Speaker’s in his Corner

At last, there is a really good speaker on board! After two poor ones, it is a relief to know excellence is out there.

Within five minutes of her first lecture, on the fur trade, the ship’s first speaker “Doc Mock” got three facts wrong, so I immediately lost all faith in her knowledge. Also she was so very America-centric that she omitted other countries’ impact or contributions, even when directly related to her topic. Bye-bye Doc.

Our second speaker was more accurate in his knowledge of the stars and constellations, but had that old academic failing of meandering, repeating, mumbling and confusing everyone. He’d provide metaphors that did not make sense, let alone elucidate his point, and he would say the same thing so many different ways that, at best it was repetitive and boring, and at worst was completely confusing. Dr. Benedict, you would be better placed in orbit.

But huzzah, huzzah, let horns trumpet and banners unfurl, for now we have Tom Anderson, retired navy man, underwater surgeon, active diver/snorkeler, lover of travel and objective observer. Even if the topic of WWII in Polynesia is not my first choice of topic to attend, I will go because I know he will add so much accurate and interesting information, clearly and succinctly told, and in the context of his other talks so far: Oceania as a whole; the cultural differences between Melanesians, Micronesians and Polynesians; and Polynesian Navigators.

The first two topics provided nothing particularly new to me, but that is only because I have read a lot about them and have spent time here in the past. But I did not really know the latest navigational theories so found that very interesting. For example, Captain Tom presented all the theoretical options of how people came to occupy islands in such a vast space of mostly ocean as Polynesia (which covers a vaguely triangular space between Hawai’i, Easter Island and New Zealand). How did they find these tiny, tiny islands, many of which are merely atolls, at all? How could they set up new lives there, and return to their source island? Proving his comprehensive research and multiple source materials, he presented why this or that theory was provable or not, and thus likely or not. Then he explained how these amazing seafarers were able to travel for weeks and months in relatively small boats, with everything needed to start a new life somewhere (plant stocks, livestock, emigrants) as well as everything needed for the trip, how they could read ocean swells to detect the presence and distance of islands, unknown in advance and unseen for beforehand. And then, after they had landed on this new island, how they created star maps and stick-charts to identify the new lands so they could be found again.  Then the navigators were able to guide themselves home, using these star maps and stick-charts. The stick-charts alone are amazing tools. They look like a random collection of popsicle sticks glued in a crazy pattern, with the intersections being islands that had already been identified.

And Tom A. presented this all so engagingly, with a well-chosen, clearly defined plan, self-deprecating and yet confident, that everyone was 100% engaged for the full 30 minutes. Well, I must admit there was at least one old dear who slept through most of it, but I think that would have happened during a tornado, based on the look of her. Anyway, it’s awesome to have something to do besides read, write, exercise and sleep all day (not that there’s anything wrong with that), and it’s good to keep those little grey cells engaged.