Solomons Serenity

Our time in Solomons was short, mostly due to the extra time that we had spent in other places throughout the year and our keen desire to be south of the southern hemisphere cyclone belt before November. So we picked a short route through the western Solomon Islands group, stopping in at Kolombangara, New Georgia and Vona Vona Lagoon. What a treat we were in for!

We did the short 5nm totter around from Gizo to Fatboys Resort and dropped anchor just next to a lively coral filled bay. We took the dingy trip around the point to the resort bungalow bar, constructed of palm tree timbers with palm leaf roofing, located on stilts atop a coral plateau where sharks circle for dinner as the lights extend their glow onto the encircling reef. That is a lesson in good dingy alighting right there! The resort for us was sublime, a restaurant meal in a gorgeous location and we treated ourselves to a bottle of overpriced Australian wine. We could almost smell Australia from here, there were subtle hints of our arrival in the southern hemisphere wherever we turned. After our sumptuous dinner of fresh snapper and crayfish and over-enjoyment of the wine, we made the bouncy and somewhat hairy ride back to the boat, carefully picking our way around the extending coral reef in the strong southerly gale that had whipped up while we were imbibing. A little wet and somewhat salty, we made it back to collapse for bed.

A few days in the picture perfect reef and we decided to move on to Ringgi Cove. We did not really know what to expect here, but after dropping anchor inside the bay which ringed by dense jungle with two small family houses just in sight through the thick green walls, we got a visit from some gorgeous local girls who gave us a bunch of flowers. What a treat! We gave them some school books and pencils. The following day we were visited by some more canoe going locals and we traded sugar, flour, tea, milk powder, soap and kids clothes for a veritable feast of fresh vegetables. This was very exciting as our fresh food stores had been pitiful for over 2 weeks. We spoke to one of the families who told us that they work for the KFPL logging company which does rotational logging on the mountains beyond. 

Some more kids visited us in their canoe and we decided to tow
them home, much hilarity ensued!

There was no village here and only one of the boats that we saw had an outboard, the locals get around in hand paddled canoes and live in small family houses. We took the dingy on a long journey around the south of the island where we were taken by some local boys to see Japanese WWII anti-aircraft gun emplacements. It was a fascinating experience to have to machete our way through the dense jungle growth and clamber over tree roots and soggy mud holes to see these enormous gun emplacements that must have been hauled in by a vehicle (hence a road would have to have been built first) to bring the guns inland. The guns were dug in, such that the gunner would have been sitting in a mud pit, swatting mozzies and trying to spot aircraft overhead while up to 2m of rain fell on them throughout the year, I did not envy their circumstances. 

Our next destination was the grimy fish cannery town of Noro, which was also the main port for all of the Solomons for international shipping. We intended to only be here for as short a time as possible to do the formalities of checking out before heading south. The day was miserable, it was humid with little breeze and it was raining. This would not have been such a problem if we did not have to use good spotting to make our way into the tricky anchorage at Noro. It lay behind a coral bar where a shallow (3m deep) and narrow (6m wide) entry had been blasted to allow passage to a sandy bottomed cove. Up on the bow I could see the reef entry ahead, but as we drew nearer, the cloud cover came in and all I could see was a shiny surface. We balked at this anchorage and trudged on to find another spot. Two more attempts at anchoring and the visibility was not improving, the whole enormous channel was ringed by dense coral walls that extended out and gave way to depths greater than 40m which is no good for our anchoring. After skirting a reef, we finally found a spot for our anchor at the far southern end of the bay and Hugh went on the long dingy trip ashore to see the officials and check out while I played the role of boat cat. Shortly after he left the mother of all rain storms hit and I was busily collecting rainwater in our tanks when I saw what looked like a dolphin fin off the bow. Always loving a dolphin show, I went up to have a look to see to my surprise not one but two manta rays swimming close to the surface to scoop up their plankton fill! What a sight. I stood there in the pouring rain, like no self respecting boat cat should, for about an hour watching them glide around the boat, and as they turned and delicately flicked the edge of their wing at the surface. It was absolutely magnificent to see these rare creatures lapping up their micro-prey. They were also interested in our boat as it must have been right in the middle of their tidal plankton sushi train and they did laps around checking it out.

Our manta visitor

I managed to get some quick footage while the rain paused for a moment. Then shortly afterwards Hugh came zooming back in the dingy from town. I quickly gestured at him to come in and we grabbed our snorkels and jumped in for a swim with them while they continued their gorge fest. It was amazing; they were completely disinterested in us being there, and we did not get in the way of them. We could see the green plankton cloud pluming out close to the surface which the mantas would swim through with their mouths wide open scooping up a belly full before turning back for another lot. They were completely fine with us swimming around them too. In the end, we saw about 5 manta rays getting about. Guess we lucked in with the best manta restaurant! Amazing. It was so amazing that when we happened to stay there for one more day due to bad weather, we joined them for another afternoon. Our very own manta swim tank!

It was hard to top such an intimate date with the manta rays, but we pushed on southward to stop in at Vona Vona lagoon and the Zipolo Habu Resort at Lola Island. Thankfully the lagoon is absolutely breathtaking, because the arduous reef dodging that we needed to do to get in there was like delicately tip-toeing through a live mine field while blindfolded, and I needed a stiff drink after that!

