Secret Places

Today I'm giving over to Chuck, my intrepid world traveling sailor friend. I can't divulge the place he is talking about but it's good to know he considers Culebra right up there with an island as exotically beautiful and friendly as any in the world.

*******, ********** Hidden Paradise

   I told you that upon my arrival this place immediately skyrocketed to one of the best places I’ve been to, ever, right? So now let me flesh it out some and fill in some of the details. For starters let me admit that I will be plagiarizing some from a book written by ****** ******* back in 1996 entitled, ********, **********. If you can find this rare manuscript you should purchase it and peruse it. It’s a really nice book with really good photos. Get a copy for me, too. I was lent a copy to read while I was here by my new friend, Felipe, and I must return it before I leave.

all photo credit: Chuck Handy

   A combination of natural beauty and friendly, interesting people are two of the major criteria for making my “best places ever” list. Other places currently on the list include Alert Bay in British Columbia, Likiep Atoll in The Marshall Islands, Hilo in Hawaii and Culebra in Puerto Rico. Some places used to be on the list but have changed so much over the past few decades that they no longer rate although they still provide fond memories.

 
  ****** is now high on the list.  ****** is the northernmost of the ************ Islands and much different from the rest of **********. At *** degrees East Longitude and **** degrees South Latitude it lies some 400 miles north of ****, the capital of *************** and is only visited once a month by a supply ship (when running) and once a week by a small plane (again, when operating). The 2000 or so inhabitants are of *********** descent as the island lays at the *********** extreme of that ethnic group's parameters. It lies well off the trade routes and it is never visited by international aircraft. Foreign aid is nonexistent and tourist interest is negligible.

 
  The island is about 9 miles long and 4 miles wide. It is of volcanic origin with several low volcanic calderas. Black volcanic rock lies along the shore breaking up the hundreds of white sand beaches. There are no natural harbors. I am lying in a protected spot just big enough for one or two small boats. Should the wind come from the northwest the anchorage becomes untenable. Several boats have gotten into trouble here when that wind change occurred.

   I arrived here after a [long] mile singlehanded passage to windward. It took me 12 days. There was some rough weather along the way but the old Deev held up well. She always seems to handle it better than me! I hate going to windward! But as my pal Captain Ronnie Hamlin once told me. "You can't run down sea all your life, Chuck.  You gotta head back upwind sometimes". Truer words were never spoken...

   
 Upon arrival in ************ I was eventually met by the various authorities for clearance. Immigration, Customs and Health reps came to the boat and were very friendly and cleared me into ***********. It did take most of the day and a truck ride 10K into Government Center but it was all good. It cost me about 100 bucks US to clear in. All legal, no funny stuff. That's just what it costs to clear in to ***********.

   There are no hotels, no resorts, no restaurants, no casinos and no night clubs on ***********. There is lush rain forest, beautiful flowers and lots of agriculture. The road that goes around the island is maintained like a park road. It is cleared and not overgrown anywhere. Papaya, avocado, orange, mango, breadfruit and banana trees drop their surplus on the ground. Root crops of cassava and taro are visible everywhere and there are plenty of goats, pigs, chickens and cows. It is truly a garden island. The dozen or so villages are all very clean and well maintained. The inhabited houses are all looking good. Nothing  fancy or expensive, but nice.

  There is a fellow here who has become the unofficial yacht greeter. His name is Felipe and he welcomes new arrivals with an invitation to his house for meals, showers and laundry. He asks for nothing in return. I am writing this from his place as we speak. I will not be able to send this off for a week or two until I reach one of the main islands of ************** and have internet access.

Thanks, Chuck! Fair winds, mi amigo!

Have a mind your mission Monday. Do something (un)mandatory. 

And Now, Here's Chuck

This was such an interesting story, as Chuck's stories usually are, I thought I'd let him guest host post for today. Enjoy!

  I had a really nice stay in the Philippines. Most of the time was spent with a friend in the outer islands of the Province of Palawan and I got a little bit of time in the capital city of Manila on my way in and out of the country.

All photo credit - Chuck Handy

   Manila is a sprawling metro center that puts the very wealthy, the destitute and all those in between in close proximity. I am staying in a very nice, moderately priced hotel right on Manila Bay and across the street from the US Embassy in the neighborhood of Ermita. It is not as posh a neighborhood as Makati or as artistically oriented as Quezon City but it is quite acceptable. 

