Satawal is an island in Micronesia. Its small population has survived by bringing food to the island on their 30-feet sailing canoes. But now, the skills required to undertake such passages are dying out. In fact, technological advances have brought the end to much of the island’s culture, and most people now prefer to take a ferry to neighbouring islands. Stephen Thomas, an American sailor, travelled to Satawal to study the traditional navigational methods from Mau Piailug, The Last Navigator. In the age of satellite tracking systems, all Mau uses to direct him through the Pacific are the stars, swells and clouds. The two men embark on a 500-mile journey to the island of Saipan, where the neon violence of modernisation threatening Satawal has become a reality.
Satawal is an island in Micronesia. Its small population has survived by bringing food to the island on their 30-feet sailing canoes. But now, the skills required to undertake such passages are dying out. In fact, technological advances have brought the end to much of the island’s culture, and most people now prefer to take a ferry to neighbouring islands. Stephen Thomas, an American sailor, travelled to Satawal to study the traditional navigational methods from Mau Piailug, The Last Navigator. In the age of satellite tracking systems, all Mau uses to direct him through the Pacific are the stars, swells and clouds. The two men embark on a 500-mile journey to the island of Saipan, where the neon violence of modernisation threatening Satawal has become a reality.
