A double-hulled voyaging canoe from Palau landed on Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) on Thursday following an 18-day voyage without GPS, marking the first non-motorized vessel in centuries to make such a long marine expedition solely by celestial navigation to Taiwan.
Guided only by the stars, swells and centuries-old Micronesian navigation techniques, the Alingano Maisu sailed more than 1,400 nautical miles (2,593km) from Palau to Lanyu.
The canoe is to stay in Taitung County for 10 days for cultural exchanges.
Photo courtesy of the Taitung County Government
The journey is part of a cultural exchange co-organized by the Taitung County Government and the Micronesian Voyaging Society (MVS), with assistance from the office of the ambassador to Palau and the Palau Community College.
MVS master navigator Sesario Sewralur, son of legendary navigator Pius “Mau” Piailug, led the voyage with 10 other crew members to promote cultural diplomacy between Taiwan and Palau, and share the ancient knowledge of celestial navigation, with a focus on ocean conservation, food sovereignty and climate resilience.
The journey was initially planned as early as 2016, but was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic until it was restarted in 2023, Sesario said.
Photo courtesy of the Taitung County Government
“It’s meaningful to bring our cultural values to people of Taiwan... We also believe that we’re one ocean, one people,” he said.
The crew is made up of navigators from Palau, Yap, Saipan and Taiwan, including Andrew Kai Wing Lau (劉啟榮), who represents Taiwan and Australia, and Chang Ye-hai Syaman (張也海, 夏曼), who represents the indigenous Tao community on Lanyu.
“This shared experience at sea deepens our bonds, honors our heritage, and revives the ancient knowledge, skills, and spirit that unite all oceanic peoples,” Syaman said.
The Alingano Maisu, meaning “the fallen breadfruit,” was named by Mau to imply that navigation knowledge should be selflessly shared with everyone free of charge like fallen breadfruit.
“The canoe was built in 2000 ... and was donated [to] by [sponsors] from all over the Pacific. They built the canoe in appreciation of what my father has given to the Pacific islands to revive the skills of navigation,” Sesario said.
“Each voyage came with great risk and often relied on careful observation, much like modern-day science. It is a process of discovery through trial and error,” MVS president Shallum Etpison said.
“Traditional ways of life, rooted in understanding the land and sea, have guided advancements in medicine and science, showing us that innovation often begins with traditional wisdom,” MVS member and Pacific Academic Institute for Research president Victor Yano said.
Upon arrival in Lanyu’s Kaiyuan Port (開元漁港) on Thursday, the crew was received with a traditional sea welcoming ceremony, which featured canoe relays by the Jimowrod (Hongtou, 紅頭) and
Jiayo (Yeyou, 椰油) tribes, dances by Yeyou Elementary School students and a feast hosted by local leaders and elders.
“It is our first time to open this route, Palau to Taiwan... It’s a very great honor to be here in Taiwan,” Sesario said.
“On the first day we arrived, we don’t even know each other, but they’re supporting us as a family... I feel like I’m at home with all the fans, with all the people of Taiwan,” Sesario said.
“We’re looking forward to having more interested people to join our voyage,” he said, adding that younger generations are especially welcome.
Asked what the biggest challenge was during the journey, Sesario said the sail line broke twice and dangerously affected the movement of the canoe in the ocean.
“We had to have one of our crew members to climb [up on the mast] to fix that, or else we cannot go anywhere with our sailing,” he said.
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
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