Greetings or as we say here in Fiji “Bula bula” and Happy New Year to one and all!
2011 was another awemazing year for me being one filled to overflowing with life, love and learning and I don’t think anyone could want for more. I know I’ve not been posting or writing as much publically the past few months and so I thought I’d start up again with this overview to bring you up to date and then some weekly updates going forward and add more as seems fit and my experiences warrant. With thanks to all of you who write and call to inquire and encourage me to post more updates, let’s get started!
As most of you know I am seriously “brevity challenged” but I’ll do my best to give you a brief update on 2011 to bring you up to speed to the present and as a lead in to my weekly updates. This will probably end up being a bit like one of those annual “holiday letters” you get from friends and family so if you don’t like those you can just skip this post and maybe the weekend updates will be more you style and length. For those interested there are blog postings you can read here on this Learnativity blog that will give you all the details of my sailing adventures first half of the year from the Marshall Islands to Fiji (and all the way back to my start in 2008) if you missed them or want to review.
I started 2010 still in Majuro, the capital of the Marshall Islands where I had sailed to from Fiji back in October 2010 to get out of the cyclone belt by being north of the equator. (Majuro is about 7 degrees N) While there is no mistaking Majuro for a “tropical paradise” it does have many redeeming qualities such as a US Post Office which is a huge advantage for shipping boat parts and equipment in and out, a good supply of hardware, groceries and other store bought items and a close community of cruisers, many of whom have been there for many years. Majuro is also one of the largest centers for tuna boats and there was always an entertaining steam of both the large tuna fishing boats and the even larger freighters which took on all their catch. One of the local cruisers organized a tour of a tuna boat and one of the carriers and we spent hours going through both these ships with the captains and crew answering all our incessant questions.
Both out of necessity and to take advantage of the supply of parts I did a lot of boat projects, mostly engine related and got Learnativity all ready for another busy sailing season down south of the equator and by mid May I was more than ready to go. I had decided to go back to Fiji as I had truly fallen in love with this country during my extended 5 months stay there the year before and so when the weather window opened up on May 23, 2010 and I bid Majuro a fond farewell, headed out the pass through the coral of the atoll and turned south. Having enjoyed them so much on my way north the previous year I once again made stops in Mili, Funafuti, Tuvalu and Rotuma rather than do it all in one go and arrived back in Savusavu Fiji on June 18th and have been here in Fiji ever since.
I wondered if I my love for Fiji had been a first time infatuation but having now spent the past 8 months here it is clear that for me at least this is the best overall location I’ve ever been to. It isn’t any one thing so much as it is almost everything about this country that I love; the people, the food, the climate, the scenery, the snorkelling, the sailing, the affordability, the cultures…….. well you get the idea. If it weren’t for the fact that I’m such a journey person I would seriously consider buying property and living here. Many do as this is almost the only country in the South Pacific with “freehold” land, that is where you can buy and own property outright. I’m now feeling that urge to head out again and several countries west and north of here are calling my name more and more loudly and so I’m currently VERY hard at work and taking advantage of an excellent marine yard and workforce to do a 20 year refit of Learnativity and be ready when the cyclone season ends which is typically about April/May.
2011 also brought me several great gifts of sharing “my” fabulous Fiji and this great life of sailing, snorkelling and sunsets with friends and family. My brother had just moved to Melbourne Australia with his wife and youngest son where he is establishing a new office and presence for his company and they all came for a holiday in Fiji in July and so I sailed down to the south side of the big island of Viti Levu and anchored in front of their resort at Pacific Harbour. We spent a week together, partly ashore enjoying all the amenities of the Pacific Harbour resort and partly out for some short sails on Learnativity over to the island of Beqa for some amazing snorkelling there.
For the month of August I was delighted to be able to share Fiji and this life afloat with two good friends from Vancouver, Steve and Joy and we had a phenomenal time sailing all over the many islands on the far west side of Fiji to experience everything from postcard perfect little islands where we were the only boat and people there to ones with small villages where we went ashore and had “sevusevu” with the Chief where we presented him with some kava and he performed a brief ceremony to bless us and welcome us to his island. We also went to a few of the popular cruiser spots such as Musket Cove and Port Denarau for supplies and a few dinners out. Once again this sailing season, my dear friend Philip, a single handed sailor from Switzerland, met up. Philip and I initially met when we were checking into Ecuador at the same time and port, were able to meet up in Fiji and although we only had a few days together before I flew out to Florida and he sailed to New Zealand, they were extremely special. I also met Philip’s Dad when he came to Fiji for his annual sail and then later in December I was able to take him up on his offer to come visit him in Switzerland.
On September 5th, Learnativity was hauled out and put up on stands or what we call being “on the hard” at Vuda Point marina which is about mid way up the far west coast of the biggest island in Fiji, Viti Levu. She had been long in need of some serious TLC to look after lots of little things and especially the growing amount of rust spots sprouting up on her steel decks and after serendipitously discovering that there was a very good marine repair company who worked out of this little marina I decided to bit the bullet and have them help me repaint the entire exterior of Learnativity. This is no small task I can assure you as to do it properly, I had to remove EVERY single bolt, fitting, window, hatch, lines and anything that wasn’t welded on, in order to get at all the spots, remove all the rust and cover them with top quality epoxy primer, filler and colour paint. I’ll fill you in on more details in the weekly updates to follow, but suffice it to say that I am still “on the hard” and have a few more months of long hot hard days of work to get her all shiny and new again.
And while this is taking a VERY BIG bite out of my VERY fixed budget I’m quite happy with myself that I’ve been able to pay others to help me as it is something I find very difficult to do. Being fortunate enough to have most of the skills to do all the work on Learnativity and of course feeling that no one can do it better than I can, (and the fact that my life literally depends on the sea worthiness of my boat!) I tend to do all the work myself. But there is only one of me and only 24 hours a day so there is a very finite limit to what I can get done by myself and I’ve exceeded that limit for a while now. So I checked out the work this company, Baobab Marine had done on other boats over the past few years and was very impressed and so they have been working with me almost every day since September to sandblast, grind, weld, prime, sand, fill and paint Learnativity inside and out. We’ve still got a LONG ways to go but huge progress has been made and when I “splash” her back into the water, hopefully by April, she will look like a brand new boat.
2011 was also quite a year for me personally as I managed to fall in, and alas out, of love with two amazing ladies. Thanks Linda and Heidi for making my life in 2011 SO memorable and full of life, love and learning. For now though, it is back to sailing through life’s experiences single handed. While it remains my hope, though not my expectation (more on that theory some other posting) that I will some day find my “soul mate”, I leave that all up to serendipity and synchronicity as to if, when, where, who and how that will happen and by simply continuing to truly live in life’s moments, be present in the present and experience my experiences fully. It’s been working incredibly well all my life, why would I change now?!
Of course I’m never alone as I’ve got so many friends, family and new local people I meet and interact with as I sail, and I have my ever faithful and amazing Ruby the Wonderdog at my side at all times. She is not only a great companion but also a great teacher and I do my best to learn all that she has to offer such as how to adapt to whatever life offers up moment to moment.
I spent the month of November back in New Smyrna Beach Florida with my beloved “second family” where I’m blessed to have four “God children” and two extraordinary friends. This is also one of Ruby’s special spots and she had an extended vacation here with her buddy “Coco” a chocolate Cocker Spaniel when she stayed there while I flew over to Europe. I was also delighted to have my colleague and friend Elliott provide me the opportunity to make several presentations at his large learning conference in Orlando the first week of November and it also provided lots of gifts of time with many other colleagues and friends who come to this annual professional gathering.
At the beginning of December it was off to Europe for a few weeks where I was able to visit with several friends and some family. I spent two day’s with Philip’s parents in their small town near St. Gallen in Switzerland and then continued by train to the lake of Biel to spend a week with my cousin and her family who I had spent lots of time with when Diana and I lived in Germany from 1980-84. Although I had to cut my trip to Europe short to return to Fiji and look after some new boat problems that came up, I was still able to get in some time with my dear friend Erik who flew into Heathrow just to spend a day and evening with me and then I spent one more night at the home of friends Robin and Jayne who live outside of London, before I had to fly back to the USA.
