Hawaiki Rising

Description

Ever wondered how Polynesians navigated the Pacific by the stars and without any instruments, tables, clocks or almanacs? This has been the subject of many books and even the now popular Disney movie Moana. Here you are shown how it was done. You are given concrete examples without too much mystical tribal lore.  

It begins with the fascinating Micronesian star compass used for dead reckoning by imagining yourself in the center, and the islands sliding by under star paths — a unique Micronesian mental system of triangulation. Next, the principle of equal distance yields the celestial address of Honolulu (21° north), when the Southern Cross is upright. Simultaneous setting stars yield latitudes which require no measurement at all.

Yes, there is some lore, for example how to SEE an island 2400 miles distant — you get the idea! But, we enjoy sailing with Nainoa Thompson as he rediscovers the ancient signs that guided his ancestors. Finally, we sail with him to Taihiti, making him the first Hawaian to make a distant landfall without charts or instruments in a thousand years.  HC, 2014, 343 pages.