Chief Bruno Tharngnan and a crew of navigators sail one of his newly carved canoes into town to kick off the festival. (Justin Nobel/GlobalPost)
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The navigators rose at dawn the day of the festival to sail the canoes out of the lagoon. Several hours later, they sailed triumphantly back into harbor, to the cheers of VIPs from Guam and the President of Palau. (Justin Nobel/GlobalPost)
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Master navigator Ali Haleyalur is training a new generation of navigators. From left to right: Adrian Yarofalgil, Spencer Tafileluo and Topias Saufoa. (Justin Nobel/GlobalPost)
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The navigators, wearing colorful loin cloths and coconut-frond headbands, race toward shore to kick off the festival. (Justin Nobel/GlobalPost)
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Ali Haleyalur is one of the last master navigators in the Pacific. (Justin Nobel/GlobalPost)
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Deep in a mangrove forest, the canoe carvers construct their craft, with adzes and hack saws. (Justin Nobel/GlobalPost)
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How many loin-clothed young navigators does it take to right a capsized canoe? (Justin Nobel/GlobalPost)
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Canoe sailing is rich with magic, navigators wear shell money, beads, whales' teeth or turtle skulls to ward off rival mariners and in hope of fair winds and following seas. (Justin Nobel/GlobalPost)
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The festival revived outrigger canoe sailing for Yap’s youth, who were unfamiliar with the tradition. (Justin Nobel/GlobalPost)
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Sailing the canoes is complicated; the craft do not tack, as the sail is carried from bow to stern. (Justin Nobel/GlobalPost)
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The navigators pull into harbor to kick off the festival. (Justin Nobel/GlobalPost)
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Women weave traditional skirts called lavalavas, using thread shorn from the dried trunks of banana trees. (Justin Nobel/GlobalPost)
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Yapese youth perform a traditional dance in colorful skirts woven from hibiscus fiber. (Justin Nobel/GlobalPost)
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Chief Bruno Tharngnan and his blind mentor are the last able-bodied canoe carvers on the main island of Yap. (Justin Nobel/GlobalPost)
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Men from Maap, in the north of Yap, perform a traditional dance that involves pelvic thrusts, chanting and ear-splitting shrieks. (Justin Nobel/GlobalPost)
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Tuba, a wine made from fermented coconuts, was drunk in copious amounts at the festival’s nightly dances. (Justin Nobel/GlobalPost)
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Larry Raigetal, Yap’s Director of Youth and Civic Services and the festivals’ MC, wants his people to hold onto their traditions. (Justin Nobel/GlobalPost)
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Outrigger sailing canoes have been absent from the main island of Yap since before World War II. (Justin Nobel/GlobalPost)
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