0600 position 13-15S 163-07W. At anchor in 32', sand and coral bottom.
Suwarrow Atoll
We were both up at first light anxious to explore. After a pancake
breakfast we launched the dinghy among the dozen sharks that were still
circling Moku Pe'a and went over to visit the monohull. Turns out the two
boats are cruising in company and arrived earlier the same day we did.
The Austrians aboard had been ashore, and the island was currently
uninhabited. Excellent. No formalities and no fees. So we went ashore
for a look-see. Tom Neale's house has been replaced by a more modern one
in the same location. His concrete bust is still there. The book
exchange is still operating but in the new house, and a new two story
structure has been built nearby for the official caretaker who is likely
to arrive any day now. A sign ashore indicated that "Suwarrow National
Park" is open from 1 June to 1 Nov which explains why no official is here
yet.
Rocky and I met the German couple from the catamaran on the beach. Nice
folks who have been cruising for 4 years now. We decided to walk the
perimeter of the island both to identify landmarks from the books we had
read and to look for glass balls. Rocky was going to take a swim in the
spot Tom Neale identified as his favorite swimming hole, but the presence
of a black tip shark changed his mind. We swam instead on the leeward
side of the island where the water was calm, clear, and shark free.
While we were ashore an armada arrived. Eight boats, part of some around
the world rally, came in and anchored. I was pleasantly surprised that
they all appeared to know what they were doing and none felt compelled to
anchor too close to us as is often the case. These rally guys have big
bucks. Most of the fleet is in the million dollar range. We are by far
the smallest and cheapest boat here in the anchorage. A passerby would
look at the fleet, point at us and say "What are THEY doing here?" We are
the only boat with laundry hanging on our lifelines because we are the
only boat without a dryer.
After our adventure ashore we went back to the boat for a work day. We
both did laundry. I tried to fix two nagging window leaks, tightened the
steering cables a little more, calibrated the speedometer, repaired some
chafed stitching on the mainsail luff, wiped down floors and bulkheads
with fresh water, and gave Rocky a haircut. Be sure to tell him how great
it looks the next time you see him. The mast light, which fixed itself
after being out for a few nights, has decided to go on strike again, but I
am going to wait until we get to Vava'u to fix it. The anchorage is a
little bumpy here and I'd rather go up the mast in smooth water.
The water here is incredibly clear. I went to the back of the boat at
midnight and in the moonlight it looked like the water was only a couple
of feet deep. I could see the coral heads and sand clearly defined on the
bottom. Quick, turn on the depth sounder for a check - thirty two feet
deep.
I recall a similar experience on my first visit to Moorea in 1976. The
full moon's light reflecting off of the sand bottom eight feet below the
boat made the crystal clear water completely disappear. I took the
dinghy out for a paddle on that perfectly still night and it looked and
felt like I was floating in the air.
You may be wondering why I haven't mentioned cribbage much lately. Guess.
Rocky is now up eight games to three, which defies all odds. He's
keeping track. I'm just grateful that we aren't playing "Gladiator
Cribbage", where the loser dies.
Friday, May 16, 2014
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
14 May - Racing to Suwarrow
0600 position 12-17S 162-36W. Day's run 163 miles
I thought my sailboat racing days were over, but after doing some
arithmetic this morning I realized that if we put the pedal down we could
make it into Suwarrow before sunset on 14 May. So for the past twenty
four hours Moku pe'a has been a little race boat. All that really means
is we are setting a bit more sail than usual to hopefully squeeze a little
more speed out of the old gal. That also means we need to pay pretty
close attention to things so we don't overload the autopilot or get caught
by a squall with too much sail up. Even though we've been working harder,
you'll note that we didn't have our best day's run yesterday. That's
because the average wind speed was a bit less and we found a couple of
light patches where we slowed down to five knots for a while. It doesn't
take many of those to affect the day's total milage.
So far so good, and at 0600 we have approximately 64 miles to go. If we
can maintain speed we are looking at a 1600 arrival in Suwarrow. Except
for those light spots, the wind has cooperated, varying in strength from
eight to thirteen knots on the beam, and the confused three swell system
has disappeared leaving us with a small swell from the same direction as
the wind.
The second fish of the trip was landed this afternoon, another aku.
