It’s hard to imagine the bravery (or desperation?) of those explorers who ventured off into the open ocean. It seems likely that some would not have seen dry land again. There are probably some archaeological sites waiting at the bottom of the southern ocean.
Polynesian navigators were amazing at navigating via the stars. Kupe made the journey from Hawaiki (it's still unclear exactly where that is though) to New Zealand and back, and his grandson was able to navigate back to New Zealand just from his description of the stars. That grandson came to New Zealand on Ngātokimatawhaorua, the canoe that my family traces their ancestry back to.
