Braving the swells of the Pacific Ocean’s deepest waters aboard a fifty-foot sailboat is not an easy feat, but for the sailors of Okeanos Marianas the arduous journey to meet the mythical chief of Gaferut island was worth the trip.
After four days of enduring waves that sloshed over the wooden deck of their traditionally-designed Pacific sailing canoe, the crew of Okeanos Marianas safely sailed over 400 miles across the Mariana Trench to reach their first destination in a month-long voyage across the Micronesian outer islands of Yap & Chuuk.
For Yapese sailors like Captain Cecilio Raikiulipiy, the tiny, uninhabited island of Gaferut is a spiritual destination centered around their culture’s deep ties to nature and conservation. Many cultures across the Pacific revere animals for their spiritual significance. Whales, dolphins, and sea turtles have often been regarded by Pacific Islanders as their earliest descendants, who navigated the farthest regions of the Pacific Ocean without any compass, maps, or GPS – just like the seafaring ancestors of islanders.
“The black birds, the reef fish, the crabs, they are considered the people of this island – they deserve our respect,” said Captain Cecilio as the crew reached the island under a cacophony of birds. “There are only a certain few animals that you can eat on Gaferut.”
The sailors whispered rumors about the chief on the deck of Okeanos Marianas. She was a woman shrouded with magic and mysticism. Only a few crewmembers who grew up in the neighboring Yap islands had met her, and they all spoke of her with great reverence.
“There is a protocol you must follow when visiting the island,” said Yapese crew member and Okeanos Marianas watch captain, Jerry Joseph. “You must first visit the chief, present her with gifts and get her blessing before doing anything on the island,” Jerry explained to the crew.
With bated breath, the crew members reached Gaferut as dawn broke over the island’s jagged facade. Leo Rcheilug, paramount chief of a neighboring island called Satawal, led the crew to meet the chief.
“Don’t get too close to her or you’ll lose a finger,” Jerry warned as they cautiously marched through thickets of taro bushes.
They found the chief sitting quietly at the base of a large coconut tree. Her black eyes knocked about, studying the nervous guests before her. Her legs shifted methodically; moving so slow it was difficult to tell whether she was moving at all.
Leo sat before her and began to pray. Jerry began unpacking the crew’s offerings: a packet of crackers, oranges, a hand-woven mat, and a fresh pack of Marlboro cigarettes.
The chief’s pincers vibrated as her gigantic claws inched towards the bounty. The rumors among the crew were true. The notorious island chief was, in fact, a crab. A massive female coconut crab to be exact.
“Yes, the chief is a lady. She’s a coconut crab,” reassured Captain Cecilio at the sight of chief. She was far more intimidating than most of the first comers had expected.
Despite only weighing nine pounds, coconut crabs can carry over three times their body weight. These terrestrial arthropods were named after their ability to crack open coconuts with their gigantic armor-clad claws, which have a pinch force of up to 750 pounds – comparable to the bite force of a lion. And although their diet consists mostly of fleshy fruits, coconut crabs have also been reported to snap the wings off sleeping sea birds, shred apart live pigs, and even resort to acts of cannibalism.
While coconut crabs are typically considered a delicacy on neighboring islands, Yapese locals believe many of Gaferut’s animal residents to be spirits of their ancestors. For this group of sailors, it would be at the utmost disrespect to eat what locals consider to be their long lost relatives – no matter how appetizing the world’s largest terrestrial crabs appear.
As the crew finished their ceremonial offering to the fire-red crab chief, a hoard of smaller hermit crabs scurried around her like minions. They crawled about the gifts laid out by the crew, graciously accepting the offer on behalf of their chief, dragging them out of sight.
Stories have been shared among some Micronesian sailors of witnessing the crab chief cry at the display of gifts.
While the chief did not cry for the crew of Okeanos Marianas, they were able to leave the island the following morning with her blessing – and much to unpack after the spiritual experience.
“It’s a place for conservation because only a few people go here. The idea of respecting the animals on this island is passed on from generation to generation,” said Captain Cecilio, who like many navigators, believes Wayfinding embeds a similar respect of nature in its pupils.
“Before I learned about the western idea of conservation, I realized that I had been learning conservation all along as a child by going on these voyages.”
Since their visit to Gaferut, the canoe Okeanos Marianas has been dedicated to servicing the outer islands of Yap under the new name Okeanos Ambassador. A second canoe, Okeanos Waa’qab will join Ambassador in Yap this summer to support the state’s needs for sustainable sea transportation, ocean stewardship, and the culture of traditional sailing.
