I thought I had it rough taking on the open seas aboard the Caroline Voyager. I felt sorry for myself. I felt nauseous. I may have even squirted a few tears over my dismal state….That was until I met face to face with a few current navigators of the Hokule’a and the Alingano Maisu. Approximately 30 crew members under the direction of the legendary Mau Piailug left
I didn’t think most people would believe me, and to be perfectly honest I’m not sure I was completely sold when I first heard, but once I saw the red thuu and the few patches of golden dark skin peering out from behind thick dark navigational tattoos, I knew the canoe had arrived to refute my doubt. Due to geography, among other reasons, navigation has always been a hallmark of island culture. The wood for the canoes was cut and hand carved, the glue gleaned from sap of local trees and rope made from the husks of dried coconuts. Generations and generations of males have passed down the remarkable skill of entrusting their fate to nothing more than stars, water currents and wind patterns, resulting in “the exploration and settlement of islands in an area of over 10 million square miles during a period of over 1,000 years.” (PVS website) Perhaps you were not the only skeptic of this colossal endeavor. The doubt of fellow disbelievers is what actually spurred the construction of the Hokule’a in 1975 in an effort to prove that the Pacific islands were not in fact discovered and settled by accident.
The Hokule`a “can be loaded with about 11,000 pounds, or 5.5 tons, including the weight of a crew of 12-16 people and equipment and supplies. It can make up to 10-12 knots sailing on a reach in strong winds.” (PVS website) How does an 8-ton, 62’ 4’’ X 17’6’’ vessel navigate the Pacific? When questioned about whether or not the crew carried a compass with them, they thought the question ridiculous. They said a compass was not necessary, and almost an inconvenience when they traveled by much easier, and more reliable methods.
The crew stopped long enough to stroll around Weno, and a few came up to the Xavier Campus to tour the attraction. I was walking behind one of the female crew in the hallway, in sheer amazement at the broadness of her shoulders. When I picked up my jaw long enough to ask her about her experience so far, she told me of how the crew works in 4 hour shifts, navigating, paddling, watching, observing. Unless of course there was a bad storm – then all of the crew would be employed to help maneuver the swells. I got the feeling that she was making fun of me in her head at my fawning over something she considered quite ordinary.
Unfortunately, I had classes to teach and could not accompany the juniors as they got to actually board the docked canoes and see first hand the intricacies of life in the hand-crafted vessel. I’m still in disbelief at how a sea-craft so small and delicate can travel such vast expanses of ocean and withstand the fury of the ravaging seas…
But hopefully the pictures substantiate my claim and further expose the beauty of the island cultures, and the stories they conceal prove the impossible possible…As if that wasn’t eventful enough for one week, no sooner had the canoes left, than the next efficient means of transportation dropped off yet another spectacle to the Chuuk Lagoon. Perhaps you might be familiar with the World Youth Movement initiated by Pope John Paul in 1983. The movement has made it’s way to Micronesia and on March 15, Continental Micronesia opened up the cargo door to reveal Pope John Paul’s gift to the “serafou” of the world – the World Youth Day Cross and Icon. Someone, somewhere felt that Chuuk was important enough to receive something that has been a symbol of unity that millions of eyes have gazed upon, fingers have grazed and lips have kissed. “It has been carried by commercial airline, light aircraft, dog sled, pick-up truck, tractor, sail boat, fishing boat and on shoulders. From parish churches to youth detention centres, prisons, schools, universities, national historic sites, shopping centres, nightclub districts and parks.” (WYD website)
Just to be a part of it made me feel connected to something greater. It is hard when you’ve been living on an island that you can run around in under 2 hours, an island whose entire lagoon barely appears as a speck on the map, and an island whose size is dwarfed by the enormity of ocean that surrounds it - to feel empowered…to feel as though your efforts are part of anything beyond the geographical limitations of the reef. But that day, Chuuk was the center of the world. Christ’s cross came here, and for the 48 hours that it circled the lagoon, this tiny speck of nothingness was visible from outer space.Catholic faces pressed against the fence awaiting its arrival. As the gates opened for the cross bearers, the expectant believers reverently slipped into the growing procession of followers. Trailing behind a pickup truck holding speakers and the Chuukese lady whose repetition of about 562 rosary decades was the blessed mantra that guided our every step, was an endless line of waddling mu mus. I don’t think that we could have walked any slower, which was the perfect pace to simply exist in the moment. Time stopped. The island, Catholic or Protestant, paused - all eyes on the shoulders of the cross bearers.
The procession ended two miles further, two villages over and two hours later at the Cathedral in Tunuch with mass and nightlong veneration. It began it’s trek to the 5 other islands in the lagoon at 6 am the next day and completed it’s Chuukese tour with mass at Saraamen Chuuk before it was hauled onto the plane to be received by the Guaminians. It will continue to travel throughout the South Pacific until it finally returns home to
When you think about it, it’s just wood and nails. It’s fascinating how something so seemingly plain can bring you to your knees, or how something so small can radiate so much passion. 
