system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5:How did the ancient Polynesians find places like Tahiti, the Cook Islands and Hawaii

I visited Hawaii for the first time this year and I am fascinated with Polynesian culture.  How did they look out at the ocean and know how to sail to such small remote islands?  Obviously, their astral navigation was extremely sophisticated but how did they know something was...out there...
gpt
There are whole books on the subject.

Basically, if you live on the sea and can read the signs, you can tell that an island is near even though you are hundreds of miles away. It has to do with the cloud patterns, the birds, the wave patterns and the wind.

For example, if waves are passing an island, they will be distorted around the island. This distortion persists for many miles.

Also...luck. If you are able to be at sea for a couple of months, you can explore a lot and still return home if you find nothing.