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A replica 3000-year-old Pacific canoe, modelled on the world's first ocean-going vessels, has been tested in a world-leading Auckland wind tunnel.
Preliminary results show the canoes of the type sailed from New Guinea to Fiji, Tonga and Samoa about 1000BC were so well designed they could probably sail against the wind.
The 3m-long scale model has been tested and analysed in the University of Auckland's Tamaki campus wind tunnel, famed for its role in America's Cup yacht design.
The project, a joint venture between the university's engineering and archaeology departments, was set up to end a long-running debate: whether the first ocean explorers depended on luck or design to get to their destinations.
The team used archaeological and linguistic evidence to design the canoe, a design they believe is most likely to have made the world's first major ocean-going voyages.
The original canoes' construction would have required immense amounts of labour, depended on specialised stone adzes, and used kilometres of cord, mechanical engineering professor Richard Flay said.
Its sailors set out against prevailing southeast trade winds, with probably 12 or more passengers, livestock, and potted plants.
Leaving such a trip to the chance of winds, tides and the hope of an El Nino weather pattern is one of the two major theories, Professor Flay said.
The second theory surmised the sailors and boatbuilders were highly skilled, and sailed where they wanted to go with extensive control of their vessels.
The evidence being gleaned from the wind tunnel tests supported that theory, showing the vessels could be steered by skilled mariners, archaeology professor Geoff Irwin said.
The population base of the Lapita people who made the epic voyages was low, yet they colonised a vast ocean very quickly, adding weight to the argument their sailing and boat-building skills were significantly further advanced than any one else at the time.
"If it's kamikaze canoes, the losses have got to be huge, because it's an empty ocean. But the attrition can't have been much. I think their losses have been fairly slim. They must have been able to sail."
The Pacific sailors reached America about 1000 years ago, all but completing their exploration of the world's biggest ocean.
At the same time, Viking sailors were reaching the northeast coast of America, still at the beginning of their ocean-roaming exploits.
The scale model being tested was based on a 14m long, 1.2m diameter dug-out log, lined on its upper sides with planks to stop water splashing in.
It was supported by outriggers on either side, making it virtually impossible to roll. Its two-spar rigging system allowed the wind's power to go through one spar to the hull, while the second spar could be used to trim the sail and adjust to conditions.
"They could alter the sails depending on the heading they wanted to go in, to get the fastest speed," Professor Irwin said.