Didn't much feel like aku for dinner so we let it go. This one was caught
on a lure that Randy Reed gave us. So far the Morelli and Reed lures are
tied on productivity.
We landed a nice sized black ulua as we were entering Suwarrow's pass 28
years ago on Eleu. After we were safely on the hook in the lee of
Anchorage Island, I finally got around to cleaning the fish. I did it in
the cockpit, and after I was finished I threw the carcass over the side.
It hit the water, and then within ten seconds there was a huge commotion
next to the boat. We looked over, startled, to see three four foot black
tipped sharks fighting over the ulua's remains! The sharks must have been
attracted by the blood that drained through the cockpit scuppers as I
cleaned the fish, and were just waiting under the boat for something to
eat.
Note to self: Be careful about swimming in the Suwarrow lagoon….
I thought my sailboat racing days were over, but after doing some
arithmetic this morning I realized that if we put the pedal down we could
make it into Suwarrow before sunset on 14 May. So for the past twenty
four hours Moku pe'a has been a little race boat. All that really means
is we are setting a bit more sail than usual to hopefully squeeze a little
more speed out of the old gal. That also means we need to pay pretty
close attention to things so we don't overload the autopilot or get caught
by a squall with too much sail up. Even though we've been working harder,
you'll note that we didn't have our best day's run yesterday. That's
because the average wind speed was a bit less and we found a couple of
light patches where we slowed down to five knots for a while. It doesn't
take many of those to affect the day's total milage.
So far so good, and at 0600 we have approximately 64 miles to go. If we
can maintain speed we are looking at a 1600 arrival in Suwarrow. Except
for those light spots, the wind has cooperated, varying in strength from
eight to thirteen knots on the beam, and the confused three swell system
has disappeared leaving us with a small swell from the same direction as
the wind.
The second fish of the trip was landed this afternoon, another aku.
Didn't much feel like aku for dinner so we let it go. This one was caught
on a lure that Randy Reed gave us. So far the Morelli and Reed lures are
tied on productivity.
We landed a nice sized black ulua as we were entering Suwarrow's pass 28
years ago on Eleu. After we were safely on the hook in the lee of
Anchorage Island, I finally got around to cleaning the fish. I did it in
the cockpit, and after I was finished I threw the carcass over the side.
It hit the water, and then within ten seconds there was a huge commotion
next to the boat. We looked over, startled, to see three four foot black
tipped sharks fighting over the ulua's remains! The sharks must have been
attracted by the blood that drained through the cockpit scuppers as I
cleaned the fish, and were just waiting under the boat for something to
eat.
Note to self: Be careful about swimming in the Suwarrow lagoon….
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
13 May - Manahiki and Rakahanga
0600 position 9-53S 161-20W. Day's run 163 miles
Two atolls twenty miles apart, Manahiki and Rakahanga, lie just to the
East of the rhumb line between Christmas Island and Suwarrow. When I was
setting our course out of Christmas I thought it would be a good idea to
sail between Manahiki and Rakahanga and have a look as we passed by. So
that's where we've been heading for the past four days, but this morning
the wind and sea really came up and it became quite uncomfortable and wet
aboard our little ship. Even with a double reefed main and triple reefed
jib she was on her ear, rounding up in the confused sea, occasionally
pounding, and shipping a lot of water. The direct course to Suwarrow was
ten degrees further to the West, ten degrees further off the wind, so we
gave up on the Manahiki fly by idea and altered course for Suwarrow. What
a difference ten degrees made. Sailing was pleasant again, the decks were
a lot drier, and we weren't pounding or tipping.
The squalls stopped just before noon giving us a nice break, but they
started appearing again twelve hours later. I hate squalls. We quickly
roll up a bunch of jib as the squall hits and the wind increases, hoping
we don't have too much mainsail up for the autopilot to handle in the
heaviest puffs. The squalls usually last for about ten minutes with heavy
rain accompanying the increase in wind. So far, so good, but there have
been some nervous moments because we never know with certainty just how
much wind a squall is going to give us.
