[Bob Ireland]

***What I wonder is how they knew how to find the islands of Hawaii in the first place. Little specks in a gigantic ocean***

They honed in on AM radio signals like the Japanese bombers attacking Pearl Harbor???

[little jeremiah]

Or they had remote viewers, or smelled the overpowering smell of sunscreen on the wind.

[spokeshave]

***What I wonder is how they knew how to find the islands of Hawaii in the first place. Little specks in a gigantic ocean***

The native islanders navigate the Pacific using interference patterns in the waves due to the few island masses in the Pacific.

Western researchers have studied Marshallese canoe construction and navigation techniques, including their unique understanding of wave patterns.

As deep ocean swells strike islands, some of the wave energy reflects back to the ocean. As swells pass by an island, some of the wave energy bends, or refracts, to create a crossing wave pattern.

Wave refraction patterns are visible in this satellite image. The crossing wave patterns extend miles past the island, which show the navigator the direction and distance toward land.

Marshallese navigators model the wave patterns by creating designs of symmetric lines and curves. These devices, commonly called “stick charts,” are used to prepare for a voyage and to teach students.