These people are attempting to sail around the world in a 62-foot canoe, using only the sun and stars for navigation

Polynesian Voyaging Society

Life aboard the Hokule'a, a traditional Polynesian voyaging canoe on a mission to sail around the world, sounds like paradise. Crew members take shifts steering and caring for the 40-year-old vessel, swapping stories over plates of line-caught fish, and sleeping under the stars.

The 62-foot-long, double-hulled canoe set out from the Hawaiian shores in 2013. It will cover more than 60,000 nautical miles by the end of its journey, which is scheduled to finish in 2017.

There's just one catch: You can't use modern navigation instruments aboard the Hokule'a. Crew members must use only the sun and the stars to get themselves from point A to B.

Tech Insider spoke with Captain Kalepa Baybayan to learn more about this daring and unusual life at sea.