If you watched my previously-recommended documentary about ocean-crossing Polynesians, here is a terrific book with even more detail on navigational techniques and education, canoe design, and even an amazing MacGyver-worthy use for a coconut.
Tom Davis's autobiography "Island Boy" is a fascinating look at the life of a island boy from Rarotonga who went on to become a doctor in New Zealand, sailed a small yacht half way around the world to attend Harvard, headed medical programs in Alaska and the Himalayas, and helped develop the US space program.
There's also much information about ancient Polynesians navigational techniques, including the design for a sextant-like device made from a coconut shell. Read the book to see how it was used to sail across the open Pacific and reliably arrive in Hawaii without any charts, maps, or other Western nautical aids.