A brief stop in Florida to pick up Ruby and say goodbye to my family of friends there, and then it was off to LA to spend a few days with my daughter Lia, husband Brian and their two dogs Piglet and Ponzu. It is such a treat to be the parent of two such incredible “kids” as Skyler and Lia and watch and learn as they become such amazing adults. Lia and Brian let me just “hang out” with them and catch up on their busy lives. The timing worked out very well as Brian is a high school math teacher and had his last day of classes just before I arrived and Lia had just finished her stint as a lecturer at Cal Poly Pomona before going back to her job with a fascinating nuclear medicine and unique chemical compound making company who made her “an offer she couldn’t refuse” to get her to come back and work for them again.
On December 20th Ruby and I headed off for LAX and caught our flight back to Nadi in Fiji and though we missed December 21st completely due to crossing the date line, we were back onboard Learnativity on Dec. 22nd and back to the hot humid weather we both much prefer. As you may recall, Learnativity is “on the hard” and so we have to climb up a ladder to get onboard as she sits here on her stands so it isn’t ideal but Ruby goes up and down the ladder like a pro and never misses a step. I’ve set up all the systems so we can continue to live aboard with water, stove, electricity, etc. and there is a nice clean show and bathroom facility about 100m away so it all works out well.
So Ruby and I celebrated Christmas and New Years quite literally “up in the air” on Learnativity as we adjusted quickly to the heat and humidity. It is the wet season here in Fiji so most days are around +35C/100F and we have a good tropical thunder and lighting storm with rain most afternoons and evenings. It makes working on the boat trying to do welding, sanding and painting a bit challenging but so far the rain usually holds off until late afternoon and usually after 4:30pm when they work crews like to finish, so it is all working out quite well. If there is such a thing as “sweat equity” I’m building up a fortune!!
Whew! As I warned you at the beginning it takes me a while and way too many words, but that will at least bring you up to speed on where I’m at as this new year gets underway and some background for the weekly updates I’ll start posting now. I continue to be awemazed at the charmed serendipitous life I lead and while much of that is in reference to this life I now live of being on the water, so directly connected to nature and the world around me and truly living IN life’s moments as they happen, I am blessed mostly to be able to love and be loved in return by so many special friends and family. Words alone will never adequately express my love, appreciation and gratitude for all that you do and all you enable me to do, so the best I can do is continue to live, love and learn from you and with you and share it all as it happens. Thanks to ALL of you for making all my past years SO rich and SO full and here’s to continuing that trend for as many more moments we are gifted with.
Wayne & Ruby the Wonderdog
Up on the hard in Vuda Point Marina, Fiji
17
January 21, 2011
I LOVE BOOKS because I LOVE LEARNING!
While I have no desire to live forever from an immortal standpoint (thank goodness!)I do have a deep desire to learn forever so I could read every book I would want to and feed my insatiable curiosity forever. However, I live very much in the present and this picture if of the recent presents (pun intended) I received in the boxes which arrived the other day from my trip to the USA and Canada last month which you may have seen in the previous blog entry here.
Many of you know that I have become a complete convert to eBooks and prefer to do pretty much all my reading on my eReader (Kindle) tablet (iPhone), smart phone or laptop. I’ve talked about that at length over on my Off Course – On Target blog if you are interested in more details but the reasons are essentially that my eBooks are now as good or better than paper from a pure readability standpoint, they have reached the level of transparency so I can forget I’m reading on a digital device and get lost in the story, and then they give me a built in OED dictionary I use so often as I read plus a organized collection of all my highlights and notes taken while I read so that I have this to refer to and use after I’ve finished each book or even as I’m in the process of reading it.
However as you can see in the picture these ones I’m highlighting today are all paper books because they are not yet available in Kindle or eBook format and I’m not going to let that stand in the way of me reading them especially when I get the opportunity such as here in Majuro to have them shipped to me. Here is some of what am I reading that you can see in the picture:
DRAWING on the RIGHT SIDE of the BRAIN:
Yes, that’s right Wayne is going to try to learn how to draw, go after his more creative side and learn to see the world more fully through the eyes of an artist. Well, that’s my intent and motivation anyways. As you may be able to see I have both the book and the workbook for Betty Edward’s acclaimed “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain” and these are maybe the ones I’m most excited about as they represent an another journey I’ve long wanted to take, that of learning how to draw better and more so learning how to see the world better. I’ve only read the first chapter so far and I don’t know if I’m more excited about learning how to draw or all the ways in which drawing and Betty’s experiences for the past 20+ years inspire and ignite my passionate pursuit of topics such as how to become a more “whole brained” person and how this all relates to learning in general. Both are all part of this grand voyage I’m on for my own self improvement on a more quantum and spiritual level and I couldn’t be more excited about all of it.
Knowing how I like to use myself and my life as a grand experiment and my recent penchant for uncharacteristically putting myself “out there” and sharing everything, I will undoubtedly share with you some of my drawings along the way so you can see first hand how I’m doing and hopefully the great progress along the way. I
TOUCH!
I will also be using this as an opportunity to test the use of the touch screen on my iPad and my stylus to do some of the drawings. Some of you will know that I’ve long been fascinated by and talked much about how we can discern and extract the essence out of our historical and well proven practices and human elements and carry them forward into the future as we combine them with the most modern of technologies and innovations. The combination of drawing and touch screens is one of my most cited examples. We have been drawing since we lived in caves and I see no likelihood or desire to stop doing so as far into the future as I can see. However the transmogrification into the digital world and the apparent readiness of touch to be added to our human computer interactions and interfaces is extremely exciting and already upon us. I want to have the experiential learning of doing so and be able to share this all with you more knowledgeably and hence the new books and the new voyage. Wish me luck!
Rudy Rucker’s Trilogy: The Ware Tetralogy
This is another long time coming read for me and will likely need to wait till I’m back into full time sailing mode rather than my current boat work mode, but I finally have it onboard with me now and can’t wait to dive into each of these four books; Software, Wetware, Freeware and Realware. If you aren’t familiar with these a quick search on any of these titles will give you a good overviews and you’ll quickly see why I’ve been wanting to read these for so long. I had the distinct pleasure to be at Autodesk in the early years when we were working with Rudy and James Gleick on things like Chaos Theory so my interest goes a long ways back.
I took advantage of being back in the USA and in Florida to be able to raid my carefully stowed few boxes of books which I keep ashore as they are too bulky and valuable to have on the boat all the time. I was looking for and found three that I’ve been wanting to read or reread which were:
David Bohm’s “Wholeness and the Implicate Order” and “On Creativity”
David is one of my mentors and a great inspiration to me for over twenty years since Jimm Meloy, one of my many great “bosses” at Autodesk, first put me on to him. You can read a brief tribute I did about David and his work several years ago over on the Off Course – On Target blog. Again, I’ll let you read up on these books if you’re intrigued which I can’t imagine anyone not being but that’s just me. David is one of the great minds of the past century in my humble opinion and he has helped me understand so much about how things work, not just from the theoretical physics side of which Bohm is one of the most highly regarded scientists ever to be in that field, but also his more spiritual and holistic views on life, learning and how we think.
Stephen Hawking’s “A Brief History of Time” and “The Universe in a Nutshell”
Inspired by my recent reading of Martin Gardner’s great collection of essays in “The Night is Large” (thank you, thank you, thank you Erik for that great gift!) I’ve become ever more fascinated by what would seem to be the one single constant in the universe: time. And I’ve also been learning about celestial navigation with the purpose less so for the actual navigation abilities it gives me in a catastrophic failure of all my digital navigation on board and the use of my sextant, but more so for the development of a true working understanding of how the whole universe works in a full three dimensional way or perhaps more. I’ve had Hawking’s books for a long time but as usual I let serendipity and synchronicity determine when the call to read them will come. It came, I’m reading!
Finally on the sailing front, I was able to pick up two books which will be extremely valuable to my ongoing education about all things sailing to which I am such a complete novice.
Tropical Cruising Handbook by Mark Smaalders and Kim de Rochers
You can maybe just make this one out over in the distance on the on the far side of my cockpit table where I took the picture above. A friend had this when I was in my beloved Fiji last year and rather than be a cruising guide which I depend upon for all the local knowledge about islands, bays, inlets and the like, this one was a fabulous collection of detailed and well illustrated explanations of things like weather systems, anchoring , navigation and health and wellness in the tropics. I couldn’t put it down nor remember enough of it so I ordered a copy for myself last year and finally have it in my eager hands now.
