Sailau Expedition

The Sailau

The traditional sailing canoes, Sailaus (also known as Lakatois), are the local transport, they are the truck, car and school bus for these island communities, but they are no slouch, they will race past at 12-15 knots.

Sailaus are common throughout the Milne Bay Province of PNG, which is the eastern tip of the mainland and the islands to the north and east. The Louisiades are the furthest east islands of PNG and being 120 miles from the mainland have little cash economy nor government services. Whilst many islands do have an outboard powered fibreglass banana boat, these are often in a state of disrepair for want of simple outboard parts or minor fibreglass repair. Fuel is expensive and it just isn’t economical to use outboard powered boats for a largely subsistence (cashless) lifestyle.. recent fuel price hikes have only reinforced the value of the sailing canoes.

The main hull starts with a dugout log for a keel, then two bows (or sterns, these are double ended) are slotted into the dugout keel. Rough hewn planks are then slotted into the dugout and the bow pieces, with ingenious lashing and propping with sticks to create the desired hull shape. Traditionally vines were used to hold the planks together, nowadays copper nails and roves are highly valued. There is a rare tree’s sap which makes a fine gum for sealing, although it appears that the tree only grows on some islands, some places use the natural gum for repairs, others don’t appear to have access to it. Many of the canoes are quite old and have split in places, sikaflex and epoxy is highly valued and cruising yachties always get great smiles, a ride on the canoe and usually a few lobsters if they have the nails or sealant.

The hull takes a while to build as planks are wet then dried then wet whilst they set in shape. Then the network of the “bridgedeck” and frames to join on the proa hull are built. The proa is a “wave piercing” solid tree trunk from 100-200 mm in diameter.  The whole framework is held together with vines (still common) or fishing line, occasional VB cord (probably from a yachtie!).

 The rig is a mast set centrally fore and aft in the hull. The sail is a hybrid of a balanced lug sail and a lateen rig. The boom projects forward of the mast whilst the yard arm (gaff) comes down the luff of the sail to a metre or so from the tack of the sail. Sails would have been woven pandanus mats, but now are “traditional” polytarp (usually blue). Sails are carefully hand sewn with bolt ropes and reinforcing. In some places the blue polytarp (just like the cheap tarp one buys from Kmart or Bunnings) has been too hard to source (or too expensive, the exotic material it is!), so plain old black builders plastic is used, the black stuff that goes under a concrete slab etc. How they sew this thin plastic sheet so it doesn’t tear along the dotted line is a sight to see.

 So we now have the hull and sail, a paddle is used to steer these craft from the “stern”. Well equipped boats have a paddle for each “stern”, otherwise one sees the helmsperson running the length of the hull at each “tack” carrying the paddle. Tacking (and gybing, its the same) involves going onto a reach letting out the mainsheet, then running the yard arm down the hull from the old bow to the new one, securing the tack then powering back up in the opposite direction.

 Steering is a sight to see, with one leg hung over the stern the steering paddle is controlled with a hand on the top of the handle and the helmspersons foot, with their big toe being the grip on the paddle shaft. Lakatoi captains have splayed toes and a well muscled big toe.  Remember these craft regularly cruise in the low to high teens for 30-40 miles across open ocean, steering by toe!

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