Off to Explore

After hanging in Tarawa for a while, we're now motivated to see a nearby island. Tomorrow (Sunday), we'll move on to Abaiang - a small atoll a short day sail north of Tarawa. We'll leave in the morning, and expect we'll have our anchor set by mid-afternoon. We're looking forward to returning to pristine waters and the traditional Kiribati lifestyle.

Hanging in Tarawa

We're hanging in Tarawa. John has fabricated a brace that will hold our
transmission in place. So, that hurdle is overcome. For now.

We've done a bit of exploring here. We jumped on a bus, and travelled to
some of the other islets surrounding the lagoon. We checked out some of the
WWII relics that have been left behind here - Japanese guns and bunkers
mostly, and an American tank rusting on the beach. We also had yet another
fabulous lunch of Chinese food, and wandered through a few villages.

This place isn't ideal for shopping. We're having trouble finding fresh
produce. You have to know when a shipment is coming in, and be prepared to
pay for it. We paid $1.25 each for two tomatoes yesterday. And we though we
were getting the tourist price when we reluctantly paid $0.60 per egg the
other day. Only to find out later, that other stores were more expensive!!
YIKES. But, we're slowly getting re-stocked. We'll likely spend at least
another month here in Kiribati, before we move on to the Marshalls.

I've been feeling a bit under the weather the last couple of days.
Really...who gets the sniffles in the tropics??? Ridiculous.

Labels: Kiribati, Tarawa, engine, sightseeing, food, provisioning

A Few Images of Kanton

The Moray Eel are their favorite fish

Eric sews up a Kiribati courtesy flag

Hermit crabs feast on shark

Rooting around amongst the junk

A fire extinguisher from the 50s (?)

A tribute to the Samoan Clipper

Katua and Davis show off their afternoon catch

Tires are a common toy around here

Cutting up the cake tabacco

The daily slaughter - tonight we're eating Trevaly

Eric at the tiller of the USS President Taylor

A few of the bullet tips we collected on the beach

Fish drying in the sun

I've also added a few pictures to the blog posts from Kanton - look back in the blog to check them out.

Arrived in Tarawa, Kiribati

We made the move. We decided to head to Tarawa, the main island in Kiribati,
to work on the engine. I was disappointed that we didn't stay for Saturday's
mass and feast, but the weather forecast showed us that after Friday, the
winds were going to drop dramatically. So, on Friday morning, we went ashore
to say our good-byes. Masa and Bwebweniman, who have been so friendly, and
have hosted us for tea, were sad to see us go. We left them a small gift of
canned pears and some tea. After we left, they called us back to give us
their pandanas mat. This was a big deal. After all...they were just visiting
this village for the church celebrations, and this would be their sleeping
mat. I tried to refuse. But she wouldn't hear of it. So, we now have a
beautiful, hand woven pandanas leaf mat. Gorgeous.

Our overnight passage was uneventful. We made good time. Too good. We
arrived in the dark. So, I just tacked away from the island, and sailed for
an hour, before returning to the island in the daylight. The pass is HUGE,
and there are many tankers here, so it was a fairly easy entrance, and we
quickly found a nice spot to anchor, fairly close to the big city of Betio
(pronounced Besio...remember Kiribati language pronounces 'TI' as 'SI' or
'S').

Although we had placed bets on how many sailboats would be here - we were
both right. John guessed there would be none. I guessed one. Turns out there
is one motor sailor here - from Australia. They dinghied over after wee
anchored and gave us some local info on hardware stores, the best spot for
chinese food, and groceries. After a quick nap, we went ashore. The town is
pretty dirty and crowded, as we'd heard. But we did find a great Chinese
restaurant, and a store selling eggs and sausages! MMMmmm

Today has been raining on and off all day. Very unusual for us. We've had no
sun. But, we've been collecting rain water, and our water tanks are full!!
We're now running the generator to charge our batteries, so we can watch a
movie later. ICE (the motor sailor) has invited us over for dinner, so we
look forward to chatting and hearing more about the island. They've been
here for quite some time as they wait for engine parts, so they'll be a
great source of local info.

Exploring Abemama

Yesterday, we rented a motorbike from a couple who we met while hanging out
in front of the bank/telephone co/admin bldg/etc. They were waiting to be
paid for their copra harvest, and expected they would be waiting most of the
day. In the meantime, they offered us their motorbike to explore! And
explore, we did! We jumped at the opportunity and headed out on the dusty
trail. Well, sandy trail, actually. We decided to travel South, and went all
the way to the end of the island...about an 8 mile trip.

We passed over three causeways and through a dozen or so villages. Most
villages have a church and a maneaba - a community gathering place, usually
a cement foundation with a steep, metal roof, that hangs low on the side, so
you must stoop to enter. Most homes are small raised wooden platforms with
thatched roofs for sleeping. Some are left open to the breeze, while others
are closed in with coconut leaf mats, or with wooden slats. Each family may
have one or more sleeping platforms, and a separate cooking hut. In some
cases we saw a small screened area that contained a pit toilet, but more
often, they used the beach for that purpose.