Two weeks ago at the beginning of our voyage the night watches were in
nearly total darkness. There was no moon and the only light came from
the stars, when the clouds weren't hiding them, and the phosphorescence
lighting our wake. The Milky Way was spectacular, and when I came on
watch at midnight it was directly overhead and aligned North-South, almost
like street lights showing us where to go. It was headlamps and flash
lights to trim the sails and organize lines in the cockpit. The moon has
slowly completed half of its monthly cycle since then and is now nearly
full. The difference is striking. We can see and trim the sails by
moonlight, and only the brightest stars and planets are visible. I know
the phosphorescence is still there in our wake, but I can't see it in the
bright moonlight.
Two atolls twenty miles apart, Manahiki and Rakahanga, lie just to the
East of the rhumb line between Christmas Island and Suwarrow. When I was
setting our course out of Christmas I thought it would be a good idea to
sail between Manahiki and Rakahanga and have a look as we passed by. So
that's where we've been heading for the past four days, but this morning
the wind and sea really came up and it became quite uncomfortable and wet
aboard our little ship. Even with a double reefed main and triple reefed
jib she was on her ear, rounding up in the confused sea, occasionally
pounding, and shipping a lot of water. The direct course to Suwarrow was
ten degrees further to the West, ten degrees further off the wind, so we
gave up on the Manahiki fly by idea and altered course for Suwarrow. What
a difference ten degrees made. Sailing was pleasant again, the decks were
a lot drier, and we weren't pounding or tipping.
The squalls stopped just before noon giving us a nice break, but they
started appearing again twelve hours later. I hate squalls. We quickly
roll up a bunch of jib as the squall hits and the wind increases, hoping
we don't have too much mainsail up for the autopilot to handle in the
heaviest puffs. The squalls usually last for about ten minutes with heavy
rain accompanying the increase in wind. So far, so good, but there have
been some nervous moments because we never know with certainty just how
much wind a squall is going to give us.
Two weeks ago at the beginning of our voyage the night watches were in
nearly total darkness. There was no moon and the only light came from
the stars, when the clouds weren't hiding them, and the phosphorescence
lighting our wake. The Milky Way was spectacular, and when I came on
watch at midnight it was directly overhead and aligned North-South, almost
like street lights showing us where to go. It was headlamps and flash
lights to trim the sails and organize lines in the cockpit. The moon has
slowly completed half of its monthly cycle since then and is now nearly
full. The difference is striking. We can see and trim the sails by
moonlight, and only the brightest stars and planets are visible. I know
the phosphorescence is still there in our wake, but I can't see it in the
bright moonlight.
Monday, May 12, 2014
Moku pe'a Report
0600 position 7-27S 160-05W. Day's run 167 miles
At 0800 a huge line squall stretching from horizon to horizon marched in
from the East. The wind increased to 25 knots, and Moku pe'a got a much
needed fresh water rinse. Unfortunately, that squall brought the end to
the good times. Since it passed the seas have become confused with swells
from the North, South, and East. The South swell is making the boat ride
like a bronco as she charges into them. We've seen more squalls with the
wind increasing in them as they pass. The wind also swings forward and
aft about 15 degrees, but is generally just aft of the beam, a good
direction for speed. We had one reef in the main, but all day long I'd
been considering the second reef. We were right on the edge of needing
it, but you don't want to rush into anything. As a result we had plenty
of power and plenty of speed all day and most of the night and covered a
lot of miles. However, at 0300 a big black squall nailed us and made the
reefing decision easy, and we've had two reefs in ever since.
Our destination on this leg of the trip, Suwarrow, is a magical place. It
is an atoll seven miles across with about a dozen motus on the fringing
reef. The largest motu, Anchorage Island, was the home of hermit Tom
Neale, who lived alone on the island for a number of years in the 1950s
and 60s and wrote the book "An Island to Oneself" about his adventures
there. Suwarrow is also written about extensively in the book "Isle of
Desire" written by Robert Dean Frisbee, a famous South Seas author. Rocky
is reading, and I am re-reading both of these books before we arrive.
Anchorage Island is about the same size as Coconut Island in Kaneohe Bay,
½ mile long by 300 yards wide. The island lies adjacent to the pass
through the reef on the Eastern side of the atoll. Yachts find protection
from the trade winds anchored in its lee and there is a beautiful white
sand beach with overhanging coconut trees on that side of the island.
