Page 8. MAINE COASTAL NEWS November 2013 Waterfront News APPRENTICESHOP TO SHOW CLASSIC SEAFARING FILM


A thousand years before Europeans knew the Pacifi c existed, Polynesian seafarers had explored and settled this vast ocean. It’s one of the most amazing stories of human exploration and settlement. And it’s never been properly told.


Ask today about this ancient sea people and you will hear a false tale of drifters at the mercy of wind and wave – Kon Tiki. Thor Heyerdahl believed Polynesians fl oated into the Pacifi c from South America on crude rafts, pushed by prevailing winds and currents.


But the real story is far more interesting – they sailed against these winds and currents from Southeast Asia in sophisticated sailing craft, and they navigated vast distances without compass, charts or instruments of any kind, using instead a world of natural signs to guide them.


Anthropologist and fi lmmaker Sam


Low’s fi lm, The Navigators - Pathfi nders of the Pacifi c, tells this story. To shoot the fi lm, he traveled all over the Pacifi c. In Huahine, in the Society Islands, he fi lmed the excavation of the remains of an ancient sea-going canoe, in Fiji he joined archeologist Roger Green as he discovered pottery that traced the voyaging route of the fi rst Polynesians from islands off the coast of New Guinea, “but the most interesting place I fi lmed,” Low says,” was on the tiny island of Satawal, in Micronesia.” Here - the last traditional navigators still practice an ancient art - one similar to those used by Polynesians - navigating their canoes without charts or instruments.


“Satawal is one of a few islands where native navigators still make extended voyages off shore without charts or instruments,” Low says. “These navigators are descendants of the same ancient people as the Polynesians and probably use the same navigational techniques as they did.” Low’s concept was to fi lm traditional


canoe building, fi shing sailing and navigating on Satawal as a ‘window on the past’ - to illustrate what life must have been like during the days of the great Polynesian voyages. A star of Low’s fi lm is Satawalese navigator Mau Piailug. Low shows Mau teaching students to read the weather in sky and sea signs, to navigate by the stars, to build a canoe and to sail it. Another star of The Navigators is a sailing vessel - Hokule’a - a replica of the kind of craft that ancient Polynesians once used. She is technically a “double hulled voyaging canoe” - or what sailors today might call a catamaran (most of us think these craft are modern, but they are actually an ancient design). Built in 1973 - Hokule’a was designed to show that such craft could endure long voyages, carry plenty of crew and provisions and sail at will in any kind of wind and sea. In 1975, Hokule’a fi rst proved her seaworthiness by voyaging from Hawaii to Tahiti with Mau Piailug as navigator. Since then, Hokule’a has sailed 140,000 miles throughout the Pacifi c, following the ancient voyaging routes of the ancestral Polynesians.


Anyone wishing to learn what it was like to discover distant islands by the signs of direction in wind, wave and stars will enjoy Low’s fi lm. It is truly a saga of one of the world’s great seafaring people - and a story that most of us have not heard. The Navigators was fi rst released in 1983, on PBS nationally. Since then, it has been shown on the BBC and television venues worldwide and has become a classic - recognized as the best fi lm to tell the story of the great Polynesian diaspora. It continues to be shown at colleges, universities and other places of higher learning around the world. Just this year, Low has released a renewed high defi nition version of the fi lm. This will be fi rst time the renewed fi lm will be screened in Maine.


The Navigators will be shown at the Apprentice Shop at 643 Main St. Rockland, on November 8th at 7PM. The Price of admission is $5.00 per person.


Filmmaker Low will be in attendance to answer questions and sign his new book, Hawaiki Rising - Hokule’a, Nainoa Thompson and the Hawaiian Renaissance. Sam Low, is a Harvard trained anthropologist, author, photographer and journalist. He has sailed aboard Hokule’a on three ocean voyages. The story of Polynesian voyaging has fascinated him


most of his life. Just this year, he released his book on the subject, Hawaiki Rising - Hokule’a, Nainoa Thompson and the Hawaiian Renaissance. Demand has been so great that Hawaiki Rising is now in its second printing - after only fi ve months after its release. Not yet available in Maine bookstores, Hawaiki Rising will be for sale at the Apprenticeshop after the screening. For more information please contact Sam Low at (508) 693-0509,


The


Apprenticeshop at (207) 594-1800 or by email at info@apprenticeshop.org.


Revolutionary War Documents and Maps Acquired in Mid-Coast


SEARSPORT AND CASTINE - Penobscot Marine Museum and Castine Historical So- ciety are pleased to announce the acquisition of two manuscript maps and twenty-one documents directly related to events of the summer of 1779 during the American Revolutionary War. They reveal intriguing information and details about the Penobscot Expedition, a combined effort of Massa- chusetts Bay and the Continental forces to repel British troops at Majabigwaduce, now Castine.


