Today is Kids’ Day at Anchorage #16.

Molly and Jessie decided they needed to meet a new set of under-aged cruisers, so they organized this event. Anchorage #16 is where we had so much fun last week – we built a tree house in the big Banyan tree, and made an “umu” oven. For today’s event, Molly and Jessie wrote a script and got on the VHF radio during the daily cruiser’s net and invited all “kid” boats to come for a day of fun and frolic. They have planned a scavenger hunt, a blind-folded rowing dinghy race, a hike, tree-house improving, and a potluck umu dinner. The items to be found in the scavenger hunt are:

1 brown coconut with or without sprouts
1 green coconut (drinking nut)
1 good banana leaf
3 sticks of firewood
4 coconut husks
1 lemon or lime
1 hibiscus flower
2 hermit crabs
2 pieces of garbage
1 uninhabited shell
A floating rock

For the dinghy race, the rower is blind-folded, and the passenger calls out to tell the driver which direction to row to get to the finish-line first. I’ve seen this done when both the driver and the passenger were quite drunk; maybe it will be more successful today, where alcohol isn’t a factor.

Last weekend there was a jam session at a small Spanish restaurant in one of the anchorages. Everyone was supposed to bring some kind of instrument. It was a festive atmosphere, but most people were too shy to get on stage and perform. Not our Jessie. She took the stage with her guitar and played the one song she knows – a beautiful Spanish waltz. The crowd cheered and encouraged her to play it again. People asked me, “Where did she inherit the guts to walk right up on stage and start playing?” I had no idea – it’s certainly not something Jim or I would ever do. There were over a hundred people crammed into this little one-room restaurant. They served a tapas-style meal, and we sat on the floor, or wherever we could. The resident dog and goat walked freely among the guests, and got up on stage when the mood struck them.

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Well, the best-laid plans… yesterday, right in the middle of Kids’ Day, a huge squall came up. I was on the boat alone, and Jim and the girls were on shore. The wind rose to 35 knots, the boat was jerking violently against the anchor, and we were only about 25 feet from a reef. It was raining so hard that I couldn’t even see the front of the boat. Jim radioed me to start the boat and put it in forward to ride up on the anchor and he would be right out to help me. When he got to the dinghy, however, it had blown upside down and the outboard was beating itself against the rocks. It took him a good ten minutes to right the dinghy and get it started again. When he finally got to our boat, I was soaking wet and scared. If the anchor would have dragged at all, we would have been on the rocks. We quickly brought up the anchor and moved to a safer location.

The squall kind of put a damper on the kid activities, but it was short-lived. The sun came out and we had our umu dinner. There were about 30 people there, and everyone brought food to put into the coals. One boat brought a papaya that had been stuffed with rice, onion and tuna. It was delicious. Someone else brought lasagna, and there was a lot of chicken, potatoes, baked onions and garlic, and dessert. It was a great meal, and everyone thanked Molly and Jessie for organizing such a wonderful event. (And thank you, Jim!) All the boats stayed at the anchorage last night, so the scavenger hunt is being held today, along with boogie-boarding and snorkeling. It’s turned into a two-day event – a sure sign of success!

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Day two of Kids’ Day was full of firsts. The scavenger hunt was great fun, and all 17 kids spent most of the day playing around the tree house and hiking through the surrounding jungle. In the afternoon, Molly and Jessie went boogie-boarding; they were both in the water at the same time and both got stung by a Man of War jelly fish! They jumped out of the water onto our boat very quickly, screaming in pain. I filled a bowl with vinegar and they put their hands and arms in. You could see the blue rings of the tentacles on their skin, but after about 30 minutes of soaking, the blue disappeared. The poison went up their arms into their joints, which was more painful than the actual sting. I gave both of them Benadryl and Advil, and applied a paste of baking soda and seawater, per our cruiser’s medical guide. After having some lemon meringue pie, they were feeling better and went to bed. In the late evening, another 40-knot squall came up. We were anchored more securely this time, but we heard boats on the radio saying that they had drug anchor and were aground. These squalls last only about an hour, but can do tremendous damage.

