Day 5 to Canton - Slowing Down

We're at day five already. Wind isn't as strong as our first two days, but
we're still keeping up a 5.5 knot average, and the motion is a bit easier.
If we keep this up we'll arrive tomorrow (Thursday) late afternoon. If the
wind dies, like it did last night, we'll have to slow the boat down for a
Friday morning arrival.

We've been listening in to the evening radio 'net' where Eric is reporting
his position. Last night, he was about 28 miles behind us, and making up
time. There is still time for him to catch us. We've got the fishing lines
down, and we're hoping for fish for dinner.

Two days ago, after I uploaded the last blog post, we did indeed get closer
to a small island of Tokelau. Winds were too brisk to allow us to get close
and anchor, but we stalled the boat (hove to) in the lee of the island, and
had two hours of a break from the swell, enabling us to cook up lunch
(ramen), and prep the evening's dinner (chicken stew).

All is well. We're getting lots of sleep, keeping our food down, and looking
forward to our arrival.

At 1300 Samoa Time, our position is:
05 08.2S
171 35.4W
Our ave speed is 5.5.
138 miles to go.

Day Three - En Route to Canton

Our third day at sea. Winds are brisk - 20 knots or so. Seas are two meters
or more. Once in a while a big wave slams the boat, and she (and we) shudder
loudly in return. But all is well aboard. We move as little as possible in
these rolling conditions...spend at least 22 hours of each day in a
horizontal position. We rise up to look around for other boats.
Speaking of other boats, Eric has decided to join us en route to Canton. We
agreed to race and to have a fish derby en route. We pulled ahead on day one
and haven't seen him since. Can't hail him on the radio. But, without our
lines in the water, we're definitely not going to win the derby. But neither
of us can fathom cooking fish in these conditions, let alone filleting one.
But we need a bit of help for this race. Can any of you racers out there
tell us what our handicap is?? I think the waterline of our 1980 Cape Dory
36 would even out the odds of the sleeker fin keel of his 1969 Cal 33.
Anyway - if any of you happen to have a sense of which of our boats have to
give up some time (and how much), it would sure add to our excitement out
here! Feel free to post in the comments, or send us an email.
As I write this we are abeam of a small island in Tokelau. The island does
not offer a protected anchorage, except in the mildest conditions. But we're
still going to get in a little closer and see...perhaps we can stop for a
moments rest to cook up a proper lunch (i.e. Ramen noodles).
We're almost 1/2 way to Canton. If you're looking for it, it is in the
northern Phoenix Group of Kiribati.

Currently, it is 1130 Samoan Time (-11UTC) on July 18.
Our position is 09 22.57S and 171 18.66W.
Our heading is 356 (well, except for this little side trip looking for a
lunch spot).
Our average speed is a smoking fast 5.6 knots.
John just caught a huge wave, right in the face. Gotta go. :O)

Good bye Beautiful Samoa

We're leaving Samoa. 

"It's easy to say hello, but hard to say goodbye". That is what our cab driving friend Tiali told me today. How right he is. We've had a great time here. We've met incredible people. We've seen stunning natural features and landscapes. It is an incredible country. 

But, our pocket books, calendars, and livers are all screaming for a break...so tomorrow, we head for Canton Island, in the Phoenix Group of Kiribati.

We will not have internet again for many months. Please hold off on emailing us with your photos for a while. We will continue to update our blog via the satellite phone. Unfortunately, I won't have enough time to update the blog with all our Samoan adventures, but here's a few images of Samoa.

Dancers at the Fia Fia

Dancers at the Fia Fia

Daniel cruising down at the Sliding Rocks (photo by Michelle)

Renova disappearing in the swell (photo by Eric)

Here is Renova and Evangeline bobbing about as we left the harbour during the Tsunami warning. (Photo by Eric)

A few of the interesting items at the fish market (photo by Dom)

Fire dancing (photo by Dom)

The sunset dinghy derby. FISH ON.

Earlier this week, I've added a few other posts of our time in Samoa...but you'll have to scroll down to see them...they are backdated. 

Naomi is a Samoan Name

I've taken to introducing myself as Nah-omi. As opposed to my usual NAY-omi. Rhymes with FA-omi...as in the musical note FA. It is a common Samoan name, and that is the proper pronunciation in Japanese too. So it isn't a stretch. And the local people love it. They always tell me that their wife, cousin, sister, etc is Naomi! Or the ferry. Or Ruth's sister. Cool.

Lots of Updates...just not yet

We have lots to blog about. Like tons of awesome new gear. And fun trips. New friends. A birthday celebration. Samoan life. But...sadly, our computer has finally bit the dust. Died. *Hit the bed. So, it has been sent to Canada for a hopeful warranty replacement, and I'm now setting up our power-pig, back-up computer to be our emailing, blogging, navigating super-machine. It's not going well.

If you've sent email recently...thank you so much! Especially for all the awesome birthday greetings!! I'll be attempting to recover my email and address book, so I hope to respond to you all soon. 

Introducing...MUFFIN

Our new dinghy. A West Marine special. Super small. Super floaty! Hurray. We have to patch a couple holes, but in the meantime, John is just enjoying it on the dock. Alec is looking pretty pleased too. 

Return to Savaii

We decided to go back to the island of Savaii. Another island in Samoa - less populated. We took the boat there, but because of prevailing winds, we didn't get to see the South part of the island, which we are told is also beautiful. So Eric, Dom, John and I decided to part with a very large amount of Tala (Samoan currency) and book a trip with a local tour company. It was awesome. We took the ferry over...which was similar to our BC Ferries...except that the ferry was donated by some Japanese company that hopes to build a mega resort here. Hmmm.  The return trip on the smaller boat was more like travelling to Quadra or Gabriola Island. And we used the time to play a little dice.

Anyway...this is what we saw...

A local waterfall. Photo by Eric.

Small piglet

Cute kids

Crazy blowholes, which in typical Samoan fashion, you can get right up close to, peer inside, and hope not to be washed away! Photos by Dom. (Note the coconut husks being thrown from the hole at the very top left corner of the picture).

The Driver's house for lunch

 

A local beach for snorkelling, where Eric and I saw turtles. 

A local home where they showed us how they make siapo (or tapa cloth from the bark of the mulberry tree). Photo from Eric.

A great day! We were exhausted.

Catch me now...

Here's our new Yamaha 4hp Outboard. And John whipping around the marina with it's newly installed carburetor. Happy guy. 

A New Ride

So, if you've been following along with this blog...or if you know me a little... you may know that I've been jones'in for a folding bike for some time. A small bike would be the perfect get-around vehicle for these small islands, where the anchorage isn't always beside the bank and/or grocery store. 

As luck would have it, our dive charter company had a couple of small folding bikes for their employees, and they were going to upgrade to mtn bikes!! Hurray for me. He sold one of them to me for $300 tala. About $120 CDN. And the best part...it is blue! It is pretty small, not at all well-fitting, single speed, poorly equipped, but worth every penny. Apia is about a 10-15 minute walk, so the bike makes little errands super easy. And...there aren't many bikes here, so the locals get a kick out of seeing me with my little bike. I'm just as happy as can be.

Daily Ritual

While in Samoa, we've had to work hard to keep cool in the blistering heat. Being in the marina doesn't allow the breeze to flow through the boat, so it is stifling hot. We suffer. By the afternoon, we're all ready for a break. Most days, we head to the pool at Aggie Gray's Hotel for happy hour. Not much is better than a cold cocktail and a swim.