Offshore Cruising Encyclopedia by Linda and Steve Dashew
This is one of the “bibles” of we blue water or off shore cruisers and I finally have my own copy now. I’ve become a huge fan and student of Steve and Linda and have learned so much from being a regular visitor to their setsail.com web site where their prolific writing and photography is freely available and constantly being added to as they sail the world and more recently have moved over to power boating. In all cases they have designed and built their own boats and what is so great about them is they explain every detail about each and ever decision they make in the process. Plus they are the “real deal” living aboard and sailing or powering their way around and all over the world many times over and for many many years. Now into their seventies they are still going as strong as ever, still pushing the envelop more than ever and I’m looking forward to learning even more from them within the pages of this old classic of theirs.
I will leave for another posting the MUCH longer list of books that are patiently awaiting my attention on my Kindle and end with this additional photo of my paper books. I thought I was just taking a second photo in case the first one didn’t turn out so well and zoomed out a bit as Ruby the Wonderdog decided she needed to be in the picture. But I’m putting it in here as it will give you a microcosm view of my life right now as there is so much of it in this one photo. For example if you look just behind Ruby you will see the recalcitrant oil pan you may recall from the previous posting now awaiting an adapter I need for my oxy-acetylene welder to weld in a new section of the bottom. There is my dear Ruby of course, and all of this is taken the cockpit where I am typing this up and where I spend the vast majority of my time when I’m aboard and not down in the engine room or otherwise busy with boat jobs.
So there you have it folks, the update for today from the good ship Learnativity here in the tropical NE Trades and crystal clear waters of Majuro in the Marshall Islands. Wish you were here and you do too!!
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January 19, 2011
Santa’s Ship is in!
Big day yesterday when the big cargo ship from Guam arrived and filled the US Post Office here to overflowing and then some. As you may recall when I was back in the USA and Canada for November and part of December I took advantage of being there to go through the long list of items I’d built up over the past year of things I needed and can’t get over here. This list was one that I had been building up since my last time back in the US almost a year ago so it had grown rather long. Most of the items are boat parts like motor mounts, special engine gaskets, parts for my bow thruster, and then some hard to find favorites like dried cranberries and good coffee. Some of the boat parts I just had sent to friends addresses and they were awaiting me when I arrived at their places to visit for a few days and others were trips to the likes of Costco, Wal-Mart, West Marine and some specialty marine suppliers. So I would build up quite a collection of all these bits and pieces and then carefully pack and box them all up and ship them to myself here in Majuro.
Most of the time you just do without and there is very little that I miss or truly do without as a great deal of the fun and adventure of being in all these new and different places is the all new local food and materials you get to try out. And it is also good for ones problem solving skills to turn parts and tool hunting into an adventure game as you roam some new city or country in search for some materials, parts or tools you need to look after a repair job. But there are still some things such as special boat parts and tools which you simply can’t find or are prohibitively expensive, at least on my budget. And so a list slowly builds up with all the things that I haven’t been able to find and still need and each year. As you might imagine, over the course of a year the list gets rather long and so when I get back to the US or some other developed country, out comes the list and a shopping we will go!
One of the reasons I chose Majuro as the place to go when I had to leave Fiji before the cyclone season started, was because it is a former US protectorate, now independent, but still has a US Post Office and a US Zip code. (96960) This means you can mail things in and out of here with amazing ease and low cost as it is treated no different than mailing to any other state. And so there is a US Post Office just a few hundred meters from the dinghy dock when I row ashore. The other reasons for choosing Majuro by the way are that it is in a good location weather wise, cyclone season up here doesn’t set in till around June, there was a mooring available to secure Learnativity to for the two months I would be away and there is a big air strip on the SW end of the atoll that is still serviced by Continental Micronesia airlines which makes it only one flight from here to Honolulu.
Most of the time when shipping things via USPS you send them via Express or Priority mail and they have some very good rates and it only takes about a week or less from them to be flown in here. But as you can see from the photo of the dinghy with some of the boxes in it, I had a lot large heavy items which would be prohibitively expensive. So I used Parcel Post to ship all my stuff back and this is the marine version of the Pony Express and takes two months for things to arrive as they come by ship and have to be loaded and unloaded several times onto different ships along the way with stops in Honolulu and then Guam before arriving here.
No big deal, all part of living by the different rhythms and beats of life aboard but it made for quite a celebratory day yesterday as the big boat from Guam came in and all the packages started to fill up the US Post Office. People from all over the island are there along with all the yachties from around the world of course who also take advantage of having this convenient and affordable way to have things sent in from abroad. As you might guess there was quite a large pile of boxes from the likes of Amazon here yesterday as well. Once Customs has cleared everything, which is also very quick and easy here with the close ties that remain with the USA, I could start loading up the five boxes (still three more to come next month hopefully) onto my trusty 2 wheeled luggage cart and push, pull and drag them back over to the dinghy dock and manhandle them into the dinghy, hopefully without any going over the side into the crystal blue waters here! Worked well and I soon had the dinghy docked alongside the mother ship of Learnativity for the even trickier transfer from the dingy to the deck as most of these boxes weigh in at 70-85 pounds.
Fortunately Neptune went without any rewards and soon enough I had all the boxes up on deck and could open up these boxes of joy and have yet another form of Christmas as I carefully unwrapped each item inside and stored them in their appropriate spots down below.
In addition to the necessary boat parts and tools I also took advantage of the opportunity to pick up things like wine glasses, hard to find books and some treats like my favorite dried cherries and coffee from good old Costco!
I don’t think I will ever know what I did to deserve this rich and charmed life I lead as I already had two months worth of gifts back in Nov/Dec in the form of all my visits with special friends and family and now here I was getting yet another one over here in Majuro in January!!
As you can see, throughout the process, I was ably assisted and very closely monitored and managed by the Admiral, Ruby the Wonderdog. Unfortunately for her, the boxes with her special treats and supplies in them (don’t tell her) are in the other boxes which I shipped just before leaving the US and so they won’t arrive for another month or more, but then I guess that just means we’ll have yet another day of surprises and unpacking when they arrive!
Otherwise all is well here on the Good Ship Learnativity in Majuro. As most of you know I don’t have “plans” I just have “intentions” when it comes to when I’ll leave my current great destination and where I’ll go for the next so right now I have two sets of intentions; West or South. Going west from here would likely mean spending several months or more to wind my way through the various islands of Micronesia between here and the Philippines which would include islands such as Kosrae, Pohnpei, Yap, Palau and possibly Guam. That would put me hear the east side of the Philippines and I’d need to decide if I was going to go north or the south, though knowing me I’d probably follow Yogi Berra’s advise on what to do when you hit a fork in the road of life: Take it! So I might do a very big loop down south essentially down through Indonesia around Papua New Guinea and back to where I started in Palau or so and then head north up through the Philippines to China. The other “intention” would be to go south from here and possibly head back to get another Fiji fix as I SO fell in love with that whole country last year, and then continue approximately NW through Vanuatu, Solomon’s, PNG and end up back here in the Marshalls or Micronesia and head go with my westward “intention” as outlined above.
Whether West or South I’m not likely to head out on either of these till at least March or so given boat jobs and weather but I may take a month or so before then to sail around some of the gorgeous atolls surrounding Majuro that are part of the Marshall Islands chain. As you can see I’m one of those poor unfortunate souls who is faced with the vexing problem of choosing between nothing but great choices! <g> But then, when you think of it, aren’t we all? At least that is the way I hope you are able to view your life.
Thanks to all the many Emails, Skype calls, Facebook updates, chats and other ways you reach out to connect with me. These are easily the greatest gifts of all for me and please do keep them coming. I’ll putt the full list of all the various ways you can track and connect with me below to aid an encourage you to do so!
April 17, 2010
We’re Baaaaaaaack!!!
Ahoy all! It has been a long while since I’ve had time to post anything here, but certainly not for any lack of activity. Since arriving here in New Zealand back at the end of October, Learnativity has been safely pole moored in a fabulous spot at the end of a river estuary about 20km inland from the coast and in the town of Whangarei which is about 150km north of Auckland. It is very peaceful here and one of the world’s centers for marine trades and boat building so it has been a perfect spot to spend what will be almost 6 months by the time we leave next month as we wait for the hurricane season up north in the South Pacific to end. I’ll try to write up a more detailed summary of the past few months, but here is the update on the past few weeks to catch you up to the present.