During the day it is very busy with a big park (Rizal Park), an Ocean Park Aquarium, the biggest and most modern mall in all of Asia (MOA, the Mall of Asia), the Manila Yacht Club (which proved its worth by denying riff raff like me from entering) and many historical and cultural sites. The streets seem very safe, even a couple of blocks from the waterfront which are filled with small shops, money changers and hotels. At night it remains very busy but a whole new set of inhabitants appear and it doesn’t feel quite so safe. Street children run in groups begging for hand-outs. I am told that many of these street children are controlled by gangsters who take the money that they receive from their begging. Homeless families sleep on mats and cardboard and cook their rice over small fires. I wonder what they do when the rainy season starts in a month or so. It is a city of amazing contrasts in a country of amazing contrasts. I loved it!

   We flew to the Palawan Islands from Manila landing in the Provincial capital, Puerto Princesa. Google it! It’s a fascinating place with much natural beauty including the longest navigable underground river in the world and El Nido, another designated UN World Heritage site and the site of some wonderful diving, spectacular scenery, hidden beaches and stunning sunsets.

   I did not expect to be too impressed with the underground river but I was. It is the home of over 50,000 bats and thousands of swallows along with cave dwelling manatees. The stalactites and stalagmites are beautiful and some areas open up into huge cathedral type rooms. The Natural Resources Department of the Philippines only allows tours to go in a couple of kilometers, less than half way. The rest is protected. The tour operators collect all the many, many tourists at a nearby town wharf and shuttle them by boat to a mangrove area near the cave entrance. 

From there we were put into smaller boats that a guide paddled into the cave with about 8 of us on each craft. I got to hold the light! I had to laugh at the start… While on the town wharf and waiting for our shuttle some enterprising vendors were selling tubes of sun block at highly inflated prices and they were selling like hotcakes. Most of the tourists were diligently smearing themselves with the stuff. I thought to myself, “Are we not going into a cave? Wouldn’t that constitute the best possible sun block in the world?” I did not buy any…

Travel around Palawan is difficult with very poor roads.  Fortunately we were met at the airport there by Rolando, a friend of a friend of a friend who had a brand new 2013 Mitsubishi King Cab pick up truck and he drove us to El Nido in 4 hours, a trip that can take up to 16 hours by public transport. 

When we stopped for a snack we left our gear in the back of the truck and I asked Rolando if it was safe there. He said “Yes, it’s safe. This is Palawan, not Manila!”. He also lined us up with a dive operator with whom we made 5 different dives over 2 days. The price was about $75-$80 per person per day and included all our gear, beautiful boat rides, coffee and cookies between dives and lunch. 

(I think this is my favorite photo - MJ)

Each day was an 8 hour adventure. The dives were spectacular. I saw things I have never seen before and I am a certified divemaster and have been diving for over 40 years! Great stuff!

   I look forward to another trip to the Philippines but now I must prepare for a side trip to Yap on my way back to Majuro. I’ll let you know what I find there…

   Cheers, Crew.

   Carry On!

Have a take a trip Tuesday! Do something travel worthy.

Embracing your Old Man

"The sun is up! The sky is blue! It's beautiful and so are you.." The Beatles

We are off to the Union Fair, a combination of agriculture, animals and art. I'm looking forward to the oxen pull! One thing you might not know about me (and there can't be much left) is that I really, really like cattle. And the only thing better than going to a fair with big, beautiful cattle is going with Phil, who used to own and work with oxen. We have the incredibly beautiful yoke to prove it! It's always fun to be with someone who can teach me something new and he's been the go to guy all summer for all things marine and land. Well, not all things, but I'll take a straight 'I have no idea, MJ' over guesswork bs anytime. So yes, get ready for some oxen photos...

I got a check in email from my wandering friend Chuck yesterday that seemed to be applicable to a few guys I know...and if not, it should be! I figure we're all photo'd out for a while, so I'm letting Chuck take over today's post.

Yakwe and Greetings Crew!

 

It's been a while since I last sent out a crew letter. The last one was about my friend Bwiji's housewarming celebration in Majuro. Since then I have fought off a serious antibiotic resistant infection, had some minor skin cancer removal, been called a “stubborn old man”, I have traveled over 5,000 miles by air to a very big island and I have been a “desperado on the run” for nearly 2,000 miles with my automobile! I've also seen some amazingly beautiful scenery, camped out at some spectacular sites and met up with several old friends.

With my new computer now online (many thanks to the Past Commodore of the Orcas Island Yacht Club, Bob Brunius) I will fill you in on the details.

