One of the parts of the Beginner’s Guide course that is always popular, no doubt because it is a break from listening to me bang on, is when I show a short excerpt from the film, The Navigators. In this excellent 1982 Sam Low documentary about indigenous Pacific navigation methods, we get to see scenes where master navigator Mau Pialug instructs new recruits on the small island of Satawal in navigating at night with a star compass. Following this it gets a bit emotional as we witness the climax of Mau’s 2500 voyage from Hawaii to Tahiti, without any instruments.
It is a rare gem of a film and took me a little while to track down. In the end I had to email Sam Low himself, he was very helpful and pointed me towards this small distribution company. Please mention me if you order a copy, as…
During the Beginner’s Guide course at West Dean College today we watched a few minutes from the unique film, ‘The Navigators’.