The wait was slow for a weather window for our final Pacific Ocean leg to Queensland. The weather was inclement at anchor, but better than being in the Solomon Sea copping 40kts of wind and the sea that would be whipped up. For an adventure we decided to take the dingy for the 6nm trip to Munda, which was not our brightest of ideas. The trip looked easy enough on the map, but it turned out to be a hairy ride across some shallow reefs and being exposed to the trade wind swell that risked swamping us and sweeping us out to sea. But we made it, bought some beautiful timber carvings from the local carvers and said goodbye to our final Solomons town. 

The carving work is one of of the few ways that many locals make some cash money, as they mostly trade food or just live off the food they grow to survive, living a subsistence lifestyle. The many types of wood including kerosene wood, king and queen ebony, pandanus timber and coconuts make for a wide variety of colours, textures and weight in the many different works produced. There are many very skilled carvers in this part of the Solomons and we loved talking to them and seeing how they do their work with limited tools.

It certainly felt like we had not finished our trip in the Solomons and it is definitely a place for a return visit. After one false start we were off, commencing the final 800nm crossing to Australia...where it all began 18 months ago.

16/10/2014

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Yslas de Salomon

Our first few days of convalescence in Geva Harbour were blissful. The word 'harbour' is generous by western terms as there was not a dock, pier, mooring or boat in sight. Its definition as a harbour comes from the historical use of the word as a natural habour, a place to hide a boat from weather or sea conditions.

While some locals were fishing from hand paddled canoes along the river banks, we were left to our own devices with a myriad of unfamiliar bird calls, crocodiles slinking below the surface where the water mingled with mangroves, and the wide array of sea life that darted about the coral suffused bay. The mangrove forest ringing crystal clear waters exposing the coral seascape below was a completely unique experience for us. The clear water adjacent mangroves was a stark contrast to those in Asia and Australia as it is usually the muddy meeting point of salt and fresh water. The coral diversity was something to behold, with fan structures and table tops strewn amongst large bommies. The fish life included large angel fish, anemones and countless other iridescent fish darting from place to place. The parrot fish were always relaxing while munching away on coral (so loud you could hear them crunching). 

Geva Harbour

Hugh had a go at trying to catch some crabs for dinner. As he lowered the trap complete with a dead fish head as bait, a ghostly white shark circled with keen interest. No sooner was the trap laid than the shark nipped away looking for an early dinner. Alas neither Hugh nor the shark got any free dinner out of that episode.

One day a local man named Reggie was going around the cove in his boat looking for some students who had gone out in canoes and stopped by. We had a chat with him and invited him aboard as it hammered down with rain and learned a lot about the Solomons from his perspective. He told us about the Seventh Day Adventist School where he is a teacher and how he takes his fibreglass boat with 15 hp engine on the 2.5 hour, 30nm one-way trip to Gizo when they need extra supplies. We were starting to get an appreciation for how far the islanders would travel in their boats for small items like sugar, flour or kids clothing.

The Solomon Islands was first introduced to the western world as Yslas de Salomon by the Spanish in the 1560s, though archeologists estimate that local tribes had been habiting here some 30,000 years ago. The British took the island group by 1900, naming it the British Solomon Islands Protectorate to take advantage of the businesses of copra and palm oil export. WWII saw bitter and heavy fighting in Guadalcanal between the US and Japan. The allied victory in the Solomons saw the US set up the new capital of the Solomons in Honiara next to the Henderson Airforce Base on Guadalcanal, relocated from Auki on Malaita. Self-rule was finally introduced in 1974, though the Australian presence cannot be missed in the government advisors nor the aid work and mining activities on the islands. The Bougainville civil war of 1989-2002 significantly impacted the Solomon Islands (being the closest neighbour to those lands), because the blockade of Bougainville by PNG meant that the Solomons became not only a refugee destination but also a medical aid point. This saw the flood of people travelling east out of Bougainville and hiding or resettling in the Solomons western province.

On Solomons ground this time, in 1999 ethnic tensions in the capital Honiara saw fighting erupt between Malaitan people and Guadalcanal people over Honiara land rights, a result of a British decision to relocate some Malaitans to provide workers in the new Solomons capital some 60 years earlier. A coup gripped the Solomons forcing the closure of the Henderson International Airport and stopping the flow of basic supplies out of the capital to the outer islands. Not until the Australian led Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) arrived in 2002 did some semblance of normalcy return. The local tourism operators lament the coup and the resultant practical collapse of international tourism which crippled the industry and the local economy, the effects of which we can still see today some 12 years after calm was restored. But that is probably due to the still somewhat unhinged national government which is marred with corruption and nepotism accusations. Honiara having a reputation as one of the most dangerous places in the world is also problematic as it is the only international airport and funnel for tourists entering the country.

An obvious feature of the Solomons is the role of Christianity (largely Seventh Day Adventist), brought to the local villagers by missionaries in the 1800s. They adhere to religious taboos such as not eating shellfish (resulting in an abundance for us, yum!) and respecting the Sabbath from Friday afternoon for 24 hours.

After our break at Geva, we made way south to Gizo, the second largest town in the country. The town has a ramshackle feeling to it, largely owing to the very slow recovery of the built form after a 2007 tsunami devastated the region. It looks as though a stiff breeze would blow over the collection of corrugated iron roofed buildings. The town is small, consisting of one main road which is partially paved, and runs parallel to the water. The street is dotted with small stores selling food (small packets of flour, sugar, milk powder and salt - decanted from large bags), clothing and small electronics and finally an ANZ bank ready to supply us with some Solomon dollars (for the handy fee of A$10 per withdrawal, ouch!). The market is set up on the waterfront with standing height horizontal 'tables' where the locals place their wares complete with price tags.

The market is the focal point for the town, stretching alongside the waterfront

The town gives off a wild west vibe, for me that was largely to do with the muddy and dusty street combined with the consistent chewing and spitting of betel nut (a nut that when chewed gives not only a permanent red stain to the teeth, but also a quick burst of euphoria akin to tobacco, and the requirement to spit bright red stain as the waste byproduct) all over the street, walls and depressingly, even dogs. I could not help but wonder why people do not carry around spittoons like when chewing tobacco was popular. You do not see many cowboys in Gizo, but the RAMSI police force with their handguns on their hips stick out like nobody's business in their blue and whites, the most formal looking people in town. It was as an aside while we were asking Reggie about the likelihood of crocodiles in Geva when he said that after the coup of the early 2000s, the government had required that all guns be handed in. As such the locals had no guns with which to manage the crocodile population, so we should be careful! It turns out that the RAMSI officers are the only people in the country permitted to carry a gun, not even the local police force are to have them.

We managed to find the customs building (above a small mixed business store and tucked away at the back) to pay the high boat fee for visiting before trotting down the road in zig zags to the immigration and quarantine buildings (many visits required to each in different order depending on which stamp was needed or which receipt for which payment needed to be shown). With the formalities ticked off, we sat down to enjoy some local fried fish and sweet potato chips, washed down with a cold SolBrew beer. It is hard to explain the euphoric feeling of sitting down to eat food cooked by someone else after a month of being the full time cook, terra firma at last!

5/10/2014

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Final Push East - Pacific Ocean Crossing Part II

Still glowing from the magical break we had had at Kapingamarangi Atoll we launched into our next challenge, the final 700nm to the Solomon Islands western province. We sailed east initially, aiming to get more easting before we got stuck in the south-east trade winds that blow up the northern coast of Solomon and Bougainville Islands.

We were located at around 1 degree north of the equator and as such there was not much wind and it was hot. My was it hot. It was also still enough for us to jump in and have a cool off swim into water that was so clear and such an intense blue it did not give away the depth of the water that our charts stated were 4000m. But nothing could shelter us from the squalls, as the sun slowly dipped below the horizon we sailed into darkness as thunderstorms raged off each quarter of the boat. The storms would bring intense short rain downpours proceeded by 20kt wind blasts and 100 degree wind shifts. At dawn light would glimmer on the eastern horizon and become a searing globe by 8am and leave dim markers on the western horizon by 7pm. Dramatic cloud formations would tower into the stratosphere, leaving a sense of foreboding about the night ahead full of squally rains and strong wind bursts.

Squalls, bringing wind shifts and strong gusts along with torrents of rain

We were trawling a line but not until we angled south and passed through the choppy Bougainville Strait did we pick up a mackerel for dinner. Slowly making our way through the 8 or so coconuts we were given in Kapinga punctuated our mornings, enjoying a fresh coconut drink and nibbling away at the delicious flesh inside. On Day 5 we gulped down our last supper of fresh food, some pumpkin and a straggly looking carrot in a curry. We managed to catch a few buckets of rainwater, so I washed a load of clothes and towels to pass the time, which was dominated by extremely tedious sailing. Other highlights included being absorbed in watching the skillful seabirds that would glide low over the choppy swell to gain speed with minimal resistance and in the evening when they would dip low into the waves to snag a fish for dinner.

The shifting winds moving every 20 minutes or so made for extremely tiresome sailing. We rigged all the sheets and launched the spinnaker only for the wind to puff out and a squall to gather off port, shifting the wind. We dropped the spinnaker. The wind would blast at 25 kts for 10 minutes then puff out and we would be left suffering the swell generated by the storm gone passed. Finally we crossed the equator (passing a customary drink of rum to King Neptune on our way through) which boosted our hopes for favourable wind to take the final push south.

The last two days of passage wore us out with strong winds, big choppy seas and storms that would not let up. We hove to for 6 hours to try and let it pass. Pass it did as the 35kt winds slowly moved off to the west. This trip had really worked our patience and we were tired and snapping at each other. Probably a result of doing two long passages back-to-back with only a 3 day respite in the middle. As if King Neptune knew, to brighten our spirits we were gifted with a dolphin escort into the Solomon waters. Such a beautiful and welcome sight.

As we made our way to the north of Vella Lavella Island, we negotiated the tricky reef entry into Geva Harbour, slowly creeping our way over a shallow coral bar. But as we dropped anchor on the edge of the mangrove ringed cove, all we could hear was silence, interjected with a myriad of bird calls and the rustle of palm trees. Night was not far behind and lightning illuminated the sky as it flashed over the mountains in the distance.

