A 'Conversation' at Sea

So...here is a radio chat I had while on night watch a few days ago. It's
3am. I'm enjoying the stars, listening to a TED lecture on my iPod, when a
warm glow on the horizon develops into a few distinct bright lights. And
it's big.

ME: fishing vessel, fishing vessel located at 00 25S and 178 36E, this is
sailing vessel RENOVA, RENOVA. Do you copy?

RADIO: silence

ME: fishing vessel, fishing vessel located at 00 25S and 178 36E, this is
sailing vessel RENOVA, RENOVA. Do you copy?

RADIO: silence (not unusual. Illegal fishing vessels rarely answer the
radio.)

(5 minutes later)

ME: fishing vessel, fishing vessel located at 00 25S and 178 36E, this is
sailing vessel RENOVA, RENOVA. Do you copy?

RADIO: silence

(5 minutes later)

ME: fishing vessel, this is RENOVA. I am 3 miles east of your position and
headed your way. I would like to know the location and length of your
fishing gear.

RADIO: silence

ME: Fishing vessel, this is RENOVA, I am altering my course to pass 2 miles
to the south of you. Is this ok?

RADIO: silence

(5 minutes later)

RADIO: gobbledeygoop

ME: fishing vessel, this is Renova. Go ahead.

RADIO: gobbledey goop

ME: I do not copy. Please repeat. Please repeat

RADIO: no english. Fishing.

ME: Roger. You are fishing. Are you fishing squid? Tuna?

RADIO: tuna

(great - he could have long lines)

ME: how long your lines?

RADIO: no english

ME: two miles? 5 miles??

RADIO: silence

ME: do you have any kiribati crew who can talk on radio?

RADIO: silence

ME: I will pass 2 miles south of you. Is that OK?

RADIO: silence

(5 minutes later)

RADIO: gobbledeygoop

ME: Please repeat.

RADIO: too close please.

ME: Roger. I copy. I will alter course. Thank you.

(I quickly put his lights to my stern, until he is once again on the other
side of the horizon. Only then do I reset the sails and return to my
course).

As a bit of history...selling fishing rights to foreign vessels is one of
the very few ways that the Kiribati government can develop financial
resources. Unfortunately, there is still LOTS of illegal fishing here. And
with only one patrol boat, it is impossible to police this huge area. In
recent years, the Phoenix Islands have been declared a protected area, and
only locals will be permitted to fish in the waters surrounding those
islands.

Aug 29
Labels: Kiribati, radio

Arrived in Abemama

We made it! We're now anchored off the village of Kariatebike on the island
(atoll) of Abemama. We made the trip in just under 7 days - averaging 5.8
knots, which is a great speed for us. In total we travelled 955 nautical
miles, a few more than the pass-to-pass distance of 907, as we had to gybe
back and forth of our course line after the loss of our whisker pole. A
great trip.

Winds were consistently 15-20 knots, although a bit lighter for the last two
days. The swell was irregular, and from 3 directions, the largest swell was
about 3 meters from the SE, but not close together. Easterly swell was about
1.5 meters and more regular. So the boat had occasional rolly periods, which
kept us (and our stomachs) on our toes. As a result, we didn't do much
emailing, with the exception of a couple of blog posts. HUGE thanks to
everyone who sent us emails in the last couple weeks. We really enjoy
receiving them and getting news from home - it really is the highlight of
our day. I'll work on catching up with our replies over the next couple
days.

Now that we've arrived, we'll have a quick nap. Our anchorage is (for the
moment) flat calm. We're about 1/2 a mile from the beach, as the coral flats
in front of the village dries at low tide. Apparently we can only go to the
beach during the 2 hours before and after high tide. No problem, today that
corresponds with dinner time...whenever possible, we like to celebrate a
passage with a meal out!

Oh, we found the 'spot' locater...so we can now send our position again. Not
very useful now, as I suspect we'll be pretty stationary for a while.
Friends of ours recently said that they like to stay somewhere at least as
long as the time it took to get there! Good philosophy, I think.

Our current position:
00 24N
173 54E