Aono Raina High Sea

The waters of Aono Raina surround the Line Islands, a 2,350-kilometer chain of coral atolls south of Hawaii. Low islands enclose lagoons while broad reef shelves break the swell; outside them lies deep, isolated ocean. Kiritimati, Tabuaeran and Teraina offered the most reliable fresh water and cultivable ground, while many smaller islands lacked permanent residents.

Archaeological remains show marae and village complexes from at least the fourteenth century. Polynesian navigators reached the chain by canoe, using stars, swells, birds and cloud patterns to cross enormous distances. The islands later formed a sparse frontier between central Polynesia and communities scattered toward the equator.

European ships passed irregularly in the late eighteenth century, including Cook’s voyage in 1777, but most visits made little lasting change. Reef passages remained narrow and dangerous, and many crews failed to recognize signs of earlier settlement. The sea’s defining conditions were isolation, sudden surf and the need to find a secure lagoon entrance before wind or current carried a vessel past the land.