Fish on! and other good news

Sunday October 30, 2011
position: 15 degrees 17 minutes north, 154 degrees 40 minutes west

It seems that our luck has changed aboard ship. After a few unsuccessful fishing days, yesterday Tim got up and snuck out the fishing lure while i was down below for my morning nap (after my 3am to 6am watch). About 8am, just as I was hitting deep sleep, I heard the whining of the fishing line going out. I think, hmm, that must be tim putting out the fishing line. But wait, I think, I also hear Tim letting out the mainsail and reeling in the jib??? Oh my! That must be a real fish on the fishing line!!! I jump out of my bunk and hurtle out into the cockpit and grab the fishing rod and start trying to reel in the fish. I fight the fish for a while - it seems like an hour, my muscles are getting spazzy (it was probably 10 minutes or so?). Tim's not sure what kind of fish it could be - maybe tuna, but it's fighting harder than tuna usually do - this fish kept making a run for it every few minutes.

At one point the pole holder twists and i almost lose the pole -- I'm so tired Tim has to help me to get the rod out of the rod holder and into the fighting belt. Then i am too weak and shaky and Tim has to finish reeling him in... and we finally catch a glimpse of the HUGE mahi mahi that we've hooked. It is such a beautiful fish. Tim thinks it was a 30+ pounder. All I know is I could barely hold the thing up for the picture, that's how heavy it was. it was easily 4 feet long. So, we've been dining well for the past 24 hours! And should have some left to share with our friends when we arrive the big island!

And the other good news - I am back on my computer -- it did just need to dry out! Not sure yet if there is any damage, but was able to get on and everything seems in order, and i've backed up everything again. Phew.

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halfway there - resend

position on Saturday oct 29 at noon (hawaii time): 12 degrees 58 minutes north, 153 degrees 55 minutes west
sent the below message yesterday, but had wrong address, so here goes again!
*****
position: 10 degrees 16 minutes north, 153 degrees, 18 minutes west
5 days out of Fanning Island, about 500 miles to go to the Big Island of Hawaii

Things can get rough on the ocean, when you least expect it. We learned that the hard way yesterday, when we had the computer out on the nav table. I had written a blog message, Tim had read it over and written a few emails, and he got up to go the the head while i was getting ready to come in from deck and send out the messages. All of the sudden we hear a boom and a big splash noise. We had forgotten to close the hatch when we got out the computer...it was a beautiful calm afternoon, and no waves had come over the cabintop for hours, and it's really hot inside the cabin without the hatch open. And we paid the price. The ceiling hatch was only open a crack, but somehow gallons of water came in and soaked our bed/settee, and splashed the computer, frying it. As of now, it's still not working. Argh. Luckily we have this old backup computer that has been Tim's. I'm pretty good about backing things up, but i'm not sure if all the pictures i took on fanning made it onto my backup drive... I sure hope so! Maybe the computer just needs a day or so to *dry out* - we've seen that with cell phones that took a dunking!

Otherwise all is going well, we've made good progress and had good winds with the exception of one very light wind night where we motor-sailed for 8 hours. Wednesday was a busy day - i was on watch at dawn when a great big pod of dolphins (i would guess there could've been 50+ really little cute ones) joined us for about an hour jumping and leaping out of the water, and playing in our bow wake. They amaze me how they are able to simultaneously surface, 4-5 in a row next to each other. Quite the synchronized swimmers! Today we were joined again at dawn by a much smaller group (maybe 10-20 dolphins). They seem like they are less than 5 feet long, super cute. We had some calm enough weather where Tim was able to get the big jib winch taken apart and fixed, and he removed the bathroom hatch and re-caulked it to stop the leaking up there. Luckily he finished that job and got the dinghy repositioned over the hatch just before a big squall hit - it rained for over an hour that afternoon. I of course was battling seasickness still and not much use for any chores - finally feeling better as of yesterday though!

