500 Sails celebrated its first decade as a nonprofit organization with a fundraising gala on Friday, Nov. 15 at Crowne Plaza Resort.
500 Sails was incorporated in 2014 after co-founders Peter and Emma Perez moved to Saipan in order to build Chamorro canoes.
They used as a blueprint the “Anson Drawing,” a document that recorded the dimensions of one of the last known Chamorro sailing canoes seen off the coast of Tinian in 1742 by the crew of British Commodore George Anson.
Since its establishment, 500 Sails has built seven Chamorro canoes, one Carolinian canoe, and acquired two Chamorro canoes over 40-foot long.
Read about their story in Variety’s special supplement at www.mvariety.com/specials/2024/500_sails_anniversary/.
What if?
Co-founder Emma Perez, in her remarks, had a simple question regarding the organization’s future: “What if?”
“When we came here we were trying to revive something, but what if the best days of our community’s lives are ahead of us — not behind us but ahead of us?” she asked.
The organization has plans to build up to 20 new canoes in the coming years, with some of these supporting the tourism industry, while others will be used to sail to Pagan and beyond.
500 Sails also has plans to work with community partners such as Northern Marianas College to train locals to sail these canoes.
As Peter Perez said in his address, the organization aims to “get people back in the water, [to] get them to know who they are, to know what it’s like to sail that canoe with their own hands.”
He said the history of the Chamorro sailing vessel is one of vitality.
“To know the history of the sakman [a 40-foot-long sailing canoe] is to sail back in time to an era when the Chamorros were free and healthy in their own land, and sailed beautiful fast canoes made with their own hands,” he said.
He added that although Spanish colonization led to the demise of the islands’ ancient sailing tradition, it is still possible to rebuild the maritime traditions of the Marianas.
“What can we do to ensure the survival of Chamorro cultural identity? Centuries ago, Chamorro navigators guided the sakman across vast distances to land safely home. Today we are the navigators — from the distant past, the sakman is making its way across the sea of time to our shore,” Peter Perez said. “One day we may witness again the sight of hundreds of sails on the horizon that our ancestors saw.”
The 500 Sails founders extended their gratitude to Carolinian seafarers, including Master Navigator Mario Benito, and Cecilio Raiukiulipiy.
“It is with profound gratitude that I really do want to call out the help that we got from the Carolinians here who saw that we needed help,” Peter Perez said. “We realized we can build the canoe, but we don’t know how to sail it. Everybody here who knows how to sail they learned directly because of the efforts made by Cecilio who taught the sailing teachers how to sail.”
Emma Perez expressed her appreciation to cultural practitioners who sponsored raffle giveaways, including Ana Villagomez’ Pues Hafa brand, which collaborated with Vicente Ogo and Maiden Tumada to create jewelry; Ginen i Tasi; Jeremiah Benavente; Lino Tenorio; Tasi-to-Table; Weniol Boat Charter; Talaya Club; and more.
As part of their fundraising efforts, 500 Sails and their sponsors offered local jewelry and trolling, deep water bottom fishing, talaya, canoe fishing, and spearfishing opportunities as prizes. A trip to Pagan aboard a motorized vessel was also offered as a raffle prize.
Emma Perez said she was likewise thankful for the administrative help 500 Sails gets from the Marianas Alliance of Non-Governmental Organizations.
Cultural dancers perform during the 500 Sails fundraising gala at Crowne Plaza on Friday, Nov. 15.
Emma Perez and her husband Peter Perez are the cofounders of 500 Sails.
Dozens attended the 500 Sails fundraising gala.
500 Sails celebrated their first decade of operation with a fundraising gala at Crowne Plaza on Friday, Nov.15.
Frances Sablan, cultural practitioner, performs a traditional blessing at the 500 Sails gala fundraiser.
