THE Alingano Maisu, the 56-foot long double-hulled Hawaiian sailing canoe which belongs to Grandmaster Navigator Sesario Sewralur, was seen off the waters of Yap on May 10, according to 500 Sails Director of Sailing and Seafaring Junior Coleman. The vessel is crewed by numerous traditional sailors from Palau, Satawal, and Saipan, including Master Navigator Mario Benito and his student Beouch Ngirchongor. As of the time of this writing, the vessel was still en route to Yap.
Coleman said Alingano Maisu left Palau, where the vessel calls home, on April 30. The vessel made a stop at Ngulu atoll, hundreds of miles southwest of Yap prior to taking on the remainder of its voyage.
Coleman said the vessel encountered “normal doldrum weather, which means light winds.”
“[Sesario Sewralur] had reached out to 500 Sails to send a representative so that we could take part in the voyage,” Coleman said. “We took that as an opportunity to allow one of [Mario Benito’s] students to have hands-on learning on a voyage.”
Benito is a lifelong traditional sailor initiated under the Weriyaeng school of navigation. On Saipan, he has been teaching a class of students how to use the ocean and stars to navigate a canoe. Ngirchongor is of Carolinian and Palauan descent and from Saipan.
Coleman said after departing Yap, the Alingano Maisu is scheduled to sail to Woleai, east of Yap, and then go to Satawal. From there, the vessel and crew will sail to Guam and eventually to Saipan.
The Alingano Maisu is scheduled to arrive on Saipan in mid-June, as the weather permits.
Sesario Sewralur