Another Pacific Ocean stint, 700nm completed in 7 days. We were exhausted and very pleased to be in such a tranquil river to sleep off our long eastward passage - 19 sea-days and 2000nm from Palau. Welcome to the Solomon Islands!

3/10/2014

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The Big Blue - Pacific Ocean Crossing, Part I

We had been held hostage in Palau by the US Postal Service for too long, despite not receiving our package – a new inverter, our visa stamps told us it was time to go. After indulging in a huge variety of western foods, loads of spectacular diving and getting to know the cruisers who had washed ashore here and might never leave, we packed our clean washing, bid a hearty farewell to Sam's Tours and the Royal Belau Yacht Club and headed for the east passage.

Contrary to the weather forecasts that we were reading before leaving Palau, we were rocketing south and east and within 2 days we were being treated like royalty by the sea and enjoying the 2 kt east setting current at 40 degrees longitude. Combine this counter current (so named because it runs opposite to the predominant current which sets slowly with the west bound trade winds) with 15-20kts of westerly winds and we were making an amazing 160nm a day which helped lift our spirits on this 2000nm journey to the Solomon Islands. The trip was not without its perils though; we were sailing through a low-pressure system that was forming into a tropical low further north. This meant that we were experiencing lots of squalls, some that we could see forming hours in advance and others that had the rigging singing before we know what was upon us. Most packed some hefty winds of up to 35kts, with rain and then they whipped up the seas often creating some mighty uncomfortable swell conditions. We used the wind vane steering feature on our auto pilot which made for some seriously lazy sailing, as our rudder would turn the boat when the wind shifted (which was extremely often and up to 1800 in the squally conditions) so we didn't have to continually gybe, which was handy when only one of us was on watch.

We spent the first few days getting into some sort of rhythm, with our 3 hour rotating shifts. It was certainly hard to wake up at 4am in a squall to take the helm. But there were bright features like the unspoilt sunrises, light glimmering on the horizon for the first time and spreading a pink blush with each minute that passed. We also had 'Ginger Beard' pay us a visit – a small brown finch with a burnt orange chest that sat on our jib block 400nm from the nearest land to have a snooze. He didn't like it much when I went to pat him and gave me a little nip on the finger. But we talked of the weather and philosophy together nonetheless. He bemoaned the strong westerly wind that kept him from traveling in that direction and I explained the synoptic chart. He nodded and chirped along. And it was a balm to a lonely soul to have such a visitor on those long solo shifts. These sea birds are such amazing creatures. To be able to survive that far from land when they were obviously not sea hunting birds and could not gain nourishment from diving for and eating fish.

The sky ablaze for a spectacular sunset

At 2am on day 5 the heavens opened and sent a torrent of rain that would have had Noah running for his raincoat and gumboots. The rain turned our deck into a swimming pool, ably caught to fill our water tanks. The 6 hour long deluge ended and took with it our spirits and the wind. But as the grey day emerged we saw that we had chipped away at our total passage distance by almost one third.

Day 6 marked the end of our fresh beef stores, we had been spoiling ourselves with beef stews, curries and stroganoff, the memory of Palau lingering. The morning was wet and windy, and spirits may have been dark indeed if not for a visit by Ginger Beard and his girlfriend Red. They snuggled on the captain's seat and got some shuteye after their long journey. After their rest they were quite sociable and we had pats and they sat on my finger. Quite sweet really.

Ginger beard, docile and enjoying a back scratch

Through the driving rain I could see a pod of dolphins having a right party in our bow wave and the swell. I imagine they did not want to pop their noses out of the ocean for too long, otherwise they might get a cold from the rain. The sea temperature was 29C, while the rain and wind made for a nippy time out of our nice protected cockpit.

Conditions? Well we had some reasonable swell, up to 3m and buffeting us from any which angle. It made for an uncomfortable trip and had me slinking into corners with a green tinge taking notable shape on my face. Hugh's long hours of studying the historical weather patterns and daily viewing of the counter current location on the US NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) website had really paid its dues. Averaging 6 kts of boat speed plus 2-3kts of favourable current meant that we were getting through the long isolated ocean part of the journey at pace. The wind was always blowing, at between 10-20kts, but the direction varied almost by the minute. Relying on our wind vane steering made life a bit easier.

Day 8 saw the end of the low pressure system and therefore the strong winds. The wind was being extremely temperamental and only routing near squally storms could we gain some wind to propel us forward. The wind was so light and variable that the sails would flap and the boom would bang, while the chop from the swell would roll the boat from side to side. The easing up of the wind did not correlate to a more comfortable ride. So using the motor we would make some distance and sail when the wind decided to join us. We were also slowly making a bit of southerly heading and were approaching the unattractive equator and its notoriously hot and wind-free conditions.

A few fish caught made for some lovely fresh dinners and I managed to stay below long enough to cook a cake one day which we gobbled up with custard and canned peaches. Meal times were definitely a punctuation point in the day and something to look forward to. Unfortunately while attempting to make little Spanish mackerel crumbed nuggets my hand got splashed by some jumping boiling oil and I spent the next few hours in the cockpit with an ice pack on my hand, thankfully barely a mark was there within a couple of days.

