In response to D. Gordon, Mt Maunganui.
Gidday, I'm Dunc. For the last two and a half years I've had the honour of captaining one of a fleet of 7 voyaging waka around the Pacific. (www.pacificvoyagers.org).
Our canoes are 22m, double hulled, 2 masted sailing canoes based on a 200 year old Polynesian design, but built from modern materials. They are fast and strong.
I'd just like to offer a few thoughts on Mr Gordon's objections and observations re traditional Polynesian navigation:
The use of English nautical terminology happens on 'traditional” canoes because English is the international language today and while there is a very strong cultural element to these voyages the crew want to share their experiences with people regardless of race or language. Bear in mind too that what you're reading on the blogs/websites are the captains reports and not necessarily what the crew are aware of.
It's clearly recognised that modern equipment and tools offer a level of safety that our ancestors (european and polynesian) never had and safety is paramount.
Nautical charts and references are used as a teaching tool for trainee Navigators or kept only by the Captain for safety.
The Polynesians had their own version of the modern compass, not an instrument, but a way of dividing the horizon.
Traditional Master Navigators studied for years often from childhood to achieve what we might consider a Phd in Navigation and Ocean Survival.
I've done a leg of 3,000 miles, over 4 weeks at sea with a trainee navigator guiding us and although at one point we wandered nearly 200miles away from where he thought we were (we were safe, I was watching) by the end of the leg we were only 30 miles out. A phenomenal feat for a young man who'd only been learning this for 6 or 8 months. It's a simple, elegant system that I've seen work effectively many times.
These voyages are about cultural reconnection and reviving vanishing skills in the same way we (Europeans) have Tall Ship societies, but with more emphasis on traditional values and less on rum. The canoes are viewed as a sacred space.
The voyages are not designed to be 'authentic re-enactments”. Good wet weather gear and harnesses are as important as sending your position to shore based monitors daily and eating well.
There are other important aspects to think about here too. Voyaging brings attention to the ocean and at the moment the Pacific Ocean is in serious trouble. Plastics, CO2, over-fishing and agricultural run-off are seriously damaging what we once thought of as a vast, immeasurable expanse. The oceans are our life support for this planet and without some fairly rapid change we're going to be in serious trouble.
It's hoped too that the canoes will provide a platform for cross-cultural education. We no longer live in an 'us and them” world and the more we can learn about each others cultures the easier it'll be to live together and build a future that works for all of us.

Duncan Morrison.