The maps and documents were among several lots from the Dudley Saltonstall Papers, previously held in a private collec- tion, that were auctioned August 17, 2013, at Northeast Auctions in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The Castine Historical Society and the Penobscot Marine Museum, who bid separately on the items at the auction, will provide digital copies for access in each institution. Plans are underway to create joint exhibits to share onsite and online. The primary goal of both Penobscot Bay historical organizations was to bring these materials to public collections in Maine. Financial support for the effort was pledged by several private donors eager to preserve


the documents and make them available for research and display.


Liz Lodge, Executive Director of the Penobscot Marine Museum, said, “The his- tory of the Penobscot Expedition is an area where the missions of the two institutions overlap. We’re delighted to collaborate on highlighting this period of history and look forward to inviting researchers to work with us.”


The unique maps, both acquired by the Castine Historical Society, depict the Penob- scot Bay area from Eggemoggin Reach to the Penobscot Narrows. Joseph Chadwick, a noted 18th


century surveyor, created the


“Sketch of a Part of Penobscot” on July 9, 1779, to provide the leaders of the Penobscot Expedition with details about the immediate area then being fortifi ed by the British. These fragile maps will receive conservation treat- ment in the coming months and then reside in the climate controlled archival storage space currently under construction at the Society. The set of documents, acquired by the Penobscot Marine Museum, dates from the months directly following the Penobscot


Continued on Page 19.


2013 LOBSTER BOAT RACE CD Lobster Boat Racers Annual Meeting Continued from Page 1.


About 1,800 photographs from all eleven 2013 lobster boat races. $12.50, which includes postage.


To order send to: Maine Coastal News, P.O. Box 710, Winterport, ME, 04496 or call (207) 223-8846 and charge to your credit card.


Owner,Vessel,Fleet orCrew | Serving Maine people and their boats since 1866. Marine Insurance Offices in Rockland, Camden, Belfast and Southwest Harbor. Personal Service | Experienced Team | Client-Centered Solutions | On Land or at Sea AllenIF.com/marine (800)439-4311


and wanted to give the point races over to Long Island. They were told that there was confl icting information and that they had until the banquet to let race offi cials know what they wanted to do. At the banquet there was still no word and hopefully by the fi rst of the year there will be a decision. With the shuffl ing around someone sug- gested that Bass Harbor should be a points race. Wayne Rich, who is the organizer of this venue, had not arrived yet, but it was said that he had been thinking about it and thought it made sense. Bass Harbor is a great race and Wayne was worried it could change things. When he arrived he was on the fence, but after some minor arm twisting and assuring him he could continue doing just what he was he agreed. This led to a brief discussion on the number of races and how you qualify for the points. Currently it takes three races to qualify and the most races you can count were fi ve. If you compete in more than fi ve your top fi ve fi nishes are scored. It was suggested that this should be changed to six races. This was voted on and passed with little discussion.


Another change in the schedule was the newest race, Long Island, would move from June to August and run the same weekend as the Portland race. Race offi cials hope this brings more racers to each of these events. The proposed schedule is: Boothbay, 14 June; Rockland, 15 June; Bass Harbor, 29 June; Moosebec Reach, 5 July; Searsport, 12 July; Stonington, 13 July; Friendship, 19 or 20 July; Harpswell, 27 July?; Winter Har-


bor, 9 August; Pemaquid, 10 August; Long Island, 16 August; MS-Portland, 17 August; and the Awards Banquet, 11 October. This year the banquet was held at Stonington and it was an excellent time. It was a nice location and the food was good. Next year Winter Harbor will be celebrating their 50th


anniversary and wants to host next


year’s event. With few places to stay in town it was decided to take the banquet to Hollywood Casino in Bangor. Chris Byers and Keith Young agreed to begin work on making this happen. Following the meeting Keith met with the Casino offi cials and they have a preliminary agreement for next year. They are still working out all the details. As many know for several years Exodus has been working to get lobster boat racing on reality television. During the 2012 season they did a lot of fi lming at every venue and during the winter had reached an agreement. However this did not pan out and they went back to work pitching the idea to other networks. Due to all the work they have put in and continue to do, their contract was renewed for the 2014 season. Following the meeting, Galen Alley told Jon that he had been challenged by the Canadian lobster boat racing champions. He wanted to know if it would be a problem to have them race together at one of the events here in Maine. Most venues would love to see this happen, but Galen just needs to see when they want to race and make sure that venue does not have an issue in doing it. The next lobster boat race get together will be at the Maine Fishermen’s Forum in Rockland the end of February.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32