So what did we do to pass the time? Well, I was engrossed in the Harry Potter series on audio, while Hugh was lost in the 18th Century aboard some historical ships while listening to the Patrick O'Brian nautical series on audio as well. He would wander about the boat and make random ye olde English sayings, raising top-gallant sails and accusing me of being a (land) lubber at times when a sheet was not pulled just so. The start of the sail was too rough to do anything more taxing than listen to music or books. As the time wore on I was able to spend more time below making some tasty meals. 5pm marked the daily 'sundowners' event, which for me consisted of soda and cordial, while Hugh had a cold beer. With the sun down, it was time for our daily emails via the HF. So I stayed up top and steered while Hugh patiently worked the propagation on the radio to try and get a signal so we could receive weather and other inspiring messages from land folk. Hughs sister was sending us daily quirky and funny quotes from English literature from yesteryear which was always a great read.

On day 10 we bid the counter current adieu as it began to sweep northeast, weakening before disappearing below the surface entirely. Unfortunately our daily miles had dropped significantly to around the 100nm mark. The wind was still being fluky, but we were strategically planning our proposed arrival at Kapingamarangi Atoll, 250nm from the nearest atoll and 400nm from its mother-state island of Pohnpei (part of the Federate States of Micronesia), to ensure that we arrived at the best time of the day to make the tricky reef entry without incident. The atoll is a roughly squashed circular shape, an encircled lagoon ringed by reef with spotted sand bars located 1.5m above the high tide mark. We had some pretty poor information about the place and our maps left a lot to be desired.

The full moon and a spring tide would make for ideal entry conditions to the lagoon and on Day 12 we were 25nm away at 7am. It was a steady sail north to the atoll and we were getting very excited and apprehensive about our intended stopping point. We did not know if the locals were friendly (and were hoping not to have the 'welcoming' given to some Spanish explorers to the region – where they were all killed) or even if our boat would be able to cross the reef entry. But we thought we ought to give it a shot and visit one of the most isolated places on earth. Land-ho! It crept from below the horizon 8nm away; tall, dense groupings of trees, our anticipation mounting. Once we got closer we were faced with a long line of breaking waves over a shallow reef boundary (enough to give a sailor a nervous twitch). But then we spotted the channel, a route through the coral boundary that had been blasted to allow the entry of the tri-yearly cargo ship. Some nervous moments and we had made it through the channel, we were in the lagoon!

1200nm, 12 days at sea and this was our first sighting of land. Paradise found!

10/9/2014

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Staying Connected

Keeping in touch with friends and family and getting information is harder than when living on land. Sometimes it can be your only contact with the outside world. Sometimes it keeps you sane and importantly, safe!

We knew that it would be important to be able to obtain regular weather information while we were at sea. It would be paramount when on passages as we would be outside of internet, mobile phone and often VHF radio (short distance radio) contact of anyone. When you are 3 days from land, it is heartening to know that you are not sailing straight into the storm of the century or that you should get moving because one is nipping at your heels. We were lucky that our boat had recently been used for blue water cruising and that the gear was reasonably up-to-date.

Ever since Guglielmo Marconi made the first transmission from Galway to Newfoundland in 1901, sailors have been making use of radio communication. Harnessing technology honed in the first and second World Wars, the High Frequency radio (HF, known as Single Side Band to our US friends) is reliable and a great communication tool for remote travellers.

Our boat already had a HF radio fitted, enabling us to contact people via radio sometimes hundreds of miles away, the only requirement was that the recipient also had an HF radio with a suitable receiving antenna. This meant that we could contact the Volunteer Marine Rescue (VMR) stations in Queensland and Charleville Radio (a large radio installation in inland Australia) if we were in serious trouble and were making a mayday call. The boat also had fitted a Pactor modem which enabled data, in very V E R Y slow increments to be emailed from our computer via the HF radio. We signed up to a great service managed out of the United States called Sail Mail. This organisation asks for a yearly subscription fee of $250 and in return connects us to its myriad of receiving stations throughout the world to send our messages on, even when we are thousands of miles from land or another boat.

The excitement of receiving email while at sea is hard to compete with!

Our Sailmail subscription also included connection to a weather service operated by saildocs. The information in the weather messages was drawn from historical data as well as current high and low pressure systems building, so the weather predictions were extremely accurate (on the Australian east coast) where there is high monitoring of conditions and less so in area where there was minimal monitoring (most of Asia). We would review weather predictions up to 3 weeks ahead of a passage to see what was trending and also if there was anything changing that could show signs of dangerous weather. The crossings of the Gulf of Carpenteria and the Arafura Sea were great examples of very strong weather systems moving through (driven by the trade winds), but while they were strong they were consistent and we were able to pick our windows to make the safe crossings. Generally we would receive daily and 5 day forecasts while we were in northern Indonesia, because once again, we were experiencing some very strong wind and sea conditions on a daily basis.

