Since we arrived in the Marshall Islands and saw the sailing canoes in the lagoon, we have been interested in taking a ride on one. That opportunity finally arrived! Linda had been visiting the building where the teachings of troubled youths, through a government funded organization, are given another chance. In this program, they learn the mechanical skills in the building of ancient sailing canoes. There is lots of math involved and the students are learning in a “work” atmosphere. They are expected to report on time each day as if it were a job. They learn how to operate tools and take care of them. Many of these students have had problems with alcohol, beetle nut, teen pregnancy and other issues that had caused them to drop out of regular school.
An idea took form that we could take them on our boats and show them what it is like to live on a sailboat and maybe even do a little sailing. They, in return, would take us sailing on the canoes. We met at an anchorage close by and dinghed the kids out to the three boats that volunteered. There were very light winds so HAWKEYE was the only boat that could actually sail. The other
boats ended up giving tours showing how things worked on their boats. The students were impressed with the fact that we are self contained in that we make our own electricity and water. The tasting of the water was popular as they were very surprised that it wasn’t salty.
Aboard HAWKEYE, we had three young men who had lots of questions and were very inquisitive as to how we could cook on the stove when the boat was healed over and how we navigated. Once we had answered all their questions and shown them around, we went out for a sail having them raise the sails and do the work as we explained what to do. They all had a turn on the helm, navigating, and working the sails.
Part of their education was also being able to feed themselves at a remote location. So, that night we could see their flashlights on shore as they gathered crabs. The next day at low tide, they were seen on the reef gathering several kinds of shells which they cooked and later extracted the meat. On land, there was the gathering of breadfruit and coconut as well as leaves and palm fronds to be used in the cooking. We were invited to their umu (they build a fire, and heat rocks, bury all the food prepared and bake in underground for several hours) that night but it was way too late for us cruisers to be eating dinner.
The next day at high tide, we were invited for a ride on thesailing canoes. What an e-ticket ride! We sat on a raised portion between the two amas and the two guys sailed the boats. The boats only hold 3 people so John and I were on different boats. One of the guys uses a large oar that steers the boat and gently skulls the canoe out to where the wind can be caught. Once the wind is in the sail, it accelerates rapidly and away we went. There is very little free board on
these boats andperiod. It is a wild very little room and wet ride. Tacking is done by taking the mast from one end of the boat to the other and must be done quickly or the boat goes head to wind and in irons. John’s boat lost the mast overboard and they were dead in the water for quite a while but there was a crash boat that came to their rescue. The fellows on the boat Linda was on managed to tack but with great difficulty and managed to get back safely to shore unassisted. It was a wonderful experience we won’t soon forget. 
This little guy was about 4 years old and was already into spearfishing!
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