There is one stubborn question for which archeology has yet to provide any answers how did the Lapita and early Polynesian pioneers accomplish, many times over, a feat that is analogous to a moon landing? Very little evidence remains to help scientists understand their remarkable sailing skills. Unfortunately, no one has found an intact Lapita or early Polynesian canoe that might reveal how they were sailed. Nor do the oral historiess and traditions of later Polynesians ofter any insights as to how they were able to navigate areas of open ocean hundreds or even thousands of kilometers wide without becoming lost. "All we can say for certain is that the Lapita had canoes that were capable of ocean voyages, and they had the ability to sail them," says Geoff Irwin, a professor of archeology at the University of Auckland. Nonetheless, with little evidence, scientists have been able to develop some theories about the secrets of these explorers' success Sailors have always relied upon the so-called trade winds winds that blow steadily and in predictable directions over the ocean's surface. Geoff Irwin notes that the Lapita's