Today it’s back-to-school, since we have had a couple of play days. I can’t believe September is over! This week marks the one-year anniversary of our adventure. It was October 4th when we left the safe harbor of Anacortes, poked our nose around Cape Flattery, and headed cautiously out into the Pacific Ocean. In some ways, it seems like we have been gone a lot longer than one year; in other ways, it feels like the months have simply flown by. We are all much better sailors than we were a year ago, and in better shape physically and mentally.

Our crossing to New Zealand is coming up soon. Since we haven’t had the sails up in over a month, I’m sure seasickness will be involved. We’ll keep you posted!

~ Jeanna

Pixie

When we were in Niuatoputapu, our friends on CoCoNut got a puppy! (The pronunciation is Nee-oo-ay-to-pu-ta-pu; you can also use the cruiser version “New Potato”). When they went to shore, they found a very cute small puppy that was so sick and weak it could not even lift it’s head! The island was full of very sick and mangy dogs, but this one was the sickest of them all. It had soft red fur and it was three months old, but it looked like it was six weeks old! They asked it’s owner about it, and she said that her son gave the dog to her when it was only seven weeks old and refused to take it back to its mother! Then they asked if they could take the dog with them to their boat and take care of her for a while, because they loved to take in puppies off the street and nurse them back to health. So, Camilla picked up the dog and brought it back to their boat and they gave her three baths and an anti-bug shampoo. The poor puppy was really tired after that! The next day we came over to see the puppy and we helped Camilla think of names for her; we finally decided on Pixie because she had little pixie ears. Everyone ended up calling her Dobby though, because she had really big eyes like the elf in Harry Potter. She was doing much better the second day, and when she started eating, her favorite thing was sashimi! By the third day, she was up and walking around, and being very playful. That day, I started crocheting a little blanket for her; it was red, yellow, orange, and blue. We were all going to leave soon, so I had to finish it quickly. No one wanted to say goodbye to Pixie, but we could not take her with us. We thought about getting her a vet certificate saying she was a purebred “Tongan Whippet” so we could take her with us, but that would not work. Two days later, Camilla took Pixie back to shore in a cardboard box with a small foam pad and the blanket I made for her bed. Pixie’s owner was very glad to see that she was happy and a lot healthier. Then we left, confident that Pixie is now the happiest and healthiest dog on the island!

Jessie

There are 6 teen-aged girls in our main salon right now,

4 of them with guitars.  They are working hard to find musically common ground.  One girl is from Belgium, and plays Spanish/flamenco-type music.  Andrea is from New Hampshire, Claire and Alex are from California, and then there are Molly and Jessie.  Jessie has been learning guitar with Jim’s help.  She is a determined and patient learner. 

Jim left to go to shore, and I have been tucked into the v-berth, listening to the girls get to know each other.  I find it odd that they are not talking about cruising at all; their conversation is peppered with talk of grandparents, pets, and weird teachers they have had to endure.  A couple of them are crocheting; the others are playing different songs at the same time.  I never thought our main salon could comfortably hold a gaggle of girls and instruments, plus a few deadly crochet hooks, but it seems to be working!  This has nothing to do with anything, but did you know that a group of ravens is called an “unkindness”?

We have been experimenting with “umu” cooking, which is making a very hot fire on the beach, burning it down to coals, putting all the food wrapped in tin foil among the coals and covering the whole thing with banana leaves.  In an hour, you have a moist, delicious meal.  We enjoyed an umu dinner under the big Banyan tree last night, and invited everyone in Anchorage 16.  We had fish wrapped in taro leaves, chicken, hamburger, potatoes, cabbage, carrots, onion, garlic and breadfruit, all cooked together under the leaves.  Everything was yummy.  For dessert, there were sweetened bananas cooked on the fire, papaya bread, and oatmeal cookies.  There must have been 20 people under the tree, from all over the world.  It was so interesting to hear the different conversations.  It is fascinating to me that the truly memorable parts of this trip have nothing to do with the places you go, the things you see, or the events you attend, but it is the people you meet that stay forever in your mind.

