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Johnyawl

(3,210 posts)

15. It's pretty easy to be a seafarer when you have satellites to tell you where you are...

Reply to AngryAmish (Reply #12)

Mon Feb 9, 2015, 08:24 PM

Feb 2015

...the Polynesians had neither compass, sextant, chronometer or even a stationary pole star to guide them, yet they found their way from Samoa to Tahiti, Easter Island, New Zealand and Hawaii, and then retraced their steps home. Take a good look at a globe and try to understand the difficulty of traveling those distances and finding some rather tiny specks of islands using nothing but their knowledge of sea currents, wind and star charts made of shells.

The USN is a technological marvel, but as sailors they are nothing compared to the sailors during the age of exploration. European sailors mapped the world during the age of exploration using compass and sextant and hand drawing the charts. The modern USN sailor wouldn't be able to find his way out of Puget Sound using the tools and vessels the polynesians used to explore and settle the vast pacific.

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Highlight:

Polynesian seafarers discovered America long before Europeans, says DNA study [View all] KamaAina Feb 2015 OP

Shades of Kon-Tiki. Agnosticsherbet Feb 2015 #1

Perhaps they migrate. lumberjack_jeff Feb 2015 #2

Was the swallow laden or unladen? AngryAmish Feb 2015 #10

thor heyerdahl sailed from SA to Polynesia on a raft, proving it could be done and likely was nt msongs Feb 2015 #3

This is an interesting one. hunter Feb 2015 #4

Consider the totem pole. KamaAina Feb 2015 #5

I seem to recall some Siberian native peiple did something similar to totem poles. AngryAmish Feb 2015 #11

Interesting stuff. iandhr Feb 2015 #6

The Yale Precision Marching Band has not been invited to New Haven's Columbus Day parade KamaAina Feb 2015 #7

Because something fundamentally happened after Columbus voyage that did not happen prior Johonny Feb 2015 #13

What happened was genocide csziggy Feb 2015 #23

More than that Johonny Feb 2015 #24

I have read some where yuiyoshida Feb 2015 #8

Polynesians were the greatest seafarers the world has ever known. Hekate Feb 2015 #9

The United States Navy would like a word with you. AngryAmish Feb 2015 #12

It's pretty easy to be a seafarer when you have satellites to tell you where you are... Johnyawl Feb 2015 #15

As an institution, the United States Navy has institutionalized AngryAmish Feb 2015 #20

Open sea navigation in outrigger canoes aiming, not for contintinental masses, but islands... Hekate Feb 2015 #16

I've heard they could tell an island was over the horizon by the different type of waves they felt aint_no_life_nowhere Feb 2015 #19

Just because europe was backward all mankind was not. AngryAmish Feb 2015 #21

China assayed some sea travel, it is true, but for the most part the Middle Kingdom faced toward... Hekate Feb 2015 #22

Not really surprising at all. Some of the coastal Pacific NW tribes have traditional stories passed scarletwoman Feb 2015 #14

"The Daughters of Copper Woman" retell ancient stories about tribal traveling Luminous Animal Feb 2015 #17

Thank you. I had forgotten about that book, which I read many years ago. scarletwoman Feb 2015 #18