The only visitors for many years after Tom Neale departed were yachts, all
of which had read his book. Tom's house was treated as a shrine, and
yachtsmen maintained the structure and kept the yard and path to the beach
cleared. There was even a life sized concrete bust of Tom installed along
the path to his house with the words "Tom Neale lived his dream on this
island" inscribed. This is how Alison and I found Anchorage Island when
we arrived there twenty eight years ago on our Ranger 33 Eleu. There was
no other human within 200 miles, and we had the island to ourselves for
two weeks. Magical.
Tom's bedroom had been maintained the way it was the day he left, with the
bed neatly made and his machete with "Neale" carved in the handle hanging
on the wall. Chicken skin stuff. Another room had been converted into a
library/book exchange for the visiting yachts. In those days before
laptop computers, DVDs, and Kindles, hard copy books were one of the few
sources of entertainment and cruisers were always anxious to swap for new
ones.
Alas, nothing lasts forever. The Cook Islands government decided that
they needed an official presence on Suwarrow since so many yachts were
visiting, and in recent years I have read that they have a couple of
officials stationed on the island during the cruising season. I don't
know what we will find when Rocky and I arrive, but I still expect magic.
At 0800 a huge line squall stretching from horizon to horizon marched in
from the East. The wind increased to 25 knots, and Moku pe'a got a much
needed fresh water rinse. Unfortunately, that squall brought the end to
the good times. Since it passed the seas have become confused with swells
from the North, South, and East. The South swell is making the boat ride
like a bronco as she charges into them. We've seen more squalls with the
wind increasing in them as they pass. The wind also swings forward and
aft about 15 degrees, but is generally just aft of the beam, a good
direction for speed. We had one reef in the main, but all day long I'd
been considering the second reef. We were right on the edge of needing
it, but you don't want to rush into anything. As a result we had plenty
of power and plenty of speed all day and most of the night and covered a
lot of miles. However, at 0300 a big black squall nailed us and made the
reefing decision easy, and we've had two reefs in ever since.
Our destination on this leg of the trip, Suwarrow, is a magical place. It
is an atoll seven miles across with about a dozen motus on the fringing
reef. The largest motu, Anchorage Island, was the home of hermit Tom
Neale, who lived alone on the island for a number of years in the 1950s
and 60s and wrote the book "An Island to Oneself" about his adventures
there. Suwarrow is also written about extensively in the book "Isle of
Desire" written by Robert Dean Frisbee, a famous South Seas author. Rocky
is reading, and I am re-reading both of these books before we arrive.
Anchorage Island is about the same size as Coconut Island in Kaneohe Bay,
½ mile long by 300 yards wide. The island lies adjacent to the pass
through the reef on the Eastern side of the atoll. Yachts find protection
from the trade winds anchored in its lee and there is a beautiful white
sand beach with overhanging coconut trees on that side of the island.
The only visitors for many years after Tom Neale departed were yachts, all
of which had read his book. Tom's house was treated as a shrine, and
yachtsmen maintained the structure and kept the yard and path to the beach
cleared. There was even a life sized concrete bust of Tom installed along
the path to his house with the words "Tom Neale lived his dream on this
island" inscribed. This is how Alison and I found Anchorage Island when
we arrived there twenty eight years ago on our Ranger 33 Eleu. There was
no other human within 200 miles, and we had the island to ourselves for
two weeks. Magical.
Tom's bedroom had been maintained the way it was the day he left, with the
bed neatly made and his machete with "Neale" carved in the handle hanging
on the wall. Chicken skin stuff. Another room had been converted into a
library/book exchange for the visiting yachts. In those days before
laptop computers, DVDs, and Kindles, hard copy books were one of the few
sources of entertainment and cruisers were always anxious to swap for new
ones.
Alas, nothing lasts forever. The Cook Islands government decided that
they needed an official presence on Suwarrow since so many yachts were
visiting, and in recent years I have read that they have a couple of
officials stationed on the island during the cruising season. I don't
know what we will find when Rocky and I arrive, but I still expect magic.
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Moku pe'a Report
0600 position 4-46S 159-20W. Day's run 149 miles
We reached the halfway point on our voyage to Vava'u, Tonga at 1045 this
morning. It's all downhill from here! Winds in the South Pacific have
been steadier in strength and direction than the North Pacific, and no
squalls so far. Sometimes a whole six hour watch goes by without an
adjustment to sail trim or heading. We just keep zipping along steadily
at six knots with full or single reefed main and jib. Wind is from the
East and creeps up to 15 or down to 6 but usually it is right in the
middle. We could probably get another knot of speed if we pushed, but
then the boat would be tipping, and the autopilot would have to work
harder, and it would be wetter on deck, and we'd have to pay closer
attention to things. We are in cruise mode and are quite happy here.
