Hawaii–Tahiti relations James Cook who was already famous for exploring the Pacific islands including Tahiti. He and his crew were struck by the similarity between the Tahitian and Hawaiian languages, and many crewmen were able to communicate with the Hawaiians. Some of the first Tahitians came to Hawaii aboard foreign vessels as sailors or translators. In 1804, British Captain John Turnbull brought a Tahitian couple to Kauai. Tahitians missionaries led by William Ellis from the London Missionary Society, arrived to assist the American missionaries in Hawaii. A few years prior to 1804, King Kaumualii of Kauai had sent an envoy to Tahiti
RMS Tahiti efforts. The court found both the crew and officials who had certified the ship′s compliance with standards of seaworthiness blameless in the sinking, stated that the breaking of a propeller shaft was a common event at sea but the level of damage sustained by "Tahiti" in the breaking of her propeller shaft was exceedingly rare, and determined that "Tahiti"′s sinking was "due to a peril of the sea which no reasonable human care or foresight could have avoided." The court commended "Tahiti"′s master, T. A. Toten, for displaying "resource and cool accurate judgment worthy of the highest praise," said that