharifi