Blind Sailing Log-Blog and Journal

Our Blind Pacific Crossing Accomplishment

2010-12-31T12:00:00.000-08:00

Hello Friends of the Blind Circumnavigation,

Happy holidays to you, our friends and supporters. It has been quite a while since we sent out an update, and we hope this message finds each of you happy and well. Frankly, the reason for our silence is because since our return to Australia after Pam’s sudden issue with her vision in Vanuatu, both of us have been grappling with some very difficult decisions.

Upon Pam’s emergency return to Australia she was diagnosed with a retinal tear and hemorrhage in her right eye, she eventually had two surgical procedures and many visits to a retinal specialist that successfully stabilized her vision, though could not restore the vision she had lost. Pam never received any concrete answers as to the cause of the sudden vision loss, only that it could be anything from a fall earlier in the year, genetics, or simply fate.

In Pam’s words; “At this point in the voyage I decided to reevaluate my goals. The voyage thus far was the highlight of my life, and yet with the delays from my surgeries and the overall length of the voyage to date, I was feeling both a personal strain to resume a life on land and a financial strain. I spent the months during my recovery soul searching for the direction which eventually led me to my current path. With very mixed emotions I made the decision to start a new adventure. I told Scott that I wished to stay in Australia and try to make it my new home. I had already found employment with Northcott Disability Services, an Australian not-for-profit where I had worked the prior year while waiting out the cyclone season. They assisted me in obtaining an extended work visa, which offered me an opportunity to continue an adventure. and start a new life with a clean slate (how many times in our life do we get to do that?). Today I live in Sydney in a wonderful little home on land (I even have my bathtub I so desperately missed), my job is rewarding and challenging, and I am surrounded by the many wonderful friends I have met since our arrival to Australia.”

“One of my primary reasons for leaving the states on this voyage was to break out of the safety zone of my life in San Francisco and to find myself, stretch my edges and have an adventure. I can truly say I have and continue to accomplish all of these goals every day, particularly as I continue the valuable lesson learned sailing of living in the moment! There are many times when I miss the challenges of our incredible sail, but each day I face the excitement of my new direction with openness and persistence. In a nutshell, I am happy! Grateful for the many things I learned while sailing and happy for where the voyage has taken me.”

As Pam convalesced and searched for and finally found her new path, Scott returned to the United States to work as a consultant and plan for the continuation of the sail. When Pam finally reached her decision, Scott had a number of decisions to consider as well…

In Scott’s words; “When Pam decided to stay in Australia I was not surprised. They say that we each find our own port to set anchor, and for Pam it was Australia. I was thankful for the adventures we had shared together, and I was in awe of Pam’s dedication to the voyage and raw bravery so often displayed.”

“I was now faced with the decision to continue without her or seek out a new visually impaired sailing partner. For months I looked at this decision from every angle and started to investigate both options. Then fate intervened, offering me a completely unexpected option to consider. While in the states I was offered a position with the US Department of State providing on-site technical support for their disabled employees around the world. Not only would I continue to see the world, but I would help pave the way for the hiring of many more disabled employees in international high profile positions.”

“This alluring curve ball came as a complete surprise to me, as I was not looking for employment whatsoever, but this is also the kind of opportunity that rarely comes along. I finally ended up reasoning that the voyage to date was something that Pam and I had accomplished as a team. Yes, I could continue on without her but our voyage across the Pacific Ocean was something that we shared together that in and of itself was an incredible feat as we are the first legally blind people to accomplish this milestone. I would rather bask together in the satisfaction than continue on without my partner to complete a circumnavigation that would neither be finished solo or together. After all we had crossed the Pacific together as legally blind people, visited many exotic destinations and sailed over 17,000 miles!” We shared a great accomplishment and something very special by crossing the Pacific Ocean together and I decided that this voyage should stand alone”.

“Today I am seeing the world in a vastly different way. In fact, as I write this I am sitting at a desk in a hotel in Brunei. I have a small condo in Alexandria Virginia, when I am in the states, and I am finding my way forward. I know that my adventurous side is only in temporary remission. I am already thinking about a sail across the Atlantic, or perhaps a sail from New York to San Francisco, around the Horn, with a cross disability crew of sailors (hopefully including Pam), and possibly even a bid for a non-stop blind circumnavigation if some younger blind sailor doesn’t do it first (secretly I hope they do).”

There you have it. If we learned anything along the way, it was that life is ever shifting and that all one needs to do to have an adventure, is to take a step in an unexpected direction. Both of us are exploring new directions, yet we will never forget the unbelievable experience we shared with each other and with both disabled and non disable people throughout the world. We will be modifying our website to showcase the Blind Pacific Crossing, and have started on a book to chronicle our voyage. Currently it is titled: With the Wind to Guide Us. We will let you know when it is finished so more than two copies will be read.

Finally, we want to thank you. Though two legally blind sailors crossed the Pacific Ocean independently, we did not do it alone. You were always there with us. Some of you guided us into tricky anchorages. Some of you were there on the satellite phone during a storm, and some of you encouraged us over our sail mail as we sat by the radio waiting anxiously for your messages from land. Although there are far too many people to thank individually, we would like to single out one person for a special recognition. Thank you to Captain Arnstein Mustad who’s kind and disciplined instruction gave us the core skills that surely kept us alive today.

We want you to know that this was not Pam and Scott’s voyage, but all of our voyage and we want to thank your from the bottom of our hearts for sailing with us. This is also not goodbye, just see ya round mates. There is definitely more to come.

Cheers,

Scott and Pam

Another day in Bangkok!

2009-10-23T11:28:00.000-07:00

Still in Bangkok. Went on a great river boat ride. Not quite Starship, but fun to see the exotic boats... And I met a groovey reptile friend!

"One Night In Bangkok!"

2009-10-22T11:23:00.000-07:00

Well, actually four and four can wear you out! I love this city. It is my second visit to Bangkok and the “Land of Smiles”, and it is just as I remember. Bangkok is a sprawl of pollution, people, and everything and everywone here is alive. You can eat well on the street for $2 and buy a coke for a quarter. I just love it! The people are incredibly nice, and if I walk with a cane people climb over each other to see if I need assistance. Wow! On Saturday I will be headed for Hanoi, Vietnam where I will be mixing in a little work, and then it is off to Sydney to see Pam, the boat, and all my Aussie mates. Next the Lord Howe Island barbecue sail! Finally, back to the states for a bit more work before the continuation of the big voyage…

Checking In From Ireland

2009-10-17T11:17:00.000-07:00

Hello from Dublin Ireland! I am on my way around the world, but not by boat yet. I am traveling back to Australia on a round the world plane ticket. During November I will be working on the boat, then shaking down Starship as I sail to Lord Howe Island with blind sailing friend Tony Purkiss. Over the next few weeks I will be in Dublin, Bangkok, Hanoi, then finally Sydney by early November. In mid November I will travel back to the states for a final stint of work to feed the cruising kitty and then I will be off to complete the Blind Circumnavigation. It sure feels good to be on the move, even if it is not on the boat yet.

Cheers,
Scott

Happy Independence Day! - Quick Update!

2009-07-04T23:00:00.000-07:00

Ahoy BlindSailing friends!

As most of you know, I have been working in the states (Washington DC) while Pam has been working in Sydney, Australia. We have been in a bit of a holding pattern as we each feed the cruising kitty and Pam considers her options for continuing the voyage after her unplanned eye surgeries this year. Unfortunately her vision was not greatly improved by the last surgery, but it looks like her vision loss has been stabilized and this is a very positive result from the surgery.

As for the Blind Circumnavigation, I will for sure carry on, though Pam may support the sail from a strategic, planning, and administrative capacity.

Attached is a photo from the Independence Day celebration in Washington DC.

Cheers,
Scott

www.blindsailing.com

2009 New Years Update On The Blind Circumnavigation

2009-01-22T06:12:00.000-08:00

Ahoy!

When we departed San Francisco in late 2004 we never would have thought that we would be writing an update to our friends and supports four years later, with more than half the world and approximately half the sailing miles to complete The Blind Circumnavigation. Still, with 50% of the world to visit, we have experienced a voyage far beyond our greatest expectations and wildest dreams.

We wish we could say that this past year was our smoothest, and while it was one of our most interesting years, it was a year chock-full of challenges.

During the 2008 cruising year we faced a dangerous knockdown on the Coral Sea, causing extensive damage to our dodger and bimini, while flooding the bilges to capacity, and ultimately causing us a two month delay in Noumea, New Caledonia. It was also a year of physical challenges. Pam developed a completely unrelated eye condition that led to ocular hemorrhaging and two retinal tears, requiring emergency surgery in Sydney.

Yet, with the fortitude and determination that has been the cornerstone of this voyage, we have faced and overcame our challenges and today we are more prepared, more experienced, and more determined than ever to complete our goal of sailing around the world.

Far outweighing the challenges are the wonders of the world that we have experienced including the beauty and senseless mining erosion of the islands of New Caledonia. We have witnessed the fiery awe of the active volcano Mount Yasur. We have been treated to the hospitality and warmth of the gentle people of Vanuatu and seen a beautiful way of life largely unchanged by modern civilization. We have met wonderful new friends who have shared with us the experiences of blind and visually impaired people living in the western South Pacific, and we have offered some of our experiences in return. We have swum in the bluest of waters and fed Kingies (King Fish) by hand. And we have met amazing new friends. This year has been a continued collage of living every moment to the fullest with each new day creating unforgettable memories.

Currently Starship is right back where she started last year, in Newcastle Australia. After visiting New Caledonia and Vanuatu, we were posed on the brink of departing for the Solomon Islands when Pam experienced the vision loss that would eventually necessitate emergency surgery in Sydney. Scott sailed the boat singlehanded from Oyster Island to Port Villa, Vanuatu where he was met by blind sailor and friend Tony Purkiss and new friend Patrick Silver who crewed with Scott back to Newcastle.

Starship is now waiting out the Southern Hemisphere Cyclone Season again, positioned at the last port which Pam has independently sailed to, allowing us to continue the forward progress of the voyage without outside assistance. Pam is currently working in Sydney and is still recovering from her sudden retinal damage and will undergo another surgery in the near future. Her doctor assures her that she will be able to continue the voyage at the close of the Cyclone Season this May or June. Scott is temporarily working in Northern Virginia and will return to Australia early this year after completing a round the world plane trip including stops in Venice Italy, Istanbul Turkey, Bangkok Thailand and Saigon Vietnam. The cruising kitty is getting a much needed feeding and Starship is undergoing the annual upkeep to prepare her for the coming year.

So, to sum up the year, yes we have had our struggles, but please don’t be concerned. We see the challenges only as the contrast by which we can appreciate the truly spectacular experience we are living and sharing with all of you, our friends. Get ready for what comes next because with destinations like Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Thailand and beyond coming soon, we will have much to share about the world and the people living with vision loss wherever we travel.

Cheers,
Scott and Pam

Journal Entry - October 29, 2008 - Sailing with The Boys!

2008-10-29T09:30:00.000-07:00

Author: Scott

Tonight I am speeding downwind towards Australia with my surrogate crew sleeping, one in the cockpit and the other in "the nest" also known as "the pit". With Pam's absence aboard Starship "the nest" is just one of the strange changes that has taken place during this piece of the voyage. You see normally Pam and I alternate sleeping in the aft berth while the other is on watch. The linen is always kept crisp, clean and dry to maintain one haven of sanctuary while living on passage in what is similar to spending your days inside a washing machine. Alas the pristine sleeping berth, now known as "the nest", has become a conglomeration of sheets, sleeping bags, blankets, throws, pillows and maybe even a towel or two, all swathed and intertwining. Starship's current crew does not clean one's feet and carefully climb into the aft berth; they now hurl themselves upon the nest and burrow their way into position so that there is a thick barrier against the lee cloth and ample layers of sinewy coverings twisting and snarling around their body parts to serve as covering during watch. Add in the factor of limited showers and washing, hot tropical weather, and by the end of the voyage the nest would serve as a great whelping den for a litter of street puppies.

Yes, things aboard Starship are certainly different. The crew is made up of me, Tony Purkiss, and Patrick Silver. Tony has been mentioned in a number of prior Log-Blog's, he is an Australian blind sailor who became our mate last year during cyclone season in Australia. When I phoned Tony to see if he could help me sail the boat to Australia from Vanuatu due to Pam's sudden vision crisis, Tony simply said he would do whatever he could and promptly cancelled all of his commitments to help out.

Patrick is a new acquaintance and now friend that we met in Port Vila. Patrick is a friend of Graeme and Rebecca's on 'LL" and has been working in Vanuatu for the past eighteen months. While in Vila we were soon seeing Patrick often and he quickly became a regular member of our little group as we explored the island. In fact, it would be strange if we didn't run into Patrick whenever we were in town, and he could always be located at the coffee shop. When Patrick first learned of Pam's situation while we were on Santo he was off in a second hunting down local medical resources in Vanuatu. Knowing that Patrick was planning on returning to Australia for a few months I immediately thought of him as potential crew for the passage. Upon asking, Patrick said he needed a little time to work on the details, but called the next day to say he would be happy to be on the crew. I now had two crew members in less than two days!

As this is not an official passage of the Blind Circumnavigation with Pam and I aboard, but rather a delivery of Starship so that Pam can continue the voyage from a port she has previously sailed the boat to, we are able to allow Patrick to be crew despite his limitation of being fully sighted. An example of this limitation became clear when I was orienting Patrick to the boat and I described the location of the fixings for tea. These items are tucked way back on top of a shelf in a locker. I told Patrick if he just reached in the locker he could feel four Ziploc baggies. Well, he rooted around, fumbled, groped but still could only find two of the baggies. Eventually he had to succumb to bending over to stick his nose in the locker and even with his eagle eyes; he still only managed to find three of the baggies. Sighted people! You wouldn't want to stand between one and the toilet the first night in an unfamiliar dark hotel room, yikes! We have officially dubbed Patrick our token ‘sighty’. Actually he is an excellent sail trimmer and racer by day, but needs to be kept below at night so he doesn't hurt anyone. Okay - okay - okay, maybe I am being just a little silly here, and I do have to admit that it is awfully convenient having a pair of 20/20s on board. Imagine being able to see the direction of an approaching container ship, or thread your way almost effortlessly through a narrow marina. Having Patrick aboard has given me a true respect for the challenges Pam and I face every day on voyage.

Speaking of sight let me give you a few visuals of the temporary crew aboard Starship. Tony is a big guy, not obese, just big in a Shrek sort of way. He has a booming deep voice and would be your guy if you needed to fend off an oncoming fishing trawler or push an iceberg out of the boat's path. Patrick is tall and wiry, bordering on lanky. He moves gracefully around the boat but is quite strong from his profession as a builder. Both Tony and Patrick are seasoned sailors with far more racing experience than me. We have settled into an eating pattern that coincides with our body types. Tony gets about half the meal, I get a third and Patrick is happy with whatever is left over. Our meals on passage have been quite gourmet with offerings like pork loin baked in apples and cinnamon, and pan sautéed steak in fresh garlic and olive oil. Being volunteer crew, I was determined to feed the crew well. This may be the first passage where I have actually gained weight.

Now I must say that the new crew does have a tendency to taunt me with their
Aussie slang and threats of feeding me Vegemite and lasagna with cream sauce (imagine that, lasagna with cream sauce… Hey, that's okay mate, I just pull out the yellow American mustard and instant coffee bags to keep them shivering in their boots.

So far our voyage has been quite peaceful, especially compared to my last tour of this part of the ocean. It is a pity that Pam is not experiencing these calm seas, light winds, and endless blue skies as we traverse a big 1020 high. We have had both good fast sailing and long calms with the iron headsail purring away. Oh, did I mention that we are not only crossing with the boat "LL", but as always we are racing. As of 06:30 this morning we were nearly 30 nautical miles in front with eight less engine hours. Now, the fat lady hasn't sung yet, but I can almost taste the frothy schooners at the pub, our prize for not only winning this leg of the race to Australia but also having already won the leg from Vanuatu to New Caledonia. Looks like "LL" might stand for "L- Loooooooooosers" - hehehehehee. Okay, enough of my gloating, they could magically still pull out a win on leg two. We will just be happy to see our friends in Australia - and of course catch their dock lines for them!

Each day I have communicated with Pam via email over the SSB radio. She has been to the doctor as described in her recent Log-Blog. It seems from here that she is doing well and her retinal tears are healing as expected. Starship and I certainly miss our fellow crew member, but soon she will be back in the saddle, or rather the PFD to continue the voyage after cyclone season.

Journal Entry – Ocotober 27, 2008 - Life Happens Even…

2008-10-27T05:00:00.000-07:00

Author: Pam

This past month or perhaps even the past eight months has been a reminder for me that life happens even if you are sailing around the world. It may also prove true that life seems more magnified and events feel more significant when you are thousands of miles away from home. You may recall in February I had a nasty fall and as a result I have a new Australian smile with crowns on three of my front teeth. In May, while crossing the Coral Sea Starship was knocked down by a huge wave, which destroyed her dodger, resulting in a two month unexpected delay in Noumea, New Caledonia. On September 22 my right eye decided to come to the party which resulted in an emergency trip from Vanuatu to Sydney to seek medical care from an eye specialist.

Over the past month while I have been dealing with this latest event I have had a lot of time to think and ponder life. Especially as I struggled to lay face down 22 out of 24 hours of the day post surgery for five days. I was originally told I would have to perform this pretzel defying feat for ten days. I was sure after being sleep deprived and every muscle tied into a knot my eye might be better, but I would surely be a crazy woman. It was proving to be one of the ultimate living in the moment experiences I have had so far in my life.

Today is five weeks since I first became aware of the blurriness in my right eye. It has been two weeks today since I had the Vitrectomy. I saw Dr. Downie last Friday and he said “the retina seems to be in the right place as far as he could tell”. As far as he could tell is the disclaimer I guess for how difficult it is to get a good look at the back of my eye due to the size and shape of my pupil. I was experiencing some pain on Thursday and Friday and discovered that was due to the pressure being quite high in my eye (again). He increased the number of drops and put me back on a pill to lower the pressure. It is down, but I don’t believe it is back to normal yet. I will see him again this Friday. All of the gas has dissipated as of today, which is nice, it was like looking through a liquid fog at first and then circles that got darker as they got smaller. I now have to wait several weeks before the stitches in the front of my eye dissolve and then I should be able to wear my right contact lens again. I have been wearing my left contact lens and relying solely on that eye. I did wear my glasses some, but I found they magnified the blurriness. As of today I am feeling good about the healing process and my attention is turning towards what’s next for Starship and her crew as we wait out yet another cyclone season.

Starship and her surrogate crew (Tony and Patrick) arrived in Koumac, Northern New Caledonia on October 20th, after a 48 hour passage from Port Vila. They left Koumac on Friday, October 24th after waiting for a weather window. Leaving on a Friday is notable because it is the first time Scott and our boat has left for a passage on a Friday. It is a nautical superstition that it is bad luck to leave on a Friday and we have thus far chosen to observe this belief, as well as no bananas on board. There are several other superstitions we have made exceptions for either knowingly or unknowingly. We usually have bacon (pork is supposedly a no no) and recently we were told umbrellas are bad luck and we have five. As of yesterday Starship was 716 nm (nautical miles) from Newcastle, Australia. The crew is all doing well and Starship is sailing like a champ. They could reach Newcastle as early as Saturday or as late as Monday.

Since our plans for this cruising season were very unexpectedly interrupted Scott and I have not had an opportunity to even discuss what we will do during cyclone season. I am looking forward to having my home back. Although I have once again been reminded how blessed I am to have such amazing friends I am looking forward to at least feeling grounded by being back on the boat. I am also looking forward to a little more variety in my wardrobe; the options I packed are feeling a bit slim.

So, as I have said this journey has been the ultimate opportunity to live in the moment and to stretch my edges. And, Alexander Graham Bell said: “When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” I am not looking upon the closed door, but wondering what lies beyond the one that has opened.

Journal Entry – October 14, 2008 Update on Pam

2008-10-13T18:47:00.000-07:00

Author: Scott

When last we left Pam she was being closely observed by her ophthalmologist in Sydney. She returned to the Dr. last Friday and learned that she had increased bleeding inside of her right eye. Based on these findings the Dr. informed Pam that she would require a vitrectomy, a surgical procedure where the vitreous fluid inside the eye is cleaned of blood and other material, allowing the Dr. to more thoroughly examine Pam’s retina. This procedure was completed yesterday and it was determined mid-surgery that Pam had two tears in her retina. The surgeon then attempted to make immediate repairs by introducing a gas bubble into Pam’s eye that would hold the retina in place while it hopefully reattaches. Pam is now comfortably convalescing in Sydney with our dear friends David and Donna Marshal. At this point we have no further information on a long-term prognosis and Pam continues to cope with this situation with amazing resilience and bravery.

Back here in Port Vila, Vanuatu I am awaiting the arrival of our good friend and blind sailor Tony Purkiss, who will be joining me on the voyage to Australia. Also on the crew will be Patrick a recent acquaintance and friend in Vanuatu. The three of us will sail across the Coral Sea to the east coast of Australia, and then make our way south to Newcastle. Once in Newcastle Pam will be able to rejoin the voyage after the cyclone season from a point where she has sailed with me, allowing Pam to continue the voyage without any gaps in our route.

If you would like to send Pam your well wishes, please send us an email through the website and I will be sure she gets your message.

Journal Entry - October 5, 2008 - Fish for Pam!

2008-10-05T06:29:00.000-07:00

Author: Scott

Today rates among one of the strangest days I have experienced thus far on this incredible adventure. Today I am single handing Starship from Oyster Island to Banam Bay, Vanuatu. But first things first…

Our recent Log-Blog explained that Pam had to suddenly fly to Australia because of potentially serious symptoms she was experiencing in her right eye. I received a few updates last week that put Pam and I on the worry roller coaster. Her original diagnosis was that her eye was inflamed but no other problems were visible. Two days later she returned to the same ophthalmologist only to find that she had experienced a hemorrhage in her eye, with the possibility of a retinal tear, and a very high pressure reading of 44. The next day Pam saw an eye surgeon in Sydney (thanks to the help of our friend Tony). The specialist in Sydney confirmed the hemorrhage but operated from a sensible position of observation, after some extreme suggestions from the first eye specialist. Pam's pressure was at a normal level with the help of eye drops and the bleeding in her eye seemed to have subsided. At this point the ophthalmologist wants to closely monitor her eye and Pam has another appointment on Friday. The ophthalmologist also advised Pam that she should not continue sailing to remote locations until more information is available about her condition, therefore we have decided to return Starship to Australia for the cyclone season. This change in routing will certainly alter our plans for the remainder of this cruising season but not extend the overall length of the voyage, as we intend to continue on to South Africa after the southern hemisphere cyclone season.

With this turn of events I am now single handing the boat to Port Vila, Vanuatu. I will then either sail Starship with our good friend Tony Purkiss who is also a legally blind sailor living in Australia, or with Pam if she is given the go ahead from her ophthalmologist. In either case Pam will be able to resume the voyage next year from a location she has sailed to, thus continuing the voyage for her without a lapse in routing.

So here I sit without my friend and sailing partner for the first time since departing San Francisco. I am in radio contact with our good friends Graeme and Rebecca on LL, but Starship feels strange and lonely without Pam. The seas have been rough today with nasty wind on the nose. However, with every cloud there is the proverbial silver lining and today I caught a big juicy Mahi Mahi, only our second fish to date on Starship. Tonight I will honor Pam (aka the Fish Girl) by devouring a feast of fresh fish for her. By the way for our cynical friends out there, YES I did get a photo of the fish.

So, yet again the crew of the Blind Circumnavigation has proven to expect the unexpected and roll with the punches and we are moving forward or perhaps a little backwards with a smile on our faces. We achieved our goal of returning to the South Pacific to visit Vanuatu and New Caledonia and this experience has enriched our overall voyage greatly. I am confident that our time during cyclone season will be full of wonderful experiences. We already have an invitation to take part in the barbecue sail to Lord Howe Island and maybe a sail on a returning race boat from this year's Sydney Hobart race, and of course we get to see our many wonderful Aussie friends in the deal.

Don't you worry the Blind Circumnavigation will move forward with gusto!

Journal Entry - September 27, 2008 Important Update from Oyster Island

2008-09-26T19:00:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends of the Blind Circumnavigation!

This is just a quick update to bring you up to date on a bit of a concern we are experiencing on Starship. We are currently on Oyster Island in northern Vanuatu. Four days ago Pam developed a pain and blurred vision in her right eye. This condition has persisted and after consultation with medical professionals in Australia we have decided that the best course of action is for Pam to fly to Australia for a complete ophthalmological evaluation.

At this point we do not consider this situation an emergency but rather circumstances requiring timely attention.

Please check in on the website over the next few days for updates as they become available.

Cheers,
Scott and Pam

Journal Entry - September 11 - 13, 2008 - Lamen Bay, Epi Island, Vanuatu

2008-09-11T06:34:00.000-07:00

Author: Pam

We made it through the night in rolly Revoliue Bay, but boy were we motivated to make a move the next morning. Lamen Bay was our next stop on Epi Island, a whole eight miles away. One could get used to these day hops. We weighed anchor at 0830 and drove two hours reaching Lamen Bay at 1030. There was not enough wind or time really for a sail. As we approached Lamen Bay a naval ship crossed fairly close behind us leading us to believe they were not planning on stopping. However, their next maneuver was to go in front of LL and head straight into Lamen Bay and drop their anchor. Lamen Bay is wide open exposed to the west, but you can get in close enough to be protected and thank heavens there was no swell. Besides the naval ship there were no other yachts anchored, so we scouted around and anchored a safe distance from the shore and the ever present bombies (coral heads).

About five minutes after we dropped the anchor a dinghy was headed directly at Starship from the Naval ship. They came alongside and without asking permission or identifying themselves three of the five of them boarded Starship. I was sitting in the entrance to cockpit and though I did not feel at all threatened, I did not invite them on board any further than the side of the boat where they were standing. They asked if we had a cruising permit and I said we have a sealed envelope to give to Customs in Luganville when we check out. The guy seemingly in charge asked me to write the name of the boat and the crew on his clipboard. Then the second guy asked to see our passports. They asked where we planned to check out and we said Luganville and they reiterated we need to visit Customs in Luganville and if we want to check out of Sola in the Banks Islands we must ask permission in Luganville. They disembarked and it looked like one of the guys in their tender took a picture of the boat, Rebecca confirmed later he did. They headed for LL and we called and gave them a heads up. We have not been boarded "at sea" since the California coast at the beginning of our trip, when we were boarded by the US Coast Guard.

As we are now full on into the island hopping routine, there does seem to be a routine developing, deploy the dinghy and head to shore to explore our new surroundings. So, after changing into our swimmers (as they say in Australia) we headed for shore for a walk and a swim. We had read in our cruising guide there was a resort, a high school and an airport, otherwise we didn't have much information. There were a couple of young men sitting on the beach where we landed the dinghy and I asked if it would be ok if we went for a walk. They basically looked at us with the deer in the headlights stare with a smile. We took that to be a yes and we headed off on a road inland turning onto a path we thought would head back to the beach. We passed a couple children, but otherwise there really wasn't anyone around. We also passed a couple of huts with the preverbal chickens and roosters roaming around, but we didn't actually see another person until we met Ron sitting with his shiny silver support cane on an upside down canoe. He was friendly, but also a man of few words and only one front tooth (according to Rebecca).

We are finding the people of Vanuatu to be very friendly, but also quite shy. It has been quite difficult to have a conversation. The native language is Bislama (pigeon English) and as in any language when they speak to one another it is with confidence. Many people do speak English, but not many with confidence. Therefore, they may be able to understand and speak English, but they often do not speak very loudly, making it difficult to hear their responses. I have also observed they ask very few questions. The children are openly curious with their stares, enthusiastic hellos and big smiles, but they seldom initiate any interaction or conversation, so far anyway. If you ask them, how are you? They will respond "fine" and flash a beautiful smile, but that is usually the end of the conversation.

After a swim at the beach we decided to head back to the boats for lunch and a rest after getting no sleep the night before. For someone who does not nap, I seem to be getting quite good at it, I slept all afternoon. We made veal with cream sauce and rice for dinner and enjoyed the peace and quiet of a civilized anchorage.

The next morning we awoke to discover a large square rigger had arrived in the night and was making trips to shore delivering the people on board. We had also watched a maxi yacht come in after dark and roam around looking for a place to anchor, my how the neighborhood can change in a few short hours.

We headed over to LL and hung out while Rebecca finished baking bread, which was fine with us since she had promised us a loaf. We were feeling especially lucky since we had had to throw almost an entire moldy loaf overboard. On one of the trips back from shore the 2nd Mate from the square rigger stopped by and asked if LL could possibly move in a bit closer, so they could get in closer and out of very deep water. He also invited us to join them on shore for a BBQ that evening, which we all thought sounded like fun. Graeme was more than happy to oblige and move LL, so he and Scott went off for a squiz in the dinghy to locate a good spot. That done, LL weighed anchor and tucked in a little closer to shore.

When the bread was baked we headed into shore for another look around and in search of the Sunset Paradise Resort, Scott was most likely hoping for a cheeseburger. We landed the dinghy on a different beach, which didn't prove to be a good idea due to the number of coral heads dotting the approach, definitely not nice for swimming. Graeme ended up pulling the dinghy around near the beach we landed at yesterday. On our way to meet him we met several guys who had been snorkeling and we quickly learned they were guests on the 105 foot square rigger, the Soren Larson. She sails out of New Zealand and makes a nine month passage through the South Pacific. She has 13 crew and up to 23 guests at any given time. She is registered as a training ship, but the guests are not students per say, it is up to you how much you want to participate (though they do help keep watch and do safety checks). The guests are on board for anywhere between 10 days and 9 months. I hope we get invited for a tour.

After a swim we headed back to the boats for lunch and to prepare for our trip over to Lamen Island. The day before Sam had stopped by LL in his canoe and they had invited him on board. They learned 300 people live on Lamen Island, which is located approximately two miles across from Lamen Bay. The people who live there come across to the "Big Island" to work in their gardens. There is a primary school on the island and Sam said it would be ok for us to come for a visit. Apparently, the tuition is 1000VT ($10.00) per child per term. We planned to talk to the Head Master about sponsoring at least one child for a term and I gathered up a few school supplies and stickers to donate. We headed out in LL's dinghy, it would have taken a month of Sundays in ours. It was a bit choppy on the way over, but fortunately we managed to stay dry, the trip home was completely another story. We landed the dinghy on the beach and headed to where the sand stops and the rocks begin, this is where we would find Sam's house. Along the way we were stopped by a number of men who wanted to know our reason for being there. One of the young men offered to show us Sam's house and in about a second flat that meant several children and another adult male. Sam was home, but we clearly woke him up from a nap. He was polite and offered us a small bench to sit on. Graeme asked about visiting the school and Sam informed us the school was closed on Friday afternoons. He neglected to mention that yesterday during the discussion of when we would visit. Sam said he would take us to the Head Master's house, but he wasn't sure if he had gone over to the "Big Island" or not. Lamen Island is very pretty with lots of great, big trees and no cars. However, there are two mobile phone companies that have set up towers. It is strange to be walking through these very remote and rustic villages and see people talking on their mobile phone. Telecommunication really does seem to know no boundaries. Scott had a great time taking pictures of the kids playing in the water, they definitely are not camera shy. The Head Master indeed was not home and we had run out of conversation with Sam (we learned he had a kava hangover and was not feeling very chatty) so we headed back to the dinghy and roared back across to Lamen Bay arriving looking like drown rats. When we got back to Starship Scott rolled out of LL's dinghy and completed the task of getting soaked.

I did chores for the rest of the afternoon and Scott took a nap, he is even better at napping than I am. I prepared pasta with pesto to bring to the BBQ and we headed back in to shore a bit after dark to make new friends. When we arrived the BBQ was full of meat and the table full of food. Inside the yacht club there were several local children dancing to a DVD of island music they were watching on a small TV. Otherwise, there did not seem to be many locals around, however I suspect they were there in the shadows. We chatted with several people we had met earlier in the day about their experience aboard the Soren Larson and where they were going next. It wasn't long before chow was on and we all grabbed a banana leaf plate and headed for the buffet line. There was heaps of food, burgers, rolls, sausages, pasta bake, cucumber, tomato, our pasta, Rebecca's fried rice… I have never tried to balance food on a banana leaf before, though a little wobbly it did make a very nice plate. We all sat at the long table on benches in an open structure, under a thatched roof. When Scott went back for seconds and I went to lend my support, we met Tasso. We had read about him in the cruising guide, he owns the resort and yacht club. He had heard about these people who didn't see well and was very excited to meet us. He said he wanted us to meet his wife and son and in a couple of minutes he was back with them and two other family members. We had a very nice chat with him and he was thrilled we had chosen to stop in Lamen Bay. We had hoped we would see him again the next day on shore, but unfortunately we did not. As we were getting ready to head back to the boat, we were invited aboard the Soren Larson the next morning for a quick tour, they were planning to leave at 0900, yippee! Graeme, Rebecca, Scott and I climbed into the dinghy and headed back to Starship, the night was young and the moon was almost full. We sat in the cockpit under a gorgeous moon and shared some of our more intimate and personal life stories and our friendship bond grew a bit deeper.

The next morning we were up and ready to go over to the Soren Larson at 0800, that is when they said they would be finished with breakfast. She makes the second tall ship we have met on this adventure so far, the Picton Castle in Rarotonga (Cook Islands) was the first. The Soren Larson was built in 1949 and has undergone major rigging changes over the years. Her interior woodwork is absolutely beautiful, despite an interior fire at some point. The crew and guests were gracious and very proud to show her off to four wide eyed and admiring visitors. Our visit was short, we didn't want to overstay our welcome. I did have a quick chat with one of the crew as I was disembarking who is from Boston and is quite familiar with MDI, my little island in Maine. We both agreed we were a long way from home.

The rest of the day felt like a lazy Saturday. We went to shore and explored in the direction of the airport, hoping the shop might be open. It was no surprise to find that it closed. A light mist started to fall as we wandered along and observed more of the ease the children seem to have with just having fun. They were everywhere, swimming, canoeing, sitting on a tree branch, playing sports (we weren't sure what the game actually was), running, playing with a puppy and endlessly laughing and giggling. I can't think of many things that have warmed my heart in the same way. Before heading back out to the boats to prepare for our departure in the morning we found the water tap and filled up our four collapsible water jugs and deposited our rubbish in the designated spot.

After a stop by LL on the way to discuss our next destination and have a snack we headed back to Starship. We stowed the dinghy, made dinner and called it an early night so we would be rested for our next hop to Malakula Island the next day.

Journal Entry - September 10 - 11, 2008 - Holy Rolly Cow!

2008-09-10T06:45:00.000-07:00

Author: Scott

Today I feel like living Jell-O! Last night we spent the night at Revolieu Bay on Epi Island, one of the rolliest anchorages we have experienced on the voyage to date. What makes us appreciate just how awful it was is the contrast from our prior night's calm and peaceful experience at Port Havannah on Efate Island.

Our departure from Efate Island was filled with the anticipation of leaving the comparatively bustling modern life of Efate Island and Port Vila to return again to the traditional island life of villagers outside of "the big city". Our cruising guides told us that on Epi Island we would find kind gentle people and perhaps interactions with sea turtles, and even dugongs (sea cows). A dugong is a large lumbering creature, with a thick body and whale-like tale. They are known to breed and feed in the bays on Epi Island and other cruisers have reported swimming with these immense and gentle friends from the sea. Cool! I want to swim with a dugong!

Our first stop on Epi Island was Revolieu Bay, a large and relatively open bay from the northwest, west, and southwest. Upon entering the bay I could feel the swell gently lifting the boat from the northwest and I wondered to myself, 'could this swell make things a bit unruly?' In short, the answer was a resounding YES!!! We dropped the hook in ten meters of clear blue water with a white sand and crushed coral bottom. The surrounding landscape was lush green with low lying mountains and very little sign of life on shore. There were no other yachts on anchor, and soon it became clear why that was.

I first noticed the roll as I was waiting for the anchor to set, but I figured things would soon settle down. I was wrong. We bounced, we thrashed, we wiggled and jiggled, we bounced, we rolled… Shortly after anchoring Graeme and Rebecca dropped by in their dinghy, which was a bit of a surprise, as they silently slunk up to Starship rowing without a motor. LL's dinghy is easy to deploy off davits, but they have a bigger challenge of transferring their motor to their dinghy, which is mounted on the rail. Therefore, they often will go motorless and paddle if they are just visiting an anchorage for a single night. With our friends on board we caught up on the past two days spent on our respective boats and of course talked about our current amusement park-like anchorage. Beck said when she looked over at Starship she could actually see our keel flash in the roll. They had decided to use their fancy "Flying Fluke" anchor to anchor their stern into the oncoming swell. A "Flying Fluke" is a nifty anchor that is designed to glide through the water upon release and embed itself in the bottom at a distance from a boat, thus eliminating the need to paddle out in a dinghy to set a stern anchor. It sounds too good to be true, but they reported that their "Flying Fluke" did its job and that their stern anchor had calmed their boat somewhat. We also considered deploying our stern anchor in the more conventional fashion, but decided that the roll would soon abate. We were wrong.

Before they departed Starship we agreed with Graeme and Rebecca that if the roll continued, we would head off for Lamen Bay, just another eight miles north. It was also a wide open bay and would be easy to anchor, even if we had to drop the anchor in the dark.

Preparing dinner was a challenge, but the real fun began at dish time. Plates were flying, glasses were skidding across the counter, and cutlery was bouncing around. All I could think about was finishing the dishes so I could rest. We did finally finish the dishes with no casualties, but rest did not come easily. As the boat rolled on through the night, anything not wedged into place jumped and rolled around building to unbelievably loud crescendos of noise. Halyards smacked the mast and Starship serenaded with all her secret squeaks and moans and groans. I was up at least twice in the night to tame objects that had come to life. In the end I was lucky to have managed two hours of sleep. Pam probably had even less with her proclivity for insomnia induced by the slightest noise. Pam's simple description of the night was 'trying to sleep in a torture chamber'.

Dawn finally did come. I know this as I was up to greet the sun. With the new day calm was not restored in the anchorage. We never had a break as we weighed anchor in sloppy swell, eager to move on further north, in search of calm, our sanity, and perhaps a dugong.

Journal Entry - September 9, 2008 - Port Havannah , Efate

2008-09-09T06:22:00.000-07:00

Author: Pam

After three fun weeks in Port Vila we finally broke away and are on the move again. We left Port Vila at 0915 and motor sailed around the corner to Port Havannah, arriving at 1330. We had 9 to 19 knots of wind, unfortunately on our nose. Motoring wasn't really a bad thing after being on a mooring for three weeks, Starship's batteries needed a good drink.

We had to make four attempts at anchoring, which I must say is unusual for us. First attempt we ended up too close to Listowell Lady, second attempt the anchor did not set and we continued going backwards in reverse and the third attempt the chain got caught in the windlass. There was only one other boat in the anchorage, so there was plenty of room for our trials and errors.

Port Havannah is recommended as a good stop to make the passage to Revilou Bay on Epi Island a nice day sail. Since we were only staying one night and the village is a bit inland we decided not to deploy the dinghy. We spent the afternoon reading about the Banks and Torres Islands at the top of Vanuatu and finishing up a few chores. It was very hot and it only took Scott about 15 minutes to go for his I have arrived, the anchor is set swim. I wasn't up for a swim so I spent the afternoon trying to find the right lack of clothing, which proved to be a challenge. Of course just after I put on my bathing suit top and a pereo I looked out and there was a guy in a dugout canoe headed straight for the starboard side of Starship, where I had also hung 13 pairs of my underwear to dry on the lifelines. The people of Vanuatu are very shy and seemingly quite modest, I immediately felt under dressed as I sat on the side of the boat with no where to go, I had been seen I was sure. He approached the boat and offered me some tomatoes, not to buy, as a gift. I said one would be lovely, but he gave us four. Scott had a nice fishing hook handy, which he offered and Reuben accepted with a smile. His kanu (canoe in Bislama) was huge. It took him two months to make it out of a Milk Tree (or white tree). It had pieces of wood lashed in the center where he could put the fish he catches, which he said there are plenty. Reuben told us 30 people live in his village and 15 of them are children. We bid him goodbye and I took the opportunity to bring in my knickers (as they say in Australia and NZ), you really never know who might drop by.

The anchorage was dead calm and remained so throughout the night and once the moon came out it was beyond perfect. Starship did not move or make one sound all night and we had a blissful night's sleep.

Journal Entry - September 8, 2008 - Our Stay in Port Vila

2008-09-08T06:01:00.000-07:00

Author: Scott

Port Vila on Efate Island in Vanuatu is everything we imagined and more. During the past three weeks Port Vila has been our home, and though we had heard so much about this bustling small city in the South Pacific, we were delighted to personally discover the charm Vila has to offer.

Port Vila, like many other island towns and cities, is situated along a main road. Most streets do not venture far off of this main thoroughfare. The city is alive with transportation, mostly small jitney buses that are designated with a "B" for bus or "T" for taxi. A bus is a shared ride for 100 VT per person and will usually take you directly to the door of your destination. Taxis are exclusive to your needs at modest rates. Anyone wishing a ride would never be waiting long as these enterprising vehicles are always scouting for fares. The traffic in Vila is almost always bustling in the city center. Once outside of town the roads quickly turn to dirt and with the exception of the main road, diminish down to small dirt tracks, some leading into the hills and center of the island.

Poised in the center of town is the marketplace. A concrete slab with a large overhanging roof serves as the city's market. People from around the island bring in produce for sale, often sleeping in their stalls at night to avoid the trip home. The market also hosts a lively street food business, with long picnic tables surrounding makeshift kitchens. While walking around the market's food stalls there are wafts of all sorts of smells, some good and some not so good. The flies are a constant challenge to these entrepreneurs and it seems like some people are hired just to wave banana leaves over the offerings to keep the flies away. Most of the produce available for sale at the market is tropic climate fruits and vegetables such as bananas, papaya, coconuts and taro. There are also some lettuce, tomatoes, capsicum, beans, and onions. One day we even came across ripe raspberries.

Fanning out in both directions from the market are various restaurants and shops ranging from glitzy duty free shops to basic shops such as the local butcher and plumbing supply store. There are a number of grocery stores in town with the two Bon Marches leading the way as the most up market option. We also found good deals at Centrepoint Market.

The restaurants in Vila are plentiful and wide ranging. You can get a decent cheeseburger at Jill's American Grill and at the Waterfront Restaurant. The Waterfront Restaurant also makes quite good Mexican food (for the South Pacific) with chicken tacos and nachos among my personal favorites. At night the Waterfront Restaurants pulls out the tablecloths and becomes a decent dinner spot, complete with live entertainment, that eventually heats up to night club levels after ten. Another favorite spot is the Numbawan (number one) Café on the beach near the anchorage. Ivan the proprietor has done a fine job of capturing the cruising essence with his outdoor environment with tables and chairs on the sand, overlooking the bay. On Wednesdays and Sundays he offers a free beachfront movie that serves as Vila's only cinema. Throw in free wireless Internet after three and you have a recipe for a successful cruiser hangout. Throughout Vila there are also many move dining options ranging from the budget minded to the extreme gastronomic experience.

We found the yachting facilities on Vila to be adequate and charming in the spirit of a far away destination. Yachts have the option of anchoring in the north or mooring in the south. You can also opt to tie up med moored style on the sea wall. Yachting World is the provider of both moorings and space along the sea wall. They also include cold to warm showers, and manage the fuel dock. Also available in the Yachting World vicinity is a well run Internet Café and laundry for hire in the Yachting World office. A load of laundry costs 800 VT or about $8.00 for wash and dry or 450 VT for wash only. A real benefit to using the Yachting World moorings is the close proximity to Irriki Island. Irriki Island is a resort on a small island that spans the mooring fields. Yachties are welcome to use the facilities as long as they are paying customers for drinks and the occasional meals. The island makes for a beautiful stroll, there are two pools, sailboat and kayak rentals tennis courts, fair snorkeling, two decent restaurants and a spa. It was a real treat to get to hang out by the pool, dipping in the chilly fresh water.

This Log-Blog entry would not be complete without mentioning kava. Kava is a root that grows rampantly in the South Pacific. When crushed and mixed with water the kava root produces a numbing and euphoric sensation. Although just as much of a drug as alcohol or marijuana, kava is a legal substance in Vanuatu, and widely used by the inhabitants. Kava can be purchased at a kava bar or 'Nakamal'. This is generally a hut or small building with a counter and kava kept in a barrel and ladled out to customers into 'shells' or bowls. Kava is prepared in a number of ways throughout the islands ranging from chewing the root, then spiting it into a banana leaf and filtering water through the leaf. The group sharing the kava would then be united through saliva and not just the experience. Kava is also ground in a meat grinder or pounded with a stick in a tube, then water is filtered through it. It is unanimously agreed upon by the locals that Vanuatu has the strongest kava in the world (Tanna kava being the strongest of all), and the method of chewing the kava is known as the most potent way to experience the effects.

Of course I could not leave Vanuatu without trying this experience, as they say, 'When in Rome…". It was suggested that to truly feel the effects I should have at least four shells, and I had five. Upon drinking the first shell I could immediately feel a numbing sensation in my mouth and throat, similar to Novocain at the dentist. By the time I finished all five shells I could certainly say that I felt mellow and a bit numb. I would not compare the sensation to drinking alcohol, I felt very clear headed, but I was also happy to just sit and chill out. I probably could have just sat there for eight hours in fact.

During our time on Efate Island we did have a chance to tour the island. Rebecca's mother Mary came for a visit and we were invited to join them for a day trip in a hire car, designated with an H on the license plate. Although we found the island to be slightly unspectacular with much of the view obscured with thick jungle and coconut plantations, we did happen across a spectacular spot called "The Blue Lagoon". This private lagoon in owned by a local village and offers the use of the lagoon for a nominal fee. The water here is a crystal clear aquamarine brine mixture of fresh spring and tidal salt water. The lagoon is an inlet from the sea with rocky shores that snake their way back to the head of the little bay. There are basic toilet facilities, a makeshift changing room (with a black plastic bag curtain), picnic facilities, and best of all a rope swing over the water. Graeme and I took full advantage of the swing, and I made a spectacle of myself posing as a lizard on a branch and inadvertently falling off the branch into the cool water.

While in Vila we did manage to finish up a few projects on Starship. We hired a mechanic to oversee the first independent servicing of our engine. The mechanic who showed up was named Alex and he was quite a character, having lived the last twenty years in Papua New Guinea. Alex shared a number of yarns with us, and was tremendous at providing me with helpful tidbits about diesel engines. By the time he left, I had learned much in the four hours he was aboard Starship and his generosity continued as he would only accept payment for two hours of labor. We also had our mainsail repaired in a few places by Eric who lives on a boat with his family. We found Eric to be serious, knowledgeable and friendly. As we prepare to depart Vila we feel that Starship is in very good condition to face the remote areas we will be sailing to.

When I think back it is hard to believe that we have spent three weeks in Port Vila. The time has gone quickly and it seems that we have been constantly busy. I think Vila is still a loosely kept secret for a wonderful vacation for anyone wishing to taste the South Pacific, either on or off a boat. The people though sometimes shy are wonderfully warm and friendly. I see a day when the island will reach a level of tourism from Australia and New Zealand that will rival Hawaii; you can already see it in the escalating property values. For now Port Vila is it a magical place and well worth a visit.

Journal Entry - August 17 - 18, 2008 - What do we do with these pumpkins?

2008-08-17T06:29:00.000-07:00

Author: Scott

Tonight we are enroute to Port Vila, the largest city in Vanuatu. It is a beautiful sailing night with gentle winds on our starboard beam. We have spent our last day and a half at Dillon's Bay on the island of Erromango.

Dillon's Bay was our only stop on Erromango Island as there are limited accessible bays on the island. The bay was open and very exposed to the west, but with a short exception where the winds blew from the north, southeast trade wind conditions soon settled in leaving Starship well protected in this somewhat rolly anchorage. At the head of Dillon's Bay is a river that runs inland, with a village meandering along the northern shore. The island is densely forested with tropical vegetation and looks green as far as the eye can see.

Our first night on Erromango was spent settling in to the anchorage. We did not deploy the dinghy but I did have my customary swim. Pam even got wet and we swam over to LL to say hello. The water was deep blue with a very clean white sand bottom below. We did not see a single fish. After the swim we treated ourselves to a shower. Graeme and Rebecca came over for a sunset chat and Pam and I had a quiet night onboard in anticipation of the next day's visit to the island.

This morning we woke up, did the morning coffee routine and awaited our lift on LL's dinghy to shore. Graeme zipped us into shore quickly with the need to lift the engine once as we glided with the tide over a reef at the mouth of the river. Once in the river we made our way upstream with the village on our left. Life seemed to be very peaceful on Erromango with traditional huts, mixed with corrugated iron dwellings. Children played and hollered from the banks, women washed laundry in the river, and many villagers were busy at work completing chores.

We tied the dinghy on the bank near a ladder that had been built to make the bank accessible and we all scampered onshore to have a look. Not really knowing where we were headed, we walked along the riverbank inland. As we walked we were soon greeted by Tona, a muscular local man who had been working on the project to build a primary school. He greeted us with a warm smile and said there was not much in the way of vegetables to offer us but that he had some pumpkins to give us. We graciously declined, not wanting to take any food that may be in short supply, but Tona would not hear of it. He told us to keep walking up the road to a swimming hole and that our pumpkins would be waiting on our return journey.

As we walked through the thick jungle bush we came across two cruisers from another yacht in the bay. They gave us more directions to the swimming hole. We also came across some women who were on their way to work in the village gardens.

When we found the swimming hole, the boys as in Graeme and I immediately surfaced. We shed our shirts, cameras, and splashed our way into the water. At first the water was shallow and I crawled through the water like the alligator I am at heart, however the rocks soon dropped away forming a cool deep swimming hole. Pam and Rebecca stayed ashore and basked on rocks in the sun, shooting photos and video of the boys at play.

We were told by the cruisers we met on shore that the swimming hole had rocks that you could jump off and this was our primary mission. Once we found the rocks we were out of the water and jumping before you could say "be careful". Neither of us were very careful but we survived unscathed after jumping and later diving into the deep water. We spent the next ten minutes completely entertained by the fact that our Crocs (shoes) float, and used them as mini boats, of course having Croc races. Our time in the swimming hole was one more example of how a simple, unexpected and yet wonderful adventure is always waiting around the corner.

We dried off and then headed back to the village to see our new friend Tona. As promised he was waiting on the road with big green pumpkins in hand. These were not the pumpkins that we are accustomed to in the states. These dudes were smaller, harder and as I said very green. Apparently these pumpkins are also common in Australia. Pam and I graciously accepted this gift and simultaneously and psychically communicated, 'what do we do with these things? Tona told us a little about the village life. Apparently the village men had mostly given up drinking kava as he explained that it made the men too lethargic. Since making this change, productivity in the village had increased. He also told us that life is very different for "people who are not white". He said, "we must all work hard every day or our families will not eat." We were a little surprised by the frankness in this racially loaded statement, but it was made with simple honesty and no malice whatsoever. At some point in Tona's experience he has simply come to the conclusion that people who visit Vanuatu do not have to work very hard, and these people are mostly light skinned. I couldn't help thinking back to the sometimes twenty hour days, spent in a workaholic stupor, while I toiled away building my business. We also observed that these hard working people were much more articulate than those we met on Tanna and seemed to be more prideful of their village.

Once back onboard we made preparations to depart, but before leaving we were visited by a bright yellow fishing skiff. Onboard the skiff were five young fishermen in search of some gasoline or petrol as apparently the regular supply boat was running late. They offered to pay us a fair price for any petrol we could spare and we gladly sold them five gallons of spare fuel. Graeme on LL did the same and now the boys would have the necessary fuel to take them fishing for a full day's catch.

We departed the anchorage around 14:00 and the ongoing race was on. Both boats hoisted their sail as the sun was setting. We had a bit of a glitch raising the main, that left us a little behind, but in the light wind we quickly kept pace. Both boats photographed each other and we settled into a nice sail as the sun set and the stars woke up for a beautiful night's show.

Tomorrow we will arrive in Port Vila, a small victory for Starship as we have heard so much about this small city in the south pacific making our next step along this awesome road to discovery.

Journal Entry - August 15, 2008 - The Mighty Yasur

2008-08-15T20:45:00.000-07:00

Author: Scott

It seems that as I age there are fewer and fewer instances where my expectations are shattered in a positive way. So often reality presents a more monotonous result than the shiny and vibrant expectations my brain conjures. Today was one of the most underestimated adventures I can remember experiencing as an adult. Today we met Yasur, purported to be the world's most accessible active volcano!

Ever since we longed to sail in Vanuatu we have wanted to visit the island of Tanna, home of Yasur. Stories have circulated among the cruising community of the volcano that has claimed the lives of those who venture too close to the active crater. Even after hearing these tales, we really weren't prepared for what we would experience upon viewing the beast. These stories were actually confirmed on the wall of the Tanna Yacht Club, with the numerous government warnings and an account of three people who were killed one evening when a "bomb" flew directly at the viewers. Last year our friends Bob and Dianna on "White Swan" also visited Yasur and they had shared their experience with us, and even their vivid account of their time with Yasur did not prepare us for how profoundly this adventure would embed itself in our soul.

The day started out functional with chores on the boat, not to mention a bit of a sleep in, still trying to catch up on our rest from the passage from Lifou. Pam answered a knock on the boat in the late morning; it turned out it was our first visit from a dugout canoe in Vanuatu. It was Stanley (our guide from our trip to Lenakel) and four of his nephews visiting yachts in search of someone to make a birthday cake for his two year old daughter, Naomi. Pam apologized that we didn't have any cake making supplies on board. So, their next stop was Graeme and Rebecca on Listowel Lady (LL), Rebecca came through promising a chocolate brownie cake.

After our chores and sleep in, we dinghed over to LL and scooped up Graeme and Rebecca for an exploratory hike on the beach, where we hoped to find the steam vents and possibly a hot spring that we could see from the boats. We had a beautiful zip through the bay and landed the dinghy on a calm black sand beach. No sooner had we arrived than we were visited by many villagers and even more children. Pam became an instant celebrity when she broke out stickers for the kids. From a distance you couldn't even see Pam, as she was surrounded by the mass of children. We eventually got our hiking shoes on and extracted Pam from the horde. A woman named Mary offered to guide us to the vents and hot spring and we set off to have a squiz.

Walking through the palm jungle I had the feeling that a dinosaur could meet us at any turn of the path. There were millions of coconut palms, banyon trees, huge ferns and thousands of other species of flora and fauna. We only had time to visit the first vent, but it made a nice prelude to the upcoming volcano trip. The vent spewed up quite a quantity of sulfurous steam, and Mary said that the hot spring further up the trail served as a place for the villagers to wash laundry. The return trip was a little more parlous, as it was downhill, but the trip back gave Pam and me a chance to test out the walking sticks that we purchased in New Zealand.

We had to rush back to the boats to pickup the birthday cake, as we were invited to attend Naomi's party at 15:00. We were slightly delayed as a villager stopped us as we were preparing to depart the beach and asked Graeme to trade gasoline for some fruit and vegetables. Graeme agreed to provide the gasoline, but the man would have to paddle his canoe out to LL because there was not enough room for a fifth passenger in the dinghy. We had a short rest at LL while we waited for the villager to paddle his way out to the boat, but once the gas was provided we were off to land again.

This next visit to land would be our final trip to land for the day. We came equipped with all our cameras and gear necessary for the volcano trip at 16:00. When we arrived to the village we were immediately offered palm frons and woven mats allowing us to sit in the center of the village on the hard pack of dirt. At first we sat with villagers staring from a distance but with little contact, then slowly we were visited by many children, dogs, pigs, and eventually the adults came over to interact. We soon realized that all this attention was due in part to the fact that the truck would be late from town and so therefore our trip to the volcano would be delayed. To further put us at ease and maybe sooth and butter us up a little, we were offered heaping plates of rice, grated papaya cooked in coconut milk, a green gelatinous material cut into squares, and some form of cooked animal that we all secretly hoped was pork. Pam and I had wrapped up a green hat for Naomi and she seemed to like it, at least we think she liked it as her English two year old vocabulary was limited to "hello, hello, HEllO, hello". Graeme and I also took the time to introduce ourselves to Ron the village Chief. Ron is 78, suffers from asthma, and has a very good use of the Queens English. We chitchatted about life in the village and finally it was time to pay for the tour and meet the truck. Although we did eat in the village we never did really participate in the birthday festivities.

When the truck arrived we learned that the vehicle would be different from the truck we rode to town in the previous day. This truck was a little more rickety looking with a metal cage of bars over the back to hold on to. The four of us were joined by Jim and Martha from the day before and another American couple. This made eight in the back of the truck, a squishy fit. The ride to the volcano was as jarring and abusive on the backside as the trip the day before. We also soon discovered that though the cage of bars around us gave us something to hold on to, they turned out to be a brain bashing addition to our experience riding in the rolling torture chamber. The ride out to the volcano took nearly an hour and we were in near darkness upon our arrival.

The parking lot for the vehicles is about a quarter mile from the crest of the crater. The entire terrain has a mars like quality, amplified under the bright moonlight of a nearly full moon. I would have felt right at home if were wearing space helmets, talking on radios, with our ray guns strapped to our sides. Instead we were equipped with hiking shoes, flashlights, camera gear, and our trusty walking sticks. Our young driver, suspiciously called our "guide", gave us about two sentences of a warning: "If a bomb flies in the air don't turn your back and run, just stand and watch it like a cricket ball, and then move out of the way". Oh great I thought, this visually impaired guy has been hit by just about every kind of ball imaginable and now I would be dodging hot lava with my incredible low-vision ball tracking prowess. I was in trouble!

The climb to the crater is steep with the path strewn with rocks from prior explosions. I kept thinking that I could be standing where each of the rocks came to earth, this experience was definitely a flirt with the odds, but unlike winning the lotto, when you get hit by the unlikely molten bolder you don't become a millionaire, you just become squished and dead.

As we climbed the hill an eerie silence fell over us all, and our exuberance from earlier turned to solemn whispers. There is something about potential danger that makes people quiet. From our vantage point, down the hill from the mouth of the crater we could see huge puffs of smoke with a red glow at the base of the crater. As we drew nearer we could hear the rumble of the volcano and with each stop closer we could hear the thud of projectile rocks striking the ashy surface of the crater, and those thuds didn't sound all that far away. I was walking with Graeme and Pam was walking further down the hill with Rebecca and as we made each stop to wait for the others to catch up I could hear more and more lava "bombs" landing closer.

When we finally reached the vantage point where the other viewers were gazing fixedly down the mouth of Yasur, I had the briefest of seconds to think 'now that red pit of lava doesn't look so bad', when to my complete terror the ground beneath my feet shook with a tremendous roar. The red semi-safe looking lava exploded before my eyes. It was like someone turned on a sun-strength blow torch and we were going to be barbecue. I remember thinking "holly s---" and unconsciously stepping back. The torrent of fire shot straight up hundreds of feet in the air, and lava bombs fell all around us, somehow just falling short of our vantage point. Someone in the crowd eeked out a shaky "that was the best so far tonight". I actually thought "this isn't safe maybe we should go". Just then, the column of fire died down, I caught my breath, and as if to underscore my concern for safety and survival, Yasur erupted again with an equal furry. This next blast seemed to freeze my brain in time, because in the few seconds of the fury, I had time to think with complete clarity. 'How can it be that people are allowed to do this? In the states with hyperactive litigation rampant there is no way this would be allowed. I know that people have died doing the very same thing I am standing here doing, and yet each night people come to witness this incredible spectacle. There is no fence, no net, no return from a step too far forward. Not to mention that at any time a molten blob of lava rock could shoot into the sky and erase any of us from existence. FAR OUT! How can I ever forget this experience? It is the force of nature caught in an instant, the spark that builds worlds, the roots of our existence, unbelievable!' In that instant I knew I was changed somehow.

At some point my own self preservation instinct was lost in the glory of the experience. The eruptions became something that my fear could grasp and I stood transfixed with the others wanting more and staring almost catatonic into the abyss of Yasur. More fire, more thumps, more noise, we want more! At that moment I probably would have stood there fixed in my shoes and been evaporated by a bigger and grander display if it were an option. I have simply never seen something so raw and awe inspiring. So, I stood there as Yasur built up energy and breathed fury into the sky.

I don't remember any of the individual eruptions now, just a stream of waiting, explosion, fire, lava, noise, waiting, glowing, heat, fire. We were all communicating but if there were a tape recorder it would probably sound something like this: "Wow! That is so… Did you see… I wonder… WwwwooooooW! Did you get that? Oh my god… I'm scared!"

The spell for me was finally broken and I came out of my stupor as I heard our driver telling us it was time to go. I think we would have just all stood there glassy eyed through the night if we weren't pried from the spot. We each slowly and begrudgingly turned away from the mighty Yasur and started our trek back towards the truck. With each new fit from Yasur we were stopped in our tracks to whirl around and get a final glimpse at Yasur's wrath. Finally, I was standing by the truck with my memory on rewind and replay.

The trip back was just as bumpy but we were now volcano viewing veterans. The shrieks and protests were cut in half with our minds as numb as our backsides from the potholes. At some point the truck stopped so a young man could jump on the rear bumper hanging on to the cage and Pam quietly pointed out that he was holding on to the metal bars above me with a huge bush knife teetering over my head. 'No problem' I thought, I have faced Yasur tonight, I am invincible.

Journal Entry - August 13 & 14, 2008 - Tanna, Vanuatu

2008-08-13T06:17:00.000-07:00

Author: Pam

Since leaving New Zealand more than a year ago visiting Tanna and the renowned Yasur volcano has been very high on our list of places we were hoping to visit. However, only after hearing about Yasur from other cruisers did seeing an active volcano find its way to my list of things I might like to do in this lifetime. I can't say I had really thought much about standing on the edge of a volcano while it spews molten rock and ash (possibly in my direction) before adding it to our list of places we intended to sail to.

We arrived in Port Resolution at 0900 and dropped the anchor in what is now our ninth country we will have the privilege of visiting. We are flying our Vanuatu courtesy flag and the yellow Q (quarantine) flag. However, we know that we have to go to shore to organize a trip across the island to Lenakel to check in with the authorities. Once we were comfortable that the hook was set, we deployed our dinghy and went over to pick up Graeme and Rebecca for a trip to shore. From the anchorage there was no sign of Yasur, but there were at least two visible vents on the hillside overlooking the anchorage exhaling white smoke.

We landed the dinghy on the beach next to a path that we decided not to take and headed along the beach towards where we all thought the yacht club might be located. We found a path that took us into a small village where a few men were seemingly "hanging" around. We asked for information on where we would find the person who organizes the trips across the island for yachties. They explained the truck had gone across the island for the day, but they would let the driver know we needed a lift and that we should be at the yacht club at 0800. They then directed us to the yacht club, which incidentally was at the top of the path where we had parked the dinghy.

As we wound our way through the very lush center of the island we encountered children probably walking home for lunch and lots of dogs, pigs, cows, chickens and other animals just meandering around. Along the way we met Mariam who is a primary school teacher, one of the Chief's daughters and Stanley's sister. Stanley was apparently the man we were looking for. According to Mariam he is next in line to be chief, but he is also the man who organizes trips to Lenakel to check in and up to see the mighty volcano. She assured us she would let Stanley know we needed a ride the next day. At this point though we had not talked to him ourselves, we figured we had our bases covered by the multiple people who were now going to let him know of our arrival. We continued walking as a light mist was falling until we came upon the yacht club.

Come to find out and as these things seem to go, we were not surprised to find out The Port Resolution Yacht Club and Cabin was also run by no other than Stanley. The yacht club is a building has a dirt floor, a long table and chairs, a toilet sitting by the door waiting to be installed, two friendly kittens, flags and burgees that yachties have contributed hanging from the rafters all under one thatched roof. You can apparently eat there and buy a cold beer, but that must be only during certain unpublished hours, there was no one about. The cabins overlook the beautiful turquoise water. They are very rustic and the furniture consisted of two cots. There was a separate building with a toilet and shower, with a space for a second toilet, presumably the one hanging about in the yacht club. Satisfied we had accomplished organizing our trip across the island we headed back to the boats to do a few chores and catch a few zzzz's. We have been finding overnight passages quite exhausting, it is not enough time to get into any kind of routine and neither one of us slept well. While we were napping two women off of one of the yachts dropped by Listowell Lady and let them know that Stanley was expecting us at 0700 at the yacht club for our adventure across the island.

We arrived at 0700 to find another couple, Jim and Martha waiting in the yacht club for Stanley as well. Jim and Martha are on a motor launch and they are from Florida. We all hung out and chatted and waited for Stanley who was apparently on island time. He and our chariot arrived at 0800. Now, when I was a kid I loved the rare opportunities we got to ride in the back of my Dad's truck (or anyone else's for that matter). But, nothing could have prepared me and my tail/sit bones for four hours of sitting on a narrow plank with a very thin cushion (that would not stay under my butt) on an almost entirely unpaved and pothole laden road. We headed out giggling at the sight of six yachties and two local guys bouncing and hanging on for dear life in the back of the red pick-up truck that would take two hours one way to reach Lenakel. There was one paved section that may have been two miles long, talk about a short lived relief.

As we reached the center of the island we came around a corner and there was Yasur in all its glory. The foliage abruptly ended as we drove across barren earth of volcanic ash and rocks. We had to shelter our faces as we looked in awe at the smoke and ash spewing out of the top of this mighty dragon and sprinkling down on our heads as we passed by. Wow, we are going to get up close and friendly to that, the concept became real instantly. Tomorrow was going to be one of the most exciting days of my life.

We arrived in Lenakel and the first stop was the bank where we were hoping to use an ATM to get the Vatu (Vanuatu currency) to pay the eminent arrival fees. We all climbed out of the back of the truck with some groans and relief to be on solid ground. That ride was more difficult than most of our ocean passages and we still have to go back, ouch. Ah well, there was not an ATM in Lenakel. We converted the Australian dollars we had and lucky for us Rebecca and Graeme had enough money to make up for what we were lacking. Incidentally, we had tried to get Vatu before leaving New Caledonia and there was none to be had. Once we had the cash needed, we all piled back into the truck and it was reminiscent to climbing back on a horse, at least my tail bone told me so.

We drove a couple more miles to the Immigration office. Stanley apparently rounded up the Quarantine Officer or at least he introduced himself as representing the Quarantine department. As we sat on the front porch of the Immigration Office we were handed forms to fill out for Quarantine and Immigration and we then met with each officer one by one. The Quarantine Officer was very casual and did not seem at all worried about what we had on board. He gave us a form back, which Stanley later said was not valid because he did not stamp it. He didn't have any problem taking our 3000 VT (approx, $30.00 USD). Stanley said he would call ahead to Port Vila and inform them we had all gone through the proper channels. As an aside, this did not happen. Stanley turned out to be basically a kava stoned player, who was not a man of his word and focused mostly on how he could take advantage of his position of power. I was not impressed and I felt badly for the rest of the people in his village who clearly did not benefit from the money he brought into the island. Anyway, I digressed. We paid the Immigration Officer 2000 VT each and were granted a 30 day visa for Vanuatu, with the provision we could extend it if we would like to stay longer. It was approaching 11:30 (most offices and businesses close between 11:30 and 1:00) so we needed to dash off to the Customs office. Actually, the Customs Officer was attending the celebration for the new Education Center that was under way next to the Immigration office, so Stanley rounded him up and he met us at his office. We paid him another 2000 VT and received a sealed envelope from him that we are supposed to deliver to the Customs office in Port Vila.

With our official business completed lunch was our next order of business. We walked down the road a short way to a restaurant overlooking the water. The menu for the day was printed on a chalkboard outside the door, fish, rice and veg for 500 VT ($5.00). We sat down with several locals on a bench at a long table. The restaurant had a dirt floor, open sides and a cat that was winding its way under the table. Plates of food were brought out one or two at a time, there was no need to place your order, just sitting down indicated you wanted lunch. The fish was Lolo, it was nice and had a texture a bit like chicken. A pitcher of watery pink drink arrived and several glasses. It was truly a local food experience. Scott and Graeme cleaned their plates and once again I was not quite as adventurous as I constantly waved the flies off of my food.

After lunch we walked back to the bank so Rebecca could exchange more money, again for the benefit of all of us. We checked out the grocery store and Beck bought ten eggs and some tinned tomatoes. Scott and Graeme bought a couple of Tuskers, Vanuatu beer. The store was probably the only one in town and just had a smattering of tinned food, eggs, potatoes and onions. All of the prices were hand written on scraps of paper on the edges of the shelves. There were also a few house wares and other items, though it was in the same building it may have actually been a separate store, I wasn't quite sure. After lunch Stanley disappeared with the truck, so we waited outside of the store on a rock wall until he and the rest of the gang showed up. We all climbed back into the truck and I must say the thin wooden plank and cushion felt even thinner. On the way back it became an exercise of testing my upper body strength as I tried not to actually sit. We had collected a few more passengers, one guy from Canada who was on holiday for three months in Vanuatu and was headed to one of the cabins at the Port Resolution Yacht Club and several local guys. I think we got up to ten people in the back of the truck, bunches of bananas, kava and other items that were collected along the way, foot room became a commodity.

We stopped at a market on the way back, where Rebecca and Jim bought bunches of corn. Which Rebecca shared, but it turned out to be inedible no matter how long I cooked it. We arrived back at the Yacht Club at 1600 sore, tired, filthy (from Yasur) and totally excited about the plans we made with Stanley to visit Yasur in 24 hours. We paid Stanley our 2000 VT each for the truck ride of our lives and headed back out to our respective boats. Though we were filthy, we cleaned up a bit, but decided we would wait and use our precious water for a shower after we visit Yasur. What a day and we are definitely not in Kansas.

Journal Entry - August 12, 2008 - Lifou, A Special Place!

2008-08-12T20:36:00.000-07:00

Author: Scott

Our departure from New Caledonia was made extra sweet after spending one wonderful day and night on Lifou Island, one of the three islands making up the Loyalty islands, a Provence of New Caledonia. After spending a night at sea we arrived at the town of We (way), the capital of the Island Provence, approximately 80 miles northeast from the Havana Pass exit from the barrier reef.

Upon arriving in the bay we learned that there was absolutely no anchoring and the only option was a stay at the small marina or to keep sailing to Vanuatu. We have continued to sail with Listowel Lady, and I am bound to report that after our first day at sea, Listowel Lady is winning the ongoing race, as she reached the bay first. Graeme and Rebecca braved the entrance to the very small marina, and arranged for Lulu the manager of the marina to pilot Starship safely to a berth. The entrance is narrow, curvy and surrounded by hull crunching rocks. As we successfully and independently reached our destination, we welcomed Lulu's assistance parking in this foreboding marina.
Inside the confines of the marina breakwater, we were treated to the bluest water we have seen since the Society Islands. The water was baby blue with a turtle paddling by the stern of our yacht. The fingers were thin and small so Graeme and I attached a stern line to keep our sterns pinned against the fingers of the dock.

Once each boat was settled we decided to nap and have lunch then visit the town to find a bank to get money for our marina bills, and a post office to mail post cards. We rode the local mini bus to town, costing 100 CFP. We found the bank and an automatic teller, but when we finally found the OPT (post office), they were closed for the day. We would just have to send our New Caledonia post cards from Vanuatu, par for the course for the crew of Starship.

We walked back to the boats and were treated to views of traditional huts, a pretty church and graveyard, and best of all a flawless white sandy beach with lovely water of every hue of blue and green. I could not resist the temptation to have a splash in the water that was as warm as most swimming pools. When we finally returned to the boats, Graeme and I had just enough time to dive on our respective boats to give the props and our hulls a good scrub down. We are racing after all and we each wanted to have our boats in prime racing condition. I was down one leg (and a beer) so I was extra keen for a good prop scrubbing.

Our plan for tomorrow is a daylight departure. We will sail all day and night to Tanna Island, Vanuatu, the home of the long awaited Yasur Volcano. Tomorrow we will step out into some of the most remote destinations we will visit on our entire journey. I am so excited that it will be hard to sleep tonight.

