While waiting for a flight, I glanced over at a nearby couple. He was reading the United States Sailing Association's book, Basic Cruising.

The expedition, covering 2,500 miles, was organised by the Polynesian Voyaging Society to see if ancient seafarers could have gone that way, through open ocean.

SEF and ARATS delegations have met formally six times since 2008 and continue the complicated task of defining closer cooperation between the two sides.