I spent most of the past month (Feb/March) over in the US, partly to look after some business and partly to get in some time with friends and family before I set sail again as I’m not sure when I’ll next be back. After having a great time doing a presentation at a conference in Orlando I was able to spend some time with a few special friends who were also in town for this conference and in particular spend several days with my dear friend Erik from Antwerpen and we locked ourselves away for a few days to work on our Snowflake Effect book on mass personalization. I was also able to meet up Ellen who is my home base in Sonoma when I’m in the Bay area, and after more years than I can remember Marcia and I were able to meet up and Karl and Conner were with her so it was a particularly big reunion. Then it was back to my second family and home up in New Smyrna Beach (just south of Daytona) and I got to spend a few weeks up there. My #1 son Skyler has been staying there the past few months as well so had some wonderful time with him and catching up with all that’s new in his life as he tried the East Coast on for size. And then it was Easter/Spring break for the kids so we spent a week sailing down the Inter Coastal Waterway (ICW) all the way down to Miami. A very interesting ride, more like going down the canals in Europe as you are mostly going past people’s back yards on both sides for much of it. Some VERY VERY expensive back yards I might add! More wealth and excess than I think I’ve ever seen in one sitting. It was a great time and nice to be with my “other family” for such an extended time and being so all together on their sailboat.
Then I flew out to spend last weekend with Lia, Brian, Piglet and Ruby in their new home just NE of Los Angeles. That was pretty special too, such fun to be with my kids now that they are adults and have such great but different conversations with them. Brian and Lia are doing extremely well, loving their new house, settling into being a newly married (Aug 1, 2009) working couple, etc.
If you look closely in the photo on the left here you can make out Ruby snuggled into Lia’s lap while Piglet guard's here territory on Brian’s.
After having Ruby these past four months and seeing how much happier Piglet seems to be, Lia and Brian needed to get another dog themselves. Their newest family member arrives in a few days and is a Japanese Chin and very cute. His name will be “Ponzu” (Japanese dipping sauce) and he is due to arrive Friday (May 23) apparently. Similar looks to Piglet but black and white with more of a “squashed” face and very cute from the pictures we were able to look at from his breeder. If you go over to Lia’s FaceBook page you can see some pictures she has put up of Ponzu.
I spent my last few days in the USA running around to pick up a few last minute supplies and packing everything into suitable containers for the trip back to New Zealand and Ruby and after a fantastic four days with Lia, Brian and Pigled, Ruby and I drove to LAX Tuesday night to start our next adventure and our return to our floating home of Learnativity in Whangarei New Zealand.
After many months of planning and paperwork, Ruby flew with me in the cabin on the Air New Zealand flight from LAX to Auckland and as usual their service was phenomenal. I can’t recommend ANZ highly enough and if you ever get the chance please do use them. They had me/us booked in the forward most row of their “Premium Economy” class which put us in a bulkhead row with lots of space between the seats and the bulkhead. They also booked us to have the entire row to ourselves, no one else sitting in the 2 seats beside me, and also had a special mat put out on the floor for Ruby! The staff could not have been more accommodating and friendly and for most of them this was apparently the first time they had a dog onboard, which surprised me a bit. But every one of them from the purser on down came by to personally welcome us on board, ask what they could do to make Ruby more comfortable, could they see her? Could they pet her? Could they take her up to show the pilot? etc. And this continued through the entire 12 hour flight!
We had a bit of a problem in Auckland making the transfer from the international terminal over to the domestic terminal for our connecting flight to Whangarei. When we landed in Auckland we were escorted through customs and down to bio security where the MAF staff (Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry) met us and took over. I had to turn Ruby over to them for the remainder of our travels in NZ and so I kept her in her travel bag which she knows and feels comfortable in and just placed this inside the large wooden crate they had ready for her. They officially sealed her in with a numbered zip lock tag and told me to head over to the domestic terminal and they would bring Ruby over there and put her on board the flight to Whangarei. However when I went to board the flight I checked in the cargo hold in the rear of the small turbo prop plane and my checked bags with all my boat parts were there but not the crate with Ruby. I asked the flight attendant to check and I phoned the MAF person who’s number I had and apparently there was some mix-up with the transfer from the MAF people to the ANZ people and so she was still sitting over in the international terminal. So I offloaded myself and my bags from that flight and went back inside to figure out where she was. Everyone I dealt with, from the MAF staff to the ANZ people could not be more helpful and friendly and it all went quite well. I was able to find Ruby, still in her bag and crate, over at the domestic terminal and we were booked onto the next flight to Whangarei. Fortunately this is a common route and there is a flight almost every hour so we were only about 2 hours later than planned in leaving Auckland.
We arrived in Whangarei literally minutes later (it is only about 150km away) and Ruby, still in her bag/crate was just fine. No MAF staff to meet us but a quick call to the number they had given me put me in touch with the two staff members who were on route to the airport and just delayed with some road work along the way. We loaded Ruby and all the bags into their truck and headed over to the Town Basin Marina where Learnativity is moored. A bit of paper work to sign and then they were able to let me take Ruby out of her crate and put her into one of the marina dinghy’s for the final journey over to Learnativity. You can’t imagine how great it felt to have my precious travel buddy back home with me on Learnativity and Ruby quickly raced all over the boat as I opened her up and she seemed to feel the same about being back home. The two MAF officials, Helen and Mike, went around to the other side of the river and walked out to the end of the wooden floating dock that ends about 5m away from Learnativity so they could ensure that we were on a pole mooring and not on a dock, as Ruby has to be kept onboard at all times and we can’t be at a dock or anywhere she could possibly get to land. They were very pleased with the arrangement and wit that we bid adieu and the latest grand Ruby adventure was over! Well almost, a very nice veterinarian came aboard on Monday to give her a quick topical treatment for fleas, ticks, etc. And that pretty much looks after everything other than the MAF people need to come by once a week or so to make sure she is still aboard and healthy. But that should be straight forward and relatively easy. (knock on wood)
And so here we are a few days later and feeling very much at home and back where we both belong. The stainless steel guy came by first thing Friday morning (we got back here Thursday morning NZ time) and we spent most of the day fitting the pieces he had bent up for the new bow railing which was ripped off in the tsunami back in September in Pago Pago in American Samoa. I also have them bending up some more SS tubing for the mounting rack I’m building for my solar panels and possibly a new dual anchor assembly for the bow to replace the single one I have now and to accommodate the shiny new 70kg Rocna anchor I am hopefully picking up on Monday. I’ll write up a new post on all this in a few days.
And while I have you here, might as well bore you with the update on my sailing intentions (no plans, just intentions for me remember) once I leave here. My intended routing is starting to shape up, always subject to change with wind, weather, whim and serendipity of course. I think I’ll head for Niue first to take in that fascinating country/island that is WNW of Tonga. Then from there I think I’ll head West to some spots in the Fijian islands, maybe a stop in Tong on the way there, and then onward to Vanuatu and then take the NW “fork” up toward the equator through the Solomon islands and up over the top of Papua New Guinea. Still undecided as to what route to take from there in terms of going North or South of Indonesia but think I’d like to get back to Singapore and Phuket as I was there quite a few times on business trips with Autodesk and know a few people there. Then I can jump off from Phuket most likely and head over to Galle in Sri Lanka and start my voyages in the Indian Ocean. But there is also the option of going more South of the equator and running south through either Jakarta or Bali and then west over to Christmas and Cocos Keeling and then on to Sri Lanka from there. And just to keep this in perspective this is likely to take at least a year, more likely closer to two before I get to Sri Lanka, but I don’t keep track frankly. Ahhh, the tough decisions of we ocean sailors. Life is rough for me isn’t it?? <g>
Best of all, after over four months apart Ruby and I are now reunited and back home where we belong. It will take me a few weeks to finish up the boat projects I need to get done before heading back out to sea, but my the first week of May or so I hope to be sailing back down the river to Marsden Cove which is the official port of entry/exit for NZ and then we’ll point the bow towards the equator and be on our way for the start of sailing season number three! I’m sure it will be just as packed with adventures, excitement and stories as the last two and I look forward to telling them all to you here as they happen.
Great to be back with you, stay tuned as year three of this grand adventure get's underway .
Wayne & Ruby the Wonderdog
Aboard s/v Learnativity
35°43'24.04"S 174°19'29.98"E
Town Basin Marina
Whangarei, New Zealand
November 08, 2009
Wonderdog #2: Rubi-Tsu
I’m now in Orlando Florida for some business and some time in my other parallel universe; the land of high speed everything and constant connectivity. Doing my best to catch up with the mountain of backlogged news, info, Emails, Tweets, etc. And most of all enjoying the chance to spend time with so many of my beloved landlubber friends.
