We saw across the water that the Chinese boat seemed to have people going on and off of it, so we walked across the bridge to the marina.
The boat is wooden, made of materials and techniques from long ago.
There are bamboo poles tied together and the sail is hand-made.
The captain and his crew are trying to recreate an ancient Chinese trade route to the west coast of America. They made it from China to Washington and California and are now on the return trip. 
The captain was talking to boat visitors yesterday. The crew said he rarely leads the tours himself.
They sailed from San Francisco to San Diego and then here. It took 23 days to cross this part of the Pacific from San Diego to Hawaii.
They are here until February, waiting for favorable winds to continue to Taiwan.
One recent invention is solar panels that store enough power to run the lights on either side of the boat and some instruments.
The captain said they know of some skills the ancient sailors had that are now lost.
Rick was an interested participant in the tour.
The captain and sailors are giving a talk on campus this week that we plan to attend.
"'Reviving Seafaring Glory: The Grand Voyage of the Princess Taiping' A Special Session with the Sailors of a 54-Foot Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 C.E.) Replica Wooden Junk Sailing Across the Pacific Ocean, from San Diego to Hong Kong"
It was fun to see the boat first.
This is an article from the Honolulu newspaper.
Star-Bulletin Link
