Includes bibliographical references (pages 419-431) and index.
Foreword to the first edition / S.H. Riesenberg -- 1. Rediscovery of a Vanishing Art -- 2. Piecing the Mosaic -- 3. Voyaging Canoes -- 4. Steering by the Stars -- 5. Keeping Course by Sun, Swells, and Wind -- 6. Dead Reckoning -- 7. Orientation Concepts in Dead Reckoning -- 8. Island Blocks, Birds, and Clouds -- 9. Swell Patterns and Phosphorescence -- 10. Expanded Target Landfall in Practice -- 11. Position Fixing at Sea -- 12. Reasons for Voyaging -- 13. The Renaissance of Far Voyaging -- 14. The Long Seaways of Eastern Polynesia -- Appendix I: Variations of Star Bearings with Latitude / V. Radhakrishnan -- Appendix II: Directional Marks Ashore -- Appendix III: Table of Tahitian Star Pillars and Islands -- Locations of the Main Islands and Other Places.
The second edition of David Lewis' classic book on Pacific navigation promises to satisfy yet again scholars and seafarers alike - and all others who have marveled at the ability of island mariners to navigate hundreds of miles of open ocean without instruments. The new edition includes a discussion of theories about traditional methods of navigation developed during the past two decades, the story of the renaissance of star navigation throughout the Pacific, and material about navigation system in Indonesia, Siberia, and the Indian Ocean.