I am amazed at the efficiency, reliability, and quietness of the SeaFrost
refrigeration unit I installed last year. It uses the same amount of
electricity as a small incandescent light bulb, makes ice, and keeps
everything else cold. I also installed solar panels to supplement the
wind generator when I put the refrigeration system in the boat thinking
I'd need the extra juice, but now I think the panels were unnecessary. As
good as the refrigeration system is, it still needs to be defrosted once
in a while, so I did the defrost at 0300 this morning and did a general
clean up of stuff in there. I threw out the last of the spinach and
cucumbers as they were too far gone. Interesting that the English
Cucumbers we took to Tahiti unrefrigerated three years ago lasted longer
than the refrigerated ones this time. Apples and oranges have been very
popular and we are just about out of them. We are both pretty much
foraging for breakfast and lunch and only do a real dinner every other
night or so. Not much exercise so not much hunger. And it is hot which
doesn't help the appetite. We were hoping for fish tonight though. Had
two strikes today but no hook up. That's three in a row; unusual. So the
fish line came in at 1700 and I made a spaghetti dinner instead.
I love my midnight to 0600 watch. It is my busy watch. It starts with
some pleasant banter with Rocky as he heads off to bed, "See any ships?
Anything interesting happen? How's the book you are reading?" We'll
discuss progress made and trends in wind speed and direction. One of us
will usually tell a quick story that gets a laugh from the other. Then I'm
on my own, and I check the horizon and take a look at sail trim and how
things are set up on deck. I'll eyeball our track on the computer and
try to figure out what kind of mileage we are looking at for day. All that
can consume close to an hour. Then it's time for my daily cup of coffee.
I take my cup and a piece of chocolate and sit in the cockpit for another
hour or so enjoying the quiet, the stars, and phosphorescence in our wake.
As I'm sitting there I try to figure out what I'm going to write about
for the day's blog post. I'll put in ten minute sessions on the computer
periodically for the rest of the watch, composing the blog, responding to
Lori's last email, checking our track, or strategizing on the optimal
course and weather ahead. At least once every ten minutes I'll pop up and
scan the horizon and look for squalls or anything else that might affect
us. I check sail trim if something feels different or if I haven't
checked in a while. If I run out of things to do I'll make an attempt at
solving a Sudoku or read my book, but usually I'm too busy.
We reached the halfway point on our voyage to Vava'u, Tonga at 1045 this
morning. It's all downhill from here! Winds in the South Pacific have
been steadier in strength and direction than the North Pacific, and no
squalls so far. Sometimes a whole six hour watch goes by without an
adjustment to sail trim or heading. We just keep zipping along steadily
at six knots with full or single reefed main and jib. Wind is from the
East and creeps up to 15 or down to 6 but usually it is right in the
middle. We could probably get another knot of speed if we pushed, but
then the boat would be tipping, and the autopilot would have to work
harder, and it would be wetter on deck, and we'd have to pay closer
attention to things. We are in cruise mode and are quite happy here.
I am amazed at the efficiency, reliability, and quietness of the SeaFrost
refrigeration unit I installed last year. It uses the same amount of
electricity as a small incandescent light bulb, makes ice, and keeps
everything else cold. I also installed solar panels to supplement the
wind generator when I put the refrigeration system in the boat thinking
I'd need the extra juice, but now I think the panels were unnecessary. As
good as the refrigeration system is, it still needs to be defrosted once
in a while, so I did the defrost at 0300 this morning and did a general
clean up of stuff in there. I threw out the last of the spinach and
cucumbers as they were too far gone. Interesting that the English
Cucumbers we took to Tahiti unrefrigerated three years ago lasted longer
than the refrigerated ones this time. Apples and oranges have been very
popular and we are just about out of them. We are both pretty much
foraging for breakfast and lunch and only do a real dinner every other
night or so. Not much exercise so not much hunger. And it is hot which
doesn't help the appetite. We were hoping for fish tonight though. Had
two strikes today but no hook up. That's three in a row; unusual. So the
fish line came in at 1700 and I made a spaghetti dinner instead.
