2,000 Miles By
p. 62 · Read in the full issue
Outrigger
Adventurers Leave Honolulu For Pago Pago
THREE men left Honolulu at Christ mas in a modernised 100-year-old Samoan canoe for what is described as the white man’s first attempt to make a trans-Pacific outrigger canoe trip.
They are: U. A. Woodbury, of Elsinore, Califor nia: Don Hall, of Long Beach, Califor nia; and Charles Kern, of Providence, Rhode Island. They believe that they can sail from Honolulu to Pago Pago, American Samoa, 2,000 miles, in 20 days.
The sides of the 32ft. canoe have been built up and the hull strengthened by metal ribs and transverse rods. A keel has been added. The outrigger is a gal vanised iron case, containing a supply of fresh water.
The canoe hull has been sectioned off into hatches, the forward being filled with empty metal cans for buoyancy in the event of an upset. The second hatch has galvanised tanks for clothing;, food and equipment Next is a 7 ft. long sleeping compartment with a zippered canvas covering. Finallv there is a 5 ft. cockpit for seating the two men on watch. Behind this is a well for an out board motor.
The motor will be used only where ne cessary. The canoe will depend on a 175 sq. ft. Marconi rigged sail and a jib. In stead of a paddle, the canoe will be steered by a pivot type rudder, which folds up astern when the canoe is beach ed.
Father Gerard Tigs-eler, a new re cruit for the Marist Mission, sailed from Sydney for Tulagi, British Solomon Is lands, by the “Malaita” on January 7.