Stick Charts

A Marshallese navigator with a stick chart

Photo: W. Robert Moore, National Geographic Society

Historically, Marshallese are considered among the best navigators in the Pacific. They had to be as the atolls they sailed between were great distances apart and much of the sailing was on open ocean where no land could be seen. Once canoes were 10 miles from atolls the highest point (coconut trees) of low-lying atolls was no longer visible. To navigate, the Marshallese primarily used two systems: 1) celestial navigation (stars, sun and moon) and 2) wave pattern navigation. The development of wave pattern navigation is fairly unique among the Marshallese and is the basis for much of their successful navigation and the rest of this essay.

Reading the ocean

How Wave Piloting Works

Wave pattern navigation is based on the principle of reflection, deflection and refraction of waves. These effects of islands on swells may be noticed more than 20 miles away. To understand wave pattern navigation, first consider a single, isolated island or atoll.

Tap a card or a letter to see each effect

Wave pattern navigation works best when there is a sufficient number of atolls or islands that are close enough and run perpendicular to an ocean swell. The Ralik and Ratak chains of the Marshall Islands meet this criterion as they run NNW to SSE and are close to the perpendicular east and west swells. In the Pacific Ocean, the Marshall Islands are one of the few island groups that meets this perpendicular requirement and thus makes wave patterns a useful tool for navigation.

These skilled navigators could lie on their backs in the bottom of their canoe and without looking at the sea, sense the motion of the swells.

Learning wave pattern navigation was difficult and in the past only a few Marshallese were taught the secrets of sailing and navigation. These trained navigators were called ri-meto. In order to become a ri-meto, an apprentice had to be trained by a senior ri-meto and this would often take years. The apprentice then had to pass a voyaging test, devised by his chief, on the first try. It is said that these skilled navigators could lie on their backs in the bottom of their canoe and without looking at the sea, sense the motion of the swells on the canoe and use this to navigate.

Over the years, especially after WWII, contemporary navigation (e.g. maps, GPS) methods have replaced traditional Marshallese ones and the number of ri-metos has diminished. When researchers began working with them in 2005, eight navigation experts remained, and three have since passed away. Also, few tipnols (sailing canoe) and walaps (large sailing canoe) exist and because of this sailing between atolls has become rare.

The knowledge lives on

Master navigator Captain Korent Joel of Rongelap learned wave piloting from his grandfather on a reef near Rongelap. In 2006 he navigated a yacht 120 miles to Ujae with no electronic aids. Korent became a mentor to Alson Kelen, director of Waan Aelõñ in Majel (WAM). In June 2015, Alson led the canoe Jitdam Kapeel (“seeking knowledge”) from Majuro to Aur, reading the stars and the swells, with crew Binton Daniel, Sear Helios, Linton Baso, Elmi Juonraan, Ejnar Aerok and Jason Ralpho. Scientists John Huth and Gerbrant van Vledder followed on an escort vessel. The voyage was the subject of the New York Times Magazine’s 2016 story “The Secrets of the Wave Pilots” by Kim Tingley. Read more on the WAM website.

A Marshallese stick chart with a compass

Photos: Karen Earnshaw

Waan Aelõñ in Majel (WAM) keeps Marshallese canoe building, sailing and navigation alive in Majuro.

Visit canoesmarshallislands.com ↗

Essay courtesy of Marshallese Manit: Spreading Marshallese Culture Bit by Bit. manit@marshallese-manit.org
Diagram, update and photos by Karen Earnshaw.
My thanks go to the Manit team who put in so much effort to explain and save the Marshallese culture. KE

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