Camakau

Camakau (Fijian pronunciation: [ða ma kau], sometimes spelled thamakau) are a traditional watercraft of Fiji.

Part of the broader Austronesian tradition, they are similar to catamarans, outrigger canoes, or smaller versions of the drua, but are larger than a takia.

We were able to judge the accuracy of this pierhead analysis by chasing an outrigger thamakau across the blustery Viti Levu lagoon.

Progenitor and descendant... the sennit-lashed proa with her crab-claw sail matched the trimaran's space-age profile and epoxy fastenings in speed—and sophistication.

C (2014),[2] it is suggested that the main influences in the design of the camakau is Micronesian for the sail rig, particularly via Tonga.

[9] However, the camakau has been recorded travelling between Fiji and Tonga even in the early 1900s, preferred by traditional users to European cutter.

[12] The Uto Ni Yalo Trust is an organisation which gifts traditional Fijian canoes to island communities.

[6] Further the economic and social difficulties currently being felt in the Fijian region will place pressure on the ability of the society to reasonably fund and create these canoes.

[14] The defining features of the camakau is that it is a single hulled canoe, with a small outrigger boom, and a cama, a float.

[15] The rig of the camakau, from its Polynesian origins, has a narrower tack angle, and a lower yard.

[19] The hard wood Intsia bijuga is used to construct the hull as well as masthead, mast step, and steering oar, where durability is most necessary.

This material is made by cooking the mesocarp of the coconuts in an underground oven, and after several hours of this, beaten.

[3] When they are being sailed upwind, the camakau will change across the eye of the wind, in a manoeuvre called shunting or cave.

In the event that the camakau capsizes, the crew drags the craft into shallow water, when able to, and raises the outrigger over the main hull.

When offshore, the crew will attempt to sink the outrigger, so that it passes through the water under the canoe, and flips the hull.

[20] The elders perform the tasks which require the most skill, and the youth carry out the more strenuous work such as heavy lifting.

P. A (1987),[20] prior to the building of the canoe, those wishing for the construction to occur must present the chief of the island with a "tabua", a sperm whale tooth, this being their official appeal.