Let's acknowledge that more than a thousand years before European voyagers crossed the Atlantic Ocean, Polynesians were sailing across the much larger Pacific Ocean.  What made the difference?  While the Europeans viewed themselves as separate from nature--and believing they had to conquer the seas, Polynesians knew they were one with the nature, including the ocean.  Hence, while Europeans relied on technology to sail beyond the sight of land, the Polynesians read all the messages nature sent them.