In August of 1742, British Privateer George Anson entered the Mariana Islands, and landed on the island of Tinian. There his men collected food and made repairs to their ship. They even drew one of the first images of the Guma’Tåga or the House of Tåga latte.

While in Tinian, Anson came across a såkman or a CHamoru canoe used for open-ocean voyages. Although the Spanish had forcibly removed all CHamorus from Tinian following the end of the CHamoru-Spanish Wars, there would be infrequent visits to the island, especially to collect tinala’ kåtne or dried meat from the cattle there. Anson’s visit to Tinian coincided with one such trip, and this is how he first witnessed a såkman in sail and then captured one.

Anson and his men marveled at the beauty and technological prowess of the såkman, and created this design, prior to destroying the canoe. Here is an excerpt from Anson’s account, which acknowledges that the CHamoru canoe known as a “flying proa” may live up to the speed implied by its name.

“The name ‘flying proa’ given to these vessels is owing to the swiftness with which they sail… From some rude estimations made by our people of the velocity with which they crossed the horizon at a distance while we lay at Tinian, I cannot help believing that with a brisk tradewind they will run near 20 miles an hour, which, though greatly short of what the Spaniards report of them, is yet a prodigious degree of swiftness.”