I love my midnight to 0600 watch. It is my busy watch. It starts with
some pleasant banter with Rocky as he heads off to bed, "See any ships?
Anything interesting happen? How's the book you are reading?" We'll
discuss progress made and trends in wind speed and direction. One of us
will usually tell a quick story that gets a laugh from the other. Then I'm
on my own, and I check the horizon and take a look at sail trim and how
things are set up on deck. I'll eyeball our track on the computer and
try to figure out what kind of mileage we are looking at for day. All that
can consume close to an hour. Then it's time for my daily cup of coffee.
I take my cup and a piece of chocolate and sit in the cockpit for another
hour or so enjoying the quiet, the stars, and phosphorescence in our wake.
As I'm sitting there I try to figure out what I'm going to write about
for the day's blog post. I'll put in ten minute sessions on the computer
periodically for the rest of the watch, composing the blog, responding to
Lori's last email, checking our track, or strategizing on the optimal
course and weather ahead. At least once every ten minutes I'll pop up and
scan the horizon and look for squalls or anything else that might affect
us. I check sail trim if something feels different or if I haven't
checked in a while. If I run out of things to do I'll make an attempt at
solving a Sudoku or read my book, but usually I'm too busy.
Saturday, May 10, 2014
Moku pe'a Report
0600 position 2-22S 158-42W. Day's run 149 miles
At 0600 yesterday morning King Neptune came alongside riding on the back
of a dolphin. "What? Moku pe'a again? Can't you guys just pick a
hemisphere and stay there?" yelled His Royal Highness. And "What are you
doing showing up at this ungodly hour? I haven't had my coffee yet!"
"Sorry Your Majesty", I called back. "We live up North, but like to visit
your islands to the South. We beg your pardon for the intrusion into your
realm. There's also some confusion here time-wise. We're not even sure
what day it is anymore."
"That's OK", the Sea King barked, "The Moku pe'a is a fine ship and she is
welcome here, but you keep bringing these damn pollywogs along, and they
are seriously messing with my vibe! By the way, it's Friday."
"A thousand pardons, my King", I replied. "Some aboard may not have
crossed the equator before, but only the finest seaman and shipmates sail
on this vessel and they are worthy souls."
"Hah! We'll see about that", exclaimed the Sovereign of the Seas as he
deftly leapt aboard. "Bring me the lowly scum!"
Rocky, to his credit, was not the least bit intimidated by the crusty old
bastard who had just come aboard, and he called out, "It is I that you
seek."
"I know that! I know everything! I'm King of the bloody sea, but what I
want to know is why I should allow a guy named 'Rocky' unfettered access
to my Kingdom? What kind of a name is 'Rocky' anyway? Do you see any
rocks out here?"
"Rocky is my nickname," he replied with confidence, "and it is a name of
strength. Rocks are hard, sailors fear them, and who doesn't like their
cocktails 'on the rocks'?"
"Well I suppose so" said the Oracle of the Oceans, his demeanor softening.
"If Noodle will vouch for you then I suppose you are OK. Let it be known
to all that Rocky Young is now a shellback and all in my realm shall
welcome him! Let this certificate be evidence of this fact", and he
handed Rocky a document attesting to his new status.
With business concluded, the Master of the Maritime, mumbling something
about needing to hurry so he wouldn't miss a rerun of Gilligan's Island,
leapt back aboard his dolphin and disappeared below the waves.
"Golly Rocky", I exclaimed, "You got off easy. He didn't throw food on
you or anything. Maybe it's all the recent litigation on hazing. Do you
suppose they have lawyers out here?"
"Could be", said a visibly pleased Rocky because he hadn't been abused at
all by the Deity of the Depths. I could see he was thinking about where
to hang the certificate on his 'I love me' wall at home and he added
"Since it IS Friday again, I think I'll just take the day off."
"Wow," I thought to myself, "Rocky sure is going native…"
About 0900 Rocky was on watch (he decided not to take the day off) and a
school of dolphin spent about fifteen minutes entertaining him.
Coincidence?