So we were able to gain some reliable weather information via the sailmail service. The weather packages come in a concise file (known as a GRIB file) and it takes some practice to understand what the symbols and colours all mean, but the darker the colour and the more ticks on the wind arrows mean a stronger weather system. When there is little wind, I would call the picture an image of ‘pick-up sticks’ because it was just a collection of sticks dropped in no discernible pattern...the only humour I could find at times like those.

weather file - the picture on the left shows 'stuff all wind' with light blue
colouring, the picture on the right shows a tropical low bringing 40kt
winds shown with the darker red colouring and multiple ticks on the
direction arrows

We also regularly sent messages to family via the HF mail system to let them know we were ok. The service was limited, as it only sent text data (no pictures or attachments) and we only had a certain number of minutes per week. This restriction could be excruciating as the modem runs at the speed of your old household dial up system (complete with the sounds) circa 1997 and it could take up to 30 minutes to get the right connection on the HF radio dial, dodging through used frequencies and interference. This could be extremely frustrating when you are pinned into the nav station while the weather outside is throwing the boat around and inducing some serious seasickness.

Most of our time in Indonesia the Internet was inadequate to send emails, so we relied on the HF mail service even when we were in port. As we moved west to Malaysia, Thailand and then north to the Philippines we were able to get reliable internet coverage. We bought SIM cards in each country  (sometimes multiple cards because the company coverage varied depending on our location) at a rate of about $7 a week we could be on email, Skype and Facebook and be speaking to friends and family as if we were just around the corner. We also subscribed to the Australian Governments ‘smart traveller’ email system which sends out security alerts for the places you have signed up for. This would be useful to know if there was political strife in a country/ island that we were about to travel to, ahead of time. But getting used to this kind of connectivity was going to be interesting in the months ahead as we spent up to 20 days at sea at a time with nothing but HF mail and our salt crazed imaginations for company.

The BBC World Service is also broadcast for 2 hours each day (1 hour in the morning and 1 hour in the evening) which we could pick up on the HF radio in South East Asia. So we were able to keep in tune with events of the outside world. It was interesting how much I looked forward to these 1 hour segments, often just to listen to the strange special stories that their reporters submerged themselves in. As we did not have access to local television, this was as close as we got to any kind of news stream. While we were in Malaysia, we were lucky enough to be able to tune into English language radio stations on the FM radio, however this was usually pop music and information targeted at the lowest common denominator. Once we made it further east to the Pacific, we could hear the Australian news and stories booming in over Radio Australia. Initially it was really interesting to hear people on remote Pacific Islands telling their stories, until the Australian Federal Government cuts to the ABC meant that the segments were all but eliminated and replaced with Radio National stories. Reasonably interesting for us as we were missing a bit of Australiana, but I imagine less interesting to the islanders who were their intended listenership.

While we were in the company of other boats we would use our VHF radio to stay in contact when within 20nm of each other. We used this regularly when we were travelling for a passage to make sure everyone is still ok and to keep track of anyone who was having trouble or would be arriving later than expected. All boats sail at different speeds depending on the sail configuration, the design of the boat and those sailing it, so more often than not there could be between 1-2 days varying in arrival times of different boats at a harbour for a 400nm passage. Other ways to stay in touch for longer passages would be to use the HF radio at scheduled times on pre-arranged channels (referred to as a ‘net’) to catch up on everyones whereabouts and also to forward weather information if necessary. When we were sailing in April from Sydney to Darwin, we ‘met’ cruisers on the net that were 1000nm ahead of us giving tips on good anchorages and weather systems they had experienced. We did not meet some of the voices on this net for 3 months until we arrived in Darwin at the great Woodstock of cruising in July. This informal radio relationship gave us a great opportunity to meet other cruisers who had 20,000nm of experience as they had already sailed half-way around the world and could help us learn the tips of the cruiser life.

We opted out of the SatPhone option providing phone and internet contact while at sea, connecting you to satellite systems. The initial outlay is quite expensive and because we already had the HF radio we were well covered for that kind of communication. We do know other people who have SatPhones and think they are great and very reliable, but you do pay for the convenience.

Via our sailmail we were able to send a position report to another group called YoTreps who logged all of our positions and placed them on a map, so that our family and friends could see our location. That was always a nice feature because people often don’t know where Taka Bonerate in Indonesia is, so putting a pin on a map made the information more visual. There were a number of bugs in the system and Hugh decided that he wanted to make a better platform for us to report our location and got busy coding. After many hours tapping away at the keyboard and some involvement of our friends as handy guineapigs, keelscape has become our new way of mapping our location.

So for budding cruisers out there we highly recommend sailmail over the HF radio and meeting other like minded cruisers on radio nets, because what else have you got to do while in passage but have a chat on the radio? Also try this website for logging your position and keeping your family notified of your location.

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Dive Log - Palau

Below is a collection of dive logs from some of the dive sites that we visited during our time in Palau. To start off with, the area is a marine national park and the waterways, sea life and environment are protected here such that removal of any specimen or artefact is prohibited, as is damaging any of the reefs. The protection mantra is repeated at the tour companies and on your national park pass. Sailing boats are required to have a multitude of permits depending on where in Palau the yacht is and people must carry a national park pass if they are to partake in any water based activities. The money is reported to go to managing the park islands and picnic areas, moorings for dive boats and improving the infrastructure for aquatic activities. The sea life and its condition make for truly world class diving. Palau has been famous for aqua activities for decades and there are some local and very skilled companies offering unparalleled diving experiences.