Journal Entry - August 10, 2008 - Country Details & Impressions of Nouvelle Caledonie

2008-08-10T17:20:00.000-07:00

Author: Pam & Scott

After two months in New Caledonia here are some of our impressions and observations:

We are back in a land of cars driving on the right hand side of the road after being in New Zealand and Australia and trying to adjust to the cars driving on the left. The drivers here in Noumea are not good about stopping for pedestrians and it definitely feels like you take your life in your hands every time you cross the street. It has also been interesting being back in a country where you also pass on the right as you are walking after passing on the left for the past couple of years. It's good for Scott, he never got very good at passing on the left.

Many lights in public building's common areas i.e. hallways and restrooms are on timers, leaving you to often walk into semi darkness looking for the light switch.

On the surface New Cal looks like a dirty town, but as you explore you discover "galleries" which lead from the street to hidden mazes of "up market" (as they would say in Australia) boutiques and shops such as Hermes… The city has a distinct temporary feel to it, almost as if they are preparing in advance for the day that the nickel resources diminish and Noumea fades into a ghost town.

The showers at the marina have buttons you push to turn on the water, and push you must about every ten seconds. This is apparently very French and I suppose a way of conserving water, though I have not figured out how yet. It doesn't seem to change the length of the shower time, it just keeps you busy trying to keep the button pushed before the water actually turns off. It is also not unusual to walk into the "women's or men's toilet" to take a shower and find you are sharing the space with one or more couples sharing a shower and speaking French. The TP holders also have small padlocks; cruisers are apparently notorious for stealing toilet paper, go figure.

When you are out and about in Noumea you encounter many Melanesian woman wearing unflattering but bright colored moo moos. As well as, shops where you can purchase your very own moo moo, or the fabric to make one for yourself.

The internet service throughout the country is very slow and very expensive. We feel like spoiled Americans, but on the other hand we have experienced some incredible internet connections in the middle of nowhere, like Niue island. On Niue you could sit under a palm tree and access a free, fairly fast wifi connection.

The air quality in Noumea is very poor due to the dust from the nickel factory and the smell from the sewage that they don't have a good management system for. It is especially bad at times at the Port Moselle Marina. The running joke on the bad days is that we are all berthed in a dirty toilet.

There is a growing homeless population in Noumea, but we have not gotten to the bottom of why it is growing. We experienced blatant pan handling unlike anything we ever experienced in San Francisco (which is amazing to us). Two times while we were making a withdrawal from an ATM there was someone standing right next to the machine asking for money before we even started to make the transaction. We said "no" and they continue to stand there and ask. We encountered some pretty bold people in SF, but I have never experienced that at an ATM.

The people are very friendly and helpful. When you walk along the marina or any of the docks everyone says "bonjour". It is not the same when you are walking the city streets, but near the water it seems that is what you do. I have also been told that there is much more interest in learning English in the past few years then in the past. The other day we were in line at the grocery store and I had a very memorable and special experience. In front of us was a Dad with his approximately eight year old daughter. She wanted to step between Scott and I to choose the sweets her Dad had finally given in to (kids are kids all over the world) and she said, "excuse me" and "thank you" when Scott moved out of her way. I said "your welcome" and her Dad said to me she is practicing her English. He then asked her if she knew "your welcome", she said "yes". He then asked if we were Australian and was quite surprised when we responded American and that we had sailed from San Francisco. He translated this to his daughter, who then looked at us with wide eyes and a huge smile. She then asked her Dad in French how to say "have a nice day", (which I was amazed that I understood) and we ended our little "practice" session with warm wishes and smiles. It was truly lovely.

The school years are defined and delineated in New Cal differently than in the US. The first six years are primary school (5 - 10 years old), the next four years are college (10 - 15 years old) and the final three years are high school. Many teachers work a maximum of three hours a day.

I had to get a prescription filled here and the language barrier was an example of how you have to be very careful and pay attention to what you think is right. The medication in the US is one pill. Here to meet the dosage it is three that you take all at once. So, when I got back to the boat and opened the box I was expecting three pills (and I was told I should take them all at once, which I knew was right). Well, much to my surprise there were seven pills. So, we went back to the pharmacy to confirm whether I was suppose to take three pills or seven, which seemed wrong. Long story short, yes I was supposed to take three, which is all the Dr. prescribed. But, the pharmacy sells it in lots of seven. I was ok with getting a second dose of three, but what am I supposed to do with the ONE pill left over? "Well, that is how they do it here", was the response.

Food doesn't seem as expensive in New Caledonia as it was in French Polynesia, but it is still quite spendy. We have decided it is comparable to Australia, which we found to be an expensive country. However, fruit and vegetables are very expensive here and the options are definitely limited. I have yet to see a fresh mushroom, though I am sure there are some here somewhere and we saw a small container of strawberries for $15.00 US dollars the other day. I didn't need to have strawberries that badly.

Country Details (from the internet):
New Caledonia was settled by both Britain and France during the first half of the 19th century, the island was made a French possession in 1853. New Caledonia became an Overseas Territory of France in 1956.
In 1864 France set up a penal colony in New Caledonia. The prison closed in 1897. Agitation for independence during the 1980s and early 1990s has dissipated. The 1998 Noumea Accord allowed for increased autonomy for New Caledonia over a fifteen to twenty year period. Up to three referenda, carried out between 2013 and 2015, will determine independence from France.
Location: Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia. Geographic coordinates: 21 30 S, 165 30 E. Area: Total: 19,060 sq km, land: 18,575 sq km (7,174 sq miles), water: 485 sq km. Coastline: 2,254 km Area - comparative: Slightly smaller than New Jersey.
New Caledonia consists of the main island, known as Grande Terre, the Isle of Pines, the Loyalty Islands and a number of small islands. Grande Terre was part of the giant continent of Gondwana which started to break apart over one hundred million years ago. The Loyalty Islands - Lifou, Mare and Ouvea are atolls.

Climate and Terrain: Tropical; modified by southeast trade winds; hot, humid. Coastal plains with interior mountains. Elevation extremes: Lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m, highest point: Mont Panie 1,628 m
People Population: 207,858 (July 2002 est.)
The indigenous population of New Caledonia are the Kanaks who arrived in the archipelago around three thousand years ago. New Caledonia is called Kanaky by the Kanak people.

Languages: French (official), 33 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects.
Government: Overseas territory of France since 1956. Capital: Noumea.
Economy overview: New Caledonia has more than 20% of the world's known nickel resources. In recent years, the economy has suffered because of depressed international demand for nickel, the principal source of export earnings. Only a negligible amount of the land is suitable for cultivation, and food accounts for about 20% of imports. In addition to nickel, the substantial financial support from France and tourism are keys to the health of the economy. The situation in 1998 was clouded by the spillover of financial problems in East Asia and by lower prices for nickel. Nickel prices jumped in 1999-2000, and large additions were made to capacity.
Statistics: Telephones - main lines in use: 47,000. Telephones - mobile cellular: 13,040. Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 5. Radios: 107,000 (1997) Television broadcast stations: 6 (plus 25 low-power repeaters). Televisions: 52,000. Internet country code: .nc Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1. Internet users: 5,000. Railways: 0 km Highways: total: 4,825 km, paved: 2,287 km, unpaved: 2,538 km. Airports: 29.) Heliports: 6. (these statistics were not dated, but it gives a reasonable example of the size of the population, country and advancements in technology).

Journal Entry - August 9, 2008 - New Caledonia Astern - Vanuatu Here we come!

2008-08-09T20:32:00.000-07:00

Author: Scott

This morning we threw off the mooring lines after spending just over two months in New Caledonia, where we were originally only spending about a week on our way to Vanuatu.
Like so many times on this voyage, the unexpected has become the reality and with the experience has come a wide mixture of emotions. On one hand, we certainly were not expecting the damage and expense that came with our Coral Sea crossing and the amount of time and frustration that came with making the necessary repairs. On the other hand, we have met such an array of wonderful and kind people in New Caledonia. Thoughts of our new and special friends have been drifting through my mind all day. I have often said that the voyage determines the destinations and this has been so true for our time in New Caledonia. We will treasure the memories we have from spending time with Nathaniel and Malia, our visit to the Blind Association, our tour of the island with Michel and Viviane, and the warm and hospitable lunch with Michelle and Gerard and their family, just to mention a few of the fantastic memories.

There always seems to be a group of smiling well wishers on the dock when we depart, and today was no exception. Thanks to Brett and Sandy for their help and friendship and goodbye to all of those friends we left waving goodbye on the "Visitors Pontoon". Our first day away from the marina was spent in the rainy New Caledonia lagoon as we followed Listowel Lady south to Port Boise anchorage, a large and calm anchorage positioned at the entry to the Havana Pass, our exit from the barrier reef surrounding New Caledonia.

Tonight we had a delicious barbequed steak dinner. The boat gently swayed on anchor as we were each content with our thoughts of what the next leg of this incredible journey will bring.

Journal Entry - July 31, 2008 - Road Trip South

2008-07-31T20:59:00.000-07:00

Author: Pam
It is truly a treat when we meet local people who want to show us their home. Michel and Viviane invited us to spend the day with them exploring the southern part of New Caledonia. They picked us up at 0830 as promised and we headed off to see the part of the country where red, blue and green meet.

Our first stop was on the shore of a lake where the red dirt met the blue water and sky with green dotting the background. The color of the soil is a very rich red, due to the rich mineral content. I found it interesting that the most prevalent car color is white, but they all ended up covered in thick red dust. Next we stopped to look at the dam that controls the height of the lake and to have morning tea. Viviane brought a thermos of coffee and some cookies. It offered us an opportunity to share a classic visually impaired moment, when both Scott and Viviane reached for their cookie and ended up with the rocks that were holding down the table cloth within seconds of one another. The rocks were about the same size as the cookies, but definitely would not have tasted as good. We all had a good giggle and when we headed back to the car, Viviane warned us there was a big cookie in the path. The cookie warning continued throughout the day and will now forever be part of our hiking terminology. Cookies have been added to koala's breakfast which is now the warning for low branches, borrowed from the Guide Dog trainers in Sydney. It is definitely more fun to avoid (or trip over) cookies and koala's breakfast, than rocks and branches.

Once back in the car we headed for the village of Yate. On the way we stopped in a small village where we saw the grave of a missionary in the shape of a boat by the edge of the sea. He was from France and when he died they wanted to send him home so they buried him by the sea in his own boat.

The church nearby was lovely, but we couldn't go in because there was a funeral in progress for one of the members of the tribe. As we walked by we heard the traditional Polynesian singing we have heard in churches throughout the South Pacific. Michel introduced us to one of the local woman who gave us permission to have a look at the preserved traditional hut that was just down the road from the church, which is no longer occupied.

Scott was sitting in the front with Michel and they chatted away about New Caledonia and the US. Michel had a habit of turning his head to look at Scott, I think he thought this helped him understand his English better, but it did not work for Viviane. One of the phrases she learned in English was "keep your eyes on the road", which she must have said to Michel twenty times or more throughout the day.

Our next stop was at Gite St. Gabriel a Gite and restaurant in Yate for lunch. Michel and Viviane had called ahead and made a reservation as well as ordered a traditional lunch. The well manicured grounds of the Gite overlooked the ocean through beautiful palm trees. There were very basic cabins that were for rent by the night. The price range depended on how many people and whether you wanted dinner and breakfast included.

After our walk we settled in for our surprise lunch. We were served a salad and the basket of bread that seems to be present at all meals. The main course arrived and Viviane told us it was a traditional New Caledonian style of cooking called "bougnia". It can be any kind of meat or fish wrapped in greens and cooked. To make it even more "local" Michel had ordered fish, which was a reef fish called Dawa. When we were given a plate for the bones, I thought oh no Scott is definitely wishing they had ordered chicken. But, he never ceases to amaze me. He tucked in and cleaned his plate of all of the fish, greens and veggies (potatoes, squash and pumpkin) cooked in coconut milk. I liked the fish (the greens didn't work for me) and the veggies, though I found them a bit rich. For dessert they served a lovely fruit cup and everyone had espresso except for me. It was a culinary experience and very sweet of Michel and Viviane to make it happen. We were the only customers in the restaurant and I don't think any of the cabins were rented out that day.

After lunch we wound our way along the coast to our next surprise. As we hiked a short distance from the car Michel was explaining that he knows the US has lots of things that are big and this isn't quite as big and about that time a beautiful waterfall was cascading in front of us. It is the Goro Falls and they are the biggest in New Caledonia. They were beautiful and I was quite impressed.

Next we found ourselves in the middle of newly constructed dirt roads with no signs. Things had apparently changed since the last time Michel and Viviane had been this way. After choosing to go right and finding out we should have gone left from a construction worker, it only took turning around one more time and two more construction workers to get us headed in the right direction. Michel had hoped to show us the Nickel factory, but that road was no longer accessible. It truly just looked like hills of red dirt to me, I was amazed Michel could even end up on the wrong road, much less the right one.

We stopped at a lookout over Baie de Prony, a very popular and cyclone safe anchorage. We were jealous of the eight yachts anchored as Starship sat in yet another marina waiting for her new dodger. Once back in the car we wound our way down the hill and stopped to walk through a local village. There were about ten homes that are second homes rented by retired factory workers, the lease is for 99 years. They were very basic with no electricity or running water, however there was a creek alongside the road. They were surrounded by lush trees and a well manicured "road" wound its way among them. One of the houses had an anchor in front and Popeye painted on the side of the house. Popeye (although he is the sailorman) seemed very random. There was a lovely banyan tree with a giant root span. Scott's favorite site was the old prison wall, we of course have pictures of him behind bars.

The last box to check for our tour was to see a Niaouli Tree, we wanted to see the tree that the bottle of Niaouli essence Michel and Viviane had given us came from. Viviane had been reminding Michel all day to keep a lookout and just before dark he spotted one along side the road. We all climbed out and Michel plucked a branch. It has small green leaves and small white flowers. When you pinch the leaf the smell is very similar to eucalyptus. We climbed back in the car with the branch, the leaves can be dried and boiled later.

We pulled into the Port Moselle Marina parking lot at 1800 feeling as though our New Caledonia horizon had been broadened. We had been feeling sad we were stuck in the marina, we were grateful for the opportunity to see the countryside, especially with people as warm and friendly as Michel and Viviane. They left with promises to stop by the following Monday to bring us copies of the pictures they took. Any excuse to see them would be lovely.

Journal Entry – July 27, 2008 Dinner with New Caledonian’s on Starship

2008-07-27T22:00:00.000-07:00

Author: Pam

Another lovely outcome of our connection with the association for the blind was meeting Michel and Vivian. Vivian is visually impaired due to Stargarts and participates in the painting classes, yoga and other activities at the association. When Scott and Michel went to the police station for the second time, Scott invited them to dinner aboard Starship.

Our day ended up being mostly devoted to preparing for dinner and started with a trip to the market next door, which is an overwhelming experience on Sunday. It is the biggest market day and very crowded. We struggle on a quiet day to find what we are looking for and to understand how much we need to pay. We still can not hear the numbers in French when they tell us the total. We often ask to see the calculator they have used to figure out how much we owe or we just give them a big enough note that we are sure will cover the outrageous amounts we are paying for fresh veggies. After making a couple of purchases and not being able to make out what our options were at the butcher, we decided to finish our shopping for dinner at the grocery store. We headed out to accomplish this task to find out to our horror the grocery stores are not open on Sunday. Oops, now what are we going to make for dinner? We only had one package of ground beef (mince for our Aussie & Kiwi friends) in the freezer. We brainstormed and came up with several ideas that we had almost all of the ingredients for, but not quite. We finally settled on pasta, Greek salad and cherry crepes for dessert.

By the time we got this all figured out we had an hour to whip it together. We finished one minute before 5:00 pm and Michel and Vivian arrived promptly at 5:00. There is no such thing as New Caledonia time, we find New Caledonian’s arrive either early or exactly on time. Once aboard they presented us with gifts from New Caledonia, a shirt for Scott and a cool and loose fitting dress for me. They also gave us an essential oil that is from the native Niaoli tree. It has medicinal properties, you can smell it when you have a cold (like Vicks Vapor Rub) or you can put a few drops in a pan of boiling water or an oil burner to cleanse the air. It smells like a cross between Vicks and Eucalyptus. We shared a lovely time in the cockpit and when I went down below to make the final dinner preparations, they confessed they thought they were only coming over for an aperitif (cocktail hour), there had definitely been a breakdown in communication. They said they were happy to stay for dinner, so we all feasted on a meal that we would eat at sea instead of the BBQ we had planned, well maybe minus the crepes.

We will see them again on Thursday for a day trip in the car to go sightseeing to some of their favorite places outside of Noumea. Michel loves to speak English and is very chatty and although Vivian is shyer about her English ability, there does not seem to be a lack of topics to cover. Spending a day with them will certainly be educational and definitely fun.

Journal Entry - July 25, 2008 Lunch with a New Caledonian Family

2008-07-25T22:00:00.000-07:00

Author: Pam

Visiting beautiful places, maintaining the boat, making passages, provisioning, and constantly learning is a short list of experiences we are having on this adventure, but it has become clear the top of the list is the people we meet. Some of our fondest memories are the people we have met through our efforts to meet and learn about the visually impaired community. Today was no exception. During the visit with the Association for the Blind on Monday we had the pleasure of meeting Michelle, the “2nd President” of the Association and before the afternoon was over she invited us to lunch at her home on Friday. Her son Jaque was also present and he offered to pick us up.

As promised he was at the boat just before 11:00 am with his eleven year old son Arnaud. Arnaud was a bit shy and did not want to have a look at Starship, so we hopped in the car and headed off to make new friends here in New Caledonia. When we arrived at Michelle’s home we were welcomed with the typical French greeting, cheek to cheek and kisses in the air with both cheeks. I am a bit more comfortable with this custom, because there is never a question if it will happen with a man, woman or child. In Scott’s case sometimes it happens with men and sometimes not, so he is never quite sure. He was quite taken aback when all three young boys offered up their cheeks. It was really sweet to watch though. We met “Papa” Michelle’s husband, Christine, Michelle’s daughter who works for immigration as a boarder patrol police captain, Eric and Mayana, he is a trainer for elementary teachers and she is a primary school teacher and their two sons. Mayana was married to Michelle’s son who was a pilot and died 15 years ago in a plane accident. Mayana married Eric and they are now both part of the family.

We were ushered inside to a huge, beautifully set table that we later learned is a ping pong table. Within minutes champagne was popped and poured, pictures snapped, horsdeuves served and questions being asked in French and translated into English by Christine. Arnaud wanted to know the name of our boat, he had drawn a picture of a sailboat on a white board. I spelled Starship for him and he added her name to his work of art, which then prompted more pictures. At least Christine and possibly Eric had taken the day off from work to meet us, it was as special for them to have two Americans sitting at their table as it was for these two Americans to be having lunch with a New Caledonian family.

We learned that food is very important to New Caledonians, even if you are poor you still have plenty of food on your table. The whole family had contributed to this special lunch and it was a feast. Jaque made the most delicious potato salad I have ever had, there was pasta gratin, grilled eggplant, steak, green salad, ashards (which is a local relish made with vegetables or citrus fruit). Everything was delicious and just when we thought we could not possibly eat another bite three desserts arrived on the table, flan, banana tart and an orange cake. We were served a small piece of each dessert with offers for seconds. The French love their desserts, it sometimes is a longer list on a menu at a restaurant than the main course options. Scott refrained, but he would have had seconds if he could have fit them in his big toe.

Throughout the meal the questions continued to fly from each family member. Mayana wanted to know what was the one thing we think is important to have on the boat, I answered fresh water and Scott answered gummy snakes. It turned out to be a difficult question to answer, I don’t think I could ever narrow it down to one thing. Papa wanted to know about the GPS and other instruments, he used to be a pilot and how we navigate was particularly interesting to him. Eric wanted to know about the computers on board and how we communicate. Michelle wanted to know if we believe in God or something bigger than us, especially when it seemed there was divine intervention when we were hit by the wave and Scott was not washed off the boat. It started to rain during lunch and Jaque shared with his family that we had been hanging laundry out on the lifelines when he and Arnaud arrived at the boat. That lead to a conversation about underwear and how we were told by friends in the beginning of our first cruising season, if you don’t hang your underwear on the outside of your boat you are not a true cruiser. We had used a clothesline down below the first time I hand washed laundry in Tahiti, but only once, because if that is what it takes to make you a true cruiser we could hang our underwear out for the world to see with the best of them. Papa commented that nowadays there isn’t much to woman’s underwear, so it shouldn’t take long for it to dry. He further elaborated (this was translated by Christine) that it used to be that you had to move the underwear to see the bum, but now you have to move the bum to see the string of the underwear. It was difficult to not feel part of the family at this point as we all laughed until we almost cried.

When it was time to leave the goodbyes looked like the hellos, more kisses, but in a few hours we had become friends and our lunch with a New Caledonian family will be a special memory of our time in a country that we were actually not originally planning to visit. Jaque and Eric drove us back to the boat laden with a bag full of gifts. They had all written a message and their email addresses in the back of a 2008 agenda, there was a 2009 calendar, mosquito spray, a dishful of the yummy potato salad, a sampling of all of the desserts and a loaf of French bread added at the last minute. There were offers if we need anything in the time we have remaining and promises to keep in touch. Scott and I came back to the boat feeling overwhelmed by their generosity and blessed that we crossed path with the Bellet family.

Journal Entry - July 23, 2008 – Dodger Disaster Sorted Out

2008-07-23T22:00:00.000-07:00

Author: Scott

Ah! The stress is rolling off our backs as I write this entry. Today we came to a negotiated truce with the vendor who was originally hired to construct our new bimini/dodger.

On Monday while returning home from our visit to the association for the blind I asked Michel if he had any ideas regarding our rights for recourse regarding the breakdown in communication with the vendor we selected to complete our dodger/bimini. Michel was a Gendarmerie for most of the 1980’s in New Caledonia and I figured who better than a retired police officer could give us advice. Michel asked for the vendor’s contact information and told me that he would call and instruct him to come to the police station to make a statement and would then take me to the station the following day to make a statement as well.

The next day Michel turned up and together we went to the Noumea police station. It turned out that the translator was off duty and we were instructed to visit a different office, today. Michel picked me up at 13:45 and we drove over to the a police station near the adjacent bay and on the way Michel told me that he could not stay due to a prior commitment, but not to worry as he arranged a meeting with the translator.

The police station was a small single story blue and white building that blended in with the surrounding homes in this suburb of New Caledonia. We entered into a crowded waiting room that appeared to be teaming with people clearing up legal disputes and automobile altercations. The mood in the police station was surprisingly light and the staff was very friendly. Michel checked me in and we waited on plastic chairs for our turn with the translator. When the translator called our names, Michel explained that he had a prior commitment and asked if the translator could drive me home. Wow, not only was I in a police station but I might even get a ride in a squad car. Everything was arranged and Michel made his departure. Now I was alone!

The officer who served as the translator told me his name, and I promptly forgot it, I must have been a tad nervous! I found him to be kind but serious. I explained our side of the story and he read a statement that we had prepared. I also provided a letter received that morning from the vendor. The officer then explained that this was not a “criminal matter” and was a “civil matter” but he said the police would like to help resolve the dispute. He then phoned the vendor and without giving a reason, instructed the vendor to report immediately to the police station. The conversation lasted twenty seconds and the vendor was on his way. To pass the time while we waited, I pelted the officer with a million questions about being a police officer in New Caledonia. I learned that there are 500 police in New Caledonia and drinking and domestic violence are the biggest problems they face.

To the relief of the officer the vendor arrived in ten minutes saving him from further unrelenting nervous questions from me. The officer asked us each to tell our side of the story and then matter-of-factly asked each of us how the problem could be resolved. We each gave our story and after some heated discussion we both were able to come to the table with some compromises. In the end we shook hands. The officer gave the vendor a stern warning to finish the project on time and to do the work to the best of his ability, or the situation would become a matter for the police. Since we were now all getting along again I was given a ride back to the marina from the vendor, undermining my plans of riding in a Noumea police cruiser.

After nearly four years into this voyage we have never faced a conflict with a vendor of this magnitude. Although we had a written quotation, it was a solid reminder that we should also always insist on a detailed contract with firm completion dates. It was also refreshing to see that even amidst a conflict with no apparent solution, in a foreign country, people can step back, regroup, and come to a reasonable compromise. Big thanks to the Noumea police department for their keen negotiation skills.

Journal Entry - July 21, 2008 - Association Valentin Hauy

2008-07-21T17:49:00.000-07:00

Author: Pam

We were in the process of trying to contact the Association for the Blind (which is not an easy feat when you don't speak the language) when a reporter was "tipped off" about our arrival in Noumea by another yacht (Kracht). He came by Starship and he asked his questions as best he could and we answered the best we could considering our language barrier, it helped that he has circumnavigated several times. The outcome of our interaction was a very nice article in the Les Nouvelles Caldoniennes, Noumea newspaper. On the same day the article appeared Michel, a volunteer from the Association for the Blind tracked us down at the marina and once again thanks to media the barriers were immediately broken down. He speaks very good English which certainly helped as we had a million questions. After a mutually informative initial meeting he invited us to visit the Association on the following Monday and offered to pick us up at 13:00.

We were ready at 13:00, but we really had no idea what to expect. When Michel arrived he was accompanied by his wife Viviane (who is visually impaired) and a photographer from a magazine. The photographer took a couple of pictures of Scott and I on the boat and then disappeared. Michel was eager to get going, because he explained the TV station was planning to meet us back at the boat at 15:00. That was news (pun intended) as I stepped off the boat looking at her complete disarray as we were mid dodger and dodger frame repair, I just had to go with the flow.

We arrived at the Association Valentin Hauy after about a fifteen minute car ride. We walked in with Michel and Viviane and I immediately felt like I was Cinderella entering the ball. There were about 20 people in the room and whatever they were doing was instantly and completely interrupted. The plan was to observe the normal activity of the "center", but it became clear that between us and all of the media that had shown up for the occasion that was not going to be the go. We were introduced and then introduced to a few individuals before we were whisked to the couch were we held court with two radio stations, one magazine and the same newspaper reporter again. Thank heavens, Claude the leather teacher originally from Canada graciously interpreted for everyone. We answered some questions four times and hopefully we were consistent. There were several participants who sat as close as possible so they could hear and sometimes asked a question or made comments, none of which we could understand.

There unfortunately was not time to give a presentation to all of the participants and given the language barrier in this instance they will hopefully learn a lot more from the information we were able to share with the media.

Once our media "commitments" were fulfilled we were given a tour of the building the Association owns. The walls of the main room when you first enter the building are lined with bookcases filled with books on tape. The Association has 15 volunteers, 12 of them record books at home for the lending library. As mentioned, Claude is the leather arts teacher and he is teaching Gilles the craft with the goal that Gilles will pass the skill on to other people with visual impairments. Gilles is a big, gregarious guy who lost is vision in 1998 to a brain tumor. He speaks very good English because he worked in the hospitality business before losing his sight. He believes he was given a second chance in life and he clearly embraces it with every ounce of his being. His connection with the Association and the gift he believes he has received to meet Claude and learn to tool leather exuded from every ounce of his being as he towered over me. His handiwork was beautiful and he will fulfill his goal of being the next leather arts teacher and who knows what other doors may open.

We learned that the Association does what it can to assist clients to find employment, but New Caledonia is not exempt from the discrimination that so often limits employment for people with disabilities. In a typical year the association finds employment for two to three people. Some of the employment placements include civil servants, telephone company representatives, tourism, and retail positions.

We met one of the two guide dogs in New Caledonia. His name is Shine and he is a boofy looking boy with a big head. He was just getting his leash back that had been repaired by Gilles.

There was an individual Braille lesson in progress in the same room where they have several computers with some assistive technology. Unfortunately, they do not have a computer teacher or anyone to maintain the computers at this time. It is very difficult to know that Scott has so much to offer, but under the circumstances would not have the opportunity to update the equipment and software.

On Mondays there is a painting class. Viviane participates in the painting class; she used to paint on silk before she began losing her vision seven years ago. She also takes the yoga class every Friday.

The Association has identified 130 people who are blind or visually impaired in New Caledonia. The Association struggles with locating visually impaired people, as many families isolate and "protect" family members from the outside world. The volunteers have made an effort to try and meet each person to let them know what services are available. Funding for the Association comes from service organizations and the New Caledonian government.

After we partook of refreshments we were whisked back into Michel and Viviane's car and headed back to Starship to meet the TV crew. When we arrived at Port Moselle we discovered that half of the participants from the center had also come along to see the boat. We stood at the top of the dock and chatted while everyone gathered and the cameraman began shooting the casual conversations. Once we arrived at Starship it became chaos. There were people everywhere and the cameraman was walking around filming, he had yet to speak to us. I ended up giving tours of the front of the boat, and Scott was between the helm and the back, we didn't see one another at all. After an hour I came out to say goodbye to Michelle and Jaque and one of the TV crew asked if he could ask me a couple of questions, Scott was nowhere to be seen. After they left I asked Scott if they interviewed him, no they just filmed him demonstrating Zoomtext with charts on the computer. We looked at each other in our complete exhaustion and said I guess the word will be out now in New Caledonia. Then I asked Scott if he had made any future commitments, while I shared that we had been invited to lunch at Michelle's house on Friday so we could experience time with a New Caledonian family. We owe a huge thank you to Michel and Viviane for organizing another amazing experience for us and the wonderful opportunities for us to share our message in New Caledonia.

Journal Entry - July 20, 2008 Vendor Drama in Noumea

2008-07-20T22:00:00.000-07:00

Author: Scott

Okay, last week when I sat down to the computer I felt like there was not much to write about and this week I am staring at the blank page thinking ‘now what?’

The only thing of interest that has happened this week is the complete meltdown with our bimini/dodger vendor. If you recall from last week’s journal the dodger construction was scheduled to start on Tuesday July 15. On the morning of the 15th the vendor did not show up leaving us in awe of his unpredictability. When he eventually did show up I had a serious discussion with him, sharing our concerns and growing unease over the multiple delays. At this point he told me that the vybak plastic that we thought had arrived last week was actually being shipped to New Caledonia and the completion date would now be August 5th. He believed this to only be a week later than originally agreed upon, while we see this delay as nearly three weeks late. The following day Graeme and Rebecca helped me phone Australia and we sourced a warehouse that had the plastic material in stock immediately. However, when I called the vendor and offered to provide the plastic he went ballistic stating that he had already purchased the material and could not cancel his order. He then said that he was fed up with this project and would not complete the work. I asked him to return our deposit and he said he was also keeping our deposit for his inconvenience.

This entire situation is like nothing we have experienced to date on our voyage. We have had very few negative interactions with trades people thus far, and now we are in a foreign country, ignorant of our rights as consumers, facing a huge dilemma. We have been advised to visit the police and possibly the media. We have already found a new vendor and we have opened discussions with him. Fortunately it appears that he can complete the project on a similar timeline.

On a brighter note, when I was in the marina office having a recent newspaper article about the voyage translated, a man came up to me and introduced himself as Michel Michel is a volunteer for the local association for the blind, and speaks some English. We have been trying to contact the association with little success, and now they were looking for us. Michel and I had a great chat and I immediately liked him. I asked a million questions about the association, its members and about blind people in general living in New Caledonia. Michel invited us to visit the center on Monday, July 21.

Meeting other blind people as we travel through the world is our highest priority and is always a rich and wonderful experience. So, in the midst of a very trying week there is a glimmer of excitement in us as we anticipate meeting the members of the association for the blind. Hopefully we will soon have positive news and stories of our visit. So, stay awake and stay tuned because things surely must be getting ready to perk up for the better.

Journal Entry - July 13, 2008 – Illegal Immigrants Awaiting Repairs

2008-07-13T22:00:00.000-07:00

Author: Scott

This past week in New Caledonia has presented us with some real challenges. Our day to day life has become almost routine, but our ability to reside in New Caledonia has been prolonged while simultaneously threatened.

Our agreement with the vendor who we have hired to build our new dodger/bimini was supposed to start construction on Monday July 7, when he returned from a vacation in Australia, where he was also going to purchase the Sunbrella Plus fabric and Vybak plastic for our project. Monday passed without seeing neither hide nor hair of him and when he finally did appear, we were told that New Caledonia Customs had seized his materials due to some bureaucratic glitch. We were told that construction could not begin until the material was released. Every few days the vendor would show up with an update, but the end result was always the same, no fabric yet and it would be a minimum of two weeks once the fabric was released. To further our predicament, the vendor had purchased the materials with our deposit, and so we were stuck waiting.

Finally, on Saturday July 12 the vendor came by to tell us that Customs had released the materials, and that construction could begin on July 15, as July 14 is Bastille Day a holiday in New Caledonia. Hopefully things will start to move forward, as we are now officially a week behind schedule, after waiting nearly two weeks just for the material to arrive in New Caledonia.

Our next hurdle this week has been the expiration of our New Caledonian visa. When we arrived in Koumac we were not told how long our visa was good for. So, upon investigation into the expiration date we learned that our visas expired on July 9. We are now illegal aliens with a broken boat. Next week we will face the music and see what happens. If we end up in a New Caledonian pokey – please send a cake with a file.

Otherwise, our lives in New Caledonia continue to be routine. We are enjoying our new friendship with Graeme and Rebecca. I have been working with Rebecca on her computer. Both she and Graeme have Ipods and we are getting them loaded full of new music. I have also got them watching computer movies and they are sure to become computer media geeks.

We are learning our way around town and we have now visited Ansa Vata beach, the main tourist area in town. Our trips to the market have become an almost daily event, buying our tomato, zucchini, piece of meat or whatever items will meet the day’s needs. We have gotten familiar with a nice young man at the market café and he now knows our order on sight. Our coffee comes in giant bowls for 300 CFP each, with me getting a café latté and Pam a hot chocolate. It is strange that we have been here long enough to have our coffee order memorized.

That’s about it for this week’s update. As you make your way through your week, every now and then send some energy to the two stranded sailors, awaiting repairs and avoiding deportation, as the nickel dust drifts down on their dirty boat in New Caledonia.

Journal Entry – June 30 – July 6, 2008 Life is Slowing Waaaaaay Doooooooooooown in New Cal

2008-07-06T22:00:00.000-07:00

Author: Scott

During the past week we have finished up a number of boat tasks. Our watermaker may now be finally working and our wind generator bearings were replaced. Now all we have left on the project list is the replacement of our dodger/bimini and this will take another two weeks (sigh). It is nice that we are able to move to the non essential boat task list and turn our attention to things like rust removal and cleaning the boat.

To add to this exciting week we started the process of obtaining our Indonesian visa. It turns out that Indonesia is one of the toughest and bureaucratic countries to enter with a cruising sailboat. The first hurdle was applying for and paying for a Clearance Approval for Indonesian Territory or CAIT. This is essentially a cruising permit for Indonesian waters and can be obtained online from the Bali Marina once a hefty fee has been wired. The second step is to obtain a visa in advance. Tourists are granted a thirty day visa automatically but to stay longer is a whole other ball game. Crew on a visiting yacht must request a visa in advance from an Indonesian consulate or embassy, but you can not request a visa prior to ninety days in advance of your trip. This means that we would have had to apply for a visa from Darwin Australia or Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea (a scary city), but with our temporary marooning in New Caledonia we are fortunate to have a local Indonesian consulate available to us, and yes we are now within the ninety day window. I must say that our first experience at the consulate was quite hospitable with a charming woman who sent us away for a week, but she sent us away with a kind smile after learning about our voyage. Apparently there was a change in diplomats with the new official arriving this week. Our first impression is that we will succeed in obtaining our visa, clearing the final Indonesian hurtle.

Other highlights include seeing our friends from “Aloha” Sandy and Gwyn who we met in New Zealand. We had a nice sundowner cockpit evening with our friends on Harmonica. I got a haircut and managed to communicate so that I still have a quarter inch of hair left. And!!!! I found very tasty GIANT bowls of café au lait for 300 CFP or about $3.85 - Starbucks eat your heart out! We got to move Starship to the Visitors Dock miraculously after being told that there was absolutely no room. The final uneventful thing in an uneventful week was that we did not even realize it was Independence Day in the states until we received Happy 4th emails from friends.

Well folks that’s it from the Starshippers for now. Back to watching the grass grow and listening to the wind blow!

Au revoir.

Journal Entry – June 22 – 29, 2008 Topless Cowboy Steaks!

2008-06-29T22:00:00.000-07:00

Author: Scott

Life in Noumea is starting to settle in for us. It has been a fairly uneventful week with a few highlights. On Monday we had drinks with our new Aussie buddies on Listowel Lady and we met Dan and Caitlin, Caitlin is Rebecca’s niece and she and her boyfriend Dan were visiting for two weeks. It was a silly evening and came with an invitation to join the group the next day for a trip to Amedee Ilot aboard Listowel Lady. A boat trip on another vessel without having to worry about anything sounded like an absolute treat, as Starship would not be going anywhere in her wave beaten condition.

On Tuesday we showed up around 09:00 and were given an extensive tour of Listowel Lady from Graeme while Rebecca and Suzie were off shopping at the market for the day’s lunch. When everyone was back onboard we threw off the lines and headed to Amedee Lighthouse. We had to motor the entire way as the wind was on our nose, but the sky was blue and everyone’s spirits were high. Along the way we learned that Amedee Lighthouse is the largest lighthouse in the South Pacific and that it was moved from France and rebuilt in New Caledonia. The small island or “ilot” is a spectacular example of a beautiful South Pacific island with white sandy beaches and plenty of coral reef to make snorkeling very interesting. The water surrounding the ilot is every color of blue imaginable. We anchored in 15 feet of spectacularly clear water, and lunch was first on the agenda. We feasted on fresh bread, and a number of delicious salads that Rebecca and Suzie had found at the store. There was a shrimp salad with citrus and caper dressing, Tahitian salad which is coconut milk and raw fish marinated in citrus juices, and a fabulous mahi mahi salad. It was one of those lunches that tasted too good to be healthy and yet probably was quite healthy. We polished everything off with coffee and cookies, including a bag of Australian raspberry Tim Tam’s from Starship. Dan and Caitlin showed me an Aussie trick that I had not previously learned in Australia. If you bite the ends off of your Tim Tam, dunk it in coffee and suck quickly, you can slurp up your coffee through the center of the cookie. This gastronomic gem is known as the “Tim Tam Slam”! It is awesome!!! Just another of life’s true joys learned from the folks down under.

After lunch there was a short discussion on how long all of our mothers would have recommended we wait before swimming, so we didn’t get a cramp and die a tragic drowning death. We decided our mothers would recommend two hours before it was completely safe. The conversation took two minutes, and then we were off for a snorkel. The fish were a real treat, with Zebra fish, tiny little blue guys, schools of orange puffy fish, and a purported barracuda. Caitlin and Dan also saw a sea snake that looked a bit like a sea worm on their camera, but we all reckoned that it would get larger and fiercer as the story was told over the years to come. Pam and Rebecca stayed on board chatting and lounging, and I suspect snoozing though I have no confirmation of this behavior.

Once safely back onboard Listowel Lady, and with no one lost to a vicious stomach cramp (sorry moms), we had to start making our way back to Noumea. The wind was on our aft quarter for the return journey making for a pleasant downwind motor sail. With Noumea twelve miles away we could not completely kill the engine as we had to maintain six knots for a reasonable arrival time. As it turned out our arrival was after dark, but the Listowel Lady crew made docking look easy in the dark. Things did get a little dicey for Dan as Graeme imposed the “I showed you once” logic with Dan. “Dan tie us off with one of those knots I showed you once”. Dan, even with the “deer in the headlights” look performed like a seasoned old salt, though he may have aged a few weeks in a few mere seconds. During the entire day Pam and I were given a nautical vacation with all the benefits of sailing and despite our protests we were not given a single task, we were truly pampered passengers.

The rest of the week was not quite as exciting. The other highlights included: Pam’s first dockside bucket laundry experience since French Polynesia. Our engine part came in from the Volvo Penta dealer and it turned out that it was actually a faulty part. We were not charged a cent and our new mechanic friend Patrick had the beast humming in ten minutes. I found a set of “Boules” (bacci balls) in town so we would have another outdoor activity on the beach at anchorages. I finally succumbed to eating tofu and actually found it edible. Our cockpit dodger/bimini frame was repaired and reinforced. Graeme came by to help me visually locate and fix a shorted wire, and Graeme was treated to my attempt at equaling his stovetop espresso that I was served on his boat. I finally blew up the one of the inflatable kayaks we bought a year ago and tootled around the marina.

On Friday we did come to a momentous decision. Since the wave strike on the Coral Sea I have been preoccupied with our route and available time to reach Thailand or a cyclone safe destination by the end of the cruising season. I had investigated all sorts of scenarios but on Friday I came to the conclusion that a route over the top of Papua New Guinea would take us directly into Indonesia, avoid the Torres Straight, and probably be much safer from a sailing perspective. Aha! A revised plan had been reached, still allowing for us to visit Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. We will also see much of Papua New Guinea (PNG). I did have some murmurings from years ago floating around in my head because our Aussie friend Tim Connell was concerned about a visit to PNG, and if he reads this journal will probably be thinking “Oh no – it took them a bloody year to break away from Australia, they may be in PNG forever!” We have since learned that the criminal element in PNG that is well known to the media exists mostly in the Capital city of Port Moresby and a few other well documented areas. For the most part PNG is supposed to be a country of wonderful gentle people. It is a country of over 700 languages, with some tribes living side by side and never coming into contact with each other. Until recently PNG has had inland tribes living by stone-age customs. It should be an adventure! So, PNG here we come!

We finished out the week with a visit to Baie des Citrons or (Lemon Beach) where we actually stole a few moments to sit on a sandy beach, splash in the crystal clear water, and soak up some well deserved sun. Oh, did I mention that many women sunbath topless in New Cal, a custom I whole heartedly think the US should embrace. I did do my best not to thoroughly embarrass my low vision self with obvious low vision ogling. Well, I guess this is a good place to end out this journal installment with visions of Scott hanging out at the topless Baie des Citrons.

Wait - wait - wait!!!!

Now not so fast partner - - - - - - there is one more little tale to tell. If you ever find yourself in New Caledonia and you are hanging for a fat juicy western steak. You can visit the Texas Grill Steak House complete with US road signs, shotguns on the wall, a spare saddle or two for your horse, and a few untraditional French sauces that would leave the dustiest old dog drooling for more. Well, we found us a right tasty supper spot with the finest vittles this side of Bora Bora. We were even treated to a drunken cow poke that tripped down the stairs on his way out the batwing doors to find his next watering hole.

Yes indeed, snorkeling, sailing (on other people’s boats), prawn salads, Tim Tam Slams, Graeme’s coffee, topless beaches, and one pound cowboy steaks! Somehow we are managing to survive our unforeseen repairs in New Caledonia - YeeeeeHaaaaa Doggies!

Journal Entry – June 16 – 22, 2008 First Week in Noumea

2008-06-22T23:55:00.000-07:00

Author: Pam

This week was a combination of organizing the trades people we need to get Starship sorted, learning our way around our immediate neighborhood, working on our seemingly endless list of administrative tasks and immersing ourselves back into the cruising life and community. Each day seems to have had elements of all of the above, leaving us with the feeling of plugging along through a list again, which seems to be par for the course whenever we are in a marina.

First thing Monday morning we headed up to the office to check in and organize help moving to Starship’s new home in “C9”. A slip (or pen for our Aussie friends) that we said, sure we can fit in there when it was presented as the only option in this huge marina. We walked over and took another look before we moved and were immediately reminded, yes we will fit, but yikes it is going to be tight. After closer examination of how narrow the fairway is we abandoned the idea of parking stern in. We waited about an hour for one of the marina employees to come and say he was ready to catch our lines. Rebecca and Graeme had also offered to help, so Graeme was on the bow with me and Rebecca headed over to “C” dock. Well, it was a two times is a charm parking attempt. Graeme’s job was to tell Scott when to start turning into the slip, but not being familiar with Starship’s slow as a dog response his call was just a tad too late and we ended up basically wedged sideways in the mouth of our slip. The owner of the boat on one side was pushing Starship off of his freshly painted dinghy hanging off of his stern, as it also seemed people came out of the woodwork to help get her pointed back out of the fairway for take two. The second attempt was flawless and Scott stayed calm, cool and collected through the whole ordeal. Besides being jealous of his ability to do this, I am left wondering sometimes if he really knows what is going on from the cockpit. I know for sure he doesn’t have the same perspective as looking at your future neighbor’s face as you are wedged up next to the stern of his boat. But, once again he parked our beast and though we have to get on and off amidships and our stern is out past the dock, we fit, well kind of sort of.

On Monday evening Tugdual stopped by to say hello. He is an acquaintance of our friend Bruce in Newcastle and after receiving email of our arrival, he came by to offer his local knowledge. He said he knew the canvas maker we were referred to by Bruce in Newcastle and said he would bring him by the boat the next day. He recommended the electrician I had asked earlier in the day for his card and said he would be seeing him that evening and would ask him to stop by as well. He is a math teacher, owns a Kelly Peterson 44 here in the marina and is a father of two young daughters. It is amazing the difference it makes to meet people who will share the local knowledge, I’m sure he will be a wonderful connection for us.

By Tuesday we had two quotes for a new dodger. The quotes were comparable, but we decided to go with James, who is Australian and has done work for Bruce, our friend from Newcastle in the past. We decided our ten words of French would not get us the dodger we want or need, so being able to communicate was a definite plus. James has some good ideas on how to make the dodge simpler and hopefully stronger. Unfortunately, he is not able to begin the construction until July 7th and has estimated two weeks for the job. This delay increases our planned one week stay in New Caledonia to at least six, we are very hopeful his estimation is accurate and we can be back underway by July 20th.

On Tuesday evening we had our first “sundowner” on Starship of the season. Uta and George from “Miami” and Graeme and Rebecca from “Listowel Lady” came over and we chatted the evening away sharing past and planned adventures. Scott’s favorite story of the evening was the one Uta shared about the time she caught a shark while fishing from their dinghy, which dragged her, the dinghy and dinghy anchor before she could cut it free. When George came up from diving, he reported he had seen a shark in distress, to which Uta responded , “oh really, how strange.” It was a really nice evening and a nice way to feel like we are back in the cruising community.

We also found a mechanic (Patrick) who diagnosed the problem with our engine. We are still a bit awe struck that our brand new baby gave us a lick of trouble, but we are apparently not completely out of the engine doghouse, for reasons we can not even begin to fathom. It turns out the electronics box that controls all of the electronics for the engine had an internal short and needs to be replaced. This was not a result of seawater from the wave, it was just going to happen sooner or later. Patrick took the engine warranty documentation to the Volvo dealer as proof of the age of the engine and they have ordered the part from the US which is suppose to arrive next week. Box number two ticked.

On Thursday evenings in Noumea there is a festival with a theme. This Thursday was the Island of Ouvea, one of the Loyalty Islands. We walked to the Plaza de Cocotiea (the town center) with Graeme and Rebecca to experience the culture of this island. There was local fish, fruits, vegetables, carvings, clothing and flower head pieces for sale. It was very crowded which made it difficult to see, but the energy was good and Scott enjoyed his sausage and onion on a bun.

We also experienced the local culture on Saturday evening at the annual music festival that happens throughout New Caledonia. We went to the Plaza de Cocotiea again with Graeme, Rebecca, Caitlin and Dan (they had just arrived from Australia) and listened to music ranging from a local reggae band, a drumming group of children and adults, two really bad bands that we couldn’t figure out how they got to be there, to the salsa band with Latino singers from Australia. It was obviously a not to be missed event by the size of the crowd. I had been feeling like I was coming down with something all day, but I was happy I didn’t miss out on the fun.

By Friday I had eaten tuna five or six times, I lost count. The fish market next to the boat is very nice and there does not seem to be a lack of Thon in New Caledonia, well not yet anyway.

As mentioned we discovered the anchor windlass was not a happy camper during our arrival in Noumea. This was a disappointing discovery since we had it installed in New Zealand, repaired in New Zealand and then repaired again in Australia. It is another example of gear on the boat that has been non-operational more than it has actually worked. It is also the piece of gear that put the nail in the coffin for buying second hand equipment, at least if it has a motor or moving parts. We were ready to bite the bullet and buy a new one here in Noumea so we would have the piece of mind you need when anchoring. We went to the chandlery and researched our options. There was only one option that would be adequate for Starship and upon closer inspection Scott discovered it did not have a manual recovery option. Without this safety feature it was not an option for us and the staff at the Chandlery were surprised that they were selling windlasses without that feature. However, the week ended on a very high note after Scott and Dave from “Harmonica” spent the entire day on Sunday taking apart our windlass, cleaning the motor and reinstalling it with their fingers crossed. Dave’s dog with a bone persistence and previous experience with his own dodgy windlass proved to be just what ours needed. They were champs and at the moment it is purring like a kitten and Scott now knows how to take it apart if we need to again in the future, which was a great bonus. Box number three ticked. After their hard day of work we spent the evening with Dave and Jan on “Harmonica” and had the pleasure of meeting Cam and Arnie from “Jade”. It was a lovely way to end the week.

Journal Entry - June 15, 2008 Noumea, New Caledonia – Arrival Day

2008-06-15T22:00:00.000-07:00

Position: 22˚16’.66 S 166˚26’.37 E

Author: Scott

Noumea is a city that many people in America have never heard of and yet it is a full fledged city of traffic, people, food, shopping, pollution and the other various attributes we all associate with urban living. Actually, Noumea is probably the first of many destinations this cruising year that many people in America have little knowledge of.

Today we completed out voyage from Koumac under mostly blue skies. We entered the barrier reef through the Passe de Uitof under rainy conditions (just to make the entire event even more exciting). However, the entry through the pass was straightforward and much less complicated than Passe de Koumac. We sort of had an arrival plan but it was very loosely defined. Since we were arriving on Sunday, ahead of schedule, we knew that the Port Moselle Marina office would be closed. This limited our options and would mean that the marina’s invitation to provide us with a guide to our slip would not be an option on Sunday. Our plan was to either anchor in the bay with the other cruising boats, or pull up to the visitor’s dock, if there was available space. In either case we would then check in with the office first thing on Monday morning.

The sail inside the barrier reef was absolutely stunning. To our left were the blue and purple mountains that form the spine of New Caledonia. The water was deep turquoise blue and the world’s larges lagoon was studded with islands and “ilots” that would fit perfectly on the front of any South Pacific travel brochure with lovely white sandy beaches and palm trees. The three hour cruise through the lagoon was beautiful, calm and uneventful. I imaged a bustling lagoon like San Francisco bay but in actuality it was very open with little boat traffic. We still maintained a person on the bow, so lunch was spent sitting on the bow of the dinghy alternating between eating a sandwich and looking through the monocular. I can’t complain however, because Pam got bow duty through the pass in the rain and I got bow duty languishing in the sunshine.

As we reached the entrance to Port Moselle the traffic did increase with a number of vessels ranging from dinghy sailboats to giant cats. As we approached I asked Pam to turn on the windlass (anchor winch) breaker so I could prepare for a possible anchoring. I decided to check the winch out and it was a darn good thing I did, because when I stepped on the switch I was only given a click and no whir of the motor. “Bugger!” Apparently our anchor windlass was playing up again! So, my next move was to pull 30 meters of chain onto the deck by hand in anticipation of the possible anchoring, all the while wondering what happened to our newly repaired anchor windlass.

Anchoring did not turn out to be a necessity. As we approached the marina we were able to follow a few boats into the marina. Pam and I switched positions and Pam began the process of guiding me past the breakwater. We did experience a minor moment of sheer terror when Pam became uncomfortable with the distances to the breakwater and we had to quickly switch positions so that I was on the bow again. The drama ended as quickly as it started and we were inside the secure waters of Port Moselle Marina.

The next bout of drama came when it was time to pull up to the visitor’s dock. We had no problem finding the visitor’s dock, as we had scouted out the marina on our road trip, and the visitor’s dock was wide open on the end tie. However, as we slowly pulled up to the dock no one acknowledged our presence and Pam had to yell to some folks who were just looking at the boats. Within seconds these French speaking sightseers were live participants in our arrival. They grabbed our line, fumbled with the cleat but succeeded in helping us bring Starship to rest along the dock. We had successfully reached Noumea, New Caledonia.

With our feet solidly back on land we started the process of cleaning up the boat and settling ourselves down from the prior dramas. As we were getting settled we were visited by Rebecca and Graeme from “Listowel Lady”. We briefly met Listowel Lady when we were at the fuel dock in Newcastle. They were fueling up and had their two dogs Zeus and Dogga onboard. Apparently Zeus and Dogga were not making the journey to New Caledonia due to quarantine restrictions. Zeus was quite active playing with the infamous Harry, Graeme (Sailability Graeme not Listowel Lady Graeme) and Loretta’s dog. Both dogs are Jack Russells. In Newcastle it was a brief hello that so often can turn into a friendship when you meet up again on foreign territory. This was our experience with Listowel Lady as we ended up at the marina restaurant munching peanuts, drinking cocktails and comparing voyage experiences. It became quickly clear that Graeme’s laid back silly nature and Rebecca’s friendly warmth would make much welcomed cruising buddies. Listowel Lady also ran into bad weather but they ended up making a repair in Coff’s Harbour that saved them from the worst of the madness at sea, though they managed to snap a jib sheet, which is a clear indication of some pretty nasty weather.

Dinner was steaks on the barbie and gooey baked potatoes, a virtual feast! We went to bed dog tired with the satisfaction of reaching another port.

Journal Entry - June 15, 2008 Underway to Noumea, New Caledonia

2008-06-15T01:53:00.000-07:00

Author: Pam

It is 0300 and I am on my second watch for tonight. We are back on the high seas again (but thankfully they are flat calm) making our way from Koumac on the north end of New Caledonia to Noumea on the sound end. It is not a passage we were planning to make, actually we were "planning" to be off to Vanuatu about now. But, there is the reminder that sailors don't have plans, they have intentions. The passage is 158 miles, we are hoping to be able to anchor tonight somewhere inside the reef and then make our way into Port Moselle early Monday morning.

Speaking of the reef, we are traveling to Noumea on the outside of the barrier reef that surrounds the entire island, it is 1600 km long. We learned from Nathaniel that New Caledonia's reef is about to be added to the same list of heritage natural wonders as the likes of the Great Wall of China. They are also in the process of exploring setting up an Observatory to monitor the effects of global warming on the reef as well as other important information for keeping this incredible reef alive. As we were leaving Koumac we were both once again in awe of the size of the Northern Lagoon, it is huge. The final scene as you approach the exit to the pass is a tiny island with white sand and two palm trees. It looks like the perfect deserted island right out of a movie.

We spent the past three days continuing to dry out Starship and her contents. It is one heck of a reminder of how much stuff you have on board when you have to empty all of the contents of every locker to get to the wet stuff on the bottom. Thankfully we didn't have too many casualties due to water damage and honestly in the end it could have been a lot worse. Probably easier to say that today, then it was a few days ago.

The weather in Koumac has been beautiful, especially Saturday morning before we left. We walked to town to buy some fresh bread and to get the ice cream (Coconut and Dark Chocolate Magnum) Scott had been hanging for since Thursday. The road to town winds along the lagoon for a ways and we were in awe of how the sky and the water were exactly the same color blue giving the illusion there was no separation. It has been sunny with blue skies in the 70's since we arrived, actually perfect weather for drying out a very soggy boat, her contents and crew.

The highlight on Friday was a visit to the small Poisson Marche (fish market) located next to the Koumac Marina. We are back in the land of tuna and "Fish Girl" couldn't be more excited. We tried to get fish on Monday, but we were told they didn't have any and to try on Friday. So, right after breakfast we headed over only to find the gate closed. Hmmm, we weren't sure what to make of that. So, we went around to the restaurant where they speak some English to find out what they might know. Well, they did know the fishing boats had just returned, but they didn't know when the market would be open, but they thought perhaps in the afternoon.

Our fish mission was interrupted by the other task for the day, which was to fill the jerry cans with fuel. There is a fuel dock, but it would have been essentially the same experience as docking on a stone wall and that would be on the top of the list of things we don't like to do. In the end, it was much easier to make two trips with our six jerry cans, putting six into the fuel tank and then storing them full. It is especially easy, since we have discovered "The Rattler" our nifty new siphon for transferring diesel from the jerry cans into the fuel tanks without (almost) spilling a drop. That piece of hose has become my new best friend.

Once we were finished with getting fuel, which incidentally and surprisingly is cheaper in New Caledonia than in Australia, we headed back over to the fish market. The gate was still closed, but the threat of tofu for dinner had Scott in a very motivated and I must say brave mood. We passed through the opening to the left of the gate and approached the closed blue door where supposedly there might be some tuna. Scott turned the door handle and voila the door opened expelling a draft of cold air, but exposing white cases that could very well house fresh fish. Once inside we were greeted by a person dressed in what looked like a surgical outfit over a warm jacket and rubber boots. I say a person, because we never figured out if it was a man or a woman. Our little experience at the fish market is an example of what we love about this adventure. We know the word for Tuna in French (Thon) which was a good start. After we communicated that we wanted to buy some Thon, we were lead to a poster of the tuna family and shown our options, we only had to get to yellow fin and we were good. We were then shown our choices from the freezer, we made our selection and paid our 745 pacific francs (about $8.25 US). We were asked if we from New Zealand or Australia and when we said American, we were rewarded with a huge smile. As (he or she) put our tuna in a bag, he/she went to the freezer and took out another package and added it to our purchase. It was a simple, heartfelt gesture that was hugely appreciated. We went back to the boat feeling like we had just won the lottery, especially Scott since tofu was off the menu and sushi was on.

I made sushi rice for the first time and we cut up one of the steaks for Niguiri (raw tuna pieces on rice). We then threw the other two steaks on the BBQ for three minutes and ate that with baked potatoes. It was a feast for sure. Look out, there is a fish market next to the marina in Noumea. There is definitely more Thon in my future, but tofu will be slipped in soon much to Scott's dismay.

There was a beautiful three quarter moon tonight shining down on Starship making it a very friendly night at sea. The moon has gone down while I have been writing this journal entry, the sun will be on its way up before I can go to bed for my last three hours of sleep. The wind was on our nose and has clocked around in the middle of the night to directly behind us. It is light and variable and no good for sailing, so Starship's iron kitten is purring away as we are making 7 knots of VMG towards Noumea. The sea is almost like glass, a very welcome and different scene from a week and half ago. It would be perfect if we could be sailing, but getting there dry wins this time.

Journal Entry - June 10 & 11, 2008 - Road Trip to Noumea

2008-06-10T22:22:00.000-07:00

Author: Scott

As I type this Log-Blog entry we are barreling down Rt. 1, the main central highway that snakes along the spine of New Caledonia. The radio is murmuring on in French, while our new friend Nathaniel expertly navigates the challenging road on a very dark night. We are returning from our day trip to Noumea on our way to Kone where Nathaniel and his girlfriend Malia live.

We met Nathaniel and Malia through Bruce and Tony in Newcastle. Bruce came to know Nathaniel and Malia while in Koumac on a boat delivery trip. Apparently, Nathaniel and Malia were struggling with a failed engine as they entered the Koumac Marina and Bruce gave them a hand. This is a fine example of how randomly new friendships can be made in the boating community. Bruce quite unexpectedly met Nathaniel and Malia, Tony then introduced us via email and now we have come to make friends with these lovely people in New Caledonia, with Bruce's brief encounter being the only common denominator.

After enjoying dinner together on Starship this past Sunday, we were invited to ride with Nathaniel to Noumea so we could get a better understanding of the port, find a marina berth, seek out trades people for repairs, and in general learn more about New Caledonia's largest city. On a voyage where we are almost always arriving in completely foreign environments it is a real treat to actually visit a destination in advance, gather local knowledge, and mark waypoints on a portable GPS. So, when Nathaniel mentioned that he needed to travel to Noumea for work, we jumped at the invitation to join him.

This small adventure started yesterday evening after a day of continued boat work and drying the contents of Starship out after the wave incident. Malia showed up at 17:00 and announced that she would be driving us to Kone as Nathaniel would be doing all the driving to Noumea the following day and this would help share the driving responsibility. Malia also told us that we would return the morning after our trip to Noumea as Nathaniel had work to do in Koumac. Pam and I threw a few more clothes in our bags and set off with Mailia to experience some New Caledonia culture.

The drive to Kone takes approximately an hour and passes through some beautiful countryside with the west coast of New Caledonia to starboard and the central mountain chain to port. Malia told us about the various villages and tribes in New Cal. We also learned about the great wealth the country enjoys from nickel mining and extracting and of a new project to bring a large mine and production factory to the Northern Province. New Caledonia has three provinces; the Northern Province, the Southern Province, and the Outer Island Province. Apparently, the Southern Province already has a large mining operation and the new project in the Northern Province will help build a more stable economy for New Caledonia's potential future independence from France. Twenty years ago a separatist civil war was ended through an accord to plan a ten year and later thirty year separation plan. In 2014 a special election will be held and the inhabitants of New Caledonia will be given the democratic opportunity to become an independent nation. For now the new mine operation in the north will further the financial stability of this island country.

Dinner at Nathaniel and Malia's home was a result of communication challenged by the couples busy work schedule. We had a shrimp curry but the coconut milk was forgotten and therefore replaced with cream. The rice was also forgotten and replaced with a pasta that had never been attempted. The end result was a wonderful meal starting with foie gras, fresh bread, the fore mentioned curry and pasta, four cheeses, chocolate, and ICE CREAM and SORBET! We were treated to Muscat wine with the appetizer, red wine with dinner, and delicious fresh coffee with desert. We dined al fresco on their front porch which serves as their main dining area, and we were visited by their very interested cat. The cat did not get to join in the dining experience until the completion of the meal but was treated to the shrimp tails when the meal was finished. We also learned that she is quite a hunter specializing in mice, birds, lizards and cockroaches. Any cat who eliminates the roach population is a friend of mine, but I will reframe from any kitty kisses.

Over dinner we learned of the interesting way that many people in New Caledonia eat lunch while working or at home. There are services throughout New Caledonia called Gamelle Service. This service delivers hot meals either to your home or work place in special containers provided by the client. The meal is a balance of a salad, hot vegetable, protein, and desert. Each day the service brings lunch and takes away a second set of containers for the following day's meal. What a great idea! And I thought Netflix was a unique and convenient idea. Forget the DVD's I will take hot lunch any day. Maybe there is a future business opportunity in a no hassles US based Gamelle Service.

Before we went to bed, we were given access to their internet, which has been challenging thus far.

We were up at 05:00 with a three hour drive lying before us. We gulped a glass of orange juice and hit the road. Nathaniel was a sport as we drove through the countryside pelting him with questions about New Caledonia. Not only was he constantly translating our questions but simultaneously having to make split second estimates, calculations, and doing his best to quench our endless stream of what, when, whys ad hows.

We stopped midway to Noumea for my favorite meal of the day "coffee". We actually had a light breakfast at a delightful roadside café where we munched on fresh croissants, bread, butter, jams and drank wonderful café a lait and hot chocolate. The claim to fame of the little café was the plethora of baseball hats that the owners had cultivated from the clientele and hung in the main dinning area from the ceiling. There was probably a baseball hat for every person living on New Caledonia.

Our breakfast break did put us behind schedule making Nathaniel late for his morning meeting in Noumea. Despite being late for work Nathaniel insisted on coming into the marina with us to act as negotiator and translator. As it turns out it was fantastic to have Nathaniel's intervention because the marina is very busy and did not have available space for a possible month's stay. Not to worry, after some quick discussion in French a berth was somehow arranged and Starship would have a home when she arrived in Noumea.

After Nathaniel departed for work, Pam and I took a look at our future marina berth and marked various spots on the GPS. We then returned to the marina office to meet the marina Manager, a nice man named Bruno. It tickled us a little when Bruno finally put it together that not only were we visually impaired, but that we had sailed from San Francisco. Bruno thought that we were Australian, and upon learning that we were Americans he had many questions about how we managed at sea. What struck us as funny was that the trip from Australia was actually one of the most challenging aspects of the voyage, and that all of our challenges sailing from the states were nearly encapsulated in a single voyage from Australia.

The remainder of the day was spent sorting out Internet access which will be available on the boat and exploring downtown Noumea. It turns out that we only managed to see some of the older parts of downtown and completely missed the bustling city center. Nathaniel filled in the gaps on our way out of town that we missed on our exploration and we now have a much clearer understanding of downtown Noumea.

Our drive home through the night was settled into a much quieter journey as we are all comfortable to dwell on our individual thoughts, listen to music and write this Blog. We did make a quick detour to admire a beautiful pink and red sunset. Tomorrow we will return to Koumac and prepare for our 158 mile ocean voyage to Noumea.

Journal Entry - June 8, 2008 - Koumac, New Caledonia

2008-06-08T21:36:00.000-07:00

Author: Pam

Toto, we are not in Kansas. We have been in Koumac for three days so far and I think it probably feels equivalent to jumping into a time machine and ending up somewhere completely different from where you started. We have said to one another several times over the past few days, well there is nothing like jumping back into the cruising life ten fold, we certainly didn't ease back into this amazing and unique lifestyle.

We have spent the last two days plodding along and getting the boat back to a livable and dry condition. We are systematically going through all of the lockers, cleaning and drying the contents that are soggy thanks to the amount of water the wave deposited in Starship. We have more places to go, but you can only handle so much fun in one day. Today we will dry out the V-berth and give the engine room a fresh water bath. The weather has been in the 70's to 80's, sunny and perfect for our task at hand

We woke up this morning to loud festive music to discover today is Environmental Ocean Day, a festival being held here at the marina. We will go up and have a sticky (look) in a little while. Our friends Bruce and Tony in Newcastle connected us with a local here, Nathaniel. Nathaniel is a marine biologist and works for the Fishery. He actually came to the marina on the Saturday before we arrived to meet us, because he was told by the marina manager when he called we were arriving at that moment. He drove an hour to find out it was not us, but another boat from Australia that had made their way to Koumac, because the weather was not in their favor to go to Noumea. He welcomed them and gave them the bottle of wine he had brought for us, which was very sweet. He is working here today at the festival and came by the boat this morning to say hello and to offer to help us connect with the trades people we will need to make repairs on Starship. He is very nice and speaks English, it became clear he will be a Godsend and will help make our experience here even richer and more manageable. We invited him and his wife for dinner this evening, Garfield will have to share some of his lasagna. It will be very nice to get to know them both.

The marina is very small, but has everything you could want, especially all of the means of fresh water. We used the hose to clean off the first layer of salt within two hours of arriving. We started the first of five loads of laundry in the front loading washing machine that you have to use a screwdriver to open the door. We took an exquisite hot shower and that has to be the ultimate luxury after being at sea for twelve days.

We can not communicate at all with the marina manager, she speaks to us in French and we respond in English and somehow we manage to accomplish the task or question at hand. We don't have any idea how much we are paying to stay here, I guess we will find out when we pay our bill.

We have been into town twice. Yesterday we walked, it is about 1.5 miles. It is very reminiscent of our experience in French Polynesia. Besides our lack of ability to speak French, a lot of the businesses do not seem to have signs, which keeps us guessing. We have learned there are four or five stores that sell groceries, but they all also sell other items whether it is liquor, clothing, hardware supplies… So, far the availability of fresh fruit and vegetables has appeared to be very limited. The section for these items is smaller than the average family's veggie drawer in their refrigerator. We are back in the land of fresh bread everywhere. We had a communication breakdown yesterday when we were buying a fresh baguette. First of all you do not put the loaf of bread in any kind of paper bag, you just put it naked in your basket and then lay it on the counter. So, now it has been all of these places unprotected, but the proper etiquette is for you to pick your bread up once it has been seen by the cashier, they don't touch your bread. Also, as it was in French Polynesia you have to bring your own bags to the grocery store.

There is a Post Office with rental mailboxes outside and an ATM. There is a pub, butcher, pharmacy, hospital, hairdresser, internet café, bank, news agency and a total of four restaurants. We had dinner last night at the restaurant here at the marina, it was their second night of being in business. The food was good, but we were more excited to be part of something new and wanted to contribute our small part in helping them to get off to a successful start. One of the owners has two young daughters who followed him around all evening "helping". They were very eager and sweet to watch. I had Thon (tuna) with lime sauce, all so very reminiscent of French Polynesia where Scott was convinced I was going to turn into a tuna and adopted the pet name "Fish Girl". Scott had brochettes (skewers with chicken, duck and pork). I was surprised he ordered a dish with duck, but given there were only three choices duck won over mussels. It was a lovely evening that we ended sitting in the cockpit looking at a sky full of stars. We could not make out the detail, but we could sit in awe of their beauty and the fact that we are in a country where everyone assumes we are from Australia or NZ, because Americans just don't come to Koumac by boat.

Journal Entry - June 5, 2008 - Koumac Arrival

2008-06-05T21:28:00.000-07:00

Author: Scott

The morning of our arrival day at New Caledonia started on a calm sea. A ribbon of yellow cracked the black sky revealing a complete absence of clouds. It was definitely going to be a beautiful day at sea. As I sat at the wheel, the pink, orange, and golden light of dawn washed across Starship, almost in a forgiving tribute to her success through the mayhem of the past five days of foul weather. Our poor battered boat felt like she was leaping through the small swells towards the safety and serenity of the New Caledonia's reef protected lagoons.

The final day of one of our most challenging passages turned out to be perfect beam reach ocean sailing, with 12 knot winds and gentle seas. We were able to motor sail at a brisk 6 knots in order to arrive exactly on time for our possible rendezvous outside the Koumac passage. All of our communication with the Koumac Marina and New Caledonia authorities had taken place through Nathaniel, an acquaintance of Bruce and who works as a marine biologist in New Caledonia. We had requested a pilot boat to bring us through the reef passage at 09:00 but had no confirmation.

Upon our arrival to the pass there was no one to meet us. We tried to raise the marina on the radio with no success. We did receive a radio response from Radio Noumea but they were unaware of any plans to provide a pilot through the reef. However, they did contact the marina for us. Here we sat after twelve days at sea (four unplanned) and there was no one at the front door to welcome us. Prior to leaving I had gone over the charts with Bruce and had learned that the chart data was very accurate. Pam and I have transited many passes in the South Pacific and the Koumac Pass appeared to be reasonably accessible, especially with the calm sea state. So, with Pam on the bow and headsets on for communication, I piloted the boat straight through the center of the pass and into one of the largest and bluest lagoons we have seen on the voyage. One minute we were in pulsating gray ocean water and the next we were in flat calm turquoise lagoon water. New Caledonia we have arrived!

We motored through the gentle lagoon water following the dots of our GPS route to the Koumac (Pandop) Marina. We were a little surprised to still see no hint of a welcoming vessel. We tried again to raise someone on the radio with no success. We also realized that there was no way we could navigate into this small marina without assistance. We couldn't even find the entrance to the marina. We could see a rock wall, but from our vantage point and with our poor vision, the entrance was lost to mysterious depth perception. So we continued to hover in the lagoon while we started to formulate a plan.

Our plan would be to anchor the boat in the lagoon, launch the dinghy and venture into the marina and announce our arrival and request a guide boat. However, after about five laps in front of the marina we received a call over the radio. "Australian vessel this is Cracked. The marina has asked us to call you to let you know that they will send out a boat in ten minutes to guide you in" We thanked the yacht Cracked and after learning that we would have a starboard tie, prepared our fenders and dock lines. Cracked had also mentioned it was a small marina and something about turning around, and this left me a little unsettled.

About a half hour later a grey launch came zooming out to meet us. There was no verbal communication, perhaps because the driver did not speak English. He just drove in front of Starship in a gesture indicating that we should follow. Just as I was wondering if this guy knew we were visually impaired, my question was answered as he started giving Pam hand signals for directions. All I could do was keep his boat in front of us, figuring I would squish the bugger on the rock wall rapidly approaching if there was not a passage to turn into. It turns out that there was a cleverly disguised entrance to the marina. Just as we approached the rock wall our friend veered to starboard making the first of two hairpin turns that were required to enter the marina. There is nothing quite as exhilarating as following a little motorboat through a rock strewn maze after five days of bad weather at sea. We almost made one wrong turn, but compensated by backing up and then continuing on. When we finally emerged inside the protected marina, we realized our parking spot was on the port side of the boat where a couple of people were frantically waving to us. "Wait just a doggone second, we prepared for a starboard tie up", then I remembered that we were expected to turn Starship around in this micro marina. Flashbacks of sailing class darted into my mind as the next rock wall challenge approached. I jammed the boat into reverse, threw the wheel to Starboard, punched the transmission back into forward for a burst, and spun the bow around 180 degrees. I felt like Godzilla disco dancing in a china shop. I eased Starship forward and the manic people on the dock took our lines, ending our first and absolutely unforgettable passage of the cruising season Starship bobbed in her berth looking like Rocky after fifteen rounds, but damn it she was still standing proud.

On the dock was the wife of the couple who run the marina and Karen and Robert from the Australian yacht "Cracked" who thankfully contacted us on the radio. We learned that the owners of the marina speak about as much English as we speak French, but Karen and Robert gave us the skinny. We learned that the marina handled the immigration formalities through Noumea, and that Customs and Quarantine would come visit us at some unspecified time.

As Karen and Robert continued to fill us in, I was keenly aware of my first step off of Starship onto the dock. I was relieved, dazed, and thankful to still be stepping off the boat after the wave strike and my precarious proximity to the open sea. This was such a difficult passage and yet I could already feel the drama ebbing with the wonder of arriving in a strange new land. A land where they speak FRENCH - yikes!

Now you would think that the rest of the day would be spent sleeping, but not on this boat pal! We set to work rinsing our baby, frantically reclaiming our home from the deluge of salt water. While cleaning we were visited by Customs and later Quarantine. The Quarantine lady definitely did not have her heart in the process. She asked us questions like "Do you have meat/", we replied yes and that it was vacuum sealed and then she just moved on… She asked about eggs and Pam showed her one of three dozen we had on board. She said we could crack them into a dish, but she would have to take the shells, so Pam did. She also asked about honey and fresh fruits and veggies. In the end she took the trash and the suspicious egg shells. We were very relieved to not have to relinquish our meat, because a steak dinner was on our horizon. All in all, the process was effortless and then we were free to lower our Quarantine flag. It was very unclear how immigration would deal with us, but for now we were officially visitors to New Caledonia.

When exhaustion demanded that we stop cleaning, we feasted on a huge steak and baked potato meal before plunging into the abyss of uninterrupted, stress free, land sleep. Tomorrow will bring whatever fate deals, but for today we were at the end of one of many challenges that we have overcome throughout the voyage.

Journal Entry - June 4, 2008 - Koumac Here We Come

2008-06-04T19:03:00.000-07:00

Author: Pam

It is 0700 on Wednesday, June 4th and I just had the thrill of seeing 99 miles to Koumac on the GPS. Under a hundred is the home stretch and BOY are we ready for this one to come to an end. This passage has been the most difficult and challenging so far on this journey and I find it hard to believe I am saying that after the passage across the Tasman Sea from NZ to Oz. We left Australia in a good weather window for a downwind sail straight to Koumac, but we have Mother Nature to thank for throwing an anti-cyclone in our path.

I have had moments this week of questioning what the hell I am doing out here. Today as the wind is calming, the sea is lying down, Starship is finally off the bucking bronco that she has been riding for the past week and the sun is out for the first time in days, some of the trials and tribulations of the past week are beginning to fade as they always do. And I can return my focus to why I am so committed to this amazing, sometimes terrifying, and incredibly challenging journey. I have had an innate need to test my edges my entire life and many of the opportunities to do so I created for myself. This adventure definitely tips the scale and even feels like the ultimate test some days. So far it has tested every edge I know I have and many new ones that surface all of the time. I think no matter who you are or what adversity you may or may not face there are no better life lessons and journeys than going outside your comfort zone or encouraging someone to do so if you are a parent, teacher or even an employer. I wasn't pushed as a child and in my younger years I sometimes took the easier, safer, more comfortable path. I wanted to be pushed and challenged, but that was outside of the comfort zone of my family and expertise of my teachers. As a teenager I could see that complacency was not going to be my ticket and I started sticking my big toe in and with baby steps I can honestly say that is how I got here on this boat, attempting to sail around the world testing my edges every day.

It is now 0100 on Thursday morning and I am on watch again as Koumac looms in the distance a mere 50 miles away. Scott is having a little extra sleep while we are still in open water, the navigation will soon be trickier as we approach land and at this time that is his department. We have sailed from 0830 to midnight and it has been our nicest day on this passage. It was the kind of sailing that reminds you why you love sailing. The boat glided along on relatively flat seas and there was no persistent noises, just the quiet rustle of the sails every once in awhile. It was a lovely last day and a nice way to end this particular leg of the adventure. We are now motor sailing and hope to make landfall between 0900 and 1000.

We passed the day by doing the usual chores before making landfall, charging our headsets that we wear to communicate while navigating a port entry or exit, putting up the courtesy flags (we are flying the "Q" quarantine flag and the French flag), washing our hair and generally tidying up the boat (well this time only sort of). We made guacamole for lunch, and only had crackers, cheese and dip for dinner. Dinner prep and washing up the dishes was more than we seem to have the energy for. We are both tired and looking forward to a full night's sleep tonight.

New Caledonia marks the eighth country we will have visited so far. We are looking forward to making landfall, making new friends and getting Starship sea worthy again so we can carry on with our cruising plan for this season. They say cruising is fixing your boat in exotic places, we seem to be living proof of that statement.

Journal Entry June2 - June 3, 2008 - Freak Wave on the Coral Sea Part 2 - And Then…

2008-06-02T18:57:00.000-07:00

Author: Scott

Yesterday morning we decided to heave to for breakfast allowing us a calmer period to take a look around Starship. Smaller issues and repair jobs have kept presenting themselves since our "Freak Wave" encounter the day before. Pam and I were still very tired and a calm morning free of the pounding waves, with time to enjoy a cup of coffee and cocoa seemed like a great idea.

After breakfast we completed our chores and prepared to get moving. Pam asked what I had in mind for a sail plan, and I said "At this point let's just point the boat at Koumac with a main to stabilize us, fire up the new engine and get there." So I turned to the instrument panel and hit the ignition, only to be rewarded with a Click with no purring diesel kitten around. Surely I forgot some minor step in the engine startup routine.

I tried again - Click!

How could this be, our new baby, our new reliable engine!

So I tried again - Click!

Pam asked "Is there a problem?" - Click!

I said calmly, "Um, yes there is a problem, you won't believe this but the engine won't start." But I'm thinking to myself ---K S--- G-D--- piece of ----!!! - Click!

Click! - Click! - Click! - Click! BUGGER!!!!!!!

Here we were floating in the middle of the Coral Sea, overcame a major wave strike, and now the ------- engine wouldn't start. At that second I felt like a weary dog that got kicked just for lying down to rest. Pam dug out the engine manual and I grabbed the sat phone.

You know I think that the Iridium satellite phone company advertises that you can talk on your satellite phone from atop Mt. Everest at 29,000 feet. Well that's just dandy because you sure as ---- can't have a decent conversation at sea level with nothing to block the signal for 500 miles. During the five attempted phone calls that probably cost fifty squillion dollars, I could piece together about one in every three or four words spoken by the mechanic in Newcastle: "Scott …… where? …..need to ………….screwdriver ………………bridge posts ………but remember…………….. be careful not to ………………….good luck mate." Good thing we have the satellite phone for emergencies.

After all the attempted phone calls and a few confusing emails, I came to understand that apparently the engine electronics probably didn't appreciate the wave strike, but I could jump start the engine and that I needed to use a screwdriver to bridge two terminals on the starter motor solenoid. The only problem was that there were three terminals on the starter motor and I could not visually see any of them. I felt like the bomb squad guy on television "What wire do I cut - red - green?" Except I couldn't even see the colors. Had I been the bomb guy, I wouldn't have saved the day with a final second left on the clock; I would have blown the boat to ----! My first attempt to "bridge the terminals" ended up creating a BIG spark and pop, big oops!

Time for some air and a chance to think, we ended up deciding to send a more detailed email to the mechanics and just try to tick off some of the miles by sailing. This immediately reminded Pam and I of our Pacific crossing with no auxiliary engine and very little power, with no engine alternator to make power. The not so funny thing is, Pam and I are real good at operating under these conditions. The battery lantern was dug out, we went into energy conservation mode, and even made spaghetti by lantern light. And so the long night of worrying began for us. What if we have to get through the reef pass without an engine? Why is our new engine broken? What about our thawing freezer and our provisions? What if? What? What? To say the least it was a somber night on old Starship.

I think I do my best thinking when I am asleep. This doesn't say much for my thinking when I am awake, but at least thinking while unconscious is better than not thinking at all. I had two epiphanies during my fitful sleep:
1. There is a magnetic car antenna for the sat phone that may work better than the phone's internal antenna.
2. What if I use a wire with alligator clips to clip on to the terminals, and then I could bridge with posts by feel rather than sight.

When the sun came out, so did my confidence. We did use the sat phone to get a better connection with the car antenna. I learned which posts were to be bridged on the starter motor, and by golly my alligator clip idea worked like a charm. I connected one terminal by feel with the alligator clip and just touched the other with the tip of the clip and "RRRRRRRR-Roar" the beast came to life, without even the tiniest deadly spark or pop. Look out MacGyver - alligator clip man is on the loose!

I think I actually screamed with joy!

Then Pam screamed with joy.

And just like that, all the worry from the night before of navigating passes by sail and so on disappeared! Our new baby was alive and kicking, and I had acquired a new skill - I could jump start a diesel engine at sea.

The rest of the day was spent in the way I pictured the prior day to be. We continued to reorganize after the wave strike. We rested. We made arrival plans. We calmed down and chilled out. And yes, we motor sailed straight into the wind towards Koumac.

Today I remembered meeting John from the yacht "Western Grace". At the start of our voyage, we were in Turtle Bay, Mexico with different engine and steering problems. John is a very experienced seafarer and he told me then "Scott don't ever despair, you will find a way. On this trip you will face many challenges, but just don't despair". We did find a way out of our struggle in Turtle Bay and we did find our way out of our struggle on the Coral Sea. In my last log-blog I wrote about overcoming adversity to achieve your goals. Today I will amend those thoughts to include John's words "when you are at your lowest don't despair, you will find a way." (Even if you do it in your sleep)

Journal Entry - May 31 - June 1, 2008 - Freak Wave on the Coral Sea

2008-05-31T15:13:00.000-07:00

Author: Scott

By the morning of May 31 and after three days of bad weather and attempting to make way towards New Caledonia, we were getting exhausted. Heaving to helped us catch our breath and have a bit to eat, but the continual pounding and bashing was taking its toll on us both. We had been motor sailing with a double reefed main, but needed to return to sailing to better manage our fuel consumption. We were adding a staysail to our sail plan and had just fallen off the wind to a deep broad reach to make some adjustments to the sail. I was sitting in the companionway driving the boat with the auto pilot and as the boat settled down I stood up into the cockpit to don my PFD.

At this point it is important to know that Starship has a very ruggedly designed offshore dodger/bimini (or awning enclosure). When all of the windows are closed, the dodger is generally very dry (except for when being pounded by the sea) and protected completely from the wind. However, as this story will tell, this sense of security was only a perception.

Pam and I are fanatical about wearing PFDs and tethers in any rough conditions or when we are out on deck. I was just reaching for my PFD and planning to tell Pam that we needed to be clipped in for the sail change. The next second I felt the boat drop beneath my feet and start to roll. In the tick of the clock I also knew that I needed to hit the deck literally, and I dove for the floor and grabbed onto a support pole. On my way down I glimpsed a huge wave coming over the boat with a size towering above the boom. The wave came from the opposite direction of the prevailing wave pattern and crashed straight down on Starship. I felt the full force of the wave come down on me with a huge crash and continued to roll the boat to nearly 90 degrees. Everything that was in the cockpit was now flying past me and a cushion had just landed on me. The sensation was like being in a breaking wave when you are body surfing. In the next second it was over and as the boat righted herself, the cockpit was half full of water. As I came to my knees I remember thinking that 'that wave caused some damage'. Just then I could see that where there had once been windows and canvas on the port side of the boat was now completely open. Actually, only about one third of the canvas material remained intact, I also looked around to see that everything except for me, four rags, and the cushions were still in the cockpit. Glasses, monoculars, shoes, clothes, a winch handle and other important gear were all fed to Neptune. The next thing I became aware of was Pam yelling to me from down below. As it turns out, Pam was standing by the forward head door and was in the safest place on the boat, because you can wedge yourself between the head and food pantry. To her relief I answered back and told her "that wave was huge and did some damage".

Our first order of business was to stop the boat from sailing. We both clipped in and hove the boat to, and it would be in this position with the boat stopped that we would remain for the next thirty hours. I can now only remember snippets of our conversation immediately following the wave, and I am sure that I was in shock. Realizing that we had taken on a lot of water we headed straight to the bilge to find it completely full. We also realized that something black and fuzzy had got in the bilge and kept clogging the primary pump. Pam grabbed a screwdriver for me and I immediately tore it apart and cleared the hoses and filters. After about ten cleanings we finally cleared away all of the black fuzzy debris and the bilges were completely empty. I then went on deck to assess the damage. The dinghy on the bow was shifted with the cover hanging on under a single strap. On Starship our dingy rides on the bow in chalks with a turn buckle and two ratcheting straps to lash it to the deck. The only thing missing was the outboard engine canvas cover. Walking past the disaster that was now our cockpit enclosure, I headed for the stern where I found that the wind generator pole was bent and both supporting poles were dangling. I managed to reinsert one of the support poles into its fitting. The newly sponsored barbecue was unbelievably still on the rail but had rotated 90 degrees and the only thing keeping the lid closed and the grills inside was the barbecue cover. We would later learn that there are issues with our inverter and some of our electrical systems due to the water. In general however, we feel very lucky considering the magnitude of the hit we sustained.

The next order of business was to report our situation. We determined that our status was not life threatening, despite the raging weather around us. We decided the best plan would be to report our situation and position to our friend Tony in Newcastle. We called Tony on the satellite phone and his first response was "Mate, I know that voice you must be in Koumac!" If anything could give me a giggle at that second it was that response. "Well Tony we aren't quite in Koumac yet
" as we proceeded to fill in the details of our encounter with the wave.

We made as many repairs as possible, but we were hampered by the rough seas. As daylight began to dwindle and our exhaustion was almost paralyzing, we enclosed ourselves in the forward cabin and set to the task of making a warm meal. We had some pre-made crusts and all the fixings for pizza so we sat at the table building our pizzas in silence. With everything in mid preparation I went to light the oven just to have the propane solenoid switch scream out a warning alert and cut the LPG off. I tried again with the same result. It was at this instant that Pam and I probably hit our low. Here sat our future warm comfort food, to bring us from the edge of exhaustion and the damn oven wouldn't light. I was back in my PFD and tether on a mission to face the LPG locker on the stern. I tightened all the fittings and switched gas tanks and to our resounding relief, the oven stayed lit. The solenoid switch did continue to act up and we fear it was electrically compromised by the salt water, but we were able to eat.

I don't think pizza has ever tasted so good in all of my life. We just sat at the table, no music playing on the stereo (this almost never happens aboard Starship) and we ate in silence. Occasionally one of us would throw out a partially completed sentence like - "Do you think?" or "Maybe we should
", but we were really too numb to do much but chew. We had also planned to take showers but soon realized that despite how awful and salty we felt, there was just no more energy left for showers.

I was asleep in seconds and while Pam sent email she said I lay on the bed snoring and talking in my sleep nonstop. When the alarm went off to check the radar I somehow managed to climb out of the lee cloth and check our surroundings, a process that continued throughout the night. Just like the pizza though, and despite the continual need to check the radar, I experienced some of the best sleep of my life due to pure exhaustion.

The next morning we made coffee and cocoa and were at last able to really consider our options. We were roughly 280 miles from Koumac with settling wind on the nose, and about 400 miles from the Australian, Queensland coast. Assessing that we probably have a months of repair work needed, our first plan was to sail to Queensland and make repairs. However, this would turn out to be impossible. We relayed this plan over the satellite phone to Tony in Newcastle just to learn that another serious weather pattern was developing over the Queensland coast, and the low that had developed over us was quickly dissolving. It would be far safer and easier to continue to Koumac. Tony also informed us that he and Bruce had had very positive experience working with trade's people in New Caledonia. Koumac here we come!

The remainder of the day was spent on repairs. The seas had flattened some and we were able to tidy up starship as much as our tools and resources on board would allow. Finally at 17:00 our ragtag vessel was ready to sail again. We tacked across the wind, releasing starship from being hove to and started making way towards New Caledonia.

During our voyage we have learned that in the midst of a crisis there will always be success and regrets. We certainly learned the lesson that ANYTIME we are in the cockpit on Starship we must be clipped in before leaving the cabin below, despite the perception of safety the enclosure provides. We feel that our training carried us through the aftermath. Our decisions to stop the boat by heaving to and taking the time to take care of the boat and ourselves was a good one. Recognizing our boundaries and fixing a warm meal and getting rest were also key to coping with the situation.

One of the most frequently asked questions by the media prior to departing on the voyage was: "How will two legally blind people deal with an emergency at sea, surely you will have problems and then need to be rescued?" In hindsight we think many people in our situation would have considered firing off their EPIRB and requesting to be rescued, especially because it took another twelve hours for the seas to calm after the wave strike. As mentioned nobody responds perfectly to an emergency, but on a whole we drew on our training, used our minds, kept our cool, and worked our way though the situation and never once did we let our vision limitations become a negative factor. We were simply people determined to overcome adversity despite our limitations, and ultimately this is what our voyage is all about.

On our departure day I was asked by a reporter if I thought this voyage was dangerous. I replied that yes it is, it can be dangerous for anyone, but if it was easy then it would have already have been done. People have a remarkable ability to achieve great things beyond their perceived limitations, and Pam and I are continually amazed and rewarded by what we are capable of achieving through determination. Are we disappointed that our boat was damaged by the freak wave? Yes. Does it make you stop and wonder why we are doing this? Yes. Will the repairs be expensive? Yes. Will we continue to carry on? Yes. At the end of the day we have a broken boat, and it can be fixed. Far more important however is the knowledge that we are capable of so much in the face of adversity. Disability is about overcoming adversity and we are stronger and even more determined to spread this important message.

So, New Caledonia here we come. Look out Starship is on the move again!

Journal Entry - May 30, 2008 - Two Zone Bar Day

2008-05-30T15:11:00.000-07:00

Author: Pam

It is a two zone bar day when the wind is over 30 knots and the waves have been kicking our butt. It's a two zone bar day when the entire boat is wet due to waves that keep smacking Starship from all directions sending gallons of water into the cockpit and subsequently down below. It's a two zone bar day when the pots on the stove would be looking at you and washing the dishes would require the hands of Scott, myself and an octopus to keep the clean and dirty dishes from flying all over the cabin. So, what have we had to eat today? Zone Perfect is one of our sponsors and upon his return to Australia Scott brought 900 zone bars through customs (it's a good thing he had a nice customs agent or I might have had to bail him out for smuggling nutrition bars). Zone bars are a nutrition bar that boasts a balance of protein, carbohydrates and fat. I'll leave it to your imagination where and how you stow 900 nutrition bars on a 39' boat. Today we were grateful for them and I am sure it won't be the last time.

Last night was a long night. The wind steadily increased to over 30 knots and the seas got bigger and more confused. The boat was already wet every where you walk, sit, put something down and by morning water was even dripping on me in bed. During my watches I sat on the small bench in the back cabin so I didn't have far to go when it was time to check the radar. Unfortunately, we discovered soon after corralling the fenders that they were not the cause of whatever was cracking sharply on the boat right over the bed. It was too dark and there was way too much white water rushing past the boat to investigate further, all we could do was pray it wasn't something that would cause us a big problem and endure the smack smack of it, all night.

This morning, the first chore was to find out what had tortured us throughout the night. After a brief investigation Scott exclaimed, "I know what the problem is (funny everything is always a problem) and life just keeps getting more interesting aboard Starship." Starship has a rubber rub rail and the Tasman Sea had managed to rip the port side portion off, now only still being held on at the bow and the stern. We heaved to and pulled it on board like a big blue snake. It is now tied to the life lines and on the project list when we reach New Caledonia. We got sailing again and I looked out the window and noticed one of the lines from the mast was lying on the deck. My fear of another fouled prop on the Tasman (that was one of our adventures from NZ to Oz) had us heaving to again and Scott on deck for the seventh time in two days.

Today has been one of those days at sea where you just couldn't do much of anything. We basically just sat in our own respective wet worlds, checked the weather every few hours and waited for the wind to ease as the weather map keeps promising. We are sailing close hauled and working really hard to make progress towards Koumac, the wind and the waves are not our friend.

I am writing this journal entry while I am on watch tonight. At the moment I am sitting at the nav station trying not to fall off the seat on to the floor as Starship either jumps over, crashes into or is crashed into by this powerful sea. Every few seconds I have to stop typing and just hang on. The wind is still over 30 knots consistently and I have seen gusts as high as 44 knots. We have been going through squalls for the past few hours, it has been pouring, we continue to get hit by waves that send a torrent of water throughout the boat and I just went up to check the radar and saw a flash of lightening. The floors and flat surfaces now have puddles and I am getting dripped on sitting here. It has been two very challenging and exhausting days. It hasn't been scary, well a couple of waves made my hair stand up and I don't like lightening, but mostly it has been uncomfortable. Starship was designed as an off-shore charter boat, primarily used for island charters. Some of her charter features while good for entertaining two families aboard present some challenges that are new to us at sea. For instance, two companionways, a galley that goes straight across the starboard side and a really big cockpit. We are finding we still have so much to learn about Starship, for one how to stay dryer in big seas. I have two more hours before I go off watch, I hope if I can go to sleep when I wake up the sun will come out and start to dry out this very soggy boat.

Journal Entry - May 28 & 29, 2008 - Heave To, One, Two, Three Times

2008-05-28T20:44:00.000-07:00

Author: Pam

I am feeling much better today, thank goodness. I was able to function for most of the day, however it took a fair amount of energy as the wind and the seas have picked up and it was a bit wild today. We spent the afternoon making chili in the pressure cooker, it came close to qualifying for an Olympic event, but with a lot of precise management and four hands it was a very successful endeavor. The even better news was I felt like eating it for dinner. The conditions for using the BBQ were definitely short lived, it is amazing how quickly the sea state changes. It has also been cloudy with squalls all day.

The wind and waves continued to increase, making it a rough and long night. At 0500 while I was on watch we had a very unnerving encounter with the first ship we have seen since early Sunday. It drove directly at us, came within a half mile and then crossed our path. It felt very deliberate, as though they came to have a look at what probably showed up as a very small target on their radar out here in the middle of nowhere. We could see the starboard running light, which is a good thing because it means we were looking at the side of the beast, but Scott tacked away just to be safe. Definitely far too close for comfort.

It has been a very difficult two days. We have been in big, confused seas since early yesterday. We have had to heave to several times to deal with issues on deck. Scott has been on deck five times and for more than two and a half hours. That is five more times than either of us are comfortable with in these conditions, but it is often these conditions that cause the issues on deck that can not be ignored. One of the tasks was to rig the staysail, which we are now using because it is smaller and heavier than our head sail and it provides more stability in rough conditions. Scott is incredibly brave and without his bravery to that degree we could not do what we are doing.

We have been hammered by one huge wave after another on all sides of the boat. Each wave dumps gallons of water into the cockpit, some of which finds its way down into the forward or aft cabin. Water is dripping from everywhere and running down the mast onto the cabin floor. The entire boat is wet and so are we. While we were hove to I tried to clean up the interior of the boat and make it somewhat livable, it appears this is going to be an on-going challenge as long as we are being smacked by waves. I am also finding it takes a lot of energy to move from point A to B on the boat, I have a multitude of new bruises to show for this little torrent of 30 to 40 knots of wind and the waves that are coming with it.

We hove to again for three hours to just sit, try to recover from the day and to make dinner. In these conditions sometimes the best thing you can do is take a little time for you, especially when you are already making very slow progress. After dinner we had to get sailing again in order to wash the dishes, because if the boat is healed to port, sea water rushes up through the galley sink drain. Washing up turned into an Olympic event with clean and dirty dishes flying around the cabin, one plastic bowl committed suicide. Before I was finished we got hit by a wave and half the dirty dish water slopped out of the sink and down the front of me. However, when we were finished we agreed the effort was worth it for a hot meal, we hadn't eaten all day.

We finally got sailing again at 2200, already an hour late for our watch schedule to begin only to discover a new loud cracking noise somewhere on deck every time the boat was picked up by a wave and dropped again. We had to heave to AGAIN so Scott could go out on deck, this time in the dark and with white water raging past the boat to manage the fenders tied to the rail. They were the only possible thing we could see in the dark in the location of where the noise seemed to be coming from and they were being dragged by the sea to their possible peril. We got sailing again only to discover whatever the noise was, it wasn't the fenders. Bugger, there was nothing else we could do under the circumstances, we will have to deal with it in the morning. Needless to say it was a very rough night on top of an incredible day. According to the weather map it looks like the wind will begin to ease a bit tomorrow, I'll sign up for that.

Journal Entry - May 27, 2008 - What's the Tasman Cooking Up Today?

2008-05-27T18:51:00.000-07:00

Author: Pam

Scott used to say to me "wind is our friend" when we would be walking into a strong head wind making our way down Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco. My concern then was the mess it was making of my hair. Today, the wind was our friend when it started to clock around at 0500 and gradually turned from SSW to SE putting us on a beam reach. Woo Hoo as Scott would also say! After two and half days of rocking, rolling, bouncing and listening to the cacophony of every creek, squeak, rattle, bump and bang (at times the noise came close to being in a Chinese torture chamber) on Starship the change from the wind being on our tale was enormously welcome. We have been on a beam reach since mid morning and it has felt like being back in the trade winds again, which was the best sailing we have experienced so far. We are also headed directly at Koumac, which means all most all miles we make are now in our favor, in sailors terminology this is Velocity Made Good (VMG).

I am probably especially relieved, because I have apparently been seasick for the first time ever in my life or possessed by an alien species and as Scott mentioned I have been a lumpasaurus since leaving. It certainly has been a bit of a rough start for me back on the high seas. Today I am feeling better and managed to get through the day with only one short nap, I basically can barely remember much about the last couple of days (hence why Scott had to write about them). However, I did make a gallant effort to keep my watch schedule, which seems a bit remarkable to me now.

The day was pretty mundane until after lunch we seemed to have a list that kept us busy right up until time to make dinner. After cutting short our time reading together more of Gipsy Moth Circles the World by Francis Chichester (a special gift to me before leaving Australia) to make the best of the remaining daylight we decided to heave to. As a reminder, "heaving to" is a sailing technique where you oppose the sails, which stops forward momentum of the boat. During the two hours we were hove to, Scott BBQ steaks for dinner. This marks the third time ever we have used the BBQ at sea and twice has been on the Tasman.

As Scott was preparing to BBQ I noticed a strange hissing sound coming from the galley. It is amazing how tuned in your ears are on a boat (I often wish I could tune out). We both went below and stood with our ear near the galley sink, which was throwing off some incredible heat (Scott had just been using very hot water). We turned the water pressure off and the incessant hissing stopped. I opened the cabinet door under the sink and steam poured out. It only took moving four bottles of cleaning products to discover a hose clamp had come loose and precious water was leaking out under the sink. Wow, it may be our first five minute problem. It took more time to take everything out to dry it off then it did for Scott to tighten the hose clamp. However it is worth noting, we were lucky it was only a five minute problem, these kinds of leaks undetected could empty your water tank and destroy your water pump. Phew!

Speaking of our precious commodity, today it was finally time to take a shower. Four days might have to be the limit and it was pushing it. It is always interesting to get back into a routine of how to get the maximum benefit from a little bit of water. For those of you who have been following the trip from the beginning, you may recall our beloved "bug shower", a three gallon insect sprayer that we added a kitchen sprayer hose to and used as our shower in the cockpit on Tournesol. Well, we left the bug shower in NZ and use the shower in the head on Starship. I'm considering adding showering to the list of Olympic events on the boat, washing dishes using the foot pump in big seas is definitely one. Today while I was standing on one leg attempting to shave my legs in the very small sink I was thinking three things. One, now would not be a good time to be hit by a wave. Two, I wonder if this is how a flamingo feels and three, I'm sure there is an easier way to do this (next time).

Tonight while eating our steak and roasted veggies for dinner we passed within one and a half miles of one of the waypoints on our trip from NZ to

Australia

. It is a strange feeling to have been here before, but there is absolutely nothing to recognize and theoretically you could be on any ocean in the world with no land in sight and I think it could look exactly the same.

Journal Entry - May 25 & 26, 2008 - Every Sea Dog Has Her Day

2008-05-26T18:34:00.000-07:00

Author: Scott

It is said that even the most salty old sea dog can wake up one day and become seasick. Well yesterday one of Starship's salty dogs had their day. Immediately after our departure festivities had melted into the routine of our first blue water passage since arriving in

Australia

, I learned Pam's tummy had been hurting her all day. She began to feel nauseous and to develop a headache. I also noticed that she was taking on a nicely matching hue to her chartreuse fleece jacket. But probably the biggest telltale sign was her burping out loud later that evening. Pam just isn't the belching contest kind of gal, and she was letting them fly freely. We had both worn ourselves down with all the preparations for departure, and I think this mixed with lack of sleep due to voyage anxiety was the recipe for Pam's sudden onset of seasickness.

With Pam crook (as they say in Oz) I took on the first watch and covered a majority of the first night's watches. There was not much to report on for the first night, other than the freaky orange moon covered in my prior log-blog entry. The stars did come out for me. Sailing is almost the only time I can see starlight, and this mixed with the sound of the water rushing by is one of the most peaceful experiences I have had in my life. However, it's not all starlight and roses aboard a sailing vessel. With Pam down and months for every item aboard Starship to find a home to settle in, the boat became a sound scavenger hunt. Despite our best efforts to make the boat "sail-proof" we always find the forgotten battery rolling around in the nav station, or one of the few glass items on board manages to sneak off and find a solid metal item to pound itself upon, usually in the deepest darkest cupboard. Then there is the overall seaworthiness of the boat to assess. Much of my first night was spent crawling in the bilges, examining the engine room, trimming the sails, and with every new noise a new chore arose. I have often thought that sailing is truly a blind person's sport. Most issues aboard a boat present themselves to senses other than sight. For instance, if we have taken on water in the bilge, I can usually tell because the boat feels sluggish. If the wind has changed and the sails are out of trim, it is the sound of the flogging sail that sets me into action. Then of course if the dreaded engine makes even the slightest variance from its standard drone, every muscle tightens and I am on my way to the engine room. Pam and I are actually getting to the familiarity level where we can guess our current boat speed within .5 of a knot by just feeling the boats movement through the water. We are not always right, but we are usually very close.

Other than Pam's sudden attack of the sucky-yucky, the first night passed uneventfully. Most of the first two days maintained this pattern. On Sunday we were following a course of 085 True on a broad reach. This was not our ideal course but we were still entertaining the idea of making a "necessary maintenance stop" to Lord Howe Island. We have heard so much about the island from our friend Tony that we very much wanted to give it a "sticky". However, when we asked the folks at Immigration about reentering an Australian territory with an expired visa, the answer that it would be "unlawful" was quite clear. Had we come up with a reason to conduct maintenance, we could have visited the island but with Pam under the weather, and the fear of incarceration, we eventually decided to sail on.

Thank god for Simon's pizza gift upon departure. We fed off the pizza for our first dinner, Sunday's lunch and a snack. Sunday dinner was also a windfall because Joyce had given Pam some pumpkin soup and we had squirreled it away for a convenient meal. By Sunday night pumpkin soup was even a stretch to consume for the patient. Pam was a trooper on Sunday night and kept up with the watch schedule. We had good wind on the starboard quarter and our second night passed peacefully.

Monday was more of the same. Pam slept and felt sick, while I kept up the boat maintenance, looked for new treats to eat, and tried to keep up with various voyage related projects. The Tasman was friendly to us and the sun was shining. I did manage to spend some time jamming to some tunes and catching some rays on the aft doghouse. I only mention this because people often think we lay around basking in the sun while at sea and this actually is a rarity. Today I basked! The highlight for the day was the wind shifting directions to the South allowing us to make a more northerly arc towards New Caledonia. It almost felt like we were in the trade winds again, and today the wind was our friend. Our course for the day was 060 True and we sailed a deep broad reach.

Dinner was a yum-o-la stir-fry! It was gentle on Pam's tummy but still plenty tasty. Precooked

Singapore

noodles are a must on any cruising boat. I topped off dinner with some "Forbidden Fruits", a lolly of the genus "Gummoolia Bearis" that we discovered in

New Zealand

.

The only other item of note; on Monday night upon waking during a sleeping period I was completely unaware of my surroundings. 'Where am I?' Then it hit me! You are on Starship, in the middle of the "Terrible Tasman Sea", sailing around the world - WOW - WEIRD - AWESOME!

Journal Entry - May 25, 2008 - 364 Days in Australia

2008-05-25T07:29:00.000-07:00

Author: Pam

We rocked up in Australia on May 25, 2007 for a three week stop in Sydney, 364 days later we left to continue this amazing adventure. I have said over the past few months, I could live in Australia and then in the next moment I added a correction, well actually I guess I do live in Australia. If you had said to me in October of 2004 that I would spend a year living on our boat and working in Oz, a country I had only dreamt about visiting I'm sure I wouldn't have said that would never happen, but it certainly was not part of the plan.

It turns out these kinds of not part of plan will probably be the most amazing part of the adventure in the end. There is no way I can begin to capture every aspect of my life over the past year and all of the wonderful people who are now in my heart and on my list of friends forever.

When Scott left to return to the US in October I was comfortably settled on the boat in the marina in Newcastle that was our/my home for ten months. We had already made some friends, so I knew I wouldn't be too lonely and I knew how to get to the grocery store, so I wouldn't go hungry. However, eating alone did become a bit of an issue. What I didn't have was a job. All I could say was I am determined and very motivated to find a job and experience working in another country.

It was actually very serendipitous how I found my job in the end. I was doing some research for a project I was working on and ended up on the Sailors With Disabilities in Sydney website. On the links page was a link to Northcott Disability Services, "an organization for people with disabilities." One of the job searching approaches I was taking was to look at job vacancies on non-profit websites, so I decided to have a look. First of all, there were about thirty job openings, but near the bottom of the list the Volunteer Coordinator position jumped out at me. There were only a few minor hurdles to consider. First of all the job was in Parramatta (a 2.5 hour train ride from Newcastle). It was also advertised until the end of June, I was sure that was due to funding, but I could only make a commitment until the beginning of May. But, it was for three days a week, which made it all seem doable, though I wasn't sure exactly how I would pull it off.

To make a long story short, they hired me as their very first Volunteer Coordinator to develop a more formal volunteer program for the organization. Everything fell into place perfectly. I took the train early Tuesday morning, a three hour commute door to door. Then stayed with our very good friends Tim and Georgia Tuesday and Wednesday night in Epping (a half hour bus ride to work) and took the train back to Newcastle on Thursday, a four and a half hour commute. Staying with Tim and Georgia was wonderful in so many ways. I got to develop a close friendship with them, it was two nights I didn't eat alone and it was even more of a bonus when Nick and Tom were home, their teenage sons. I got my animal fix from their two dogs, Sadie and Tash. And, there is nothing like learning about a culture then living with a family and working. Oh, and there was the pleasure of sleeping in a very comfy bed with three sides.

Northcott Disability Services is a 77 year old organization for people with disabilities providing services throughout New South Wales. They have utilized volunteers over the years, but in a very ad hoc manner. In four and half months I had the privilege of establishing a foundation for a more formal volunteer program and fostering a shift in the thinking and the culture amongst the staff on the value of volunteer resources. It was a fantastic experience and I will look forward to watching the program grow with the warm feeling in my heart that I left a little part of me at a non-profit that has an awesome staff, provides important services and has the beginning of a fantastic pool of volunteers.

I find the culture in Australia difficult to describe, there are many differences, but they are quite subtle. I'm sure that has something to do with the fact it is an English speaking county, albeit there are a lot of colloquialisms and vocabulary that often left me with the deer in the headlights quizzical look. There are some that have made it into my vocabulary and are probably here to stay. I can't say G'day, but I could ask you "how you going" or say "see how we go." I have often been "flat out" (busy) and consider saying "I reckon" instead of I think. Scott has commented on my pronunciation of the number six and I did start to get the hang of saying double anytime you spell a word, name or give a phone number with double letters or numbers. I did not get in the habit of adding an "o" or a "y" to any word possible. Australians reckon they are lazy, therefore shortening every other word saves time and energy. I will probably call a bell pepper a capsicum from now on and I may not be able to pronounce oregano, basil or aluminum. I never did quite wrap my brain comfortably around ordering in a restaurant. An entrée is an appetizer and what would be an entrée in the US is a Main, that made my head hurt.

