NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
From: Frank Reed
Date: 2025 Aug 1, 21:44 -0700
On the northern coast of Tahiti, not far from the capital, Pape'ete, there is a little peninsula with a beach of volcanic black sand and a barrier reef. Since the era of Cook and Bligh it has been known as Point Venus. It's still called Point Venus today, and there, right on the beach, is a pair of star charts providing some insight and to answer that question: Why is it called Point Venus?
Tahiti is still a tropical paradise but "well-developed" with towns and urban infrastructure and a tourism culture. I found this bit of beach signage while visiting (virtually! online) from the nearby atoll of Tetiaroa, which has a long story, too.
Remaining questions: is the sky right on those star charts? It looks good, carefully drawn and accurately labeled, so I would expect so. And what's up with Venus? Why was it dropped in at that location near Castor and Pollux? Is it some historical significance? Or maybe some local date commemoration?
Frank Reed
