The voyaging canoes Hokule'a and Alingano Maisu are at sea again, after a four-day stay on the island of Satawal, where they ceremonially presented Alingano Maisu as a gift to master navigator Mau Piailug.

The gift was a gesture of thanks from the Hawaiian voyaging community, but Hawaiians were surprised on Satawal by a high honor.

The Micronesian Weriyeng school of traditional navigators bestowed on five Hawaiians the prized title of "pwo," which is a recognition that they are qualified non-instrument navigators in the system used by Satawal residents and those of a few surrounding islands.

The five were Chad Baybayan, Shorty Bertelmann, Bruce Blankenfeld, Chadd Paishon and Nainoa Thompson. The Weriyeng school also inducted a number of Micronesian men from Satawal and surrounding islands as pwo.

Weriyeng is not the only navigation system in Micronesia, but it is the one most closely linked to the navigation system used by Hawaiian sailors, because they learned it from Weriyeng master Piailug. Literature on the subject suggests other systems, like the Fanur school of navigation used on Puluwat, are generally quite similar but with individual features that may differ.

The canoes left Satawal Monday and were more than halfway to their next island, Woleai, yesterday. From there they will sail to Ulithi and then Yap, which is to be Alingano Maisu's home port. The schedule could change, but the canoes are expected to arrive in Yap early next week. From there, both canoes are scheduled to sail to Palau, where they will part, and conclude the portion of the 2007 voyages known as Ku Holo Mau.

Alingano Maisu is slated to sail back to Yap, where it will stay when it is not sailing. Hokule'a will undertake the portion of the voyage called Ku Holo Komohana, and sail north to the islands of Japan.

The canoe's first stop, Okinawa, is now slated for about April 20. From there, the double-hulled canoe, with its escort vessel Kama Hele, sail on to Kumamoto, Nagasaki, Fukuoka, Oshima, Hiroshima, Uwajima and Yokohama, before being shipped home to Hawai'i.

Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com.