I just had to share this update from Lisa and Garry, who are now back home in Western Australia after sadly having to leave their pride and joy, sv Biscayne Bay behind in Pago Pago as she did not survive the tsunami.
** If Lisa & Garry and sv Biscayne Bay are new to you please see the previous 3 postings “Doing the Tsunami Tango” for context and info.
On the bright side, after spending so much time with Ruby onboard Biscayne Bay when they so kindly “puppysat” her and especially after the bonding of going through the tsunami together and being responsible for keeping Ruby safe through that incredible experience, they decided they had to have a Ruby too and this is her! Lisa found and purchased her online while we were still in Pago Pago and they just picked her up when they landed back in Melbourne. Here are some snippets from a few Emails Lisa sent leading up to this:
Hi Wayne,
I thought you might like to look at the new edition to our family, we have got one of Ruby's people joining us when we return to Aus Land...
We are thinking of calling her Tsu or Nami or Rubytoo. She is still very little and should end up about the size of Ruby, I have checked with the breeder who thinks she will be about 10kg and about 12inches high. She will have poodle wool too. We do not need another dog, but life is very short so I think we will enjoy playing with her.
A picture of our latest family member............Rubi,named in honour of Ruby the Wonderdog aboard SV Learnativity. On our way cross country to Perth with our new baby on board. She is beautiful, with that gorgeous nature your Ruby has.. very bright and so easy to talk to.. we have called her Rubi-Tsu... a little bit of a blend of all the possibilities we thought of.
Talk to you all soon,
Love Lisa and Garry
And so I add two more to the body count of those who have succumbed to the spell of Ruby the Wonderdog’s charm and yet another reason she is so aptly named. I have no doubt that Lisa and Garry will find Rubi-Tsu to be just as wonderful and we have another Wonderdog in the making.
Wayne
October 06, 2009
October 02, 2009
Doing the Tsunami Tango in American Samoa: Part III
I’m not quite sure of the timing, but about 11am, four hours after the mayhem started on this fateful Tuesday, Sept. 29th, I decided that the surges were down enough and not coming back so I headed for the dock and tied Learnativity to the outside and jumped ashore to help others who were following my lead in. I was anxious to find Gary and Chris who I’d not seen in the past hour while I was circling out in the bay and also to see what assistance I could provide to others who were looking for lost crewmembers as well as the whole situation ashore.
On American Samoa, as with most other islands the only real road is the one which circles the coastal circumference so it is all very close to sea level. Normal sea level that is. When the tsunami hit, the water rose up to a level about 5’ above the roadway and several hundred feet inland. It cleaned out everything in its path, picking up vehicles and dropping them inside buildings and culverts. If the buildings were concrete and well built, the water neatly emptied all their contents, if not it simply washed away the entire building. Cars were strewn everywhere as if some giant hand picked up the island and gave it a good shake. As you walked up to the road there were manta rays, eels and tuna still flopping about on the dry pavement desperately searching for their watery homes. Several hardware stores along the road had been emptied and tools were strewn everywhere. Much of the edge of the water was lined with chain link fencing which had acted like a sieve and was now a colorful mosaic chockablock full of a plastic, paper, wood and weeds.
By the time I got up to the road though, people were already pitching in to help others in need and soon people started to clean up the mess that was everywhere. Traffic was at a standstill of course with vehicles all over the road, wrapped around trees, sticking out of doorways and windows and parked in culverts. Many had simply been washed into the bay. There were injured people everywhere and soon the sirens began and continued on through the night and the next few days as more were found amongst the wreckage and on the sides. Miraculously to me no fires had broken out which was a good thing as there was fuel and oil everywhere. The gas station immediately behind the dock had all four of its pumps knocked clean off their foundations as cars had floated by and the water rose up over them. Now they spewed raw gasoline and diesel out of their amputated pipes. While out in the bay the smell of diesel, gas and oil was overwhelming as most of the large fishing and commercial ships that were swept away had ruptured their tanks and the water was slick with petroleum.
I wanted so much to head for the West end of the bay to find Gary and Biscayne Bay and help them find Biscayne Bay, as well as see if Ruby had survived. But I dare not leave Learnativity alone and there was so much to do on the docks trying to help those whose boats were still there and those who were missing crew members. Gary actually showed up aboard Joan’s boat Mainly to help her dock it and there was still no sign or word of Dan. And so the afternoon progressed as we all pitched in and drifted from one job to the next; cleaning, consoling, assessing and trying to comprehend what had just happened. With son Jake on board Biscayne Bay to keep watch as looting had already begun on ships and ashore, Chris and Gary went back and forth between Learnativity and Biscayne Bay in the dingy, moving all their belongings and food aboard Learnativity as I invited them to live with me for the next while.
As we shuttled all their belongings from one boat to the other we decided to try to get Biscayne Bay back into the water and if she was not taking on water to try to bring her back to the dock. Gary and Chris went back to the boat and with the help of some others and the next big surge, miraculously got her upright and off the mud bank and bottom into deeper water. She was taking on some water, but it was minimal and the bilge pumps would be able to keep up with it. The engine would start but something was wrapped around the prop or shaft or both and they were locked up solid. There was limited steering but with a 25HP outboard on his dingy, Gary was able to push and shove her all the way up the bay and around the end of the concrete dock.
With Chris at the wheel and Gary using the dingy as a mini tug boat, Jake threw me the bow line as she raced toward the dock and I was able to wrap the line around one of the large steel bollards and with a final crunch against the dock she was back home. It was hard to believe that only 8 hours earlier this crunched and battered dear boat had been quietly tied up next to Learnativity in pristine condition.
The search continued for our missing comrade cruiser Dan and with no sign of him by mid afternoon Joan went to the hospital and sadly arrived just as they were bringing Dan’s body to the morgue. His body had washed up at the west end of the bay. So difficult to comprehend all this. How is it possible that at 7am you are sipping your first morning coffee together as a happy retired couple in the cockpit of your sailboat docked in paradise on the cruise you’ve dreamed of and worked for your whole life, and then minutes later be washed off the dock never to be seen again? We all did out best to be with Joan as she worked her way through such questions and did what we could to be supportive and consoling. Her boat would not start now for some reason and we were all anxious to ensure that our boats were ready to go at a moments notice should another tsunami strike and so several of us went aboard to set it right. There was no shortage of skilled mechanics and electricians and we all provided tools and labor and Jack stayed aboard to find it was a bad solenoid and soon had it replaced so at least Mainly was back in working order. Hearts and minds would require different tools, techniques and time before they would be so mended.
Learnativity, Ruby and I came through it all pretty much unscathed. Just the stainless tubing bow pulpit had been ripped apart and so I set about removing it and seeing what could be done to repair it. It was beyond repair and so I salvaged the running lights and then set about using some low stretch line I had to create a makeshift set of lifelines to enclose the bow.
Fortunately none of this is structural or will prevent me from continuing to sail to New Zealand where there will be lots of facilities to build a new one. And I was planning on building a whole new dual anchor setup and sprit on the bow which would require a new pulpit anyway. I just didn’t plan on removing the old one quite so soon. Mother Nature apparently had a different schedule and I didn’t get the memo.
Gary and family were back onboard Biscayne Bay assessing the damage for the rest of the afternoon and it didn’t look good. The more you looked the more structural damage and failed systems you found. It was floating and they decided they could sleep aboard that night but I had them over for diner and cooked up a big feed of salad (expertly assembled by Chris) and my tummy filling spicy spaghetti and meatballs. None of us had eaten all day and now with a chance to relax just a bit, the hunger and exhaustion set in. We spent most of the evening quietly reflecting upon the day, dissecting it and discussing this extraordinary and harrowing experience. I think it was very therapeutic for each of us as our minds started to deal with the reality of what all had taken place on this eventful day and what we would need to do in the aftermath of the days ahead. Sleep was both restful and fitful for most of us that night.
Writing this now, two days later, we have continued in this pattern of cleanup, helping each other, repair and restoration of both ships, shore and souls. It will be a long process for all of these. The local people have continued to astound me with their genuine kindness and generosity. In spite of great loss of life all over the island we have had a steady stream of people binging us cases of bottled drinking water, boxed lunches and cooked diners.
