Navigating the High Seas in Moana

My Hawaiian vacation ended with 27 hours of travelling, then straight back to an 11-day workweek with 6-hours of jet-lag. All that is to say that this week’s post will be super short.

Murky Waters

I grew up on the coast of New England. One of the big differences between the north Atlantic and the tropical Pacific is the clarity of the water. Whenever I go on whale watching trips, they tell me that the cloudy darkness of the cold Atlantic waters are like that because they’re teaming with life. The whales travel there in the summer to feed, and return to the crystal clear but nearly lifeless waters of the tropics in the winter to give birth.

Clear Sailing

While I knew all this intellectually, it wasn’t until I was in Hawai'i that I really understood how clear the waters were. That gave me an idea. For navigating, instead of using stars and a compass, what if sailors in my Moana campaign just looks down at the see floor from their boats? They navigate at sea like we naviagte on land–by using landmarks. But instead of mountains and trees their landmarks are coral reefs, kelp forests, sunken ships, and undersea cities that sank eons ago.

Reaction

I told this idea to James. He said “Would that work in real life?”

My answer was simple: “Who cares? Casting fireball doesn’t work in real life, but it’s fun.”

Epilogue

What do you think? Do you like it? What other things can be underwater for them to use as landmarks? If landmarks are under water would that make them "watermarks?"