When it comes to food, two staples are fresh pumpkin and beetroot (beets), they are on the weekly shopping list for most households. In the US we mostly see fresh pumpkins with faces carved in them and a candle burning for Halloween and in pie at Thanksgiving (and that is usually out of a can). We eat beets mostly in salads and as side dishes, in Australia beetroot will be included in the list of "salad" on almost every sandwich and burger. It was always a dead give-away that I was American when I asked for no beetroot.

I did eat kangaroo once in spaghetti bolognaise, but my friend didn't think to mention it until about a week later. I never warmed up to the meat pie, they were big in New Zealand as well, possibly more popular. I did of course warm up to the prawns, which seem to show up at all holiday and special events. I learned that Americans are not as efficient at eating with a knife and fork. I was asked one night at dinner "why I put my knife down after cutting my meat?" I had no idea what I had just done. Australians hold their fork in their left hand and therefore don't have to put it down after they have cut something on their plate. I was not able to adopt this technique, but perhaps it would be something to consider on the boat to avoid flying silverware. I observed that you are often are not given a serviette (napkin), even if you are eating something with your fingers. This was something I never figured out and though I shared my observation no one seemed surprised, but also didn't offer much of an explanation. Also, to my horror I observed on more than one occasion that many people don't rinse the soap off of the dishes when they are "washing up." I guess my Mom did a good job instilling in me that soap could make you sick, this does not seem to be a "worry" that made it to Oz.

I had an unfortunate accident in February while I was participating in a little running race with two young girls at the marina, which ended up being a rude way to be reminded I am not as young as I used to be. My left hamstring seized while I was running and my leg stopped participating causing me to fall with momentum flat on my face. The concrete won hands down, leaving me looking like I had been in the ring with Mohamed Ali and with three broken front teeth. After fourteen visits to the dentist and three visits to the lab that made my crowns I have a new Australian smile. I believe fourteen dental appointments in two and a half months may break a record. I am eternally grateful to my dentist Peter Wong and his staff at Newcastle Dental Laser Centre and Derek Tracey, owner of Aesthetic Prosthetics in Wallsend for their dedication and persistence in transforming me from snaggle tooth back to a smile that does not look like I am married to Bugs Bunny (that was the first set of permanent crowns). I am happy with the end result, now if my travel insurance truly does cover the expenses all will be fine. Fingers hugely crossed on that one, because though it may not be quite a million dollar smile it is close.

The night I fell was probably the longest loneliest night of my life, but the next day brought a blessing beyond imaginable. I called our friend Bev and told her what had happened and asked if I could come stay the night. She picked me up that afternoon when she finished work and I ended up staying a week. It was an unbelievable experience in the face of adversity. They welcomed me with open arms, Bev drove me to the dentist and several Dr. visits and they kept the humor ever present, which helped immensely. Scott offered to come back, which I really appreciated, but there really wasn't anything he could do. I just needed to heal and find a really good dentist, both of which I did. The blessings in my life seem to continue to over shadow the hard stuff and for that I will be forever grateful.

During some of my free time I volunteered for the Cancer Council in Newcastle where I helped them streamline their volunteer program on the regional level. It was another amazing experience, again because of the people. I instantly felt part of the team and besides being a very rewarding experience, the staff always provided wonderful comic relief. Actually, now is a good time to mention the concept of morning tea. That would be the morning break and at the Cancer Council it is a group activity where they read the astrological sign for each person present and attempt the trivia in the paper. It is hugely entertaining, usually hilarious and educational, because I almost never knew any of the answers. "Tea" is used as the description for a break and for dinner. If you are invited for "tea" at dinnertime, it is for a meal, not a "cuppa".

Leaving my job, my friends and the very special connections I made in Australia was very bittersweet, but it was time to go and continue our quest. I know I will go back and honestly you couldn't leave somewhere with a better feeling than that.

Journal Entry - May 24, 2008 - Bad Moon on the Rise

2008-05-24T06:54:00.000-07:00

Author: Scott

'Don't go out tonight. It's bound to take your life. There's a bad moon on the rise...' This is what played in my head when I realized that the big orange light shining low on the water was not actually a huge freighter bearing down on us. Pam and I were both in the cockpit and almost simultaneously asked, "What is that?" It was the moon rising of course, but this was no ordinary moon. This was a perfect black cat convention, Michael Meyer Halloween knife sharpening, sacrifice the virgins kind of moon. It was huge (even for our eyes), with creepy gray clouds silently slinking across the face, and orangey gold flecks of light caught in the inky black surface of the oily water. This was a spooky, with a capital S, kind of moon. It was sort of appropriate that I first thought the moon was a demon ship coming to take us down to Davy Jones' locker with CCR swimming around in my head.

Now despite the fact that you don't want 70's songs telling you to stay home tonight playing in your head on the first night you return to sea, after nearly a year, it was a glorious night at sea. We left the dock at almost exactly 1500, our planned departure time. Our minds were in meltdown mode after having just said goodbye to an unbelievable group of people, which over the past year have become our community and will remain our friends for life. It is all a blur for me now, those final minutes before throwing off the lines to our next destination. Just to mention a few, early in the day there was Grahme, Loretta and Harry the dog wishing us well. Rich and Paul from the Tiger Ragtime Jazz Band came out to serenade us on the dock with songs like "Anchors Away". There was big Tony telling me he wasn't good at goodbyes while this tough sailor had tears flowing down my cheeks. There was Simon handing us a load of pizza from his awesome Newcastle restaurant "Eight Ounce", and Bruce our neighbor on F Dock had his hand out with far too little time to thank him for the many ways he helped us. Belinda, Nathan and Mary-Ann just made me gush more with each hug. Joyce was hugging Pam like a daughter leaving home, and somewhere off in the distance Jimmy Buffet was finishing "Changes in Latitudes" our theme song for the voyage. It was time to go.

The one thing about leaving on a boat is that there are plenty of details to redirect your thinking. With the wheel in my hands, barking out requests to helpers on the dock, I was able to pull myself together and clearly see the crowd of people, a crowd of faces I could not recognize at this distance, but I knew them to be the wonderful collection of special mates that so greatly encompassed our experience in Australia. "Farwell our friends, we will see you again" was whispering from my lips as I thrust the throttle forward and spun Starship's bow into the channel. I blew a loud honk on the airhorn, almost killing Pam with fright on the spot, and our friends on the dock glided away from us.

This would not be the end of our departure, not by a long shot. All my concentration was now focused on avoiding a spectacular departure crash with the floating dock, and when I looked around us with that particular hazard in our wake, we were joined by one - two - three boats forming a protective escort around us. Each boat was loaded to the gunnels with friends calling to us, and the first thought that came to me was, 'How on earth did they get in the boats so quickly?' Our little flotilla headed down the channel with Bruce yelling over navigational directions. My driving must have been a little scattered because Bruce finally said "Hey mate why don't you put on the auto pilot?" This reminded me of a conversation I had just had with Bruce where we both admitted steering superiority to the mechanical beast that can put a perfectly straight, inhuman track on the chart plotter. With little chance for collision with the auto pilot engaged and our shield of surrounding vessels, Pam and I were free to be on deck, taking pictures, waving, and screaming thank you and goodbyes. As we approached the heads I thought that surely they would turn back once we passed the final buoy, but this was not to be. The two sailboats (Etosha & Taritabu) unfurled their headsails and taunted us to do the same, while the big sport fisher powerboat (Fortune of War) drove in circles around us all. Our friends would continue to sail us out well into the open ocean, yelling to us, laughing and crying the entire time. I will forever have a picture of our mate Tony standing on the bow of his boat, with the most serene look of pleasure about him. Now I love to sail, but Tony is probably the most natural and passionate sailor we will ever meet and he was completely in his element.

Miles out to sea, Tony finally yelled over that they would "let us have all the fun and get settled in". With that said they tacked away and disappeared in the distance, leaving Pam and I to continue the Blind Circumnavigation. There we stood watching Etosha slip away, both of us crying and numb from our incredible Australian experience.

Now here I sit alone on watch, the time when I get my best opportunity to blog. A good percentage of the gourmet pizza has been eaten, and Pam is down below for her first sleep period. If I stop and think for just a second, the past few days wash over me and there is a new shiny memory that materializes in my mind to add to the collage of what is sure to be one of the most touching and emotional experiences of our life.

There may be a "bad moon on the rise", but we are at it again, dancing on the wire, living every second, waiting to see what adventure will come our way.

Journal Entry - May 23, 2008 - Our departure from Australia

2008-05-23T07:19:00.000-07:00

*** Reminder: We love to get email at sea, so if you get a chance, send us a HELLO to: wdd4300@sailmail.com (no attachments on Sail Mail please) ***

Ahoy Blind Circumnavigation Friends and Supporters,

It is with great enthusiasm that we announce our departure from Australia. Don’t get us wrong, our departure is somewhat bittersweet because of the many friends that we have made in Australia, but we are so very excited to be continuing our voyage!

As you will probably recall, upon our arrival to Australia our diesel engine “stuffed up” as they would say in Oz. This led to the drama of replacing the engine with a rebuilt engine that also gave us much grief, and as a result we installed a brand spanking new Volvo-Penta engine on Starship. The installation of the NEW engine cost us a year and kept the boat in Australia during the South Pacific Cyclone Season. Oh well, “no worries mate” (they say that here as well) it is all part of the adventure.

During cyclone season Pam worked in Sydney and stayed each week with our dear friends Tim and Georgia allowing her to work three days a week away from Newcastle. Meanwhile, Scott worked for six months in Northern Virginia. For the most part our lives were routine during this time, with the exception of Pam’s accidental face-plant on the cement on the Newcastle Yacht Club’s waterfront, where she left most of three teeth and a good portion of her facial skin behind. After 14 trips to the dentist, Pam is thriving and is as feisty as ever. Ouch!!!

So here we are, three and a half years into a voyage that was going to take two and a half to three years to complete, and though we won’t win any speed records, we are accomplishing and experiencing so much! We have met and reached out to thousands of blind people around the world with our message of independence. We have had our hearts broken by a blind girl in Mexico. We have exchanged ideas and experiences with our good blind friend Rolland in Tahiti. We have felt our hearts soar in Australia while sailing with a group of blind children and young adults, just to name a few of our wonderful experiences. We are more determined than ever to complete this epic quest, but at the same time we are clear that the true adventure is in the voyage and not the final destination.

This year’s itinerary is very much like last year’s intended route. We will be sailing from Australia to New Caledonia, then to Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Darwin (Australia again), Indonesia, Malaysia, and finally Thailand for the Indian Ocean cyclone season. We will continue to reach out and meet blind people at every destination. This year promises to bring Starship to some of the most remote destinations that we will experience on the entire journey. Please stay tuned and we promise to keep it interesting!

Thank you all for your unwavering support and interest!

Cheers,
Scott and Pam

Journal Entry – January 28, 2008 Aussie Vocabulary

2008-01-28T22:33:00.000-08:00

Author: Pam

After spending nine months in Kiwiland we were able to apply some of our learned vocabulary here in Oz since much of the vocabulary crosses both countries. However, the Aussies certainly do have their unique usage of the English language and colloquialisms. I would go as far to say some of the words and expressions have found their way into our everyday vocabulary and are probably here to stay. Again, most of the words are used everyday in the English language, they just have found a different meaning here down under. I do still find myself often asking, how do you say that here? Which strikes me funny as I am asking and being answered in English. However, also it does seem there is license to shorten any word and add “y” or sometimes “o” which especially includes people’s names or places. Scott has been Scotty since the day we arrived. Thankfully, there wasn’t as much of a tendency towards Pammy. It has been fun collecting a list to share, there is a short list our visually impaired blind cricket friends taught Scott that fall into the R rated category and can not be published on this family site.

On my resume and for work I have also changed how I spell words such as organization to organisation (this applies to most words ending in “zation”), center is centre, color and harbor are colour and harbour. English (Australia) is one of the options in the MS Word spelling language list. This is the setting I use on my computer at work, so I hopefully look like I know what I am doing.

Ok, put on your kangaroo hat and try your guess at the definition/s. The definitions are given below, once you have finished:

Magic
Pinch
Heaps
Flash
Crook
Bloody
Dunny
White Goods
Tucker
Esky
Mug
Chook
Wind Screen
Lounge
Bonnet
Petrol
Fisty Cuffs
Blind
Chips
Tomato Sauce
Takeaway
Pram
Blue
Bluey
G’Day
Reckon
Layby
Ute
Pissed
Brolly
Yum Cha
Mitty
Schooner
Alight
Slip
Sacked
Sparky
Drippy
Whnge or Whinging
Tinny
Push Bike
Bugger
Bush
Me
Pen
Hanging
Brekkie
Doona
Sticky or Sticky Beak
Bloke
Sheila
Sunnies
Bench or Benchtop
Sloppy Joe
Fringe
Flat White
Short Black
Long Black
Grog
Roo
Fair Dinkum
Dinkum
Footy
Cozzie
Macca’s
Snag
Sanger
Uni
School Leavers
Monday Week
Sydney Sider
How you going?
Blow the dogs off of their chain
Off like a bride’s nighty
Kangaroos in the top paddock
Flat out like a lizard drinking
You don’t know me from a bar of soap
Stone the crows
Starve the lizards
One Tick
Beyond the black stump
Flash as a rat with a gold tooth
Call a sickie
Holy snapping bats

If your kangaroo hat didn’t work, try your Aussie hat:

Magic – If it’s magic, it’s perfect, wonderful, extra special
Pinch – To take or steal something
Heaps - Lots
Flash – Gaudy
Crook - Sick
Bloody – Used in before a word to add emphasis, bloody good
Dunny – Outdoor Toilet
White Goods – Household Appliances, i.e.; washing machine
Tucker - Food
Esky – Ice Chest
Mug – Someone who is gullible
Chook – a live chicken
Wind Screen – Windshield of your car
Lounge – Living Room
Bonnet – The hood of your car
Petrol - Gasoline
Fisty Cuffs – A fight using your fists
Blind - Intoxicated
Chips – French Fries
Tomato Sauce – Ketchup
Takeaway – Food to Go
Pram – Baby Stroller
Blue – Red Headed Male, Argument, Mistake and many other meanings which are confusing
Bluey - Policeman, Traffic Ticket
G’Day - Hello
Reckon – Used like, I think, I guess, I figure
Layby – To put something on layaway at a store
Ute – A utility truck, pickup truck
Pissed - Intoxicated
Brolly - Umbrella
Yum Cha – Dim Sum
Mitty – Small glass of beer
Schooner – Large glass of beer
Alight – To depart
Slip – To take your boat out of the water
Sacked – To get fired from your job
Sparky – An Electrician
Drippy – A Plumber
Whinge or Whinging – Complain or Complaining
Tinny – Usually an aluminum boat
Push Bike – Bicycle
Bugger – Mild swear word for when something doesn’t go well or sometimes refers a person who did something bad
Bush – Going into the country, wilderness
Me – Often used instead of my, I need to get me boat fixed
Pen – Berth where you keep your boat
Hanging – If you are hanging for something, you are really in the mood, “Hanging for a coffee”
Brekkie – Breakfast, usually refers to the “big brekky”
Doona – Duvet or Comforter
Sticky or Sticky Beak – to have a look at something, i.e.; a house for sale
Bloke – Reference to a man
Sheila – Reference to a woman
Sunnies - Sunglasses
Bench or Benchtop – Kitchen Counter or Countertop
Sloppy Joe – Fleece Top
Fringe – Your hair bangs
Flat White – Espresso coffee with milk
Short Black – Espresso
Long Black – Black espresso coffee with water added
Grog – Alcohol
Roo – Kangaroo
Fair Dinkum – Genuine, Real
Dinkum – Honest, Sincere
Footy – Football, i.e. in this part of the world Rugby
Cozzie – Swimsuit (New South Wales)
Macca’s – McDonald’s
Snag – Sausage
Sanger – Sandwich
Uni – University
School Leavers – students that leave High School
Monday Week – A week from Monday
Sydney Sider – Someone who lives in Sydney
How you going? – How are you?
Blow the dogs off of their chain – Very windy
Off like a bride’s nighty – In a big hurry
Kangaroos in the top paddock – Crazy, Insane
Flat out like a lizard drinking – Really busy
You don’t know me from a bar of soap – A phrased used by someone you talk to for the first time
Stone the crows – Exclamation like “well I’ll be”
Starve the lizards – A phrase used for great exclamation!
One Tick – One minute
Beyond the black stump – In the middle of nowhere
Flash as a rat with a gold tooth – Very Flashy or Gaudy
Call a sickie – Call in to work sick, but not necessary because you are sick
Holy snapping bats – Holy Cow!

Latest Email Update for our Friends and Supporters

2007-11-16T07:46:00.000-08:00

Below is our latest email update sent out last week. If you would like to be added to this list and receive these updates via emai, just send a message through the website.

Ahoy to our Friends and Supporters!

Wow! What a cruising year it has been! In some ways it feels like wehave been running to stand still, but though we have put fewer milesunder our keel as we had planned, we have met so many wonderful peopleand had a fantastic experience in Australia.

As many of you know our engine died a severe and sudden death two daysoutside of Sydney prior to our arrival in Australia. We theninstalled a rebuilt engine to save a little money and everything waslooking good as we sailed out between the Sydney Heads.Unfortunately, various issues arose with the rebuilt engine on our wayto Pittwater, and though we thought we had the problems licked, thegremlins kept at the rebuilt engine giving us problems on our way toNewcastle. Once in Newcastle the engine problems outgrew our trust inthe rebuilt engine, and our mechanic and friend Bob kindly took backthe engine and gave us a full refund. At this point we decided toinvest in a new Volvo Penta engine (with a three year warranty), whichhas been completely installed and purrs like a kitten.

We now have the engine issues behind us but it is very late in thecruising season with the cyclone season looming. Therefore, we havemade the decision to keep Starship in Australia for the duration ofthe cyclone season (April 2008).

To fill the time while we wait out the cyclone season, we have set ourfocus on working to feed the ever hungry cruising kitty. Scott hasreturned to the states and is consulting in chilly Virginia and Pam isbeating the pavement looking for work in Newcastle. Scott will bereturning to Australia for the holidays and we hope to fit in somecoastal cruising in Australia's beautiful cruising grounds.

As for our plans next cruising season, they are somewhat similar toour plans for this year (before our engine demise). We will departAustralia sailing north-east making a quick stop in Kumac, NewCaledonia, and then it is off to Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. Wewill then turn west stopping in Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Malaysiaand finally Thailand for the 2008/2009 Cyclone Season.

As always keep an eye on the website as we will make updates whenitems of interest arise and please continue to share our adventurewith us when we depart Australia in April to continue the BlindCircumnavigation.

Cheers,
Scott and Pam

Journal Entry - November 6, 2007 Melbourne Cup Day, A National Passion

2007-11-06T22:27:00.000-08:00

Author: Pam

On the first Tuesday of November each year, the entire country of Australia comes to an almost complete standstill and happily falls into Melbourne Cup fever. It turns into an unofficial holiday, except in Melbourne it is actually an observed holiday. I was in complete awe of the impact a horse race can have on an entire country and I quickly came to the conclusion there is no event that even comes close in the United States. It is an amazing unifying event, even children in pre-school postpone their afternoon nap to pick their favorite horse, unofficially of course. Many businesses close for the day or around noon. If they do stay open they very often provide lunch for their employees and there is definitely a TV for everyone to crowd around to cheer for their favorite horse.

I spent the day with our new friends in Wickham, Australia. The first order of business was to stop into the local pub, which is a TAB operator (Totalisator Agency Board) and assume the role of a “punter” popping in for a “flutter”, which translates into someone who places a bet. By the time the horses lined up at the barrier at Flemington Racecourse the TAB pool was up to five million dollars (it is Australia’s premier and richest horse race). I bet $12.00 in total and in the end won $9.00 on one of my trifectors when my horse came in second. The horse’s name was Purple Moon and my very scientific choice was based on purple being my favorite color. Melbourne Cup Day is often the only day of the year many Australians bet on the races.
After we placed our bets we went to Joyce’s house for lunch. Luncheons or picnic days are almost as big of an event as the race. The prawn population is seriously depleted on Melbourne Cup Day. We munched on prawns and champagne while we watched the horses and jockeys preparing for their big moment, as well as the speeches by people who had clearly already partaken of the bubbly.

At 3:00 sharp the race began and Joyce went into cheerleader mode. She didn’t really seem to have a particular favorite, she was even cheering for a horse that is legendary in the Melbourne Cup, but might actually be dead. Enthusiasm is a wonderful thing. This event that had caused the standstill of a nation was over in five minutes. The horses were exquisite and it was awesome to witness 24 champions pounding toward the finish line. I must say there is something to be said for the cream of the crop. The 2007 winning horse’s name was Efficient, which is a very apropos name for a winner.

The final important detail of Melbourne Cup Day is fashion. Many women spend months choosing a new dress and sport a fancy and in some cases elaborately decorated hat, especially the woman who attend the race. I was shopping before race day and there were definitely dresses and hats everywhere. There seems to be much more fashion flexibility amongst the men and hats do not cross genders.

Journal Entry – August 16, 2007 Battling the God Forsaken Gremlins

2007-08-16T23:00:00.000-07:00

Author: Scott

This is a quick update to keep our website followers up to date. We have been extremely busy trying to sort out our engine issues. Although we have not made recent postings we have kept extensive notes and we will soon fill the gap between entries.

The ten second version:

Our engine died just outside the Sydney Heads. We tried to save some coconuts and bought a rebuilt engine. It took FOREVER to install the rebuilt engine, and then the rebuilt engine kept having problems until we finally sent the sucker back. We just got our coconuts back and put them towards a band spanking new engine that will be installed over the next 2 -3 weeks, and most importantly it has a WARRANTY! Now it is late in the cruising season with cyclones breathing down our necks, and we are trying to revise our lives to something that resembles a plan. Never fear, a little engine disaster or two won’t slow us down - the circumnavigation will go on!

The more blabbericious version:

As you are probably aware from our Log-Blog, we experienced a catastrophic engine failure two days outside of Sydney Australia. We were given the name of a mechanic who came highly recommended and we decided to install a rebuilt Perkins 67 horsepower engine to replace “Big Red”, Starship’s failed 40 horsepower Westerbeke engine. After a lengthy installation process, hampered by “the worst winter in 40 years” we were finally ready to depart from Sydney. Our first destination was Pittwater, twenty-five miles north up the Australian coast. Upon reaching Pittwater we were to have our engine serviced by Bill Lacey the person who actually rebuilt the new engine, however upon reaching Pittwater we learned that Bill had hurt his back and would be unable to service the engine. We also found an oil leak that led to three days of engine work.

Discouraged with our new engine, but willing to continue we headed to Newcastle. We were guaranteed that the engine issues were all sorted out. This did not turn out to be the case. Upon reaching Newcastle the oil leak persisted. To make matters worse, while recharging our batteries one evening, I was astonished to hear the engine alarm sound to find the engine seriously overheated. It turns out that the hose connected to the header tank was never properly clamped on and the pipe fitting was also not correctly fitted. As a result, all of the engine’s coolant drained from the engine within seconds disabling the engine’s temperature alarm until the engine was seriously overheated. At this point we had reached the end of our patience and considered returning the engine.

After consulting the mechanic we agreed to allow him to rebuild the engine again to look for problems that may have resulted from the engine’s overheating, with the stipulation that the engine would then be dynamometer tested to give us assurance that the engine was up to the task of blue water cruising. At this point the engine was removed from Starship and I assisted with the rebuild of the engine. Unfortunately after rebuilding the engine our mechanic was unable to find a suitable testing facility and our willingness to reinstall the engine evaporated.

So today brought a conclusion to the chapter of Starship’s newly rebuilt engine. I met with the mechanic and received a full refund for the engine. Over the past two weeks we have researched and agreed upon terms to have a completely new engine (with a three year warranty) installed on Starship. Over the next two to three weeks we will have a Volvo Penta D2-40, 40 horsepower engine, with new gearbox and three bladed folding prop installed on Starship. This new engine should provide us with the reliability and peace of mind that we need to take Starship offshore.

It is now very late in the cruising season and the southern cyclone season is looming. We are now weighing all of our possible options for the remainder of the season. Please check in on our Log-Blog over the coming week as we will fill in the gap in our journal. Despite our engine saga, we continue to have an incredible Australian experience. We will also provide an update on our next move, just as soon as we figure it out. Rest assured the Blind Circumnavigation will continue. We won’t let a little engine drama stand in the way of our goal.

Journal Entry – July 4 – 6, 2007 The Fish Market and the Wolverines

2007-07-06T22:01:00.000-07:00

Author: Pam

Well, July 4th of course came and went unnoticed in Australia. Actually one acquaintance asked me if we had any plans, but otherwise I didn’t even really think about the picnic I would be attending if we were at home. I actually had a lot less fun than a picnic, I went to see the Dr. for the results of the tests I had a couple of weeks ago. Everything is fine, it was mostly the opportunity for piece of mind before we head off into the islands where a Dr. might be the local chief or the herb Kava (which you will hear more about once we are in Vanuatu). We were headed back to the boat, but spontaneously decided to go out to Bondi Junction to investigate hair cut options for me. I was planning to make an appointment for Friday, but we decided today was as good a day as any, so I settled on the salon Hair Talks. It was an experience that had its dodgey feeling moments, but in the end thankfully my hair did look better and wasn’t green. We grocery shopped on the way home and began a small dose of the arduous task of provisioning.

The wind started to build on Wednesday night as Australia was being hit with the ramifications of the biggest high over the Tasman Sea in the last 50 years. Lucky us, another record breaking weather pattern for the winter of 2007 and another delay in the engine installation. Bob and Rob were supposed to come today to finish the last bits and take the boat out for her test run, but Mother Nature had other ideas. If that wasn’t enough the wind also stole one of our mats on the outside of the boat and a clothes pin. It was an extra nice clothes pin too. Both causalities were our fault, we actually discussed whether we should bring in the mat before we left and decided it would be ok. New rule on Starship, if we even question it whatever it is, we will do it. We already have that rule when it comes to reefing the sail, if we ask one another do you think we should put a reef in, we do. We weren’t too terribly productive as the wind howled all day and we wondered if Bob would come the next day. I did get a manicure/pedicure today. Ok, I have been declared healthy, have a new “do” and clean and clipped paws and claws, I am ready to get out of Dodge.

Yup, no Bob on Friday even though the wind was dying by mid morning. Our friend Amber from the US came over to Starship for one of Scott’s famous breakfasts. She is heading out on Monday to continue her backpacking trip up the east coast of Australia. It was nice for all of us to feel a connection to home. Who knows where we will see her again, it doesn’t sound like grass will grow under her feet once she returns to the states.

After she left we were sitting in the cockpit feeling sorry for ourselves for the continued delays with the engine and discussing with very little enthusiasm what we were going to do with the rest of the day, when Bernie came by in “Solus” (his 25‘ wooden boat) and asked if we would like to go for a ride on the harbor. It took us about two seconds to grab a few things and jump aboard for a wonderful personal tour of Sydney Harbor. The Kitty Hawk and four other US Naval ships had arrived with some difficulty in all of the wind on Wednesday. We had no idea they were in town until David Marshall mentioned it, we really don’t have much access to news. Apparently the businesses are all hyped up for the millions of dollars that is expected to be spent over the weekend as our sailors and their families are here for some R&R. There are 5500 service men and women on the Kitty Hawk alone. She is a massive air craft carrier and will be heading back to the East Coast of the US to be decommissioned after her swan song undergoing exercises with the Australian Navy. We got a good look at her thanks to Bernie.

Our tour continued past the Opera House and under the Harbor Bridge where Bernie told us the Harbor Bridge secret which can only be shared when you are directly under the bridge. You will have to visit Sydney and meet an Aussie who knows the secret to hear it for yourself. After making our way through the veritable highway on the harbor we motored into Black Wattle Bay where we visited my new favorite place in Sydney, the Fish Market. You may recall Scott was taken there the day he went out on Free Spirit for the Tuesday Secret Men’s Business sail. I have been jealous ever since and now I know my jealousy was not unfounded. I was in heaven, there was piles of fresh fish and seafood everywhere you turned! We got a snack of Tiger prawns, followed by sushi and topped off with fish and calamari. The prawns were $18.99 a kilo (two pounds) which was at least $10.00 less than you would see them at the small fish counters near the grocery stores. Scott suggested I could get a parka and move into one of the freezers. I thought a penguin for a pet would be nice company. Since that wasn’t going to happen, as we were leaving I was already scheming how I was going to get back there again.

We got back in time to take a shower and rush off to meet Kate and Bernie for dinner. We arrived at Ash’s to find we were also having dinner with Kate, Tom and Frances. It was a lively group that was just getting warmed up for the fun to come. We had bought tickets to see the Wolverines concert at the Cruising Yacht Club. The Wolverines are three sailors who perform to raise money for kids sailing and cystic fibrosis. The CYC concert was the kickoff for their tour up the East Coast of Australia on their boat Holy Cow. We were not surprised to find out she has black and white sails. We met other friends once we arrived and had a really fun time dancing to their unique twists on some familiar tunes as well as some of their own original songs. The band members each bring their own personality to the stage, especially John with his perfectly combed foot and a half long beard. One of the band members had a sister with cystic fibrosis and one of their songs was written by him sharing his experience of being told about her illness. He thought his parents told him she had sixty five roses, which does sound remarkably like cystic fibrosis. It is a beautiful song that did not leave a dry eye in the house. It was another memorable evening in Sydney with our very special friends.

Journal Entry – June 30 – July 3, 2007 Starship Purrs Like A Tiger

2007-07-03T20:29:00.000-07:00

Author: Pam

We returned from Lightning Ridge invigorated and ready to reclaim Starship and tackle the remaining items on our never ending “To Do” list. We spent the entire day on Saturday corralling wayward hoses and engine bits that were crawling all over the cockpit, putting away the multitude of things that had escaped from their places of safe keeping and cleaning the grease and grime from the surfacest. While I was cleaning Scott installed yet another water pump for the fresh water system. Unfortunately the one he installed last week uses more than five amps and would be best kept as its intended purpose as a spare. Our day of reclaiming the boat and our life aboard ended with a big grocery run and a yummy dinner of Bob and David’s authentic beef stroganoff recipe. They shared the recipe in the car on the way to Lightning Ridge. For the life of me I can’t remember how it came up, but we are sure glad it did, it’s a keeper.

On Sunday we met David, Donna, Kate and Bernie for the Sunday brekki at the Cruising Yacht Club. It was nice to see our Sydney friends and we had an audience for the tales of our most recent adventure. Kate had just returned from Darwin (located at the top of Australia) and she shared a bit of info that may be helpful if we make a stop there before heading to Indonesia. After our tummies were full we came back to the boat and spent the rest of the day hunkered down in the back cabin catching up on the administrative side of our life. When we finally came up for air we were both too knackered to think about dinner, so it was an at sea meal of grilled cheese sandwiches and soup.

Our admin tasks carried over to Monday morning until the AuquaTech technicians arrived to install our new AIS (automatic identification system) receiver. The installation had a few bumps along the way, but ultimately the kinks got worked out and we were being notified of all the ships in the vicinity. We were not able to install the receiver so the information overlays on our radar, we unfortunately have one model too old. Instead, the receiver is connected directly to the computer at the nav station. We now need to get the Blue Tooth technology so we can access the information while we are at the helm. I think once we get all of the components working we will be very happy with the set-up and grateful for any information we can get about ships within approximately 25 miles of us. The sun was out again, so there is hope the weather is improving and Sydney will come into their “normal” fine winter days.

Tuesday was a BIG day! Starship has an engine that purrs again, as Scott would say WOO HOO! After a day of hoses and wires snaking their way in every direction the guys were finally ready to try to start the engine for the first time. I was on the stern, where I had spent the day cleaning the BBQ. That was not exactly my plan, but there really wasn’t anywhere else to be since I was useless anywhere near the engine surgery. Scott on the other hand hovered and asked questions all day, I think he has definitely moved passed diesel engines 101. Fortunately, Bob is very patient and seems to thrive on Scott’s interest in knowing as much as possible about the care and feeding of our new baby. No one gave me any warning, there was no ceremonial proclamation, the next thing I knew the engine was running and water was spitting out of the back of the boat, which is a very good thing. Their was a moment of drama the first time it started, Bob yelled “turn it off “, my initial excitement instantly swerved to holding my breath. The next thing I knew they started it again and the drama was over. There was a big discussion about an external versus internal regulator for the alternator and within minutes yet another dilemma was solved and all was good. We are in the home stretch, Bob and Rob left at the end of the day with a plan to return on Thursday to finish up the last few tweaks and to take the boat out to check the propeller. That will be exciting to actually be moving, even if it is only a quick jaunt out into the harbor. The day ended with a marathon visit to the Internet café to post journal entries. Leaving Sydney and getting underway is beginning to feel like a reality, we are aiming for July 14th to make our first move up the coast. Cross your fingers we can get all of kangaroos in a row.

Journal Entry – June 28-29, 2007 Pam and Scott Go Down Under in a Land Down Under

2007-06-29T20:04:00.000-07:00

Author: Scott

News Flash - another night with a sighting of the mysterious shivering blue Bigfoot creature, teetering in women’s sandals, reported in the vicinity of Lightning Ridge.

We awoke on Thursday morning to a slightly warmer caravan. The same cup of steaming coffee awaited me, and Pam was treated to a thick rich and frothy cup of hot chocolate. Sausage replaced the bacon but otherwise breakfast was a repeat of the hearty campsite feeding we experienced on Wednesday.

After breakfast we had a group meeting and decided we would break up the return drive and spend the night in a country pub, giving Pam and I another Australian experience to take away with us. Having completed Bob and David’s business yesterday, today we were free to explore the Grawin area. Bob had made arrangements with Norm the night before for Pam and I to have a tour of an actual working opal mine. After checking in with Norm we learned we would be taken away at 13:00. To fill the gap between breakfast and our tour, Bob wanted to drive over to the veteran’s memorial.

On our way out to the memorial we stopped by the overburden mining dump where massive piles of opal dirt are dumped by the various claim holders in the area. By law any new mines must eventually return all overburden dirt to the mine shafts and this central dumping repository is where overburden can be collected to fulfill this requirement. The most interesting aspect of the dump is the “Noodlers”. A Noodler is an individual who sifts through the minors overburden dirt looking for loose opals that may have been missed in the mining process. There must have been at least ten cars owned by Noodlers in the dump’s parking lot and the giant mounds of overburden were doted with the occasional Noodler busy at work noodling. Pam and I decided we would noodle a bit when we got back to the campsite and see if we could find a long forgotten opal in the rubble.

We continued on through the maze of Opal dust roads until somehow we navigated our way to the Grawin memorial. Many of the minors in Grawin are, or have been, in the Australian armed services and right in the middle of this rugged mining landscape sits a pristine and very tastefully constructed memorial for Australian veterans. Bob and David explained that the memorial was a work in progress with many of the local minors providing labor and resources to create and enhance the memorial site. The site sits on a plot of land that has been completely cleared and a small damn has been erected providing a lakeside atmosphere. Large sandstone boulders have been moved to form a low walled outdoor chapel area, with a large center stone with the inscription “Lest we forget” carved in the rock. The smaller surrounding rocks each adorn a plaque honoring the contributions and sacrifices made by Australian solders that have fought on behalf of Australia in all of the major conflicts over the past two centuries. Outside of the chapel area is seating for the various ceremonies and services held throughout the year. Each year on ANZAC Day (Australia and New Zealand Army Corp), ANZAC Day is Australia’s Memorial Day for veteran’s, over three hundred people visit the Grawin memorial for a morning service of remembrance. Adjacent to the chapel area is a small shelter with a bar that is used for disturbing rum at sunrise, which is a tradition at the memorial site on ANZAC Day. Each year the memorial area is further developed with recent additions including a mounted prop from a World War II aircraft, various artillery shells, a huge naval ship propeller and a large cargo container that is painted camouflage green, that is in the process of being converted into a military museum. Another recent enhancement is the excavation of a barbecue area that will soon provide additional facilities to support large groups of veterans, so they may gather for fellowship. Overall we were quite impressed not only with the memorial, but also with the pride and patriotism displayed by the minors of Grawin.