Yesterday evening, besides frying the computer, we lost our staysail shroud. The fitting where it attaches to the deck broke, so we won't be able to use our hank on staysail -- which is a real bummer since we're now trying to head as close as possible into the Northeast trade winds where it would be really useful.

So, it's been an eventful first half of the trip. The blog message that got lost on the other computer told the story of the *breakers* we identified on the chart and were concerned about avoiding... we made it through that area and didn't see anything, but it was a bit disconcerting for a while there.

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Off to Hawaii

Position: 5 degrees 03 minutes north, 157 degrees 16 minutes west
A bit under 800 miles to go to Hawaii (not counting our eastward jog)

Just a quick note that we said our final goodbye/see you later to the folks in Fanning and sailed out yesterday morning about 10 AM. Timed it on a slack tide to get out of the lagoon through the narrow channel (a bit nervewracking). All went well, and the winds have been southeast - perfect for our sail back to Hawaii. But i've been seasick so far, and it's rough being back on the ocean. There are some bigger swells and we're heeled over quite a bit making everything challenging. One day out and Tim's already been mr. fixit -- our starboard jib winch is not working right, but luckily, we should be on the other tack the whole way, so won't need it! And our bathroom hatch is leaking -- with all the waves over the bow it was pretty wet until Tim made some temporary repairs.

I'm checking in on the pacific seafarer's net, so our position should be posted daily on their website. We're heading for Honokahau Harbor on the Big Island and hoping to get a slip there. If all goes well we should be about 8 more days to get there.

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Final week(s) on Fanning

Position: anchored at Fanning Island

Almost a month since my last posting? That doesn't seem right, but we have been here at Fanning Island for almost two months now. Since the last posting we have mostly been the only boat here - the other yacht left. But we have had visits from the local supply ship, a 100-year old whaling ship from Norway, the Haganes, and the Holland America cruise ship the Westerdam. It's good to have some diversions, especially when the surf is flat! The local supply ship came, but didn't bring nearly enough supplies. No fuel, no flour, not nearly enough rice or sugar. Another private ship (the Kwai - which is also a sail training vessel apparently, with an international crew, based in Hawaii), is supposed to get here in a few days, but also was unable to fit all of the supplies that were ordered by the islanders here - less than half the rice ordered is going to be delivered. But this ship will bring us gas & eggs, which have been in short supply on Midnight Blue for awhile, and many other specially ordered items for the islanders. While there are tons of chickens running around the island, no one seems to keep them for eggs… So my baking has been suffering. I did give some *cookie baking* lessons (requested after people tasted my cookies!) but tried making them without eggs, substituting oil instead. They turned out way too crumbly! And we were baking in the local oven over a fire, so the first batch was a bit burnt and the later batches took forever and all tasted smoky. A week later I repeated the *lesson* for some other folks and we used a propane grill to bake on - this worked a bit better, plus I used the last of my eggs since these cookies were in part for Tim's birthday!

We had a great birthday celebration for Tim at our friend Bruno's house - even spent the night onshore so we could hang out and watch the fullish moon without fear of crossing the channel at night. Tim made everyone pizza and I made him a vegan chocolate cake. Our friend Tyrone surprised Tim with gifts of a local canoe replica and knife, beautifully detailed & made from local materials, including the twine which is made from coconut fiber.

This week the cruise ship visited, it was a sight to see. Apparently, they do not even anchor offshore - it is too deep for them to anchor, so they just heave to and hang out for the day. Tons of people came ashore - the ship carries 1,900 people and the small boats were going back and forth all day. After the first few hours there was a line stretching for several *blocks* to get back on the cruise ship! Weird to be surrounded by white people after being the only whites on the island for so long. White people are call 'te maton' in Kiribati - I'll be walking down the street and kids all call 'te maton, te maton'. Apparently it is just out of excitement, not derogatory - the word really means 'white person who came by boat from the sea'. For the cruise ship visit, there were several *choir* groups set up singing, and folks dressed in traditional outfits charging for pictures, tours of the island by truck, and lots of crafts stands, mostly selling the same items - the local knives, carvings, and shell jewelry. We hung out a bit by the dock and got to meet many folks - they are on a cruise that started in Seattle, went up to Vancouver, than down to San Diego, Hawaii, and here and will continue on through the South Pacific - 35 days in all. So, it was mainly retired folks on this cruise!

