Sakman

Sakman, better known in western sources as flying proas, are traditional sailing outrigger boats of the Chamorro people of the Northern Marianas.

Its basic design consists of a very narrow dugout canoe which served as the main hull, to which an outrigger was attached on one side.

[2] The hull was typically painted with protective designs in white, black, red, and orange using ochre, lime (afok), and coconut oil and soot.

The Venetian scholar Antonio Pigafetta, who was part of Ferdinand Magellan's 1519–1522 circumnavigation, mistakenly described the outrigger hull as a "small boat fastened astern".

"[3] Further accounts by the Spanish described the sakman as being capable of sailing from Guam to Manila in only four days, averaging more than 20 miles (32 km) per hour.

Richard Walter, chaplain of HMS Centurion, estimated the speed of the sakman at twenty miles per hour (32 km/h).

[5] These accounts fascinated both the British and American public, ushering in a period of interest in the design by sports sailors.