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The Last Navigator Finds His Way Home

Mau Piailug, the Micronesian master navigator, died on July 12 on his home island of Satawal. He was 78. Mau Piailug navigated the open ocean without map or compass, using his knowledge of the stars, winds, currents and sea life, in the manner of his ancestors. In 1974 he was invited by the Polynesian Voyaging Society of Hawaii to assist them in reviving the ancient art and science of Hawaiian way-finding. Mau was asked to navigate the Hokule’a, a traditional Hawaiian double canoe from Hawaii to Tahiti, a voyage that lead to the resurgence of interest and pride in traditional Oceanic culture and abilities.

In 2003, Mr. Piailug was the object of a Coast Guard search when he was two weeks overdue on a short 250-mile jaunt between the islands of Palau and Yap.

He and his crew were located by an Air Force C-130 from an Air Force base in Guam; after enduring strong headwinds from a typhoon, they were tired and thirsty—but they were right on course and just 30 miles from their destination. They finished the voyage under their own power.

“I wasn’t worried. I knew right away that it was the weather,” said Junior Coleman, a Hawaiian who had previously sailed with Mr. Piailug, in an interview with the Honolulu Advertiser. “I told people to remember who is involved here. He’s the Yoda of the Pacific.”

Mau Piailug, Micronesian who sailed by navigating sun and stars, dies at 78

Mau Piailug : Last of the Pacific Navigators Finds his Way Home

Special thanks to C. O’Hanlon for this submission.

Poetry in Motion - C Class Catamarans

The “Little America’s Cup” catamarans are like thoroughbreds - expensive and delicate creatures good for little else besides racing others of their kind. But oh… what a ride! Here’s UK Team Invictus putting the boat through its paces a few days before shipping the yacht to Newport, Rhode Island. Racing begins Aug 22, with coverage by Sailing Anarchy.

New Seaclipper 20

Multihulls make great camp cruisers… in theory. In practice, they are expensive and complex, cumbersome to launch and trailer, and just plain awkward in a monohull oriented environment. Until now. Jim Brown and his long time collaborator, Ron Marples, have at last created the VW microbus of multihulls - the new Seaclipper 20. The boat is simple to build, robust, a snap to rig and launch, safe, comfy and yes… even fast!

A standard used beach cat rig keeps the cost down and the performance up, and finally, a standard 7’ square dome tent converts the boat into a luxurious camp site! I am SO happy to see a new trimaran design that isn’t all carbon fiber and made in China.

Plans available at Searunner.com. Via SmallTrimarans.

Aye, Calypso!

The 100th anniversary of Commandant Jacques-Yves Cousteau’s birth is today. Today is also day 52 of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Thanks to the Horse’s Mouth for the pic.

Calypso, by John Denver

Traditional Vaka Heading East

A fleet of four traditional vaka will sail from Auckland on Wednesday April 14th (weather permitting) to French Polynesia, Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga and Fiji.

Discovery was the prime motivator when the last vaka fleets crossed the Pacific more than 1000 years ago. This year’s voyage is one of rediscovery; aimed at re-establishing cultural links through traditional voyaging and raising awareness of the key environmental issues threatening the Pacific Ocean. This includes pollution, ocean noise, habitat destruction, overfishing, acidification and de-oxidation and climate change.

Built at the Salthouse yard at Greenhithe, Auckland, the 22m vessels carry up to16 crew and are based on a traditional Tahitian design. Modern boatbuilding techniques are combined with established craftsmanship. The hulls are constructed from E-glass and foam and lashed together with wooden beams and rope. Two of the vaka use a solar power system for an auxiliary propulsion system.

Sails Set For Pacific Endeavour

Bernard Smith, 1910-2010

Bernard Smith passed away on Feb. 12, three months short of his 100th birthday. He invented a radical sailboat called the aerohydrofoil that had neither a “sail” nor a “boat”, and he outlined his design in his 1963 book, “The 40-Knot Sailboat” . I must have checked that book out of my local library about 20 times! Thanks to Paul Dunlop for the news.

The passing of sailing’s true rocket scientist | Mr. Smith’s Amazing Sailboats

End Game

After all the amazing legal bullshit thrown by both sides of this mighty conflict, I gotta say... the America’s Cup has still got it. I’ll be riveted to the SA coverage, and I’ll be rooting for the black trident.

Ninja Pro - Sailing Outrigger

This sporty little multihull hails from Cape Town, the home of designer Gerhard Schein and G-Force dinghies. It’s called a “tacking proa”, though we purists would say ”outrigger”. It has all the mod-cons like a square top main and a carbon fiber bow sprit for the screacher, and it looks like a great ride. Though the actual boat doesn’t have it, the 3D model on the G-Force site shows a Bruce foil in the ama.

Edmond Bruce was a brilliant sailing theorist and experimenter who was perhaps the brightest star of the Amateur Yacht Research Society (AYRS) in it’s 60’s and 70’s heyday. He had a gift for experiments - building wind tunnels out of bailing wire and desk fans, and tank testing his ideas for a miniscule fraction of the cost of a typical university. He published his results in the famous AYRS newsletter, a peculiarly British institution that printed all manner of demented English sailing fantasies as well as serious research into sailing, and since absolutely no one else was interested in the topic, they had the field mostly to themselves.

Bruce first posited the idea of using angled hydrofoils for balancing heeling force back in 1965, and it is an idea that is ever so slowly catching on. Now ocean racing trimarans sport angled boards in the amas, and so do the latest A Cats. I’m sure Edmond Bruce would be very pleased. A Bruce foiled outrigger is unique because the foil pushes up on one tack, and pulls down on the other.

Testing with Models

The Year in Proas

2009 was a good year for the proa “virus”. We witnessed two proa “messabouts”, and the launch of a truly spectacular “giant”.

The 2009 Texas Proa Championships featured four proas in attendance, and a race between Kevin O’Neill’s 21’ Skate and Laurent Coquilleau’s 21’ proa. The First New Zealand Proa Congress had a turnout of eight outrigged craft, including several canoes of Gary Dierking’s design. James Brett’s Free Radical took home the trophy. Both events are planned to repeat in 2010.

Inigo Wijnen launched the 71’ Gaia’s Dream in Oz, and capped 2009 with the maiden voyage from Coffs Harbour to Sydney.

Schacht Marine Now Open

I’m very pleased to announce that Schacht Marine, my professional marine industrial design site is now up and running! It includes a blog (of course) and that will be where the majority of my posts will appear from now on. Schacht Marine will range much further afield than Proafile, gathering inspiration from all sectors of the design world. That is also where I’ll be presenting new proposals - and there will most likely be a proa or two in there. I’ll also be looking at modern yacht design while wearing a cultural analysis hat, which I think could be a lot of fun. See The Battle Axe for an example. Please come visit and say “Hi” at the new digs!

Proafile will remain as an archive and resource for proanauts, and proa specific content will still be added. Thanks to everyone who contributed to Proafile over the years, it has been an honor and a privilege to get to know you.

All the best,

Michael Schacht

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