Hafa Adai yan Tirow
Our traditional canoes are sailing again
500 Sails revives, promotes and preserves the maritime traditions of the Mariana Islands. We teach our community to swim, sail and build canoes, on the beach in Susupe and in our boatyard in Lower Base.
Find a program2014
500 Sails was founded on Saipan
8
Canoes in our fleet, from two Sakman to four Lekleks and two Duduli
2
Homes for our programs: Guma Sakman in Susupe and the boatyard in Lower Base
3
Islands our summer camps serve: Saipan, Tinian and Luta
Where our name comes from
The 500 Proas
In 1565 the Spanish galleon San Pedro reached Guam. Hundreds of Chamorro sailing canoes met the ship at sea and escorted it to the coast. One man on board counted 400 to 500 canoes around them.
Our name comes from that day. Our goal is to see 500 canoes on the water in the Marianas.
“The day had scarcely begun when a great number of these proas appeared about us… more than four or five hundred around the ships.”
-Legazpi, aboard the San Pedro, 1565
Programs
Swim, sail and build with us
Our programs run from two homes: Guma Sakman, our canoe house on the beach in Susupe, and our teaching boatyard in Lower Base.
Swim
Adult Learn-to-Swim, the Sirena Project for women and teenage girls, lifeguard prep for teens, and daily group swims with Dolphin Club Saipan.
Swim programs
Sail
Learn to sail a Chamorro canoe in the Lalåyak program, or come for Sunday Sails, led by a Carolinian navigator.
Sail programs
Build
Help build canoes in our public teaching boatyard in Lower Base, guided by skilled canoe builders we call Sakman Leaders.
Canoe building
CMTC
The Cultural Maritime Training Center prepares our people for careers on the water, rooted in our own maritime culture.
Training centerWhat the Europeans saw
“I do ben hour.”
William Dampier, 1686, after racing a Chamorro canoe
In the 1500s and 1600s, hundreds of our canoes sailed out to meet European ships, circling them at two to three times their speed. Dampier wrote that our ancestors sailed the best boats in the world. We are building and sailing them again.
Read our history
Our canoe culture values
Six values we carry on every canoe
It is said throughout Oceania that the canoe is the people. On a canoe we work together, look after each other and put the community before ourselves.
Respetu
Showing respect to others, to ourselves and to the environment.
Responsibilidåt
Being a responsible, dependable presence in the lives of those around us.
Inafa'maolek yan Tipiyeew
Keeping harmony, resolving conflict and taking care of one another for the common good.
Maolek Kotdura
Making careful decisions that have value, worth and merit.
Minagåhet
Keeping our thoughts, words and actions honest and consistent.
Minesngon
Holding firm to our goals however hard the voyage gets. Perseverance.
Join us
Come down to the water
Sunday Sails is the easiest way to start. A Carolinian navigator leads canoe rides and informal sailing lessons from Guma Sakman, our canoe house in Susupe.
Rather work with your hands? Our boatyard in Lower Base is open to the public. Our Sakman Leaders will show you how a canoe comes together, and every volunteer helps put another canoe on the water.
Support 500 Sails
Help put 500 canoes on the water
Your gift keeps swim lessons, sailing classes and the boatyard open to our community on Saipan, Tinian and Luta. 500 Sails is a CNMI nonprofit and a federally recognized 501(c)(3) organization.
DonatePartners and supporters
We sail in good company
Our programs happen because these partners stand with us.
CNMI Indigenous Affairs Office
Carolinian Affairs Office
Western Pacific Fisheries
Chamolinian Cultural Village Inc.
Marianas Association of Non-Governmental Organizations (MANGO)