Later in the day when the sun was over the yard arm, Rocky and I broke out
the equator celebration goodies that our neighbor Hiromi had given us. We
toasted King Neptune, our lovely wives, the Mighty Moku pe'a, and spilled
a drop into the sea in honour of my hero, mentor, shipmate and father, Bob
Leary, and Fred Grantham, Hiromi's husband.
At 0600 yesterday morning King Neptune came alongside riding on the back
of a dolphin. "What? Moku pe'a again? Can't you guys just pick a
hemisphere and stay there?" yelled His Royal Highness. And "What are you
doing showing up at this ungodly hour? I haven't had my coffee yet!"
"Sorry Your Majesty", I called back. "We live up North, but like to visit
your islands to the South. We beg your pardon for the intrusion into your
realm. There's also some confusion here time-wise. We're not even sure
what day it is anymore."
"That's OK", the Sea King barked, "The Moku pe'a is a fine ship and she is
welcome here, but you keep bringing these damn pollywogs along, and they
are seriously messing with my vibe! By the way, it's Friday."
"A thousand pardons, my King", I replied. "Some aboard may not have
crossed the equator before, but only the finest seaman and shipmates sail
on this vessel and they are worthy souls."
"Hah! We'll see about that", exclaimed the Sovereign of the Seas as he
deftly leapt aboard. "Bring me the lowly scum!"
Rocky, to his credit, was not the least bit intimidated by the crusty old
bastard who had just come aboard, and he called out, "It is I that you
seek."
"I know that! I know everything! I'm King of the bloody sea, but what I
want to know is why I should allow a guy named 'Rocky' unfettered access
to my Kingdom? What kind of a name is 'Rocky' anyway? Do you see any
rocks out here?"
"Rocky is my nickname," he replied with confidence, "and it is a name of
strength. Rocks are hard, sailors fear them, and who doesn't like their
cocktails 'on the rocks'?"
"Well I suppose so" said the Oracle of the Oceans, his demeanor softening.
"If Noodle will vouch for you then I suppose you are OK. Let it be known
to all that Rocky Young is now a shellback and all in my realm shall
welcome him! Let this certificate be evidence of this fact", and he
handed Rocky a document attesting to his new status.
With business concluded, the Master of the Maritime, mumbling something
about needing to hurry so he wouldn't miss a rerun of Gilligan's Island,
leapt back aboard his dolphin and disappeared below the waves.
"Golly Rocky", I exclaimed, "You got off easy. He didn't throw food on
you or anything. Maybe it's all the recent litigation on hazing. Do you
suppose they have lawyers out here?"
"Could be", said a visibly pleased Rocky because he hadn't been abused at
all by the Deity of the Depths. I could see he was thinking about where
to hang the certificate on his 'I love me' wall at home and he added
"Since it IS Friday again, I think I'll just take the day off."
"Wow," I thought to myself, "Rocky sure is going native…"
About 0900 Rocky was on watch (he decided not to take the day off) and a
school of dolphin spent about fifteen minutes entertaining him.
Coincidence?
Later in the day when the sun was over the yard arm, Rocky and I broke out
the equator celebration goodies that our neighbor Hiromi had given us. We
toasted King Neptune, our lovely wives, the Mighty Moku pe'a, and spilled
a drop into the sea in honour of my hero, mentor, shipmate and father, Bob
Leary, and Fred Grantham, Hiromi's husband.
Friday, May 9, 2014
Moku pe'a Report
0600 position 0-00S 158-00W, 124 miles from Christmas Island
Rocky had hoped to find a hotel lounge type bar in London, a posh air
conditioned place with an entertaining bartender and Billy Joel clone
playing piano in the corner. When that didn't pan out, he searched high
and low, but there was nary a lemon or lime to be found in London town.
Depressed that his planned cocktail hour would now be both relegated to
the boat and lacking a vital ingredient to make it a success, he was
rummaging through the liquor locker and stumbled upon the booze lei that
Lori gave us as departure gifts. In them he found two mini bottles of
limon rum and two cans of tonic. Limon rum tonics were produced to
enhance the sunset watching, and they were good., and we didn't even miss
the limes, and Lori saved the day..