We also popped into a couple of the stores on the island. Our trip wasn't
planned, so we hadn't eaten lunch. But, as with the other stores we'd
visited here, there wasn't much that you could eat off the shelf. Most
stores sell some canned goods and a few bulk staples (rice, sugar, flour),
there wasn't much that we could eat for lunch. I offered to John that we
could eat some dried instant ramen noodles - a throwback to my childhood -
but he refused. We settled on a package of crackers, and big bottle of
water.

It was a great day. Even though I'm not sure my butt will recover anytime
soon. Three hours perched on a steel luggage rack...yowsers.

Feast or Fix

Where does the time go? We've already been here a week. We were planning to
stay here at least another week. Not least of all because of this:
Once again, we've stumbled onto a time of local celebration - this week is
important in the Catholic Church here - we are celebrating the Virgin Mary.
There is daily mass (we think), and it all culminates on Saturday with a
morning mass, followed by a big community feast. Already there are people
staying here from other villages. For two days, the women have been wearing
a blue dress - all identical - to mass. We understand that Saturday's dress
will be yellow. There is a great sewing bee going on in many of the homes as
these dresses are prepared. (By the way...hand crank sewing machines like
mine are the norm here)!

So, needless to say, we're glad to be here, and are looking forward to the
community feast, and all the celebrations that lead up to it. But, we are
cruising after all....so of course, there must be some critical boat part
that needs maintenance!

John has discovered that we have a problem with our transmission. So now,
we're contemplating our options. Stay for the celebration?? Or leave early
for Tarawa to work on the engine? Tarawa, though it is the capital of
Kiribati, is not likely to be the end-all and be-all of repair locations.
After all, this is a very poor country. We're not sure if engine work will
be possible in Tarawa, or if we'll need to keep moving to a bigger port.
Lots to think about - we'll keep you posted!

Abemama - Off the Beaten Path

We're definitely far from the Coconut Milk Run now! The police officer told
us that only one boat came here last year - an Australian.

In our last post, I spoke of our dreams of a dinner ashore. Our hopes were
quickly dashed. Although our outdated guidebook spoke of a hotel, it clearly
hasn't been in operation in many years..

We have walked around on a few occasions. Each time, the children are
pleased to see us, and call out to us "Matang, Matang" (Foreigner).
They like practicing their english...hello/bye-bye. The adults are much more
shy. They happily respond to our greetings of "Mauri" (hello), but are
reluctant to reach out into further conversation.

On Sunday, we went ashore early, dressed in our Sunday finery, to seek out
the Catholic church. While we waited, we were befriended by a herd of
children, and eventually three of the village women joined in. We had a
lovely conversation, and they seemed impressed with the few words of
Kiribati language that we'd learned in Kanton. After church, we were invited
to join them for tea. We also met a local teacher whose english was
excellent, and he answered many of our questions about the island, and
offered to help us find a motorcycle, that we hope to use to further explore
the island.

By the way...so far we've seen three trucks and one car on the island, but
most people get around on motor bikes. If you're into that sort of thing,
like John is, you may like to know that almost all of the bikes are Honda
Trail 90's...which apparently cost about $2000 AUD brand new. I'll have to
do some more research, but I'm guessing that the average salary in this
country is less than $4000 AUD.

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

Over 1/2 way to Abemama

We are 390 miles from Abemama. 4 days. Maybe 3, if we continue kicking butt
at this pace. And in the last few minutes we crossed into the Eastern
Hemisphere.

The sailing continues to be good. Our overall average is still 5.8 knots.
We're very happy with that speed. The broken whisker pole means that we
can't go directly downwind on our course, and we've had to sail slightly off
the wind and gybe back and forth, adding more miles. At least the sails stay
full, and we don't have to endure as much slapping and banging.

All is well aboard Renova. Our stash of muffins that I baked is now gone, as
is the chicken curry John made. So now, we're cooking again. Well....not
sure if you can really call K.D.* cooking. But we did have steak and mashed
potatoes last night. Pretty deluxe. The Kiribati patrol boat provided the
locals with lots of chicken and beef, and they included us when the divided
it up into portions. It had been a while since we'd eaten meat that didn't
come from a can...what a treat!!

We're checking our email anxiously these days...eager to hear news of a new
baby for our good friends, G&D. It is times like this when we miss being
home!

Current Position at noon local time on August 28 is:
00° 50 S, 179° 59 E

A note to our family...sorry about the lack of 'spot' messages....we can't
find the spot gadget at the moment. But, we haven't looked very hard. We'll
continue to post our position online every two or three days.

*K.D. = Kraft Dinner, of course. Macaroni and Cheese.

Aug 28
Labels: Kiribati, passage