Well, it's time for us to start getting ready to head out. We've decided to head back to Hawaii for the winter - not sure which island(s) we'll end up at - it'll depend on dock slip availability. It's going to be hurricane season in the South Pacific, so we don't want to go further south, and we don't want to spend the next six months in the more remote areas nearer the equator where we might be safe from storms… We'll be in Hawaii until the spring, and then we'll have to decide - back to Mexico or head for the South Pacific, or elsewhere?

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Amazing generosity

Position: anchored at Fanning Island

Time flies when you're having fun. That's how we're feeling, although we have also managed to do a few boat projects (true to the old saying that cruising is just doing maintenance in exotic places)! Tim got to surf a good swell last weekend, but this week was pretty slow for waves otherwise - just as well since Tim had a few cuts and needed to stay out of the water to let them heal. So we went fishing one day casting from shore Tim caught a beautiful jack crevalle which made great fish tacos and red curry. Other days we've gone in the dinghy, one day bonefishing in the lagoon, another day we went out the cut and around the island aways and fished for tuna - no luck but one did jump right near us. I'll have to post a picture - the yellowfin tuna they catch here are beautiful. The fishermen here catch these big tunas on their handlines (no rod and reel, just lines wrapped around a buoy, pulled in by hand), from their small canoes. It's amazing to us how they do it.

Unfortunately, they occasionally hook one that is too big and it drags them offshore. That happened last week to two fishermen who were apparently in a pretty old leaky canoe made for one person. Just before dark they were seen to be getting dragged offshore, and other fisherman told them to cut their line so as not to get caught in the riptide further offshore. The next day we heard they were lost, and then the day after that, we heard that the US Coast Guard was searching for them. Three days after they went missing a Coast Guard plane out of Honolulu went over the island and we got in contact with them on the VHF. They were on their second day of searching and ended up searching a third day as well. We helped relay local info, as the VHF radio onshore was not hearing the Coast Guard folks. Sadly, the searchers had no luck. It has been a bit scary to see how unprepared the island is for emergencies of this type. We heard a rumor that some folks went out in an aluminum skiff that night to search in the dark, and heard whistles, but got spooked and thought it was spirits so came back in. Granted, it was a particularly windy night, and I wouldn't have wanted to be out there in a small boat.

We are continually amazed by how giving and generous everyone here is. The other evening, while cleaning our dinghy onshore we met a man who was born here in 1959. He was very pleasant and offered to bring us some fish when his son got back from fishing (he had heard from the other fishermen that his son had caught fish). We said we would be interested in tuna if they had enough extra… So just after dark, we hear a voice outside the boat, and it is this man, delivering us about a pound of fresh tuna, and a beautiful large papaya. Earlier that day, the other cruisers in the anchorage, Claudia and Gunter, had baked and brought us a loaf of fresh bread! Not to mention the beautiful jewelry Claudia has made for me… Several days earlier, a friend from shore came out to the boat bearing gifts of lettuce and tomatoes from their new garden. It's overwhelming some days. I've become friends with one of the teachers here, Maria, and she has been making us all sorts of cultural gifts - shell necklaces, a purse woven from the pandanus leaves, a beautiful blouse in the Kiribati style, a pandanus hat for Tim, and traditional knives incorporating shark teeth and other fish bones. We try to give back with the stuff we brought, but wish we had more food to give… The island is now practically bare of rice, flour and sugar. Luckily, there are still plenty of fish, the taro, breadfruit, papaya, squash and sometimes bananas. Not to mention endless coconuts. Everyone is waiting for the cargo ship to arrive. One ship from Hawaii should come at the end of the month, but apparently will have a lot less supplies for Fanning that they need. The other local Kiribati ship should also be coming sometime in the next month, but no one know what supplies they will have when they get here. The problem is that the ships go to Christmas Island first, and there is not enough room for cargo for Fanning Island, or in the case of the local ship, everything gets sold on Christmas Island!