Siaes Corner

Located 30nm southwest of Koror, the site provides a fabulous wall dive on the reef wall separating the fringing reef of the greater Palau archipelago to the east and the Philippine Sea plunging to depths of 2000m to the west. This dive was in brilliant conditions with visibility up to 30m, undertaken on slack tide before the tide started rising. The wall life was layered, showing soft corals, sea fans and hard corals flourishing in the rich waters. The sea life was abundant, we made our way through dense schools of barracuda and red snapper, while brilliantly coloured small reef angel and moorish idol fish flickered through the coral seascape. We also marvelled at the reef sharks and sea turtles that were effortlessly moving about. We dived to 22m and easily filled up our 50 minute dive with spectating.

Ulong Channel

Close to Siaes Corner we undertook a dive at Ulong Channel on the incoming tide and enjoyed relaxing at shark corner and watching the multitude of grey and white-tipped reef sharks cruising around and taking an interest in us. We used the Palauan invention of the 'reef hook' to hook into hard (and dead) coral so as to preserve energy while the sharks perused the corner and we spectated on the whole event. 

After a while we continued swimming around the corner to the channel  where the current had increased to about 2 knots and we zoomed through the lettuce coral garden, spotting even more sharks and rays as we slowly ascended from the 20m dive. Visibility was declining as the current increased with the incoming tide, though it was still excellent at up to 20m vis.

Blue Corner

Further south of the above two sites is blue corner, a wall dive again on the meeting point of the Philippine Sea and the Palauan archipelago. We took the wall dive to a depth of 30m and marvelled at the detailed wall, covered in micro species of fish and invertebrates while huge Napoleon wrasse, grey reef sharks, blue fin trevally and sea and green turtles ambled around in the blue expanses. The visibility was perfect, providing greater than 50m. The Napoleon wrasse fish were very tame and even accepted a pat off one of the divers. 

German Channel

This passage was blasted through the reef by the Germans during their 'ownership' of the island nation in the late 1800s, to enable easy access for their steamships that were transporting mined phosphate off the Angaur Island in southern Palau. We went at rising tide which is when Manta Rays frequent the location to go to the 'cleaning station', where Remora fish will tend to their grooming needs. Convenient for divers, this offers an opportunity to be a voyeur while they are cleaned and majestically swoop close to the channel floor to pick up any plankton that are funnelled into the channel. We were lucky enough to see a Manta Ray slowly pirouette in and make two swims past us on his way through the cleaning station. He had a wing span of 3m across with an open mouth for plankton while two remora's were cleaning its underside. 

We also spotted a feathertail stingray keeping an interested eye on us as we passed behind, while he was buried in the sand with only his eyes and the end of his tail visible. He must have decided that we were not worth ruining his hiding spot for, as he did not move (except for his eyes carefully monitoring our movements). The visibility on this dive was lower than the previous ones, at about 15m decreasing as the tide started to change and the current increased.

Jake's Seaplane

A downed Japanese sea plane from 1941 is resting upright on the harbour floor at 15m depth on the western side of the Koror township. The plane is in excellent condition, having only experienced damage to its right-side pontoon and tail. The plane has become an artificial reef and there is not a spot left on the plane body that has not been taken over by corals and sponges. The visibility was low at about 8m, but the site is well worth the visit for a mostly intact war artefact.

Ulong - Sandbar

Cruising at a depth of 25m this was a spectacular micro dive. We spent time inspecting coral formations to spot the scorpion leaf fish, small shrimp hiding in tiny crevices, flatworms and clams snapping shut at your close visitation. Large sea turtles cruise the area, while sharks are just keeping the peace. A relaxed dive, we took our time looking for the shy of the aquatic kingdom for the best part of an hour.

Siaes Tunnel and Wall

Descending down the wall to 30m we enjoyed the lavish coral fans and wall formations before entering the tunnel. The tunnel is about 20m wide and 20m deep providing a natural cutting through the wall corner. As we made our way through the tunnel the lack of sunlight penetration made the dive dark, though looking back past the entry all you could see behind lit up by the sunlight above was the deepest of blue of the Philippine Sea beyond into nothingness. The visibility was so good providing up to 50m, and the further into the tunnel we travelled, the more depth the blue behind developed. As we exited the tunnel we traversed along the exterior of the wall and inspected the microscopic sea life, including some female damsel fish laying eggs on a coral stem awaiting germination by the male. The damsel fish were close by to ensure that we would not damage their precious eggs they had just laid. We also had trouble moving around for fear of touching a sea turtle, there we just so many. Another spectacular dive.

Above the Waterline

Not to miss a mention are the brilliant surface intervals that you are treated to. From relaxing on the white silica sand beaches of Ulong Island to paddling in the reef encircled sand bars near the rock islands, the surface intervals are as perfect a break as you could ever want. Crystal clear waters expose shallow reefs where you can watch the reef fish zipping about from the deck of the boat. 

Ulong Beach

Best Time and Tour Company

The diving is challenging off your own boat as the dive moorings are not permitted to be used by yachts and the anchoring is deep and in some location untenable. You could try and dive off your dingy, however many dive sites would be long distances from your anchorage. You will still be required to have a national park pass and a guide (as required here in Palau). We used a commercial company to go diving (see below).