In the span of two days I’ve witnessed the full spectrum of both human and mother nature and I’ve learned so many life lessons. It is no where near a complete list, but to finish up this posting I’ll share a few of the lessons I’ve learned through this experience.
Some Lessons I Learned from the Tsunami in Pago Pago:
- It may sound trite but it is SO true that you never know when the last time will be for most things. Living in the moment, maximizing every opportunity, are attitude and behavior to live by rather than cute phrases and platitudes.
- When it is all said and done, people, friendship and relationships are all that really matter.
- The best place to be when trouble or disaster strikes is ON your boat and out in open water. Get there and stay there at almost any cost.
- I’ve renewed my conviction and love for steel boats.
- In times of great stress and disaster, human nature is on full spectrum display and is the same in all places and cultures.
- Put your faith and optimism in people. There is much more good in the world than evil, many more good people than bad.
- A big powerful working engine in a sailboat is a safety device. Make sure it is always at the ready.
- Mother Nature is a majestic and powerful force on a scale that is truly humbling. It is likely a good thing to be reminded from time to time just how small and puny we are.
- Technology, especially communication technology is vastly under rated and under appreciated for how profound a difference it can make.
- Sat phones are essential safety devices for world cruisers.
- If are ever in the vicinity of a large underwater seismic eruption either get on a boat and head for open water or head inland as high and as quickly as you can.
I hope that by sharing some of these experiences I’ve been able in some small way to help others learn lessons of their own. I’m off to bed now for a few hours to let my head sort through more of this experience and get some rest before another busy day of dealing with the aftermath of this extraordinary life and learning experience.
Wayne & Ruby the Wonderdog
aboard the good ship Learnativity
docked in Pago Pago Harbor
14 16.514S 170 41.554W
October 01, 2009
Doing the Tsunami Tango in American Samoa: Part I
Whew! Now THAT was a full day! As most of you will know by now I am in Pago Pago Harbor in American Samoa and yesterday (Tues Sept. 29, 2009) we took a direct hit from the tsunami effect caused by the undersea volcanic eruption that took place about 130nm south of here. Reports seem to estimate it at 8.0-8.3 on the Richter scale so that counts as quite significant I think; certainly was on the Wayne scale!
** Paste my lat/long 14 16.514S 170 41.554W into Google Earth to see for yourself. This is obviously be the "before" photo and we'll have to wait for the next satellite pass to see the "after"
I’m writing this a day later (Wed afternoon) now that I have a bit more time as things have calmed down a bit, both in terms of water action and more recently all the work in dealing with the aftermath. Many of you have been able to follow this via various means thanks to the efforts of my main man ashore and overall phenomenal resource; John Alonso in Florida. Shortly after escaping from the docks where Learnativity was tied up, I was able to get a few satellite phone connections and both talk to John as well as text him while I did my best to deal with the constant draining and then refilling of the harbor and dodge the endless onslaught of other ships, mostly empty, derelict hulls, containers, docks, oil drums and every other sort of debris you can imagine. John was then able to relay these to all of you via Twitter and Emails and I can’t thank him enough for helping to get the word out and let everyone know what was going on here. Now that I’ve got a bit more time let me start at the beginning and take you through the day of September 29th, 2009 on the good ship Learnativity.
I am up as usual about 6:30 and getting ready to go for my morning shower up on the deck when I became aware of a low frequency thrumming that I could both hear and feel. This continued and my first thought was that there was a large freighter or other ship nearby and I was simply feeling the effects of its large propellers churning the water. Stepping up into the cockpit to look around there was nothing in sight and it was otherwise the start of another day in paradise with the verdant hills surround Pago Pago Harbor rising up steeply all around me and piercing the few clouds in an otherwise brilliant blue sky. The calm harbor waters stretched out as Learnativity tugged gently on her dock lines securing us to the large concrete wharf where we have been docked in about 15’ of water since arriving on Friday afternoon and joined about six other sailboats and cruisers from Australia, USA and Canada.
But what IS that vibration?? It is about 06:50 as I step off the boat onto the concrete dock to see if it was perhaps just on Learnativity or the water? No, it continued and was intensifying if anything. Having experienced several other quakes including Mount St. Helens and the big quake in San Francisco and LA in the 90’s I began to suspect this as the source however it was too gentle and going on too long for my understanding of what an earthquake feels like. And I can HEAR it as much as feel it. Over a minute has gone by now and as I look ashore in search of other points of reference sure enough I can see that the lamp posts and telephone poles are waving back and forth like they were blades of grass in a gentle breeze. Hmmm, I’ve only seen poles move like that once before and that was as I looked outside my office window in Sausalito during the 1989 Loma Preita earthquake. OK, it may be different but I’ve solved the riddle and we got ourselves an earthquake.
A few of my fellow cruisers (people who live aboard their boats while cruising the world) have been awakened and are crawling sleepily out of their beds and joining me on the concrete wharf. The mood is typically easy and friendly as we say quietly say good morning, compare notes and discuss just what’s going on. The thrumming continues through most of this and I’d estimate at least 3 minutes in total. We agree it must have been an earthquake and Gary, an Australian from Freemantle on his 52’ Irwin “Biscayne Bay” with wife Lisa, son Jake and Canadian crewmember Chris, joins us and tells that he has just checked it out online and found reports filed under “latest earthquake” of an underwater eruption about 20 minutes ago 130nm south of us
We continued to casually chat and discuss how unique the characteristics were. None of us had ever experienced an undersea eruption or other such disturbances on our boats and we just left it at that as we dispersed back to our boats for breakfast and one person casually joked that we should just watch for any big wave we see. No such wave ever materialized, it was much worse.
Just as I was bout to step back onto my boat it started to drop. Huh? Before I could even comprehend what was happening it then started to rapidly lean sideways as the dock lines strain and screech, tightening more and more as they take on the full weight of my very heavy steel home. My instincts scream GET ON THE BOAT! I jump aboard and grab onto the rigging as she continues to lean more and more and more. THUD! Holy #^%& we are hard over on our side and ……. WHAT the …..? the bottom of the bay is staring back at me as I dangle by one hand from the rigging.
My mind is cycling through every possible explanation, trying to come to terms with all the inputs and amongst the cacophony of sights and sounds as boats smash around me, deck lines snap, rigging strains. These sounds are overlaid and an ominous and enormous rushing and sucking sound as the water all around my boat suddenly drains away!
But a new noise, like fingernails across a blackboard divert my attention to the near vertical deck and I see poor Ruby (my 2 year old cockapoo and sailing companion) trying in vain to dig her claws into the steel deck, her legs thrashing like a cartoon animation character as she gathers speed going the other way and her tail end is headed for all the fish I now see and hear flopping around on the bottom of the bay as they search of their missing watery home.
Ruby’s a gonner if she leaves the boat so I let go of the rigging, do my best imitation of a full 180 mid air flip and lunge after her with one outstretched hand and desperately reach out with the other in the hopes of grabbing some other hand hold. Just as Ruby is launched off the deck I get a right handful of the scruff of her neck and harness as my left hand wraps itself around the lifeline cable. No time to think, just act. Ruby in hand I scramble up to the opposite (Port) high side of the deck. All hell is breaking loose around me both on my boat and all the others and I’m not going to be able to do much with one hand. I look up above me and spot Jake, Gary’s son (14) standing on the edge of the wharf looking down at me and I yell “Jake! Catch!” and throw Ruby up to his thankfully open arms. He makes a great catch, Ruby is in good hands and I’ve got both of mine back.
Interesting how we all react differently. Back aboard Biscayne Bay, Gary and family have been below making breakfast, when they notice the concrete dock rushing up past their porthole windows as if they were in an elevator shaft. Their boat is in much deeper water around the corner from where I Learnativity is docked, so they are going straight down, lines straining, fiberglass crunching and that ever present surreal sucking sound all around. Gary’s reaction, understandably is to GET OUT! and so they all dash up into the cockpit and scramble up the vertical wall of concrete and rubber tires as Gary pushes and shoves each of them up onto the top of the concrete wharf.
The sucking sound stops.