My friend Maria has also been taking me on tours of the island - one day to see the taro fields in the middle of the island, and the other day, biking several miles out to the farthest village to visit the primary school and meet the head teacher, Ntia (pronounced Nisa) who was very funny. It's been great to get around and see more of the island - it's too easy to hang out and stay on the boat and read and relax. We do plenty of that!

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Getting to know Fanning Island

Position: anchored at Fanning Island

After about 10 days here on Fanning, we've gotten into the swing of things -- -lots of relaxing and reading and playing games in the late afternoons. At the beginning of the week, there were some waves, so we got to surf. The first day, it looked way too intimidating for me, so Tim went out on his own. After about two hours of great surf, he was joined by a local surfer (we think maybe the only local surfer here with a board), and he surfed for at least another hour - the waves were great and glassy. It is a high tide break, so you pretty much get one good session a day. The next day it was smaller so I decided to paddle out on my boogie board, and stayed way way off on the shoulder where the waves don't break. It was also pretty close to the cut, so the current kept pulling me out, and I was constantly kicking to stay in place. Quite a workout, after a bit over an hour I was tired! Didn't look very inviting to try to catch a wave on the boogie board… So, the next day, I paddled out on my longboard. The waves were small (well smaller but still intimidating for me!), and it was pretty glassy. Finally I got up enough courage to sit in the right spot and was able to catch a couple waves - very different than anything I'd ridden before! But the best is when we get out of the water, and the lady who lives right at the surf break comes up with two coconuts for us. I didn't think I was a fan of coconut water, but I have seen the light. It was the yummiest, sweetest tasting drink ever! I can't believe I haven't been drinking these things the whole time in Mexico and the Virgin Islands! I swear I've had them before and I don't remember liking them!??? Anyhow, there haven't been waves for a few days, so we've been doing other things.

One day we borrowed bikes and rode to the end of the road, 7 miles out. Of course, we took our time getting to shore, and by the time we had the bikes and started out it was 11am, midday in the hot sun. Luckily there was a good breeze, but we were still hot and tired by the end. We were stopped along the way - once by a local schoolteacher whose daughter we'd met, and later by a man who wanted us to stop for a rest and visit with the nurse at the clinic which serves the outer villages. After visiting for a bit, we made our goodbyes, and had just mounted the bikes when they called us back… Tim had admired their banana trees, so they chopped off a branch laden with green bananas, and gave it to us! We're waiting for it to ripen and we'll have lots to share with folks when it does! I can only make so much banana bread since I'm rationing our eggs.

Along the road, the kids always say hello, and try out their little bits of English - What is your name? Hello, Goodbye. Schools are on a two week holiday right now, but maybe I'll try to go into the schools and help with English classes if I can work it out.

We've been visiting a lot with Bruno (the French man) and his Kiribati wife, Tabeta, who run a guesthouse here. They invited us for lunch the first weekend, and we had yummy yellowfin tuna - sashimi and cooked. Apparently the tunas are running here - just outside the cut, so we're hoping to go fishing one day soon. Yesterday we cooked some jambalaya and brought it over for a meal. Tabeta has been really helpful with teaching me Kiribati words, I learned a bunch yesterday! They have a 4 year old son, Paul, who has become my new friend too. And another sailboat has pulled in, s/v Tao (I think), with Gunter (German) and Claudia (Brazilian) aboard. They've been cruising in the Pacific for years, and spent many months here - we look forward to visiting with them a bit more before they leave in a few weeks.

All in all, things are good here in Fanning. The waves have come up again, but unfortunately the tide is only high at dawn (a bit too early) and late afternoon (when the wind is honking). But we're going to go check it out this afternoon, and hope for a few waves. If not, there's always tomorrow!