Because we were intending to spend up to 3 weeks in Palau, we were able to pick the best weather for diving, days where there was little or no wind. We were also there over the full moon which is the best time for pelagic fish as they are busy getting out and about around that time. Our dive guides were fantastic and selected the sites on the day based on the conditions and the tides to best capture the features of each location. There are no shortage of dive operators to go with as you are required to go with a dive guide to any site, but we went on our diving trips with Sam's Tours. A company that has been operating in Palau for over 25 years and offers an excellent experience with well trained guides adhering to the rules set out for protection of the special aquatic environment of Palau. Don't miss the opportunity to revel in a world class diving experience, come to Palau!


Thanks to Alessia for use of her underwater shots.

24/8/2014

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Palau, Perfection Protected

A place of mixed origins set in an isolated island group many days sail from any other inhabited land. It has postcard sand islands with palm trees atop, ringed by lush reef networks that step between microscopic fluro aquatic fish, seascapes of coral beds and give way to deep seas abundant with shark, rays and turtle populations.

One tree island

The native people on the land originated from Indonesia, Yap and other nearby Micronesian islands and the Philippines. Then came the Spanish in 1710 from the Philippines, though they showed little interest in colonising the land and only became heavy handed regarding their 'ownership' of the islands after English merchants ended up trading with the locals when they were shipwrecked off Palau, and expelled the British in 1885. Though it was barely 15 years before the land was handed to Germany in the aftermath of the Spanish-American War (when Spain also lost the Philippines to the USA). Another handover less than 20 years later saw Japan holding the islands and undertaking mining, fishing and other ventures, it also saw the population of 4,000 Palauans versus the Japanese population of 30,000 inhabiting the islands. WWII brought bombings to the population centres, and a fierce and bloody battle on the southern island of Peleliu and its airfield which American General MacArthur hoped to win control of to use strategically for his triumphant return the Philippines in 1944. Despite the 1,500 US troop deaths, Peleliu was never used in the invasion of the Philippines.

The winning of Peleliu and the eventual end to WWII in the Pacific was not insignificant for the island nation. Not to mention the loss of 30 years of Japanese language, food and culture imposed on the Palauan people. At the end of the war, Micronesia, Palau and many other western Pacific nations became part of the Trust Territories of the Pacific Islands administered by the US. That meant the use of English language in schooling, business and in communication. The result is that the population here speak perfect fluent English, use the US dollar as their currency and drive on the right hand side of the road (however due to the importation of Japanese and other asian vehicles, the cars are right hand drive...it all makes for a very strange driving experience). With the population around the 20,000 mark, in 1994 Palau voted to successfully become self governing after 10 years of messy political assassinations, and to a state of 'free association' with the US. The US grants millions of dollars in aid money to the remote island nation every year and in exchange has the right to build a military installation on the land (which they have not taken up yet, not while Guam is still going well for the US). Such is the role of the US in the economy that aid money forms a significant portion of the national GDP and many Palauan youth are sent to the US for high school or college education and do not return. This leaves a generation gap in the workers here, now filled predominantly by Filipinos. 

In terms of our trip, the vibrancy of the aquatic environment here is not paralleled by any other, except by some places in Indonesia, but the protectionist policies and fee and fine structure here are so layered and ingrained in the cultured that the uniqueness could be protected for many centuries to come. Fishing is restricted or prohibited and the entire archipelago is encircled by a national park status attempting to ensure that any illegal fishing is harshly punished. Tourism taking the form of dive, snorkel and kayak tours are the dominant industries. The reef encircled nation rises out of a 2000m depth from the Philippine Sea and gives way to limestone rock formations reaching 200m in height and covered in dense layered jungles housing monkeys, a rich array of bird life, lizards, snakes and all manner of insect life. The volcanic forces of centuries gone by lifted the land that created the reefs and the rich nutrients pushed up by those events enables the reefs to grow, being covered by so many different types of coral it is overstimulating.   

Limestone cliffs encircling countless bays and inlets

We were lucky enough to do some diving here. Hugh's dreams came true when we were visited by a manta ray that majestically swooped us as he enjoyed being cleaned by a remora fish. Other highlights were the abundant reef and white tip reef sharks, swimming and trying not to trip over turtles there were so many around and seeing juvenile spotted eagle rays.  

Cruising reef sharks

Importation of all food in the shops comes predominantly from California, such that 'fresh' food is 40 days old before it even hits the shelves here. But it sure was going to be an experience to walk into a 'supermarket' for food, after going to markets and haggling with the sellers for the most fresh produce and being limited by circumstances (such as typhoons which stop the boat delivering produce from other islands). Also to buy meat in packages after practically picking the chicken I wanted as they marched it off to slaughter.

I walked into the supermarket to get some food for dinner and could barely walk from tripping over my jaw which was on the ground at the sheer amount of options of food. There were fridges brimming with US beef, steaks, mince, ribs, shanks...the options seemed limitless.I picked up a packet of bagels and cream cheese and I had to leave, I could not cope with so much choice of food that looked just fabulous. It had been 9 months since we had last had steak that we bought in Phuket (imported from France). Hugh was starting to waste away having not had a red meat injection in a while and it was something that was hard for Aussies like us to be away from meat for so long and having eaten vegetarian on the boat for the best part of the last year.

Being in little America was a serious culture shock from South Eat Asia, though the conveniences were easy to get used to. We were certainly going to lap up being in a little paradise for a few weeks.

16/8/2014 

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