27 Oct Para I Onra: The Ana Varu
During a trip visiting Ireland in 2010, I was with Tony Susuico(another Guam native) enjoying the view from a cliffside overlooking the famed Cliffs of Moher. There we met an old Shepherd (who at one time was a sailor) who was also walking the Cliffs and, in the midst of a hello and good conversation had given him a Fokai Sticker with the coordinates 13 North /144East..He read the sticker and quickly narrowed down the location first to Micronesia and then soon the Mariana Islands.
From there he connected the Mariana Islands with the Flying Proa and told us of its legendary status among seafaring men from all parts of the world.. This was the oddest and most random thing. Although we were surprised that he was able to narrow down the location as well as his familiarity with the Flying Proa It wasnt until years later, reflecting on this experience that its gravity had really set.
Its pretty amazing how a population so small and from a place so isolated that seafaring men n the other side of the world would know of our people through excellence as engineers and our proficiency as sailors. .
And its just as sad that despite this great accolade, its a craft and artform that our people f today are s separated from, that teh vast majority cant even recognize the mistake thats inside of the flag that we fly so proudly today.
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Local seafarer prepares for Taiwan-Guam voyage
Local seafarer Ignacio Camacho recently returned to island from close to four months of training with a Chamorro proa in the Baltic Sea in preparation of a weekslong voyage from Taiwan to Guam.
Next year, Camacho will be taking part in the Rapa Nui Experiment, a voyage orchestrated by German adventurer Burghard Pieske.
Pieske plans to sail a traditional Chamorro-style proa from Taiwan to Easter Island, traveling with seafarers from the various Pacific islands across the ocean.
The voyage takes its name from the indigenous name of Easter Island, also called Rapa Nui.
Camacho will accompany Pieske on the first and longest leg of the trip between Taiwan and Guam.
The proa, which is named the ‘Ana-Varu, measures about 11 meters long, roughly 36 feet, and is modeled after the Chamorro-style proa.
The ‘Ana-Varu takes its name from a legendary Tahitian pillar of heaven and is also the Tahitian name for one of the three stars located in Orion’s belt.
Those stars also held significance for the original navigators in the Pacific, having different names across the various island nations.
The original Chamorro name is now unknown, Camacho said, but local navigators refer to them as “the three stars” or “the stars that are three.”
The stars’ importance will also carry over to this adventure.
“The interesting thing is I’ll be sailing ‘Ana-Varu in the direction of ‘Ana-Varu, the star, from Taiwan to Guam,” he said.
The proa takes other design elements from other Pacific nations.
At one end stands a miniature moai, the famous monolithic statues from Easter Island.
Camacho said the use of design elements from across the Pacific is symbolic of the trip itself.
“All of the peoples of the Pacific are related to each other in their voyages and in some of their origins,” said Camacho.
“And we all have different symbols and traditions but they all really add up to one thing: one Pacific peoples with a common past, a common history and a common culture.”
That idea gets to the whole point of the voyage.
“Burghard wants to not only show how the migration happened, but the fact that the outriggers of the many different types of people were what populated these islands and that these were absolutely beautiful craft even thousands of years ago,” he said.
Pieske also wants the voyage to “instill this sense of pride” in the people of the Pacific, he added.
Boat design
Although it takes its structural design from the Chamorro design, the ‘Ana-Varu has the advantage of modern materials, said Camacho.
The biggest difference, he said, is that the ‘Ana-Varu is designed to be sailed by two people, whereas traditional proas originally could require larger crews to maneuver and sail.
The most obvious difference is how the mast is adjusted.
Unlike western sailboats, a change in direction in a proa requires sailors to pick up the mast and move it to the opposite end of the vessel, a move referred to as shunting.
In a standard proa, Camacho said, this would require a team of sailors and a lot of rope.
Camacho and Pieske, however, took advantage of winches, pulleys and blocks that allow them to move the mast and adjust the sail.
He noted that it could also be sailed by a one-man crew if necessary.
Camacho recently spent four months in the Baltic Sea, north of Germany, practicing with the vessel.
That sea is renowned for its less-than-ideal sailing conditions, which is why they chose it for sea trials.
“It had large swells, some of the meanest waters in that small area that you can imagine,” he said.
Camacho said his experience sailing proas has involved lots of open “blue water” sailing outside the reef.
Having that experience with the Pacific’s wind and wave patterns coupled with the challenges he experienced in the Baltic, “is gonna make it seem quite easier” to make the trip next year, he said.
The voyage
The goal, Camacho said, is to officially launch the voyage in February, when sailing conditions will be ideal.
They’re estimating the trip to take any where from 21 to 36 days.
“Twenty-one days sounded like a good thing,” he said. “That’s three weeks on the open ocean. It sounded relatively comfortable.”
“We talk about three months on the open ocean? That might be a different story,” he added. “But that might happen; it’s possible.”
Pieske’s entire voyage to Easter Island could take up to three years. That would include stopovers of various lengths at Pieske’s Pacific waypoints.
Although Camacho is only committed to the first leg, he said he’ll be “on standby” in case Pieske needs another crew member during the trip.
Given that it’s the longest stretch of the voyage over open ocean, Camacho said, they have made sure to be “over-provisioned” for the trip.
During the voyage, Camacho said Pieske will be journaling as well as taking video and photographs of the trip.
If possible, he added, they hope to be able to provide real-time updates to those following the voyage.
Although they will likely have a GPS tracking beacon on board for safety reasons, Camacho said he’ll be using traditional navigational techniques to guide their way across the water.
“I’ll have nothing to do with modern tracking or modern navigation,” he said.
Camacho said he’s studying and learning navigation every day leading up to the trip.
That involves learning patterns of stars and tides to identify where they are and where they’re headed.
Raising awareness
The pair plans to arrive in Guam in time for the 2016 Festival of the Pacific Arts. Once here, the ‘Ana Varu will stay temporarily before Pieske continues the voyage.
Ultimately, Camacho said, he hopes the voyage raises awareness of Chamorro seafaring traditions not only worldwide, but also here in Guam.
Camacho called on residents to take interest in local seafaring groups and learn about their efforts to revive the ancient traditions, noting the importance it has for the island’s history.
“We are a very special kind of people like no other,” he said.