A Tribute to Grand Master Navigator Sesario Sewralur

From Nainoa Thompson and the Polynesian Voyaging Society

Grand Master Navigator Sesario Sewralur was a man whose life was devoted to carrying forward one of humanity’s oldest and most sacred traditions.  His journey as a navigator began almost from birth. Guided first by his father, the late Master Navigator Mau Piailug, Sesario was introduced to the world of traditional navigation as a very young child. By the age of four, that learning had become a lifelong discipline. Mau recognized in his youngest son the responsibility and privilege of becoming a successor to an unbroken lineage of navigators that stretches back countless generations through the School of Weriyeng on Satawal, one of the oldest maritime schools in the world.

Many of us came to know Sesario when he was just 16 years old. He joined us in Hawaiʻi during the Voyage of Rediscovery from 1985 to 1987, when Hōkūleʻa first sailed beyond Tahiti, to Aotearoa, reconnecting the great ocean pathways of our ancestors. Even at that young age, it was evident that Mau had chosen him to carry forward the knowledge, responsibility, and spirit of traditional navigation.

Mau not only trained Sesario in the technical mastery of wayfinding, but also the deeper teachings:  the values, discipline, humility, and spiritual understanding that define a true navigator. His training was extensive, rooted in tradition, and guided by an unwavering commitment to protect, strengthen, and advance the art of non-instrument navigation for future generations.

Following Mau’s passing, Sesario became the living bridge to his father’s legacy. As captain of Alingano Maisu and as a teacher throughout the Pacific and beyond, he dedicated his life to ensuring that traditional navigation would never disappear. His impact extended far beyond Micronesia. Through his teaching, leadership, and generosity, he strengthened a Pacific-wide movement of voyaging and inspired navigators across the world.

Sesario fulfilled his father’s greatest hope that traditional navigation would never become extinct, and that the genealogical line of navigators would never be broken.

One of the greatest gifts Sesario gave us was ensuring that this legacy continues through his own family. By teaching his children, especially his son, he helped secure the future of this ancient tradition. His life’s work reminds us that the true measure of a navigator is not simply the voyages completed, but the generations prepared to continue the journey.

In my mind, I see him in the cosmos beside his father Mau, among the stars that guide our canoes across the great ocean.  There are three stars that will forever remind me of these extraordinary navigators:  In the middle is the brightest star Mailap (Also known as Altair)  which is where we place Mau. Surrounding Mau’s Mailap are two stars: one to the north and one to the south, each representing Mau’s most cherished and most important students.  The star to the north represents Pwo Navigator Shorty Bertelmann and the star to Mailapʻs south represents Sesario. They are all powerful navigation stars and on Mauʻs star compass.

Every time we raise our eyes to the night sky, we are reminded that great navigators never truly leave us. 

On behalf of the entire voyaging family, we extend our deepest love, aloha, and heartfelt condolences to Sesario’s beloved wife, Florentine, his children, his grandchildren, the people of Satawal, and the entire genealogy of the School of Weriyeng.

We will never forget Sesario. We will remember his humility, his wisdom, his generosity, and his lifelong devotion to the ocean and to humanity. His legacy lives on in every canoe that sails, every navigator who teaches, every child who learns to look to the stars, and every voyage that continues because he ensured the way would never be lost.

May the winds be gentle, the seas calm, and the stars forever light your path, dear brother. Your voyage continues among the ancestors, and your light will forever guide those who follow.