There is a moment of seeming silence that you’d think would be comforting but you’d be wrong. It’s ominous. And then a new set of sounds begin. The volume with a ferocious velocity. Faster than it has left, all that water is now coming back! All the problems reverse. Learnativity rights itself and is now rocketing skyward. I grab my always-on-my-belt knife and dash down the port side from bow to stern slashing all the dock lines. Scramble back into the cockpit, start the engine, simultaneously shove both control levers ahead, putting the transmission into forward gear and the throttle lever on full. All six cylinders pick up speed as the revs cling, the turbine whines, the prop bites hard into the swirling water below and Learnativity starts to pull away from the ………………………… wharf. What wharf? It’s GONE!
The water rushing back into the bay doesn’t stop at it’s previous level, it continues to go up and up and up the sides of the wharf. It floods over the top and keeps going. The speed and force of of the current created by millions of gallons of water flooding into the harbor is unbelievable water and is doing its best to push Learnativity backwards into the dock and marina as I put my faith into the power of diesel fuel and take a minute to look back and see if I’m going forward or backwards.
It is hard to describe what I see. Closest to me, Gary, Lisa, Jake (clutching Ruby) and Chris are running as fast and best they can through the rushing water for a stone walled garden area in the middle of the concrete wharf that happens to have a small but tall light post embedded into it. I watch helplessly as they climb up onto the base of the light pole, wrap their arms around each other and hang on as the water rushes past them, continuing to rise; up, up, up.
I glance along where I know the edge of the dock to have been and watch as one other boat with a great young crew of five from California have jumped aboard even quicker than I and are motoring quickly away. No wait, on the other matching lamp post down the dock I spot one of their female crewmembers who got caught ashore now clinging to this lamp pole. Other sailboats, including Biscayne Bay have now ripped free of their tethers and I watch as they turn with the continuously rising current and crash into each other, taking the other boats in their path like falling dominos. On the left is the “after” picture of this infamous light pole with (from left to right) Chris, Jake, Lisa, Ruby and Gary posing with much different expressions on their faces. Imagine them and the water level half way up this pole!
As my eyes continue to travel further down the dock, I watch in horror as one cruiser is on the dock trying to untie his lines and is swept off his feet by the torrent of water. His wife is aboard and manages to control the boat as it comes free but I can’t see any sign of her husband in all the flotsam and jetsam churning in the water.
Worse than just the water though, almost everything imaginable has been picked up by this flood of water, torn lose from anything silly enough to try to hold them down and is now looking to smash into anything and everything in its erratic path. I glance back to the lamp post where the Biscayne Bay crew are now climbing higher and higher up the lamp post, Gary has Ruby wrapped around his neck so he can use both his arms to hold on to his family and try to keep from being ripped off the post by the force of the water or hit by one of the boats or containers rushing toward and past them. My brain is cycling through the question of “What can I do to help them?” but it is quite literally out of my hands and I have to turn away and bring my attention back aboard and foreword. Fortunately diesel power overcomes even these humbling forces of nature and Learnativity and I escape to the safety of the middle of the bay. Or is it?
========== to be continued ==========
That will need to do for the first installment, I’ll do the rest for you tomorrow. I’m just back from a lovely diner aboard Biscayne Bay which while badly knocked up and damaged is inhabitable and afloat. And as my Aussie friends would say, “I’m knackered”, too tired to do much more cogent writing tonight. Hope you enjoy the details and 'I’ll have the rest of the story, more photos and video tomorrow.
Night for now.
Wayne
June 26, 2009
LTY Weekend Update: from Hao, Tomatu's June 18-22
18:45 LTY time (UTC-10) 04:45 UTC
Days #16-19 @ Hao
Location: docked in harbor North of Otepa, on the Hao atoll in the Tuamotu's
Position: 18 05.937S 140 54.721W
Wind: 0-2kts (true) SE
Seas: flat (inside the lagoon)
Sea temp: 83.8F 28.8C
Air temp: 82F 28C
Humidity: 70%
Barometer: 1017
DAD's DAY EVERWHERE!
Best wishes to all the other Fathers out there! Thought you'd all be interested to know Father’s Day is a big deal here on Hao and in Polynesia as well!
On Thursday night, as Ruby and were walking back from town to Learnativity, we passed by the basketball court beside one of the churches as we always do on our regular route home now. This is a common gathering spot, both for games of basketball with kids and adults alike as well as other activities and we often meet friends there and stop to chat. However tonight, it was full of large palm fronds and people busy preparing them by weaving together some of the leaves and joining all of them together standing up vertically around the whole perimeter of the basketball court and fences of the church yard. Several ladies working inside motioned me to come inside and so I went in and they were all too happy and proud to show me how they create these decorative "walls" and how they weave in other parts of the palm tree such as the long spidery flower growth which adds to the decorative effect. When I inquired what this was all for, they exclaimed "la fete de Père" (Father's Day en Français) and looked at me quite incredulously that I would not know this?!!
I assured them I knew the even well but that I thought it was on dimanche (Sunday), they explained that it was for them too, but that was just the official and family day. Tomorrow, vendredi (Friday) was the start of the celebration with larger town celebrations (I later discovered there were three such events happening on the island) and when all the eating happens, then samedi (Sat) they have more activities such as games and other family activities and then Sunday tends to be more a day of more family celebration at home after they get back from church.
Earlier that day (Thurs), I cast off the lines on Kestrel and bid Isolde and Gabor a fond farewell as they set off on their sail up to the Marquesas. Selfishly sad to see them go as we've become very good friends and had some truly wonderful times together and also very happy for them that they were finally off. They had hoped to leave over a week ago initially but the weather nixed that idea and then their uninvited four legged "guest" had delayed them another day as we both went through the CO gas fumigation procedures.
But at just after 11am they motored easily out of our little private harbor here just north of town (Otepa) and headed for Passe Kaki, the only navigable break in the circular reef that is Hao and in time to be there at slack tide which was about noon. The current in the pass is quite phenomenal, often in excess of 22 knots apparently and so you need to time your entry/exit to coincide with the tide changes. I spoke with them by VHF after they left and once they were back out in the open seas and also received an Email update that night that all was well. A bit envious as I do miss being out there on Mother Ocean and in the rhythm of a longer crossing, but all in due time for me and meanwhile I get to now have Hao all to myself!! They only get about 10-12 boats a year apparently. There were two other sailboats here when Kestrel and Learnativity arrived on June 3rd, but both of these left a few days later and now LTY is the only one, which suits me just fine!
I thought I'd start riding my bicycle into town and so Friday morning I brought the folding bike out of its storage spot in the engine room where it has been safely sitting for almost six months since I last had a chance to use it in El Salvador. But when I went to set it all up, pump up the tires, etc. I discovered that over 20 of the spokes on the wheels had mysteriously broken in half! Don't know what would have caused this, looks almost like some kind of metal fatigue but that would be very odd as I just got the bike before starting the cruise a bit less than 2 years ago and it has hardly been used. I've asked Rick, who is a VERY avid bicyclist if he can try to pick up a new set of spokes and bring them over with him when he comes for their visit at the end of July and it shouldn't be too hard to re spoke the wheels and have my bike back again. It has been a big help in places where I'm docked for a while and have larger distances to walk.
No problem it was another lovely sunny day and so Ruby and I walked into town. It is about a 20 minute walk from the little harbor we're in to town and Ruby loves the chance to run in the grass, try in vain to befriend some of the local dogs and get them to play with her, chase a few pigeons that are often along the way and otherwise just enjoy the exercise. I also love this walk because it takes us past one of the Elementary schools on the island and we somehow seem to time it that we pass when the kids are out in the yard playing and I just LOVE the joyous sound of all those little voices, squeals and laughter! Today was no exception and then we continued on to see if Manu and Tina were home. They were, and very busy preparing their costumes for the big Father's day celebration that night. Manu showed me how he was weaving together palm leaves into what would become a head piece they would all wear. They invited me to join them for the celebration and I graciously accepted and then left them to finish their preparations and to hurry to the bakery to catch the last baguette production of the day at noon. Made it just in time and then headed down the block to the other family who kindly let me use their WiFi connection on their patio to get my internet fix every few days.
I caught up with Emails and mostly web work for the next few hours until about 6pm and then headed off to check out the Fete de Père celebration. They had set up a whole set of chairs in rows in the basketball court and there was a beautiful stage area decorated up in front. We didn't stay too long as I hadn't eaten since breakfast and it was already dark for our long walk back. But in the time I was there it appeared that the even consisted of mostly children and mothers telling of their love and appreciation for the fathers in their lives with various poems, writings and songs. Very lovely and quite touching for me to be able to witness. Ruby and I quietly faded out the back and headed home to Learnativity under a moonless but very starlight sky. The stars here are as phenomenal as we've grown accustomed to for many months now as there is almost no extraneous light to detract from their stellar shine as well as being an even more interesting sky for me here in the Southern hemisphere.
