United States
Hafa Adai, and summer sailstice greetings from our Chamorros, the proud descendants of the indigenous peoples of the Marianas. This is the year when our Sakman Chamorro, our 47-ft single outrigger sailing canoe, will make the crossing from Mission Bay around Point Loma to San Diego Bay.
Our purpose is to visit the San Salvador at its construction site at Spanish Landing in anticipation of our escort duties at its launching in mid July (tentative). We will be testing our new sail (layak), new steering paddles (ulin), new booms (gahets) and other safety devices we've recently added.
Our Sakman Chamorro, aka Micronesian "flying proa", is a replica of the very same proa that Sir George Anson documented with a complete engineering drawing of, back in October of 1742 on the tiny island of Tinian in the Marianas Archipelago. It was from this 270-year old drawing that this canoe was constructed in 2011 right here in San Diego. In this short route we expect to achieve a speed of 20 knots (plus), a speed Anson calculated back then, a vessel speed unheard of in European standards, and a "prodigious swiftness" unmatched until the mid-19th century.
We welcome the public to help our crew lash the canoe together at Anza Cove in the morning of 19th June. We will launch the very same day and spend the 20th in the Mission Bay before making the turn Sunday morning. We will spend the day in San Diego Bay. We are still looking for a temporary mooring site. We appreciate your inputs. Saina Ma'ase (thank you).