A captain wakes in the night certain he’s wrecked in mangroves—only he’s on his own porch. That jarring reentry from a month under sail becomes our portal into a deeper story about attention, tradition, and becoming a different kind of person at sea with artist-sailor-filmmaker Chris Miyashiro.

Chris takes us from his grandfather’s walls—painted with visions of Hōkūleʻa —to a 2,700‑mile, unsupported crossing on a double-hulled canoe that reshaped his senses and his sense of home (more on that voyage in the Ethnomads episode, forthcoming),

Chris shares how homeschool freedom and skate culture trained him to see the world as material for making, a mindset he has carried into surf/films that inspire a sense of playful wonderment. For Chris, film school offered rules and he's learned how to break them well.

We talk about “nai'a brain,” the half-sleeping state where awareness sharpens, the importance of values-grounded voyaging, and his time as a guest professor at Laguna College of Art and Design.

If you’re craving an episode that blends voyaging wisdom, creative practice, and some encouragement to get out amongst the living world, then this one's for you.

Send us a text

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Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave Rastovich

Sound + Video Engineer: Ben J Alexander

Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll

Additional music by Kai Mcgilvray + Ben J Alexander

Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast

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Thanks to our generous sponsors this season:

Patagonia Australia

Alkaway

The Sunglass Fix

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