I regularly hear from westerners that European square rigger sailing vessels were the first true blue water boats. Reality is this is just not true as the Pacific Islanders were sailing the high seas long before the Europeans ever masters sailing. The Islanders sailed Drua's up to 120 feet (catamaran like sailboats), carrying about 200 people. Sailing canoes with a single hull and light weight outrigger (proa), to sailing crafts with 2, 3, or even 4 hulls were common a thousand years before the Vikings hit the seas. The Vikings were the first Europeans to master sailing, but that is another story.
There is a group in Fiji trying to restore the past greatness of the Islanders sailing history via a Drua project. Hopefully many of these sailing vessels will be built bring back a great sailing tradition.
Visit this link to learn more http://www.druaexperience.com/ . You can donate to help them and even go their on a vacation as sail about their Drua. Watch the videos below also to see their Drua and learn some history.
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