After our visit to the memorial we continued to explore the region stopping at the new damn that is under construction. Next we visited the Grawin “Golf Course” which consisted of a shed, a few plastic chairs and enough barren, hole ridden, rocky ground to confuse even the most astute gopher. We also pulled over to explore an old sheep station that was no longer in use. We were amazed at the combined knowledge between Bob and David who have each spent time working in sheep stations. Basically here is how it works. The sheep are herded into a small pen with a number of doors (one for each shearer). Once the sheep are contained in the pen, the shearer’s door would be opened and a farm hand would grab a sheep under the front legs and drag it to the shearer’s stool. The shearer would then buzz off all of the fleece with a rotary cutting tool that is powered by a motor driven apparatus above. The actual shearing tool looks like a big wand with the business end looking like a rotary razor for Shrek. The sheep are actually sheared in less then a minute (shearers are paid per sheared sheep). Many a sheep actually succumb to the accidental nick and cut. When the sheep has finished being sheared they are given a swat and sent through another door to rejoin the naked heard on the paddock. Standing in the sheep station with the very distant and rank smell of lanolin in the air, it was easy to envision the station operating feverishly at capacity. I don’t image the shearing experience was quite like visiting Vidal Sassoon for the little wooly bah bahs. Now if that isn’t bad enough we were shown the gruesome hand winched crane and hook for lifting the sheep that were no longer being used for wool and had moved into the final mutton stage of their existence. If I was a sheep you better bet I would keep growing as much darn wool as possible so I didn’t end up on the mutton hook like my buddy old Lamb Chop! Maybe that is the diabolical reason for keeping the crane in the middle of the paddock area, it sure would inspire some wooly motivation…

Our visit to the sheep station was a fascinating glimpse at a business that provides tremendous industry for both Australia and New Zealand, but we had places to go and people to see, we were off to find Norm and get down into the mines for our tour.

We returned to camp and we were soon introduced to Les. Les would be our tour guide and would be taking Pam and I (just Pam and I) away to show us his working claim. We waived a slightly anxious goodbye to Bob and David and piled into Les’s Land Cruiser. Seems as though Les was also well versed in the secret navigation and driving tactics of Grawin as he effortlessly zigged and zagged, knowing precisely at what tractor to turn left and which broken down car to slow for another turn… In a few short minutes we pulled into Les’s claim and we prepared for our subterranean adventure. Les went to switch on the generators for lighting and Pam and I donned hardhats. Now I would describe Les as a fairly direct kind of guy who has spent quite a bit of time in the mines. He asked us if either of us were afraid of heights or small spaces, and when Pam said she was a little, Les calmly said “Now don’t you worry if you freeze up on the ladder I got a cattle prod that will get you moving”. You can bet neither Pam nor I froze up on the 35’ decent into the one meter wide vertical mine shaft.

My first impression of the mine was how clean and dry it all seemed down there. Because opal dust is white and the tunnels are generally large enough to walk upright in, the mine felt much more bright, open and airy than I had imagined. Les was a wonderful guide, explaining how to find opal faults, and many of the other principals of opal mining. He dug out a few pieces of clear opal for us to inspect and painstaking led us through all the tunnels of his mine, it was like playing human ant farm. During the tour we were given an example of how the Grawin justice system worked. Les told us that people sometimes dug through into other miner’s mines to steal opal, and that these scavengers were called “rats”. When I asked what happened when a rat was caught, Les explained with a crooked smile that the rats would probably get a bump on the head and find themselves down a deep dark shaft never to be seen again.

We ended the tour with photos of Pam, Les and I all posing with the electric jack hammer. I even had a chance to operate the hammer a bit, definitely a high point of the tour for me. We crawled back out into the sunlight, still not freezing on the ladder for fear of a little prod, but the tour was not completely over. On our way back to the campsite Les took us by his personal campsite to introduce us to his “dogs”. When we arrived one of his dogs was standing on top of his motor home converted from a school bus. Now I thought to myself – how could a dog get on a bus? After a little encouragement and a little cajoling Les’s dog got off the bus and trotted over to us. Now I am thinking to myself – that dog looks an awful lot like a goat. When asked Les said, “yep me dogs is goats, ha ha ha”. It turns out that Les has two dog/goats named Goaty and Scanny. Scanny was named after some kind of tractor truck engine called a Scanny. Goaty was a little shy but Scanny was full of energy and greeted us with enthusiasm. Goaty soon came around and they each let us get in lots of petting.

After our dog/goat fix we returned to camp to find that Bob and David had completely cleaned up camp and packed up the vehicle. After a quick thank you and goodbye to Norm and Les we were on the move again, destination Dunedoo to find a country pub for the night.

Our drive to Dunneydoo was full of funny Bob and David stories and the time and miles seemed to quickly evaporate. One of the tidbits of information they shared was that in Australia dunny is a colloquialism for toilet, and of course we all know what the word doo can represent. So, in a manner of speaking we were streaking down the highway headed for the town of “Toilet Poop”.

Upon reaching the pub at Dunedoo we were all keen for a big hearty meal and something to wet our whistles. Bob and David headed to the pub and Pam and I soon joined them after cleaning up from our mining and goat/dog tour. The pub and rooms were very much like I imaged them to be. The facilities were basic and clean. The pub had a menu ranging with all sorts of BIG comfort food. I was in heaven. Pam and I settled on the steak dinner that came with a slice of cow that was over half the size of our ample plates, with the other half loaded down with chips and veg, and of course there was sauce to smother the whole lot. Just to finish off the job I ordered an appetizer of fried spring rolls. David and Bob both got the mixed grill that came with even more food including sausages, chops, beef, and maybe a possum or two. We had quite the feast for a very reasonable price. The remainder of the evening was spent sitting around telling stories while a few characters down the bar gawked at Pam and I who were obviously “not from there”. Everyone was friendly and our night at the pub added one more wonderful and genuine Aussie experience.

The next morning we were up with the chickens or chooks (as they are called in Oz). We had coffee and breakfast in town and hit the road again. The remainder of the ride home was a bit more sedate, with each of us a little talked out and content to admire the scenery and reflect on the past few days together. David dropped us off at Bob’s and we said goodbye to our new friend. Shan fed us lunch that was a much healthier caliber than our last few meals. Bob then drove us into the city and dropped our very tired carcasses off for some much needed rest.

Our journey to Lightning Ridge can be summed up as one of those “real life” experiences that can only happen through the hospitality and enthusiasm of people living in the visited country. Bob and David’s willingness to share Australia through their eyes and stories gave us insight that we never could have experienced on our own. Thanks guys!!!

Journal Entry – June 27, 2007 Out And About in Lightning Ridge

2007-06-27T23:00:00.000-07:00

Author: Scott

Today did not start as I awoke with the sun streaming into our caravan and the smell of coffee wafting in the air. No sir, today started at 02:30 with the inside of the caravan resembling an igloo with an air conditioner running full bore, and yes indeedy – I had to tinkle something fierce! I know you must be thinking, that is way too much information, but it is important we share our harsh and rigorous challenges with you our faithful readers, and early this morning, getting up to drain the lizard was as tough as it gets. I went for the quick and suffering method to take care of business. I didn’t bother suiting up, I just went out to face the cold in a pair of shorts, teetering in Pam’s flip flops (I couldn’t be bothered with my laces). So, if you ever hear of a shivering blue, semi-naked, Bigfoot sighting at Lightning Ridge, you can rest easy because it was only little old me.

Fast forward to 07:00 when we were awakened by our Lightning Ridge alarm clock, the camp generator. Pam and I braved the chill (again) and suited up for the day. It is strange wearing long underwear, wool socks, wind pants, and two to three layers of upper body clothing. The gear we received from our new sponsors at Icebreakers came in handy. This is one of the first times we have abandoned our shorts and t-shirts in months.

Bob and David were already moving about, bright eyed and bushy tailed. My fantasy of a steaming cup of Joe actually came true as Bob gave me a hefty helping of “gun fire coffee” (strong coffee with a dollop of Jamaica’s finest). Woo wee, now that’s one way to get the heart pumping! The fire was blazing, the bacon was sizzling and the campsite had many squawking visitors including magpies, and the ever present ravens (or crows as they are known in Australia) that sound like babies crying – waaaaaaa waaaaaaa! Pam was a little twitchy with all of our feathery friends roaming around but as long as they stayed outside of our overhang she was fine.

We feasted on a big camp breakfast as Bob and David outlined the day. The first order of business was to drive into the town of Lightning Ridge so Bob and David could present themselves to the mining warden, an annual requirement for miners and our ultimate reason for making this journey. Afterwards we would be free to explore.

Off we went, back through the twists and turns that Bob somehow navigated to eventually find the main road to Lightning Ridge. I image a similar setup that Batman must have used to keep the bat cave hidden from the outside world. The drive out to Lightning Ridge took just about an hour and in no time we were at the Department of Mining Services, just over the road from the old burnt down pub. While Bob and David took care of their business, Pam and I wandered around taking photos of the booming metropolis. I don’t think I would have batted an eye if Clint Eastwood came swaggering down the street in his dusty chaps with six guns swinging on his hips.

The boys were done in no time, having filled their annual requirement as miners. Next stop was the opal shop. We arrived and took over, looking at just about everything in every case. The sales woman was very helpful, allowing us to touch everything. She even left a striking red $50,000 opal just sitting on the counter as she retrieved more items from the back. I found an opal ring for myself in a jiffy, and after thoroughly inventorying everything Pam also made her purchase. We actually took so long shopping that Bob and David had time to visit the second hand shop in town and purchased some new steel bar stools for around the camp table. Apparently the white ants (termites) were well on their way to devouring the current wooden stools. Bob figures it will take some time before they figure out how to eat steel, but he reckons that eventually they will find a way.

Next stop was the grocery store where we topped up the provisions, and then it was back on the road to have a lunch at the campsite. However, while en route to the camp it was decided that we should stop in at the world famous Glengarry Hilton. Now if I was picturing Clint with guns a little earlier, I could easily envision myself lying dead from a gunfight in front of the Glengarry Hilton with a mangy three legged dog licking the sweat from my forehead. The Glengarry Hilton is mostly a watering hole for the miners, though they do serve food from the “tucker truck” a few times a week. There may also be a few beds for sleeping off the effects of a long night’s libations, or day’s, or morning’s… Originally the Hilton was renowned for its liberal trading hours being “always open”, but in recent years this has been reduced to “open from 10:00 am to 11:00 pm or later”. They are also known for the coldest beer in the opal fields. Somehow I don’t think old Paris would approve of the atmosphere, but perhaps considering her recent residence maybe she would find the Hilton homey. There are dirt floors, orange table cloths, a pool table, potbellied stove and a few random stools and tables strewn about. One could easily picture the place teeming with miners pushing the lizards out of the way to make room at the bar.

It was now going on 15:00 and it was time for some lunch and a few camp chores. Bob had been longingly eyeing a fallen tree and the time had come to rev up the thirty-three year old chainasaurus to give that tree a learning. The tree did not stand a chance against big bad Bob who reduced it to firewood in no time. I served as the log boy and collected and stacked the growing pile. We then all moved the pile to the campsite and Bob grumbled that he needed to change the chain on the saw, but never fear he had five replacements at the camp.

We started preparations for the evening meal. Dinner was to be a camp oven cooked roast and vegetables. The food is cooked in a cast iron pot sitting atop and covered with red hot coals from the fire. We peeled and chopped for David until he had all the magical ingredients necessary. Then with practiced precision the food was loaded into the pots. The coals were carefully selected and spread out on the ground with a shovel. Once the pots were arranged on the coals they were then covered with more coals and the whole enchilada would need to sit and cook for approximately two hours. Perfect, this would give us time to visit the other pub in Grawin, the less famous but equally rustic Sheepyard Pub.

We took the shortcut to the Sheepyard by crossing a campsite off road, turning left at a specified tree, traveling past the “old Duck’s place” and finally pulling up to the pub. We could not have been driving for more than five minutes but there is no way that Pam or I could ever have duplicated the trip. We were told that often vehicles are abandoned after a night at the pub due to their owners becoming disoriented, preferring to try their luck on foot. We were given far too many examples to include in this journal entry.

The Sheepyard Pub turned out to be a little more upscale than the Hilton. There was a cement floor, four walls, a fireplace and a solid roof. The interior was warm, and there was even a small lighted display case with sparkling opals for sale. The proprietor “Roundy”, a short stocky troll of a man had a heavy miners beard and looked like he could take out all seven dwarves with one hand tied behind his back. But it was not Roundy who would serve us tonight as Roundy had his eight year old grandson working the bar. When Pam took her usual time to consider her options, she was interrupted by the boy barman with an impatient “ma’am what are you having?”. This made us all chuckle and got Pam all flustered. We explored the pub and chatted with a few of the miners who proudly showed off their recent opal finds. David showed us large pieces of poster board with every serviceman’s name and rank proudly displayed. We couldn’t stay at the pub too long as our camp oven was calling us home for dinner.
When we returned to the camp you could smell the food simmering. Pam and I circled around like starving puppies and tried to patiently wait for our meal. Meanwhile we were visited by our neighbor Norm. Norm is a jolly man who has been mining for years. We also heard many a yarn about his days in the military. As we were chatting away David referenced his precise mental calculations and determined the food was ready to serve. Norm did not join us for dinner but stayed while we feasted on our camp oven dinner. After dinner the storytelling intensified until it was finally time for Norm to hit the hay. We all soon followed ending our incredibly interesting and action packed second day at Lightning Ridge.

Journal Entry – June 26, 2007 – Kangaroos on Mars

2007-06-26T23:00:00.000-07:00

Author: Scott

When we awoke on Tuesday morning the rain was still falling as it had all night long. It was one of those “snug as a bug” mornings with a chill in the room, although we were safe in our warm protective cocoon of comfy covers to guard us and hold us pinned to the mattress unwilling to face the bitter morning. But the alarm was insistently demanding our participation in the day and with great regret we peeled away our toasty layers and rejoined humanity at 05:00. We quickly prepared for the day and soon found ourselves downstairs where a cup of delectable steaming coffee was immediately inserted into my hand, to bring me the rest of the way back to the land of the living and conscious.

This was to be a no fuss kind of departure. We had our coffee, David said farewell to Vicky and then we immediately piled into David’s flashy red Land Cruiser and sped off. We swept in and collected Bob and a few more provisions, then we were officially off for Lightning Ridge, about 800 kilometers to the northwest.

Once on the road the commentary began and remained throughout the trip. Bob and David were determined to make sure we saw everything despite our vision impairment. We wound our way through the hill country and into the Hunter Valley, one of Australia’s premiere wine production areas. We made a quick stop at the “Golden Arches” for the morning meal, apparently this is a tradition for the boys heading up to Lightning Ridge. Soon we were off again!

Bob and David have been friends for many years and they share that bond that sometimes forms between good mates. It might only take a word or two and the other immediately knows what the other is thinking, so when a story was started by one of the two, the other was immediately tuned in and ready to assist in telling the tale with enthusiasm. They loved to share their stories and never seemed to tire of hearing about each other’s adventures. The ride was not only full of information about Australia but as we rode along with the miles melting away, we came to really know each other.

As the day continued the landscape opened before us until we had reached some of the flattest terrain I have ever seen. Bob and David were amazed at the effects of the recent deluge of rain and told us that the landscape had not been this green since the 70s. As we drove on into increasingly desolate country and signs of civilization ebbed, there were always trees. There were trees everywhere eucalyptus trees (also known as gum trees), cypress pines, and many more varieties. I had always pictured the Australian desert as more barren but we learned that Australia was covered in trees, even in the remote outback. Of course we were seeing an exceptionally lush version of the interior of Australia, but one could see that this land was beautiful even if the green had retreated leaving a dustier, more rugged wilderness. And Australia is BIG, real BIG, GIGANTIC! Only twenty-one million people share a space nearly equal to the size of the United States. Even the regression of the roads was fascinating. As we traveled expressways gave way to two lane highways, that then became country roads paved with red asphalt that looked black one way and red the other under a sunny sky. These red roads were finally replaced by dirt roads grated into gentle humps with table drains to allow for rain runoff. Finally the dirt roads gave way to the hard pack roads made with white opal dirt, giving the area an unearthly moon-like landscape.

We sped on through the day, from town to town, until finally we stopped in a small town called Walgett. Walgett would be our last town before reaching the camp and we stopped in at the market to pick up a few final supplies. Just up the road from Walgett we entered the opal fields and drove into the labyrinth of opal dust roads known as Grawin. Grawin is made up of smaller groups of mining claims with names like Glengarry and Sheepyard. To properly visualize Grawin you need to image a mixture of the Martian landscape, a flattened out version of the Appalachians, and the earth portrayed in the Mad Max/Road Warrior trilogy. White dust roads randomly spider web through mountains of opal mullock (overburden dirt created from mining). Hulks of antique excavation equipment, trucks, trailers, and self built hybrid motorized monstrosities dot the surroundings with the occasional car door painted as a makeshift street sign. Grawin is the kind of place that a sleepy little Mexican town with dirt roads and chickens in the street, would consider a remote place.

Somehow Bob and David wound us through this other world of twists and turns and even managed to keep up with the flow of information. We were shown the famous Glengarry Hilton (see the scrapbook), the Sheepyard Pub, old Ned’s place, and finally our campsite.

Bob and David describe their campsite as roughing it with all the comforts and this is precisely accurate. The campsite is made up of a large flat roofed structure, stoutly built of steel posts with a corrugated metal roof. Under which is a trailer (or caravan in Australia), a shower enclosure, and a magnificent fire place built of metal sitting atop a base of cinder blocks. There are two large water tanks that catch the rain from the roof on the structure. There is also a separate shed for the generators, a smaller caravan, and the “Blue Loo with a View” a specially modified construction site outhouse with a “long drop”. Then there are the various vehicles and mining equipment that randomly adorn the site. Each structure has a unique story that can only be properly shared around a roaring campfire with ample time and a bit of grog. Of course there is also a mine shaft dug, although the mine is not operational as the boys are waiting to more fully evolve into mining in their retirement. For now the campsite is a place to escape the city and civilization, a special place for spinning yarns, a place for tinkering with engines and swinging an axe, a place to get away from anything and everything, a very special and yet humble retreat.

As soon as the car doors were open we sprang into action. Provisions were stowed, cobwebs cleaned, dishes washed, sleeping bags unrolled, and in no time we were stoking the raging fire with wood and settled in just in time for our kangaroo visit. It was like the roos were special ordered to appear for Scott and Pam as we struck camp. We were told that we might see some roos and here they were, a pair of gray kangaroos with the stereotypical baby Joey hanging in the mother’s pouch. They quietly stared at us with there deer-like tranquil eyes, posed for pictures, then silently hopped away. Wow - we really are in Australia!!!

Our first dinner was spaghetti bolognaise that David “just threw together” before leaving. We gabbed away into the night around the fire until it was finally time to head back to our little caravan to catch some sleep. What a wonderful first day at Lightning Ridge!

Journal Entry – June 25, 2007 – The Lightning Ridge Adventure Begins!

2007-06-25T23:00:00.000-07:00

Author: Scott

Most Australians have heard of Lightning Ridge though most have never been there. It is one of the few true frontiers left in the world, making a home for would be miners, dreamers, loners, drifters, outcasts, and purported criminals. Many of the people who inhabit Lightning Ridge don’t have a bank account, address, or outside contact with others. It is only just recently that cell phone technology has reached this area, which was once serviced with only a rudimentary radio telephone network. Over the past week we have heard many stories about Lightning Ridge ranging from claims that everyone lives underground to warnings that the area is run by the Russian Mafia. However, absolutely everyone agrees that we were heading to the bush, the Outback, the real deal Australian adventure. Today we would leave our little maritime life behind, tie up our hiking boots, and step off into a land of mining for the precious black opal.

Today was the second day of engine installation. With all the rain over the past week we have been unable to move forward with the engine replacement, keeping our boat in a state of perpetual demolition zone mode. Our cockpit has been inhabited with snakelike greasy hoses, various fittings and gadgetry that would make any Transformer jealous. The end result was keeping Starship from feeling like home and after this next bout of installation we should be able to reclaim the boat and return her to a normal inhabited condition.

We were extremely busy all day, or as my current favorite Aussie saying would appropriately term it, “we were flat out as a lizard drinking”. Today we would be departing with Bob to spend the night before leaving first thing in the morning for Lightning Ridge. Long before the Bob and Rob electromechanical team showed themselves we had already made the coffee run, gone to the bank, had a bit of “brekki” (breakfast), and carried all of our laundry over to the local dry cleaner. Although Donna Marshall had kindly offered her laundry machine we did not have time to fit it in before departing to Lightning Ridge, so we found we could have our laundry done for $11.00 per load (only $3 more than the coin operated Laundromat’s cost of $8). By the time we returned from our errands Bob and Rob were busily heaving, bolting, and working away on the new beast. Bob’s plan was to work straight through until around 14:30 and then we would all head out to get organized for the next day’s travels. Pam and I filled the remainder of the day packing, retrieving the laundry, and making a second coffee run for the boys. When the appointed time came we locked up the boat, stowed our gear in the Land Cruiser and set out for our Lightning Ridge experience.

As we headed northwest to drop off Rob, Bob informed us we would be staying at his mine partner David’s house for the night as Bob’s dad is now living with Bob and his wife and he suffers from insomnia. Now we don’t know David from a bar of soap, but we were in adventure mode and we were just going with the flow. Part of our drive took us through Galston Gorge in the rain. Galston George is a deep gorge dropping from 1600 meters to sea level with numerous hairpin turns, waterfalls that can cross the road and crazy drivers riding right on your bumper to push the speed limit. Bob drove like a master through the terrain, managing to keep up a running commentary with interesting tidbits of information.

Once we dropped off Rob, we made a quick trip over to Bob’s. We met Bob’s charming wife Shan, ninety-three year old father Jim, and cat Jemma (who is a little antisocial). We had a cup of coffee, learned a little about maritime history from Jim and within minutes David arrived to scoop us up for the night. Our luggage was transferred from Bob’s more utilitarian Land Cruiser to David’s shiny red Land Cruiser and it was quite the vehicle, “flash as a rat with a gold tooth”, Bob told us.

Our first few minutes with David encapsulates the kind of comfortable nature of many of the Aussies we have met, one minute we were shaking hands and greeting each other and the next we were accepted mates “wagging the chin” on our way home for some “tucker”.

David lives in a charming home with a mountain cabin feel to it. There was a warm fire burning in the stove and an instantaneous comfy feeling of home. David’s wife Vicky, who is a psycho therapist, buzzed in for a quick hello and then was off to her home office to meet a client. We settled in by the fire with a drink and got to know our host a little better while he started to work some culinary magic in the kitchen. Shortly after our arrival we were joined by Vicky’s daughter (from a previous marriage) Ronnie and her partner Scot who were joining us for dinner, and after warm greetings conversations exploded covering travel, politics, and just about everything imaginable. What wonderful people we are fortunate to meet! Dinner was superb consisting of something David “just threw together”. Well, David’s creation was lamb neck stewed with capsicum, perfectly roasted potatoes, mushrooms sautéed in sour cream, and some kind of wonderful tart for dessert. We topped off our meal with coffees from David’s flash coffee maker and a nip of a delicious liqueur from Israel. The dinner conversations were lively, including Vicky’s account of her recent gas oven explosion, leaving her eyelashless, and thank goodness, mostly unharmed. It was as if Pam and I had lived our lives in Australia and were just part of the family over for a “feed”. After dinner we settled into a warm land bed, and fell asleep listening to the rain fall on the tin roof.

Journal Entry – June 24, 2007 Flying Foxes and the Arts of Islam

2007-06-24T23:00:00.000-07:00

Author: Pam

Early in the week our friends Tim and Georgia sent an email inviting us to get together to do something fun over the weekend. We made a plan to get together on Sunday and Georgia was in charge of planning the activities. They picked us up at 10:30 as the sky began to cloud over. I decided to brave it and wear sandals, I have a major lack of closed toed shoes. My feet were actually warm enough, but at one point Tim did ask me if I was at all aware of how many people were staring at my feet. Sydney is now in the dead of winter and they have all pulled out their furry boots. Coming from Maine I find it a bit amusing to see so many people wearing boots where there is not a chance it will snow. At any rate I guess I was providing an equal amount of amusement.

Our outing began with a stroll through the Botanical Gardens which hosts not only a huge array of plant life, but also millions of birds and the renowned flying fox or also commonly referred to as the fruit bat. From almost every branch there are brown sacks hanging upside down napping while they wait for just before dark when they will take off in search of the fig trees. We have heard the gardens are teeming with bats, but I had no idea what that really meant. Outside the visitors center a volunteer was sitting at a table with a display of an adult and baby flying fox hanging from a branch (they had died on an electrical wire). It is the only way I want to get up close and friendly with them, although it was an opportunity to see they do have kind of cute faces. I am sure I would have a near heart attack if I was there when they all take flight. We also saw Ibis birds, which are black and white and as big as a small puppy. The cactus garden was definitely more up my alley. As it started to sprinkle, because rain is now almost a daily occurrence we headed into the Art Gallery of New South Wales to visit the Arts of Islam exhibit, treasures from the Nasser D Khalili collection. The Arts of Islam presents the extraordinary wealth, imagination and artistic heritage of the Islamic art over more than 1000 years. The pieces in the exhibit were exquisite ranging from pottery, glassware, rugs, many copies and pages from ancient Qur’ans, jewelry, gemmed daggers (Tim & Scott’s favorite pieces), ancient games, drinking vessels, two dimensional art and weavings often telling a story. It was a fascinating collection and we were all left in awe that this is only a fraction of the artifacts Khalili owns. After we had our minds thoroughly opened we walked over to Wooloomooloo (you can’t even begin to imagine the pronunciation) for a lunch of Tapas. The sky cleared while we sat at an outside table and the sun came out making it a very pleasant afternoon.

After Tim and Georgia dropped us back at the boat we gathered up our computers and made our way across town to the Internet café, it had been two weeks since we had checked email. We do not have convenient internet access near the boat where we can use our laptops and with the weather and all it has not made it to the top of the list. After a couple hour session we headed back to the boat putting an end to a very nice weekend with a nice balance that did not include any boat work.

Journal Entry - June 22 & 23, 2007 Arabian Nights and Sailing Days

2007-06-23T23:00:00.000-07:00

Author: Scott

Woo hoo – the sun came out and the new beast has arrived! We were greeted by a fabulously sunny morning with a gentle breeze blowing. The conditions were almost ideal for the installation of the newly rebuilt Perkins 4135, 67 horsepower, 2.2 liter blue/green machine! The Bob and Rob team showed up around 10:00 with the little monster strapped down in their ute.

While the guys went to work on preparing the engine mounts we hovered over the new engine as others from RANSA and the dock congregated to get a look at our new little addition. Bob eventually came over to give us an overview of all the parts and gizmos that would be necessary in the care and feeding of Starship’s new iron sail.

Very quickly the time came to haul the boat across to the dock near the crane and we easily repeated the process we devised on the day of Big Red’s extraction. Sometime the simplest solutions turn out to be the best, and the process of pulling Starship by hand along a long line worked again like a charm. Once Starship was tied down by the crane the insertion of the engine went flawlessly smooth. I always envisioned an engine replacement to be an agonizing and torturous experience, but with Bob’s experience he made the whole process easy. In no time the engine was sitting nicely on its mounts and the boat was pulled back to her pen. We had a little more wind on the return trip but nothing that created any problems.

As Bob and Rob worked on attaching the engines life support systems, Pam and I worked on boat projects outside including cleaning the dinghy, cleaning the sail cover, running the second outboard, and finishing up the cleanup on the stern.

Around 15:30 we did have a big of a setback. As Bob and Rob attempted to align the engine it became clear that the hard mounting boards that support the flexible mounting pads were too thick. This required Bob and Rob to remove the mounting boards to be cut again, bringing the engine installation to a dead stop. At least the new engine was in the boat! Bob assured us with a hearty “no worries mates” and promised to return on Monday with freshly cut mounting boards.

We quickly cleaned up the boat as best we could and then scurried over to RANSA for a shower. Once a month in the wintertime RANSA holds a special event for their members and tonight was Arabian Night, complete with belly dancing, and we were invited.

We did our best to dress up in appropriate attire and headed out for the festivities. The party was great! We all gathered at the RANSA bar for a happy hour and then moved into the Rushcutters Room for dinner. We dined on Moroccan lamb, Greek salad, and baklava and Turkish Delight for dessert. After dinner we moved out into the main boatshed for the belly dancing. Apparently the dancer was so good in the past that a group of women from RANSA had taken lessons from the dancer and they regaled us with stories of dancing the camel… The dancing was quite good and the main dancer did an excellent job of generating group energy culminating in the whole group getting up on the dance floor. All this dancing got Ms. Pamela in the groove and she suggested we bring over a computer with music to keep the dance going. I obediently complied and the tunes were a hit! We kept the group grooving for another hour and a half, until we finally had to shut down due to courtesy to the neighborhood, but we surely had a rockin Arabian Night!

First thing Saturday morning we learned we were responsible for a few over indulgers staying later than planned and therefore facing a rough Saturday morning. In Sydney for a few weeks and now we have a reputation! Well, we didn’t have time to worry about our new rep because we were off to CYC for a day of sailing. On the prior Thursday we had dinner with our new friend Michael Kelly and he informed us he was sailing up to Pittwater on Saturday in preparation for his cruise to the Witt Sunday Islands. When he learned that we would also be sailing to Pittwater he immediately offered for us to join him to gain some local knowledge. He even went as far as to say that he would have 10 to 15 knot southwesterlies under a warm sunny sky. Wouldn’t you know it, Michael got exactly the weather he ordered.

We met Michael and three other crew (Martin, Mark and David) at CYC and headed out to Pantomime, Michael’s 35’ Moody sloop. Supplies and gear were stowed and we struck out towards the Sydney Heads under a gloriously sunny sky.

The sail to Pittwater was splendid. We all got to know each other and sailed with perfect conditions. We even had a chance to fly the sky blue spinnaker for probably ten miles of the trip. Pam and I had a great opportunity to learn about our future arrival to Pittwater giving us a welcome confidence to the start of our next voyage. Upon reaching Pittwater we efficiently docked the boat and shared a cab back to Rushcutters Bay. The entire sailing day was textbook perfect and very relaxed.

Pam and I finished off the day at our favorite little neighborhood Italian restaurant and basked in the feeling that only comes from a warm sunny day sailing with just a hint of wind burn.

Journal Entry – June 20 & 21, 2007 Friends in Sydney, New & Old

2007-06-21T23:00:00.000-07:00

Author: Pam

It’s just another day in paradise, well that is if you like the rain forest. Ok, we know we are now starting to sound a bit whiney. It has now been raining for almost a week and we are still waiting for the clouds to part so we can drop the engine into its new home. It has been confirmed by reliable sources Australia is having the worst June weather they have had in 40 years. We have not had a conversation with anyone that has not included that fact and their complete and utter surprise at how cold it has been, how hard the wind has blown and how much rain has fallen, thankfully it is finally going into the catchments and it is now up to 50 percent. We have been assured over and over this is not normal, well I guess not if it only happens every 40 years. I seem to have a habit of showing up places for record breaking weather. I am fine with it as long as it continues to happen while we are on land.

We spent the day finally getting some boat projects done. Scott installed our spare water pump for the fresh water system. On the way to Sydney the old one bit the dust because it ran dry while the boat was heeled too far to port to keep water in the Starboard tank (when the water level was getting low). We will chalk that one up to learning about what we needed to know about the cross feeding water tanks on Starship. He also put in a two way valve for the wash down pump so we can select fresh or salt water. We originally had the pump installed with that option, but unfortunately the technician that worked on the water maker didn’t realize the purpose of the valve and he took it out. Scott was a good “drippy” (plumber) for the day and water is now flowing in and pumping in all of the right directions and with great pressure.

Yippee!!! You guessed it the sun is finally out, but the wind is still blowing. Bob called to say it looked like tomorrow would finally be a good day. We were a little disappointed at first after waiting for more than a week, but it became clear an engine on a crane with that much wind was a recipe for a disaster. We decided to tackle an outdoor project and put our dinghy in the water so we could run both of our outboard engines. After a little sucking on the fuel line (who needs mouth wash?) Scott got our 4 horse power engine started. On his test drive he went around to the stern of the boat to discover it looked like a light blue leopard. Unbeknownst to us in the engine’s dying moments it coughed up and sputtered black oil and soot all over the stern, which was not a pretty sight. How embarrassing, we had no idea poor Starship looked so unsightly. I gathered up everything I could think of that could possibly take the stubborn gooey stuff off. I scrubbed and scrubbed while Scott held the dinghy near the transom. In 25 minutes I made a dent, but it was going to take another go.

We had to put the cleaning and outboard project on hold for the day. I had made a Dr. appointment to check in on a couple of small concerns before we head out to Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands where the option of medical care will be practically non-existent. After my Dr. visit we met up with our friend Amber from San Francisco and spent the afternoon catching up on our respective adventures. Amber has been traveling around New Zealand and Australia since February and had visited us on Starship in NZ when she first arrived. She is now our only friend that we have seen in two countries, so some of you have some catching up to do.

Our luck meeting really nice people has continued. The other morning while we were having a muffin and coffee at CYC Michael Kelley approached us and said he was at our presentation to the Cruising Division on Tuesday and how much he enjoyed it. We chatted for a few minutes and then he went on his way. About an hour later while we were meeting with Ron and Sam he came by again and invited us to dinner on Thursday evening. So, on Thursday evening we met him and his friend Victoria (she is from Switzerland) at the CYC and then jumped in a cab to one of his favorite bistro restaurants in Potts Point. We had a lovely dinner, I ate the biggest chicken breast I have ever seen. Victoria was heading out the next day for a three week trip home to Zurich. She had talked to her mother in Moscow earlier in the day and told her she was having dinner with us, her mother said “you have to meet them I saw them on TV”. We have now heard our arrival in Sydney was seen in Russia, the US, UK and New Zealand. As our primary goal is to spread a message of independence we are absolutely thrilled with the wide spread coverage that our voyage is producing.

Journal Entry – June 18 & 19, 2007 Drip – Drip – Drip…

2007-06-19T23:00:00.000-07:00

Author: Scott

Okay, now this is just ridiculous. The entire time we were in New Zealand we heard that there was a ten year drought in Australia, and when we come to town it looks like it is getting sorted out in one big whack! Now I want the drought to end as much as the Aussies but soon the kangaroos are going to have to take swimming lessons. The last two days have continued to be rainy.

Monday morning we were fooled into believing that the rain had stopped, but the clouds were only taking a brief rest before continuing the torrent. Pam and I headed over to CYC for a quick breakfast before meeting with Ron and Sam from Humanware. Our morning’s mission was training on a talking GPS product called Trekker. Trekker is a handheld sized talking GPS unit that will provide us with a second speech synthesized solution for navigation. Just as we finished up breakfast Ron and Sam arrived and I was treated to a second cup of coffee (always a good way to start the day). The training went smoothly and ended around lunchtime.

Later in the day we worked on interview questions from a reporter working on a story for my father’s local newspaper, the Colfax Record.

For dinner we were whisked away from our stormy swamp boat by our friend Michael who we met on our prior visit to Sydney. Our reunion was spent at a homey little bistro oozing with European mountain charm. We had a delightful and leisurely meal together and had a chance to catch up on all of our adventures since we all saw each other last.

Tuesday was more rain as we continued to move boat projects along. Jason a local boat engineer who had offered to help us out showed up to discuss our various projects. He turned out to be instrumental in referring us to people who could help us with our projects. We are now a few steps closer to getting the boat in order for our departure.

In the evening we gave a presentation to our friends at Sailability. Sailability played a key role in our arrival publicity, provided us with a berth at Rushcutters Bay and has been continuously helpful since our arrival. Tonight was our opportunity to share our experience with the members of the New South Wales clubs. Phil and Sam from Humanware picked us up at 16:30 and gave us a ride over to the Burwood RSL Club (Return Service League). Phil and Sam were representing Humanware at our presentation. It turns out the RSL is like a Veterans of Foreign Wars Club in the States. The RSL raises money by offering legal gambling through slot machines and other electronic gaming and then proceeds are funneled back into services for Australian veterans. Each night at 18:00 everything stops and all in attendance participate in the “Ode for Fallen Soldiers”, which is basically a moment of silence to honor killed and wounded soldiers. The RSLs also serve as a community meeting place for other charities and this is why Sailability holds their meetings in this location.