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Safe at Fanning Island

Position: 3 degrees 51.5 minutes N 159 degrees 21.5 minutes W - anchored in English Harbor, Fanning Island

We made it in to port last night about 5:30pm, just as the tide was almost high, but it certainly wasn't slack yet - the current pushed us right through the cut, it was a bit nervewracking. Tim was at the helm, while I stood on the bow looking out with my polarized sunglasses, ostensibly to let Tim know if I saw any shallows or coral heads we should avoid.

We first were able to spot the island from about 13 miles out, about 1pm in the afternoon - pretty impressive for an island that is about 80 feet high at its highest. From the chart, I estimate that the lagoon is about 10 miles across at its longest point - the coral atoll is a big circle around the inner lagoon. As we approached the island, the clouds above it had a beautiful, but odd, green hue… I'm guessing it was a reflection of the water in the lagoon - I tried some photos, but doubt that our pictures will capture this effect as seen through our polarized sunglasses.

On our last night out, we'd gotten accustomed to not seeing any other ships or lights, so our watches had become routine - get up every15-20 minutes or so to glance around for ships and check that the autopilot or windvane is keeping us on course. While we were motoring because the wind had died, around 1030, Tim looked up and saw a strange sight. Looked like a stobe light close to the water, then flashing red, then white. He slowed down the engine not sure what he was seeing and called me out on deck. Our first thought was that it could be a liferaft - we actually shut down the engine to listen for voices calling out. But at the same time, we could see the glow of lights on the horizon to the east and west of us… most likely big fishing vessels with their working lights on. The beacon we had come close to may have been marking some sort of longline. Today, talking with our new friend Tyrone here on Fanning, he said it was probably boats from Asia fishing illegally, and that the Kiribati patrol boat was here the other day and was out looking for them.

This morning we were visited by the police/immigration officer and the customs officer. They got Tyrone to lend his boat to take them out to us… we were in the process of getting our dinghy off the bow when we saw them approaching. All went smoothly; wefilled out some forms and paid our $20 anchoring fee. It was also our introduction to the language of Kiribati - which is completely foreign!!! We're going to try to master a few basic words, but sadly I didn't get around to downloading any aids to learning this language! It seems that even though English is taught in school, most folks here only speak Kiribati. After our visit from the officials, we went in to look around and met Tyrone (who we had corresponded with on email) and Bruno (who runs a guesthouse here, and whom we had heard about from another sailor who's been here). We also introduced ourselves to the Mayor, head of the island's 7-member council, to make sure we would be ok to surf and fish in the area - he said no problem to both. Apparently there had been a fee for surfing here, but since the guy who was trying to start a surf charter business is no longer around, they have relaxed that fee.

Also this morning there was a canoe sailing race - it was really neat to see the small canoes with their little sails flying across the lagoon. Apparently August is some celebration month on the island and the competition was somehow a part.

Some quick thoughts/first impressions about Fanning Island:
- The lagoon is WAY bigger than I ever imagined! And with the winds blowing a steady 15 knots since we've been here, I'm not sure how we'll get to explore it all - too far to go in my kayak against the wind - but the winds must calm down at times… wishing we had a sailing dinghy!
- The people seem shy, but also used to yachts and tourists occasionally coming. The cruise ships come here irregularly now. The language barrier will be a challenge, but the kids are really cute and curious.
- There really is no gasoline, beer or much of anything else available here. But lots of coconuts, and they do grow seaweed commercially (but not the edible kind - this stuff is used in cosmetics). And hopefully we'll have lots of fresh fish!
- The main surfing wave was not breaking today, but it's definitely got a good setup!
- Politics are the same worldwide. Apparently the island has recently been visited by the President of Kiribati, and he installed internet here! So that the people would vote for him in the upcoming elections in September!

Now it's time for a big long sleep, catching up after 9 days at sea!

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