We, the navigators
The second edition of David Lewis' classic book on Pacific navigation promises to satisfy yet again scholars and seafarers alike - and all others who have marveled at the ability of island mariners to navigate hundreds of miles of open ocean without instruments. The new edition includes a discussion of theories about traditional methods of navigation developed during the past two decades, the story of the renaissance of star navigation throughout the Pacific, and material about navigation system in Indonesia, Siberia, and the Indian Ocean.
Stats for nerds
5recommend
11mentions
6people
2015–2026years
82% recommend18% neutral
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- If anyone is interested in this, they should read David Lewis' We, The Navigators, it covers the traditional navigation techniques practiced by Pacific Islanders. Stick charts are covered, but it covers pretty much everything the author possibly could have after sailing around the Pacific islands with navigators of various islands.
- Floating is a powerful physical configuration! You get currents plus windspeed. If you're in to this sort of thing, I can recommend The Seacraft of Prehistory, We: The Navigators, and Archaeology of the Boat approximately in that order.
- IIRC the 'maps' made of organic materials were very much a rarity slash teaching aid for the later incarnations of traditional navigation cultures of the Pacific which we have surviving material on. Mostly they used mental maps, and of course the most sensitive instruments available at the time ... at least one example of which was hanging their balls off the edge of the canoe to see if they could detect a temperature shift. A good book on the subject is We: The Navigators though it draws only from one area.
Source: Have a Pacific art collection, have been to most of the major museums on the subject, interested in sailing, authored some of the Wikipedia (featured) articles on related watercraft.
- We, the Navigators by David Lewis is another good book on the topic
- Additional reading if you are interested in the topic of polynesian navigation- We, The Navigators by David Lewis. Highly recommended.
- David Lewis’s book, We the Navigators, provides an in-depth study of polynesian/melanesian/micronesian boats and navigation methods and is the best source I have found on the subject
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