The last of the “kid” boats has left Tonga and headed for Fiji.  Molly and Jessie are beside themselves with sadness.  We have heard that there is one boat we have yet to meet, that has two girls aboard.  I’m sure Molly and Jessie will hunt them down.  We have decided to stay in Tonga, and visit the three groups of islands, then hop down to New Zealand in early November.  We have heard great things about Fiji, but there is also something to be said for just staying in one place for a while and really getting to know the people and different anchorages.

We found a good snorkeling spot in Anchorage #16.  The water has been clear (and a little cold!), with lots of different fish.  Jim and Molly went one day, and saw two octopuses and heard whales under water.  Jessie and I weren’t that fortunate when we went the next day, but still had a great time.  The weather is just now starting to behave itself, so maybe we can check some things off our “to do” list:  swim with humpbacks, go for a scuba dive, go for a hike, and find that church in Anchorage #13.  Then we will move south to the Ha’apai group of Tongan Islands, and see what we can discover there.

I have been trying to upload some pictures in the media gallery, but it has been painfully slow.  I’ll keep trying, so check into the gallery over the next week or so!   

 ~ Jeanna

It’s been cold and rainy here.

“Just like Seattle weather,” we say to each other, secretly delighted.  I stayed on board today and made chili, just because it sounded like what I needed to do on a rainy fall day.

We are still enjoying the Vava’u group of islands in Tonga.  We have spent most of the time close to town, but now are anchored in one of the outer bays (#16).  We are here with our friends aboard Fafner, who have girls Molly and Jessie’s age.

The sailors you become close to out here are those that choose the same islands as you to stop at; you tend to follow each other across the span of the South Pacific, and it is like old home week every time you drop your anchor, look around, and spot your buddies a few boats over.  Having something in common is key; it could be that they have kids, or a fast boat like yours, or a love of snorkeling and hiking.  Maybe they are in need of a good mechanic and you happen to be one.  Whatever the bond, it strengthens each time you anchor near each other.

Karin and Patti are two women on a Baltic 48 named “Ahti”.  They are from the Seattle area, and are doing an admirable job of taking care of all their boating needs themselves.  They have had some mechanical and electrical problems, and Jim has been able to give them bits of advice, but they usually end up doing the actual work themselves.  We see them at almost every island we go to, and they e-mail us and let us know how things are before we arrive.  We do the same for them.

The “Fafner” folks became friends mostly because of their daughters, Claire and Alex.  Same with “Escapade” from Holland; they have two boys that have formed a bond with our girls, even though they don’t speak English.  “Coconut”, from Norway, also has kids on board.  They all speak in delightful British/Norwegian accents, since the mother is from South Africa.  Peter and Ginger, aboard “Marcy”, are also from the Seattle area.  They seem to like to visit the more remote islands, so we see them less often, but are always happy when we get together.  “Soul’s Calling” is a big catamaran from Denver.  Their daughter, Mikaela, is eleven, and Molly and Jessie enjoy spending time with her.  It’s fun for them when the sleepover is on the cat – the main salon is like a gymnasium, and Mikaela’s bedroom spans almost one entire ama of the boat.

Right now, Claire, Alex, Molly and Jessie are on shore, building yet another tree house in a huge Banyan tree at the water’s edge.  They came back to the boat for short time to pick up supplies:  rope, matches, a second machete, Oreo cookies, Band-Aids, and bug spray.  Oh, they also came back for Jim – they needed some of his expertise.

We had hoped to do some snorkeling and hiking, but the weather is quite ugly.  Maybe it will clear up enough by tomorrow that we can go play.  The weather has kept us from our whale expedition; I have heard Humpback whales will dive deep and stay there if the surface water is too choppy.

This Seattle weather has been making me think of home.  I am imagining our friends, getting ready for the new school year; about family getting ready for the fall season and all that it brings, and about our business and the upcoming Seattle Boat Show.  If I get too melancholy, all I have to do is look outside and see the smoke wafting through the palm trees (Smoke!??!  What are those girls doing, anyway???), and the rain dancing on the tropical blue water.  Guess I’ll call “Fafner” on the VHF and invite them over for chili and cornbread.  Have a great day!

~ Jeanna