Alingano Maisu, also known asMaisu/ˈmaɪʃuː/, is adouble-hulledvoyaging canoe built inKawaihae, Hawaii, by members of Na Kalai Waʻa Moku o Hawaiʻi and ʻOhana Wa'a members from throughout the Pacific and abroad as a gift and tribute toSatawalese navigatorMau Piailug, who navigated the voyaging canoeHōkūleʻa on her maiden voyage toTahiti in 1976 and has since trained numerousnative Hawaiians in the ancient art ofwayfinding. The wordmaisu comes from the Satawalese word forbreadfruit that has been knocked down by storm winds and is therefore available for anyone to take. The name is said to symbolize the knowledge ofnavigation that is made freely available.[1]
The concept forAlingano Maisu came about in 2001 when two Hawaiian voyaging groups, thePolynesian Voyaging Society and Na Kalai Waʻa Moku o Hawaiʻi, met with Piailug. The two hulls of the 56-foot (17 m) vessel were fabricated by the Friends ofHōkūleʻa andHawaiʻiloa onOʻahu and shipped to theIsland of Hawaiʻi where Na Kalai Waʻa completed construction of the canoe. The Polynesian Voyaging Society provided much of the funding for the voyaging aspect of the project as well as an escort boat to help sail the canoe toSatawal.[2]
The canoe is home-ported on the island ofYap under the command of Piailug's son, Sesario Sewralur.[3]
Accompanied byHōkūleʻa, theMaisu leftKawaihae, Hawaii, on January 18, 2007. After stops in theMarshall Islands,Pohnpei, andChuuk, the Maisu reached Satawal on March 15, 2007. On March 18, while on Satawal, five native Hawaiiannavigators on the voyage were inducted intopwo, a sacredMicronesian brotherhood of master navigators.[4]
Hōkūleʻa andMaisu both left Satawal on March 20 and made stops inWoleai,Ulithi andYap before reachingPalau. TheMaisu then returned to Yap, while theHōkūleʻa continued on toJapan.[5]
In June 2008,Palau Community College announced that there will be a one-year program intraditional non-instrumental navigation on theAlingano Maisu under Sesario Sewralur.[6]
