Before the compass, many people had to rely on landmarks for sailing. The Polynesians sailed around there own area by using the stars to tell them where they were, and they also used waves to tell where land is because the waves get affected by the islands. The Europeans used landmarks, the stars, and the familiar winds that blew by them as they were sailing. It was almost impossible for most people to sail in the winter because it was always cloudy and you couldn’t use the stars to tell you where you were. In that case, you could end up in entirely different countries. I think it is pretty interesting how the Polynesians used the waves to tell them how near they were to land.