We watched a couple enjoy a "Polynesian Style" wedding - the dancing was really cool!
We ended the afternoon sitting on the deck of our bungalow watching the outrigger canoes race underneath! A wonderful end of the day watching the sun set over the island of Moorea and watching the canoes streak by!
Double hull
canoes
A proud vessel that made it possible for our
ancestors to reach the shores of Polynesia about 2,000 years ago, the double hull canoe, ancestor of the catamaran for which
it was the direct inspirator, is rightfully considered as the Ma'ohi's best achievement.
Indeed, the first European navigators when they
arrived in Tahiti, were very surprised to discover this new type of vessel that
was at the same time light and fast, easy to handle and much more stable than
the African canoe.
To conquer the unknown
waters of the great Pacific, our ancestors had the need to design
vessels at the same time efficient, reliable but also with large capacity. This
is how they managed the feat to build double hull canoes over 30 meters (100 ft)
long, that could accomodate up to 100 passengers. During long migrations, these
same canoes loaded less passengers in order to store food, tools, animals and
plants to colonise new desert land. Between the two hulls 6 to 8 meters (about
20 ft) apart, a light but solid deck was built, topped with two covered
shelters. This deck could measure 15 to 20 m (50 to 60 ft) long by about 10 m
(30 ft) wide. Both masts were located in the front and back and held large
triangular sails made of pandanus leaves. The canoe was steered with a long oar
used as a rudder. The man in charge of steering stood on an elevated platform to
increase his maneuvering power. 
With perfect knowledge of the stars, the
Ma’ohi were excellent navigators. They had no fear to see land disappear from
their eyes. They knew how to find their way with their
inborn knowledge of astronomy. On the vessel's prow another platform was used by
the "lookout" to watch the horizon. At the center of the canoe, the women
maintain a permanent fire between basaltic stones inside a "bucket" filled with
water to avoid accidental fires. There, meals were also prepared and passengers
would keep warm during the long watch nights. These intrepid discoverers were
thus ready for journeys that lasted several weeks, to conquer new
islands.
Double hull canoes were also used for
inter-island transportation but also... to wage war. Thinner and
lighter, these latter canoes were also faster. Sails were brought down for
better handling and to better suprise the adversaries. On all canoes, prows and
sterns proudly pointed at the sky and decorated with grinning sculptures of
ferocious tiki. Today, the double hull canoes of the old days have
disappeared... At least, it looks that way... They have been replaced by the
catamarans of today's yachtmen, who often without knowing it, pay tribute to
this typically Polynesian way of sailing, just as pleasant also to visit the
lagoons.
;)
Double hull
canoes
;)
To conquer the unknown
waters of the great Pacific, our ancestors had the need to design
vessels at the same time efficient, reliable but also with large capacity. This
is how they managed the feat to build double hull canoes over 30 meters (100 ft)
long, that could accomodate up to 100 passengers. During long migrations, these
same canoes loaded less passengers in order to store food, tools, animals and
plants to colonise new desert land. Between the two hulls 6 to 8 meters (about
20 ft) apart, a light but solid deck was built, topped with two covered
shelters. This deck could measure 15 to 20 m (50 to 60 ft) long by about 10 m
(30 ft) wide. Both masts were located in the front and back and held large
triangular sails made of pandanus leaves. The canoe was steered with a long oar
used as a rudder. The man in charge of steering stood on an elevated platform to
increase his maneuvering power. ;)
With perfect knowledge of the stars, the
Ma’ohi were excellent navigators. They had no fear to see land disappear from
their eyes. They knew how to find their way with their
inborn knowledge of astronomy. On the vessel's prow another platform was used by
the "lookout" to watch the horizon. At the center of the canoe, the women
maintain a permanent fire between basaltic stones inside a "bucket" filled with
water to avoid accidental fires. There, meals were also prepared and passengers
would keep warm during the long watch nights. These intrepid discoverers were
thus ready for journeys that lasted several weeks, to conquer new
islands.;)