We gave our presentation and it went smoothly. We also had a chance to learn a little more about Sailability. Sailability is a series of sailing clubs whose motto is “Sailing for Everyone Regardless of Ability”. There are 24 clubs in New South Wales and 46 clubs throughout Australia. After the presentation we were driven home by Phil, bringing an end to another wet day in Oz.

Journal Entry – June 15 - 17, 2007 Just Another Rainy Sydney Weekend!

2007-06-17T23:00:00.000-07:00

Author: Scott

Good thing we already have a boat because this is the kind of weather that got Noah working on the ark. We basically spent the entire weekend trying to stay dry, getting a few little projects completed, and thankfully spending some time with new Sydney friends.

Friday was an escape to the Westfield’s mall at Bondi Junction. I was finally feeling a little better after my suspected dodgy chicken food poisoning. It is amazing how much one can appreciate proper digestive activity after only a few days of unpredictable stomach behavior. Enough said on that topic.

Our shopping center safari involved a haircut for me, a lunch of steam table Chinese food, with the high point of the day being a visit to the cinema to see Shrek 3.

On Saturday it was RAINING AGAIN! We trudged through the rain to a local diner called Ash’s where we found a reasonably good weekend breakfast. The rest of the day was spent ordering parts for projects and hiding from the rain. We finally got cabin fever and ventured out to CYC for our closest food option.

On Sunday (I bet you guessed it) it rained again!!!! The only thing that kept us from heading out to gather animals by pairs was an invitation to have breakfast with Kate and Bernie at the Sunday morning CYC fund raising breakfast. Each Sunday morning volunteers serve a BIG breakfast to raise money for youth sailing programs. The breakfast consists of two pieces of toast, two sausages, baked beans, hash browns, two eggs, and you can have the entire lot smothered in “train smash” (a conglomeration of squished up tomatoes, onions, and other mysterious ingredients). This is the kind of meal that sticks to your ribs, you know the all day kind of meal.

After breakfast I announced that I was planning to hide from the rain at the movie theatre to watch Spider Man 3. Pam was not interested and was planning a quiet day on the boat (I bet you guessed) organizing. I was feeling very disorganized and was looking forward to hanging out with that web swinging super hero. Bernie and Kate offered to give me a ride up to Bondi Junction and further offered to show us a few sights, so we piled into their car. We were shown some views of Bondi Beach with the storm powered waves crashing the shoreline. We then walked along the South Heads overlooking Sydney Harbor (there was a short rain reprieve). We even had a chance to visit Doyle’s, a famous lookout pub and restaurant overlooking Watson’s Bay. After our sightseeing sojourn I was dropped at Bondi Junction and Pam was returned to Starship. As it turns out, Spiderman was only playing at 20:00, so I happily settled for Pirates of the Caribbean 3.

Upon my return to the boat we were picked up by David and Donna Marshal and we all headed over to Kate and Bernie’s for dinner. Due to the dreary weather, Kate had decided to make a big soup and invite friends over for a warm hearty dinner to help stave off the rainy day blues. During our visit we had a glimpse at Kate and Bernie’s artistic side. Kate is a watercolor artist and Bernie is a talented wood craftsman. Dinner was delicious and the time spent with everyone did indeed keep all of our spirits lifted.

Journal Entry – June 13 - 14, 2007 Winter in Australia Comes In With A Vengeance

2007-06-14T23:00:00.000-07:00

Author: Pam

Whether it was the chicken or the flu the funk seem to move in. Scott was still feeling funky when he woke up, but didn’t want to call a “sicky”. I also was starting to feel a bit off, but more like I was getting a cold. We decided he would go to Vision Australia and I would stay home and work on finishing the engine room beautification project. Both tasks felt daunting under the circumstances, especially since Scott’s trip involved a fifteen minute walk up the hill, two trains and a taxi to get there. He set out to be there by 10:00. I dawned my grubbiest engine room attire and ventured into the hole under the cockpit where I spent most of the day standing in the engine bay, half bent over while running my hands over every surface and hose looking for dirt and grime. After I was at it for an hour of so, the guys from Sailability stopped by to invite us to go out for the Wednesday race. I didn’t think Scott would be too pleased if he arrived back and I had ditched my cleaning rag for an opportunity to go racing. It was very nice of them to tempt us, but honestly I was barely feeling up to being in the engine room, so going out on the cold water wasn’t really appealing.

Originally the engine was supposed to be installed today, but Bob our mechanic called to say he was still waiting for the flexible mounts to come from Queensland and he should be all set for Friday. With this in mind I was determined to finish the cleaning today. When Scott came home at 1330 I was just crawling out of the engine room (I use room loosely) with a faint sense of satisfaction. Though my edges were not really tested, my need for perfection was. However, there are times when even I know the limits and a 35 year old engine room is now one of them. Scott went immediately to bed and stayed there for the rest of the afternoon. Though he was feeling absolutely crappy, he was on a high. The event was Vision Australia’s annual awards ceremony to recognize outstanding contributions of individuals and organizations in the community. There was over a 150 staff and 30 people from the community in attendance. The event was planned to take place outside, but they decided it was too cold so they held it in a large hallway. Scott was the finale and his ten minute synopsis of our adventure was a hit. They served morning tea, which he could not manage to eat. He mingled and had the opportunity to meet a lot of the staff, including the Director who made sure to let him know they were very pleased with the international exposure they received in conjunction with our arrival in Sydney.

Before he left to come home he visited their store where they sell adaptive aids for people who are visually impaired. We had also visited on our previous trip to Sydney and found the layout of the store to provide easy access to the products on display. There is also an adjoining training/demonstration kitchen where you can have a hands-on experience with the items on display. Scott’s mission was to buy a new talking alarm clock, ours died on the Tasman from an unknown illness. He picked out a clock and then asked about water proof watches for the visually impaired. They did not have the one he was looking for made by Seiko, but they did have a watch made by Tissot that Scott had admired in the US last year. It is a watch that is designed for business people and people who are blind. It is a very unique design that allows you tell the time by touch. This is not unusual for blind people, but this technology uses a unique combination of a pulse and vibration when you run your finger around the watch face to indicate the hour and the minute hands that then correspond with the tactile indications around the edge. Scott decided he would treat himself to this fancy watch (also waterproof) and when he went to pay he was informed his money was no good. The Director had given the sales clerks instructions to not let Scott pay for anything he decided to buy. Scott insisted, since he was pretty certain the Director had not had this expensive watch in mind. The sales clerk jokingly said she would get sacked if she took his money, so he succumbed and left with a beautiful state of the art watch as a gift.

When the Sailability team returned they invited us to come up to the club to hear the race results of the day. Scott was not ready to leave his cocoon, but I decided a change of scenery would be fun. As I was getting ready to leave and check on Scott he graced us with his presence. After not eating for two days he was finally feeling hungry and he thought a pizza would do the trick. We bundled up because it had gotten very cold as the day progressed and walked ten minutes to our new favorite Italian restaurant La Bussola for a yummy dinner.

The two day break in the weather came to a crashing halt on Thursday as the rain began to bucket down again. I mean literally, I put two buckets in the cockpit under the open dodger window and began the process of dumping bucketfuls of water over the side of the boat. Ok, I was supportive last week, but the upcoming forecasted week of rain may be pushing the envelope. It also will delay the installation of the engine. Bob called this morning with the dismal news that we would have to wait for the next sunny day and it didn’t look like the rain would stop or the sun would shine until next week sometime. Eeeee gads! Scott still wasn’t feeling a hundred percent so we took it easy for the day. At 1830 we met up with Kate, Bernie and Pat at CYC’s member’s lounge for badge night. They have a drawing every Thursday night and if your member number is drawn you win the cash prize which starts at $600.00 and increases by $200.00 each week if no one wins. Much to Kate’s dismay she has never won, they have drawn the number on both sides of her number and tonight they drew a number that belonged to someone with the same last name. She is convinced she is not in the computer, hopefully her luck will change. After the disappointing drawing, we went with Pat, Kate and Bernie to their favorite Thai restaurant for dinner. We shared a nice meal and lots of sea stories while the time passed quickly. Kate and Bernie gave us a ride back to our soggy home as the rain continued to fall relentlessly, but at least so far there isn’t as much wind as last week’s storm and Starship isn’t giving her dock lines such a strenuous workout.

Journal Entry - June 9 - 12, 2007 What Drought?

2007-06-13T16:20:00.000-07:00

Author: Pam

The rain and strong wind that started on Friday continued for five days. The weather was so bad it caught three coal cargo ships in New Castle off guard as they struggled to stay off of the foreshore. Unfortunately one was unsuccessful and ended up on the beach with a full tank of fuel. They had dumped their water ballast and were not heavy enough to fight against the strong winds and seas. There was concern the hull would be damaged and there would be a fuel spill on the pristine beach. The high winds brought down trees, caused land slides and power outages. We had to put a third spring line on Starship to keep her bow off of the dock. She was rocking and rolling more than she does at times at sea.

The rain is very welcome by the locals, they have been in a drought for the past ten years in many parts of Australia. We welcomed our comfy accommodations. We stayed inside snug as bug on Saturday and half of Sunday catching up on computer projects, while the rain poured down by the bucketfuls and the wind howled up to 50 knots. It was one thing to be thankful to be staying on land it was another to be immensely thankful we were not coming, going or at sea during this horrendous weather. We did brave the elements each day to visit our new friend the ATM, as we are in the process of amassing all of the $50.00 bills in Australia (they are yellow and are often called pineapples) to eventually pay for our new engine. We will have to visit the ATM a total of twelve times before we have enough pineapples. We get a good uphill walk everyday to the Edgecliff Center and Scott doesn’t mind because we have to go right past Gloria Jeans’s coffee shop.

On Sunday cabin fever was creeping in so we decided to hop on the train and go one stop out to Bondi Junction to have a look around. We had heard there was a mall, so that seemed like a good place to pass the rainy day blues. There is a huge Westfield mall that we wandered around in for an hour or so. There are hundreds of stores, ranging from there big department store David Jones to a very messy Target. There is also a movie theater that we will surely be visiting in the near future, it has been several months since we have seen a movie. While we were roaming around Phil called about going out for Mexican food, we had discovered when we first met that we were all “hanging” for Mexican. Phil and Jan picked us up at 1730 and we headed to a local pub and then a little Mexican restaurant in their neighborhood in the western part of Sydney. We have been craving Mexican food since we left Mexico, there was none to be had in the South Pacific and we only ate at one Mexican restaurant in New Zealand. Kiwis don’t have a taste for the spice or maybe it is the lack of lamb and Aussie’s only seem marginally more interested. The food was good and did the trick in a pinch, but it was still a far cry from all of our favorite haunts in Mexico. Our waitress is here in Australia studying and is from Guadalajara and was thrilled when we told her we had been there. She was delightful and was very happy to make Scott and Phil a “special” coffee with secret ingredients.

More rain on Monday, but too bad we had to venture out armed with our umbrella to get the boat ready for her new iron sail is supposed to arrive on Wednesday. We spent the afternoon beginning the process of cleaning the engine room. I have never really spent any time in there and it became clear fairly quickly it has been a long time since anyone else has with anything that resembles cleaning products. Between the oil that had leaked out of the engine, the salt water that had sprayed out of a hose that had come loose, the dust, grease and bits and pieces that were laying about there was no way it was going to be a one hour job. Scott mopped up the big puddles of oil, he decided if there was a prayer of me going in there he better at least get it to the point where it didn’t totally test my edges. He did a good job and I set out with the Simple Green and a bucket of soapy water and felt like I only scratched the surface after two hours. At dark we were happy to be leaving the boat to head to drier land, the boat felt very damp, she was squeaking up a storm as the fenders rubbed ferociously against the dock and the cockpit was a virtual bathtub as water poured through the window that was not zipped properly due to leaving it undone, since the engine was coming in a week and it never rains. We are very supportive of this surprise rainfall. Especially since everyone is dancing for joy, but apparently though it is raining more than it has in years they would be happier if more was going into the catchments. When we got back to Marshalls at Paddington we made a big salad and had a prepared roasted chicken for dinner while the rain they never have continued to pour down.

On Tuesday Scott woke up not feeling well, but he didn’t really think much of it. We packed up our stuff and readied the house for David and Donna’s return. It was back to the boat, our week of being land lubbers and the storm were over, what great timing. David and Donna’s gracious offer couldn’t have come at a better time. They came home just as we were heading out to the store to buy them some treats as a thank you. David offered to drive us back to the boat, so we trudged through the remaining mud puddles and fallen branches up to Edgecliff Center to take care of our secret mission and when we got back we caught up with one another on the week’s events and then headed back to the boat. The sun was out for the first time in five days and we were able to get her feeling more ship shape and less like a submarine with a hole in it.

As the day progressed Scott was feeling worse and by the time it was time to go to the Cruising Yacht Club to give our presentation to the Cruising Division he was feeling “crooked”. At this point he had become very suspicious of the chicken from the night before. It had been discounted $3.00 because it was the end of the day, but in passing I said I hope it isn’t yesterday’s chicken. You know the power of suggestion can be very strong, he decided for sure it had to have been a bad chicken. I felt fine but I didn’t eat the stuffing, so who knows. We had been invited to give a half hour presentation about our trip so far. When we arrived we were met by Pat who had originally invited us, she helped organize the set-up of our computer and Scott only had to make one trip back to the boat for a missing cord. It was really cold out and besides being there at all it was the last thing he wanted to do. I would have gone, but I never would have found it in the snake pit of cords we have on board. We were one of two speakers that evening. The first presentation was about a rally in Turkey which had just happened and with enthusiastic testimonials they were recruiting for the next one. By the time it was our turn, Scott was practically turning green, but determined to keep our commitment. The presentation went well, thank goodness it was only a half hour. He said later it was pure will, focus and probably the thrill we both get from sharing our experiences that got him through. I was very impressed with his ability to rise to the occasion, but when it came to accepting their invitation to dinner he had to call it a night. He crawled in bed immediately with our little electric heater on high hoping he would feel right the next morning for the commitment we had to give a 10 minute spiel at Vision Australia’s awards ceremony.

Journal Entry June 8, 2007 Tony Purkiss, Software on Board and Talking Pilot

2007-06-09T10:54:00.000-07:00

Author: Pam

Technology is by far our biggest tool on board and we are always open to anything that will enhance our access to information. We had the pleasure of meeting and spending the day with Tony Purkiss and Simon Blundell. Tony is blind and a sailor who has participated in 9 Sydney Hobart races as well a long list of other sailing adventures. How he lost his vision is a remarkable story, he was a victim of the bombing in Bali in 2005. Even more remarkable than how he lost his vision is his amazing adjustment to his vision loss in less than two years. He is someone who considers himself extremely lucky (he has had at least two near death experiences in less than ten years) and he doesn't believe in letting the little or the big things in life get in your way and this he exudes with openness and boundless enthusiasm. Scott and I have had the opportunity to meet many blind and visually impaired people in our life and Tony stands out as someone with amazing adjustment skills and a positive attitude, he is someone we were honored to meet. Tony's website is www.tonypurkiss.com if you want to find out more about what he is up to.

Simon is the developer of Software on Board (SOB), a computerized navigational program utilizing C-MAP cartography and in the last year after being contacted by Tony he has begun to develop Talking Pilot a component of SOB. Tony sent Simon an email and posed the question of making some of the navigational information audible in the SOB program, which Simon thought was a very reasonable consideration and with some computer programming magic most likely possible. They have been communicating for the past year and fine tuning the program. They were very anxious to demonstrate what they have so far to us and were also very hopeful that we would consider using the software aboard Starship. Let's see, more information in an audible format, you really don't have to ask us twice. Simon donated the SOB program and is now one of our newest sponsors. For more information about Software on Board check out www.digiboat.com.au.

So, what does this mean and how will life at sea change for us? Currently SOB and Talking Pilot can give us position, course, speed and depth information through speech synthesis. The next area of development is to make AIS (Automatic Identification Systems) information available through speech as well. This is very exciting because it will give all blind sailors greater access to information about the shipping traffic in their vicinity. All large ships are now required to have AIS on board, which transmits their ship name, course, speed, position and direction. With this information now available on the computer through speech synthesis sailors can travel around their yacht with a blue tooth earpiece providing them with wireless and hands free access to this data. In order to access SOB and the AIS information we now need to install an AIS receiver and a special cable between our instruments and the computer, which will require the skills of an electronics technician. Throughout the remainder of our voyage we will work with Simon and Tony to make suggestions for further development of the Talking Pilot. We are proud to be participants in the evolution and beta testing of this exciting new technology. Tony mentioned that one day he hopes to attempt a solo non-stop blind circumnavigation. The Talking Pilot will be an instrumental tool towards achieving his goal. Tony, good on ya mate, we will be there cheering you on when your dream becomes a reality!

Journal Entry - June 6 & 7, 2007 Engineectomy

2007-06-08T08:54:00.000-07:00

Author: Scott

"Big Red" is gone, gone to where all engines go when they spectacularly fail. I don't think there will be a rebuilding reincarnation for the old dog, yes I think Red is headed to that big scrap pile in the sky. Bye Red, may you be turned into dog food cans before you rust away into oblivion.

Yesterday the Bob and Rob team showed up at ten to give Starship an engineectomy. That's right, they came, they cut wires and pulled hoses, and with impressive efficiency they ripped the sucker right out of Starship. Actually, we were quite fortunate to have access to two cranes on the RANSA dock that are normally used to lift race boats in and out of the water. The whole operation was really quite interesting. First, Bob and Rob removed a solar panel, partially removed our dodger, and then disconnected Red from its lifelines. We then pulled the boat across the fairway using a very long rope. Starship was positioned under the crane and with minimal effort she was rendered engineless. I think I suffered more on my last trip to the dentist! Bob and Rob proved to be quite innovative. Whenever faced with a challenge they would scratch their heads, mull a little, pull out some obscure and large tool, and in a flash the problem would be sorted out. When Red was free of the boat we held the beast three feet off the parking lot for all of our inspection. It was interesting how small and helpless the ferocious monster seemed when it was just hanging there in space. We then pulled Starship back to her berth and the surgery was complete. The efficiency of the whole experience gives us great confidence for the successful insertion of the new mechanical creature.

After Bob and Rob departed we turned our attention to a completely different task, we packed up our belongings to head over to the Marshalls of Paddington Bed and Breakfast. We are still in awe that such recently made friends have offered for us to stay at their Bed and Breakfast while they are away for the week. Once settled into our lovely new surroundings we headed out to "Five Ways" an intersection of five streets in the Marshall's neighborhood that hosts a number of local restaurants, stores and businesses. The culinary world was our oyster and we finally settled on scrumptious Thai food for dinner.

Today was a lazy day spent at the B&B. We were even more fortunate to stay at our new home away from the boat because a big storm from the south settled over Sydney, dumping buckets of rain. We were able to turn our attention to updating our journal, website and other BlindSailing administrative tasks. While poor Starship sat wallowing in the hostile weather, we were warm and dry on land in Paddington. Although we are now Sydneysider castaways waiting for our engine replacement, I can think of no better way to be riding through the literal and figurative storm than at the Marshall's B&B. Thanks Donna and David!

Journal Entry - June 4 & 5, 2007 Penrith Lakes Sailability

2007-06-06T08:45:00.000-07:00

Author: Pam

Monday was an uneventful day, except for the tour of our soon home away from home. At 5:00 David Marshall came by to pick us up and we headed to their home, which is also Marshalls of Paddington, a very quaint B&B in the heart of Paddington. To our complete surprise they had offered for us to stay at their home while they are away this week at a Jazz Festival. Once again, we are just absolutely blown away with the generosity and kindness of the people we are meeting here in Sydney. We got the scoop on the layout of their home and the neighborhood from David as he walked back with us to the main road that heads back to the Marina. We will start our stay on land on Wednesday and we are very much looking forward to the usual; three sided bed (with a little more room), showers that don't take coins or are on the boat with the shower curtain attacking you and the extra bonus of a washing machine! On our way back to the boat we went to La Bussola for a yummy pizza.

Tuesday morning we headed out early for a full and eventful day. The day started with a trip to the Telstra store to set up the cell phone we have been given by our friend Tim. We resisted the idea of falling back into being attached to a phone, but with the need to coordinate with the mechanic and the other commitments that keep popping up, it quickly became clear we would have to give in and be part of modern society.

Once that chore was completed we met our new friend Ben and hopped on the train to head out to Penrith Lakes. We were invited by the Penrith Lakes Sailability club to visit their Tuesday sailing program for kids with disabilities and it had also been arranged we would be interviewed by two local papers, The Penrith Weekender and The Press. When we arrived several kids were out on the lake already in their dinghy sailboats with not much wind, but having a ball. The kids were all multi disabled and several were lifted in and out of the boats using a swing type lift. We were there approximately three seconds and one of the volunteers asked if we would like to go out in one of the boats, I don't think he actually finished asking before Scott was in a life jacket and hopping into a boat. Scott in particular has a warm spot in his heart for dinghy sailing, since that was his first sailing experience at the age of thirteen. I on the other hand, had never had the opportunity and I didn't get to go first. About the time he got a little speed up in the light wind the media arrived and he had to come back in for the interview. We just finished meeting with The Press and The Weekender photographer was asking if we would be willing to go out in the dinghy with The Weekender logo on its sail, they are one of Penrith Lakes Sailability's sponsors. So, we hopped in the boat with Jack, the Wonder dog (a Jack Russell) and posed for the camera. I am sure Jack made the pictures, especially since he was wearing his personalized yellow life jacket. The interviews went well and we were also able to help Sailability promote their Sail to Freedom program for kids. We will get to see the papers on June 19th when we give a presentation to Sailability members and the general community.

After our visit we took a taxi with Ben over to Darren's house, another new blind friend who just so happens to be a massage therapist. Ok, this time I got to go first. Actually we ran out of time, because we had to get back to the city for a dinner commitment, so Scott had to take a rain check. The massage was lovely and though I am supposedly leading the life of leisure there are still some knots and kinks that have found their way into my body and it looks like it will take more than one massage to coax them to leave.

We headed back to the city and met our friend David outside of his office at 4:45 to head to Greenwich for dinner. When we visited Sydney a few months ago by plane (back when we were not going to sail here), we stayed at the Greenwich B&B where we met David and Jeannette. Upon our return they hunted us down and invited us for a home cooked meal. We had a lovely evening catching up and eating delicious spaghetti Bolognese.

Journal Entry – June 2 & 3, 2007 Sailors Radio and Open Day on Starship

2007-06-03T23:00:00.000-07:00

Author: Pam

While we were still in shock about the engine, previous commitments jolted us back to some sense of reality on Saturday morning. On Thursday we had met Andrew Powell, the host of “Sailors Radio”, a national syndicated radio show that airs on Saturday mornings from 0800 to 0930 (however the last half hour is local). We were invited to be guests on the show and though we were warned there isn’t much they take seriously and they like to tease (they actually have another term for it) we agreed to an interview. We were picked up at 0700 by Neville, a professional sailor and regular on the show and after stopping for coffee we arrived at the studio on the 26th floor of a building somewhere downtown. After some technical difficulties in the studio the show was off and running. The time flew by and it will probably be the only time in my life I will be referred to as the “blond blind barrel girl”, hey you have to have someone draw the on air contest winner to go to the rally in Indonesia. Besides rendering me speechless for a brief moment, the show was all in good fun and Andrew, Neville and John definitely have a good time every Saturday morning. You can listen to the broadcast at www.sailorsradio.com, Hear the Shows, June 2, 2007 (be patient, due to technical difficulties there is a few minutes of music at the beginning).

Next on the agenda, we had been contacted by Graeme Innis earlier in the week and had made arrangements to meet him for a tour of Starship and to learn more about his position with the Australian government as the Human Rights Commissioner for Disability. He arrived at noon and we spent an hour and a half showing him every inch of Starship. As a blind sailor who races on his J24, he was keen to know the finer details. We then had lunch at the CYCA and had an opportunity to learn about his position, the DDA and transportation accessibility issues in Australia. The DDA (Disability Discrimination Act) is very similar to the ADA (American with Disabilities Act) and was passed in 1992. Australia has implemented a 20 year Transportation Standards plan to make public transportation accessible. December 31, 2007 will complete the five year mark and Graeme said there is concern the goal of reaching the 25% accessible mark is not looking good. One of the goals in the first stage is for the various transportation systems to call the stops. We think Sydney has a fabulous transportation system, however it is our observation and criticism that they do not call the stops on the buses and ferries and are very inconsistent on the trains. Buses and trains are free for people who are blind and visually impaired and taxis are half fare. The taxi voucher system was set up before the government implemented the free fares, therefore at some point the taxi vouchers may go away. Of course the visually impaired population is hoping they don’t get around to remembering anytime soon. We have also learned that people who are blind or visually impaired in Australia receive a pension and they are the only segment of the disabled population that are not subject to means testing and continue to receive their pension even if they are making the Prime Minister’s salary. They also receive a “Pension Card” that entitles them to discounts on movies, haircuts and a variety of public services. The refreshing intent behind providing blind people with a pension is not one based on a welfare system, but rather a mechanism to provide blind people with additional income for adaptive technologies, so they can more equally compete in the workforce.

On our way back to the boat we were introduced to Pat, a member of the Cruising Yacht Club’s Cruising Division. She was looking for us to ask if we would speak at their monthly meeting on Tuesday, of course we said yes. While we were chatting with her our Watson’s Bay Guardian Angel Jeffrey stopped by to give us the name of his mechanic and offered for Scott to call him on his cell phone to make arrangements to meet. Jeffrey has been by several times to check in on how we were doing and when he found out about the engine was more than eager to try and help. We continue to be in awe of the kindness of the Aussie’s, we have never felt more welcome.

Saturday wasn’t over yet. At 5:00 Tim and Georgia Connell came by for a visit on Starship. Tim is the President of Quantum Technology and a long time friend of Scott’s. He was also very instrumental in our decision to sail to Sydney. We had a very nice evening giving them the tour, it was even extra fun because Tim is one of very few people who has seen both of our boats. We ambled over to the CYCA for dinner, which turned out to be nostalgic for Georgia, she had waitressed there many years ago and reminisced about the craziness of throwing breakfast at participants of the Sydney Hobart Race on the morning of the start.

Phew, another jam packed day in kangaroo land, but there is no rest for the weary or the wicked. On Sunday morning we were up and preparing the boat for the “Open Day” that had been promoted by Vision Australia from 10:00 to 2:00. Six blind and visually impaired guys came by for a tour of Starship and chat about our trip. They had varying degrees of sailing experience and interest, but everyone had stories and adventures to share. Nick and Charlie have climbed Kilimanjaro and Ben is a world champion rower. There was definitely some testosterone aboard and I was feeling a little out numbered. Phil from Humanware also came by to be available to demonstrate the Humanware technology we use on board, but it turned out everyone was already familiar or already owned the technology. At 1:30 Scott and four of our visitors headed over to the CYC for lunch, I joined them a bit after 2:00. Everyone fell into a lazy relaxed Sunday afternoon mode, which led into getting caught up in the mayhem of the after Sunday race crowd, long story short we were there for quite a while. New friends were made and I am sure we have not seen the last of this crazy bunch.

Journal Entry – June 1, 2007 Not Quite Air in the Fuel Line… The Death of “Big Red”

2007-06-01T23:00:00.000-07:00

Author: Scott

Okay, the good news first. Pam and I are not totally mathematically challenged engine incompetent dorkazoids. Our fuel calculations were fine on our Tasman crossing and we did not let our Fuel Tank 2 run dry. In fact there is plenty of fuel in all of Starships tanks. Furthermore, we did not incorrectly bleed our engine of air, in fact if we would have run out of gas we were assured that our efforts to bleed the engine would have produced a running engine in no time. Finally, we did not run our starter battery dead, we could have had a nuclear reactor on board and our engine would still not have started.

Now for the bad news! Ivan the mechanic showed up again today and Starship had a freshly charged starter battery for him to experiment with for starting our sickly engine. After a number of attempts with the engine sounding like it was being dragged across a cheese grater by a pack of donkeys running for the barn (sort of a cl-cl-cl-cheeeet-chiiiiiit-chzzzzt sound), Ivan got busy taking off the forward pulley to reveal the crank shaft. He then produced the Arnold Schwartaneger of wrenches (or spanner in Australian/Kiwi) and manually turned the crank shaft with the mega-wrench. With each revolution of the crank shaft there was a gut-wrenching sound like King Kong running his fingers down a chalk board. After digging deeper into the patient we found the problem and it was terminal. Apparently our number one cylinder was nearly seized, and the engine was almost bone dry from lack of oil. Now before you go jumping to any over the moon conclusions, yes Scott and Pam did check the oil just a day before the death of “Big Red” and we even had a new oil pressure alarm installed before leaving New Zealand. The fact is, there was plenty of oil when we had checked and the oil pressure alarm stayed silent as a church mouse even through the agonizing end.

What we now know, three mechanics later and after the removal of “Big Red”, is that the oil cooler had corroded internally. When this happens salt water used to cool the oil through an exchanger is released into the engine. This is due to the walls of the exchanger corroding through to mix the engines oil with salt water, and within no time the engine has salt water pumping throughout it’s innards. There is apparently no warning to a mechanical catastrophe of this type and the patient always suffers an excruciating death. So, when we heard the engine change pitch and thought we were running out of fuel, in reality “Big Red” was screaming out in fatal anguish. This ends the short story and life of “Big Red”.

Now to say that we were shocked to the core is a colossal understatement. Once Ivan had left us to our mourning, we sat in silence, stunned, hardly tasting our lunch. A new rebuilt engine would cost upwards of ten thousand Australian dollars and the labor for the job was aggravatingly vague. The only thing that got us moving was our prearranged invitation to host a gathering with our new friends David, Donna, Bernie, and Kate aboard Starship. We somehow walked through the fog of disbelief to Edgecliff Center for groceries and refreshments.

I think what actually saved us from total despair was the fact that we had such wonderful guests visit us. Though we could not possibly have been great company our guests took over and helped us focus on the bright side. Yes, I know you must be saying “What freaking bright side?”, however, there is a small sliver of a glimmer in a very bleak situation. You see, in New Zealand we refit just about every system on Starship but the one variable that was not really addressed was her twenty year old Westerbeke 40 horsepower engine, affectionately known as “Big Red”. I think deep down we both had concerns of taking an engine of this era around the world, especially after learning of some of the prior owners poor maintenance habits. Then there is our own inclination for engine drama as demonstrated from Mexico to New Zealand. The tidbit of hope in our sorry situation is that we will now have a newly rebuilt engine with a known history we can trust. It turns out that we will even be able to fit a bigger, faster, stronger engine and perhaps we will breathe a little easier as we continue our voyage. Now how’s that for looking on the confounded brighter side? Thanks to our new Aussie buddies for your words of encouragement! We finished off this memorable day with lots of laughter, delicious Italian food, and new hope to face our latest challenge.

Journal Entry – May 26th – 30th, 2007 Week One in OZ

2007-05-30T23:51:00.000-07:00

Author: Pam

This journal entry represents the epitome of hitting the ground running and that is just what we did once our feet hit the ground after sixteen days at sea. After our glorious first full night’s sleep in more than two weeks, we crawled out of bed and headed out to meet Phil from Humanware to attend the Association of Blind Citizens of New South Wale’s Technology Expo. The Expo featured adaptive technology for people who are blind produced or sold by the four vendors in the Sydney area. It was held in the building owned by the Association of Blind Citizens of NSW, a neat old house with a beeper and tactile tiles at the gate. Our participation was informal, we chatted with many of the people who came through the door, including two teachers of the visually impaired. We were still pretty tired, but hopefully we were at least somewhat coherent. We went to dinner again at the Cruising Yacht Club, Scott of course wanted half of the items on the menu. It usually takes him a few days to reacclimate to the idea that he will get his next meal and it will not be out of a can.

On Sunday Phil and his partner Jan came over to Starship laden with a lovely picnic lunch. It was a very relaxing afternoon and we probably bored them with all of our Tasman yarns. At 5:00 David and Donna Marshall arrived to take us to their house for the promised home cooked meal. We had met them on Friday evening and within moments of meeting Donna she had extended a gracious invitation to dinner at their home. Bernie and Kate Dixon were also guests and we all shared a meal of the best roasted vegetables and pork I have ever had. It was a delightful evening full of many stories and much laughter. It was decided before heading back to the boat that Scott would go sailing with the Tuesday Men’s Sailing Club and I would spend the day with Donna, their grandson and our pile of laundry.

Monday we finally walked further than the Cruising Yacht Club and walked up to the Edgecliff Shopping Center and poked around in the grocery stores, our first reconnaissance for provisioning. We bought a weekly train pass and headed out to the internet café, with a stop at the golden arches along the way. We only had an hour to check email and then we headed back to the boat to meet our new friend Nick Reward for dinner. We had met Nick a few days before leaving NZ as he and David on “Ilyana” were preparing to leave on the rally to Tonga. Nick picked us up and we headed to King’s Cross, a neighborhood in Sydney near by the boat and notoriously known as the “red light” district. Like the Tenderloin in San Francisco you could say it is colorful, but there are also some very nice restaurants that have taken up residency. After buying a bottle of wine at a Bottle Shop (many of the Sydney restaurants are BYO) he suggested Italian. We sat down and he began to read the menu and once he had read Bratwurst and Schnitzel it became clear we had ended up at a German restaurant. We were all still fine with the cuisine choice and had a very nice dinner sharing stories about the Tasman and their passage to Tonga.

So, Tuesday came and with two bags of laundry David picked me up and took me over to their house for the day. And the day it took to do all of the laundry, in between playing with Taj, the youngest Australian I have met so far. Scott’s day on the other hand was spent aboard “Free Spirit” David and Donna’s 35’ wooden (timber) boat celebrating the 300th outing of the Tuesday Club. There are around ten members and we have been told the youngest is 70. They showed Scott a wonderful day on Sydney Harbour and he was treated to a trip to the Sydney Fish Market for prawns, fish and chips and he even ate two oysters. The later being unprecedented. Donna, Taj and I met them at the Cruising Yacht Club for a libation and were regaled with the enthusiasm of the fun they had, but no details were shared, because these Tuesday sails are all about “secret men’s business.” Comfy under the heat lamp, Scott and I decided to stay at the CYCA again for dinner.

Wednesday morning we headed up to Cole’s and Audi’s the supermarkets in the Edgecliff center and finally bought some groceries, I was absolutely craving a salad. We got back in time to quickly eat some lunch before we piled into “Intrepid” one of Sailability’s racing boats and headed out on the Harbour with Bob, Bill, Steve, Don and Malcolm for my first race. The winds were very light and variable making certain legs of the course difficult. Unfortunately, the team did not do as well as their standing record of nothing less than second, it was agreed it was probably due to the Americans on board. The members of Sailability have been wonderful hosts and a really nice group of people to meet and spend time with.

Thursday morning we headed up to Edgecliff again to the Westpac bank to finally pay our last bill in New Zealand. We did a couple of other errands and then ran back to the boat to meet Ivan, the mechanic who was coming by to finally bleed the engine. He arrived at noon and spent an hour and a half attempting to get the engine started. He finally decided the starter battery needed to recharge over night and it would be best if he came back the next morning with a large wrench to manually turn the crankshaft, the engine was not turning over on its own. After he left we were feeling a bit discouraged, we were hoping the problem only needed the expertise of a mechanic and that Scott didn’t know the finer details of bleeding air out of the fuel system. After several attempts to start the engine, including Ivan’s idea of cross feeding both the house and the starter battery, the voltage on the house batteries spiked to 19.65, which is dangerously high. Ivan did not know why this was happening, said we needed an electrician and then left saying he would be back at 8:30 the next morning. Yikes! We walked down the street, ended up in a power boat sales office and inquired about an electrician. The guys working there were very nice, they referred us to Craig and let us use the phone to call him. It turned out he was actually four boats away from Starship and said he would come over when he finished the job he was working on. He was there by 4:30 and fairly quickly determined the master battery fuse had blown. We paid Craig on the spot and found out we are not in Kansas anymore (or New Zealand). Feeling a bit discouraged we finally cooked our first meal on Starship in Sydney, BBQ chicken and salad. We headed out after dinner to spend some time at the Internet Café across town and came home at 11:45 totally exhausted. What a week!