Rocky and I were anxious to be on our way, so after a great breakfast of
scrambled eggs and hot dogs, that Rocky had purchased in London the day
before, we launched the dinghy and headed in to shore to officially check
out of the country at 0800. There was only one minor problem, none of the
three full time customs officers was in the office at 0830 when I finished
with the Prell/Immigration lady. Were there any planes or ships arriving
or departing today? No. "Well, it IS Friday…", she offered as
justification. After watching me wait for an hour, the tax lady in the
next office drove to the closest customs officer's home and retrieved him
to check us out. This was probably a pretty good shakedown for what we
will experience in the Cook Islands and Tonga, also third world countries,
so I need to get comfortable with it. As Lori likes remind me when I
start to get worked up over things like this, "Remember, this is not your
country and you are a guest. They do things differently than we do in the
US." True. True. When I returned to the dinghy after being gone for
almost two hours Rocky just laughed and said, "I figured somebody you
needed to see wasn't there."
Just to further cement Christmas Island's third world status, sailors
should note that all charts of the island are out of position by
approximately ½ mile. Our GPS chart plotter had us anchored in the middle
of downtown London.
At 1030 the anchor was up and we had a delightful sail along the eight
mile long western edge of the atoll and into the open ocean. The forecast
showed easterly winds from eight to fourteen knots all the way to
Suwarrow. That's pleasant sailing with the wind just aft of the beam, and
so far that is what we have seen.
I hadn't even finished putting out a hand line just after setting sail
when a fish hit threatening to pull it out of my hand. No hook up though.
I'm not sure how things would have turned out if we had hooked up.
Unfortunately, we've seen no action at the lures since then other than a
few diving birds.
We just crossed the equator a couple of minutes ago. The damn thing got
caught on the keel as we sailed over it, but we managed to quickly free
ourselves without slowing down. I can see King Neptune approaching the
boat now, and he doesn't look happy…
Rocky had hoped to find a hotel lounge type bar in London, a posh air
conditioned place with an entertaining bartender and Billy Joel clone
playing piano in the corner. When that didn't pan out, he searched high
and low, but there was nary a lemon or lime to be found in London town.
Depressed that his planned cocktail hour would now be both relegated to
the boat and lacking a vital ingredient to make it a success, he was
rummaging through the liquor locker and stumbled upon the booze lei that
Lori gave us as departure gifts. In them he found two mini bottles of
limon rum and two cans of tonic. Limon rum tonics were produced to
enhance the sunset watching, and they were good., and we didn't even miss
the limes, and Lori saved the day..
Rocky and I were anxious to be on our way, so after a great breakfast of
scrambled eggs and hot dogs, that Rocky had purchased in London the day
before, we launched the dinghy and headed in to shore to officially check
out of the country at 0800. There was only one minor problem, none of the
three full time customs officers was in the office at 0830 when I finished
with the Prell/Immigration lady. Were there any planes or ships arriving
or departing today? No. "Well, it IS Friday…", she offered as
justification. After watching me wait for an hour, the tax lady in the
next office drove to the closest customs officer's home and retrieved him
to check us out. This was probably a pretty good shakedown for what we
will experience in the Cook Islands and Tonga, also third world countries,
so I need to get comfortable with it. As Lori likes remind me when I
start to get worked up over things like this, "Remember, this is not your
country and you are a guest. They do things differently than we do in the
US." True. True. When I returned to the dinghy after being gone for
almost two hours Rocky just laughed and said, "I figured somebody you
needed to see wasn't there."
Just to further cement Christmas Island's third world status, sailors
should note that all charts of the island are out of position by
approximately ½ mile. Our GPS chart plotter had us anchored in the middle
of downtown London.
At 1030 the anchor was up and we had a delightful sail along the eight
mile long western edge of the atoll and into the open ocean. The forecast
showed easterly winds from eight to fourteen knots all the way to
Suwarrow. That's pleasant sailing with the wind just aft of the beam, and
so far that is what we have seen.
I hadn't even finished putting out a hand line just after setting sail
when a fish hit threatening to pull it out of my hand. No hook up though.
I'm not sure how things would have turned out if we had hooked up.
Unfortunately, we've seen no action at the lures since then other than a
few diving birds.
We just crossed the equator a couple of minutes ago. The damn thing got
caught on the keel as we sailed over it, but we managed to quickly free
ourselves without slowing down. I can see King Neptune approaching the
boat now, and he doesn't look happy…
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