Saturday was a gorgeous day. It is supposed to be the rainy season and we're headed into the height of it in July but so far it has only meant that we get rain most nights for brief periods. We did have a few days earlier this week when it really did give us a torrential downpour for a few minutes, and of course twice this was when Isolde and I were walking into and out of town! However this rain does wonders for keeping LTY decks washed and things nice and fresh ashore. But since Wednesday we've had nary a drop of rain and so I'm enjoying the clear super starry nights and not having to close up the cockpit from the nightly rain. Looks like this will continue for at least the next few days.
I'd picked up two treats for myself while in town on Friday; a rare find of 3 heads of lettuce, first lettuce in over a month, Romaine no less) and a whole frozen chicken. And so I prepared myself a Father's Day feast! Oven roasted chicken stuffed with some dried prunes I've been looking to use up for months, along with some apple, garlic and onion and then added in some potatoes, onions and garlic in the pan part way through to let them roast in that delicious chicken basting! Started with fresh baguette with Roquefort cheese for an appetizer, a bottle of 1998 Chilean Cabernet I'd found in the back of a shelf on Easter Island, a big Caesar salad with croutons and by then the roast chicken and potatoes were ready to come out of the oven and onto the plate. Put on some of the recorded video and TV shows John so kindly captured for me and Ruby snuggled in for a quiet evening aboard the good ship Learnativity.
Today, (dimanche/Sunday) I was treated to Father's Day wishes from Lia via Email and Skyler via the sat phone, which certainly made my day/week/month! Not to be left out, I gave Ruby a full shampoo and hair cut today! She has not been clipped since we were in Florida in January so her hair was getting very long. Here is the before picture:
And here is the after shot. I quite like the way she looks with that longer poodle curly fur, but it was a pain for both of us to remove all the burrs she has been acquiring every day on our walks to town. And as the weather is getting hotter I think she is getting a bit uncomfortable, though she doesn't seem to show it much. So out with the scissors and electric clippers and she is now a few pounds lighter and a LOT slimmer looking! Here are the before and after pictures.
I've been enjoying the warm water and quiet lagoon here and start the day with an early morning swim and a few others to cool off during the day. After her hair cut I took Ruby in for one this afternoon and then gave her a good shampoo and fresh water rinse so she is quite the regal looking wonderdog tonight! Now, as I finish up this note for you and enjoy the ever so slight and warm breeze here in the harbor, I'm going to go and enjoy more of that delicious chicken and another Caesar salad tonight as I reflect upon my great fortune, family and friends.
I'll collect on my in person hugs and kisses from Lia and Skyler when I see them both in the next few weeks when I fly back to California and so with that to top off their kind wishes, I've had a fabulous Father's Day and can only hope and wish that all of you, wherever you are and however you choose to celebrate, had a day that was in keeping with how very special indeed it is to be fathers, mothers, children and family, all the world over.
Wayne & Ruby the Wonderdog
April 28, 2009
LTY morning UPDATE: Sunday, April 26, 2009
08:15 local 14:15 UTC
Location: anchored @ Hanga Roa, Rapa Nui (Easter Island)
Position: -27d 08.625' S -109d 26,087' W
Wind: 8-15 kts SE True
Seas: swell = ~ 1 m @ 8 secs
Weather: early AM showers, late sunrise with clouds, clearing off to be another blue sky and sunny day
Sea temp: 78.9F
Air temp: 76.9F
Humidity: 74%
Spent the morning cleaning up the boat after two weeks of non stop living/sailing. The outboard motor on the dingy has been acting up so cleaned out the carburetor and spark plugs, checked the fuel tank for water and got it all back together and seems to be running better. We'll know for sure next run ashore. I also climbed the mast to inspect all the rigging and found the starboard halyard block (pulley) at the mast head had lost its bearings. Spent half an hour at the top getting the old one off and then when I got back late in the afternoon, replaced it with a new one and got the halyard reeved (fed through) and all mounted up at the top of the mast. Otherwise everything else appears to be none the worse for 2 weeks of wear and tear of non stop sailing.
One of the most common questions I get is "What do you do with all your time?". I don't have a great answer, and sometimes I ask that question myself in terms of where did the day(s) go, but they go amazingly quickly and are filled with a great variety of never ending things to do. There is certainly never any boredom (not that I really understand the concept) or lack of things on the list to choose from on what to do next and that's just the way I like it.
Ruby and I spent the day ashore and mostly just did one of my favorite things in an area, wandering around wherever my feet, nose, eyes and serendipity lead me. We walked quite a stretch of the coastline here and a large part of it turned out to be a national park area that was a long series of Moai (the famous stone face statues) and the large platforms they are built on. It has been particularly interesting for me to now see these things myself after reading so much about them and having just finished Jared Diamond's "Collapse" which has a long chapter devoted to Easter Island, the events that led up to the almost complete collapse of the island's society and what caused it all.
It was a perfect day, sunny but not too hot nor humid and it was great to be able to be out for a long walk with Ruby as well. She was able to be off leash for most of it as were were usually the only ones around. There are lots of other dogs here, mostly wild/stray types, which has been typical most places we've been but this doesn't seem to cause either side any problems. Occasionally Ruby will find one that wants to play and they will chase each other for a bit, but mostly they just seem to greet each other, have a couple good sniffs and be on their respective ways.
We also spent some time walking more of the small village here and getting a feel for it and the people. It's quite nice as the tourism part is not too pronounced given the very small numbers and that the town and overall island and population (about 4000) is so small.
After a lot of walking I stopped for a late lunch at about 2pm in a nice restaurant on the waterfront road and treated myself to a very full meal of salad, ceviche and fresh pescado (Mai Mai) with a mango juice to top it off. It was quite a surreal experience as I sat there, enjoyed this great meal, looking at and past the carved figures on the road side and out over the water where Learnativity is anchored, listening to the crashing surf, and spending a few relaxing hours reading on my Kindle. What a wonderful mix of cultures, old/new, history, technology and senses. The place became very busy about 3pm so I offered to share my table with a couple who came in when there were not tables and they turned out to be from Holland. We chatted for a bit, in English as my Dutch is almost non existent (sorry Erik) and they were here visiting for two weeks. She was particularly interested in my Kindle as she had seen two others with them in their travels and so I let her play with it for a bit and we talked about it, technology, traveling and more. Added to the extreme eclecticness of the whole experience and I just loved it all.
After that I stopped by the hotel where the people I'm trying to meet up with are staying but was not able to find them in on several tries. I wandered up to 3 different internet cafes trying to find a net connection but after waiting over an hour I decided to let it go for the day and we headed back to Learnativity for the evening. A bit more cleaning up, a light diner and just to add to the eclectic nature of the day, watched some TV shows that my generous friend John has recorded tons of for me. I have to just laugh at the whole scene. I hardly watch any TV or get to see any movies, so I don't know any of these shows that he's recorded but it has been great fun checking them out and finding some fun stuff to watch. So there I am, anchored off Easter Island and getting to watch & learn about shows like "Dr. Who", "Top Gear", "Dirty Jobs", "Eureka" and of course get to see (after reading the book) Master & Commander. I just LOVE these kinds of mashups of old and new, low tech and high tech, foreign and familiar.
Then it was off to bed for Ms. Ruby and I. AND we got to sleep in a real bed and for a real long contiguous time! Life doesn't get much better than this I don't think.
Today (Sunday morning) I've been enjoying the sunrise as it burns through all the storm clouds that have been here since about 4am and the day warms up, the sounds of the waking village drift out to us a bit and we roll back and forth with the swell coming in and around this side of the island now from the NE. Right now I'm using the time to also get this note typed up and sent off to you and then will finish my coffee, do a few more chores.
Intentions (vs plans) for the rest of the day include going ashore to see what Sunday in Hanga Roa is like, trying for a network connection, exploring a few more parts of the town, meeting up (hopefully) with Sonia, Charlie or Elaine the people here I've been communicating with via Email) and then maybe try some snorkeling in this unbelievably clear water (apparently up to 300' at times!)
Whatever it ends up being, hard to imagine a better Sunday, or any day. Hope yours is equally GR8!!
Enjoy,
Wayne