Part I: A Stubborn Old Man...

Before flying off to the very big island of America I decided to have a small skin lesion removed from my shoulder. The Doctor in the Majuro Hospital, a very good Filipino surgeon, looked at me and said yes he would do it and scheduled me for out patient surgery. “Oh, by the way Doctor, would you look at this small infection on my leg for me? I think I may need a dose of antibiotics to kill it”, I said.

The Doc looked at it, shook his head, and said, “I don't like the looks of that one. We've been seeing some very bad infections lately that are resistant to antibiotics. I'll start you with a series of oral antibiotics and we'll see what happens”.

To make a long story short, when I returned a couple of days later my calf was the size of a rugby ball, I could barely walk and I was delirious with fever.“We better try something else”, the Doc said , and he put me on a 10 day run of intravenous third generation antibiotics that made me want to pass out or throw up depending on their whim. But they did the trick. For 10 days, at 6 in the morning and at 6 in the evening I got my fix and the horrible, ugly infection was exorcised.

After the infection was cleared up the Doc removed the offending skin lesion that I had originally stopped in to see him about. It was small, only about the size of a nickel. It was removed, biopsied, I was given more antibiotics and told to return in a week to have the stitches out.

The total medical bill for the surgery, the doctors visits, the antibiotics and the biopsy was $5.00. That's right, five bucks. While I was in the medical complex I also had a damaged filling replaced by the dentist. That cost another five bucks.

I have no insurance, no one in the Marshall Islands does. They do take a sizable chunk out of your paycheck for health care. Let me point out that there are no medical malpractice lawsuits either so doctors do not have to have millions of dollars in insurance. I don't think that I would want to have any brain surgery or highly specialized stuff done here but for the run of the mill medical treatment that makes up the bulk of doctors visits this place seems just fine.

Everything had gone so well that I decided to celebrate with a bowl of ice cream! While savoring a combination of mint chocolate chip and espresso almond fudge a friend of mine walked by...

“Hi!” I said.

“Oh, Hi Chuck” she replied. “What are you up to?”

“Well, my infection is gone. See.” I pointed to my leg. “And surgery is complete on my skin cancer so I thought that I would celebrate with ice cream.”

“Chuck, don't you realize that is one of the worst that you can be doing to your body right now? Sugar just feeds the all the bad things in your body and your immune system has been severely compromised by the antibiotics.”

“No”, I replied. “Ice cream is one of the best things I can do for my body right now. I can tell. It's making me feel very, very good!”

Her lips kind of squeezed together at my response, she shook her head a couple of times, looked my in the eye and stammered “You, you stubborn old man. You will never learn to eat properly!”

I might add that she is pretty much vegan and of course I will eat just about anything that walks, crawls, flies or swims. Such is life....

I feel very proud to finally have been called a stubborn old man. I have been aspiring to this all my life. I have also noticed that I have been referred to as “Sir” (as in “Excuse me, sir, would you like some help with that?”) more often of late. I have also been offered “senior discounts” more often at many venues. This is all good. I am hoping soon to become referred to as “that old codger”. It's about time!

That's enough for now, crew. Stand by for Part II of this series, “Desperado On The Run”....

Cheers and Carry On!

Chuck Handy

You might be called an old codger one day, Chuck, but never a boring old codger!

Have a tangy Tuesday! Do something translucent.

From Maine to the Marshall's

Yesterday was the Big Moving Day for Phil and Laurie, a dawn thirty to dark thirty day between Morrill and Boothbay. Today is...the beginning of 'sort it out' day “Longwe, lelebet,” - a little bit of a long way. Moving house can and did have some good stories, but this one from Chuck Handy at the Edge of the World is better. Well, ok, the one younger (as I get older, younger takes on a whole new meaning) moving guy with tons of tattoos who turned out to have been born in Ireland, losing many men in his family in the 'bad times' moved to Long Island, NY as a child in the early 70's - where he grew up in a Puerto Rican neighborhood... and is totally fluent in Spanish - and he is also a boxer...with two Maine Coon cats...that was pretty interesting.

Parties That You Will Never Remember…

   Ahoy Crew and Yokwe!

   

    I attended a Marshallese style “housewarming” or” house dedication party” for my friend Bwiji Aliven and his wife here in Majuro recently. It was a wonderful affair. Bwiji and his wife are moving into a very nice newly constructed dwelling and preparations for the celebration took friends and family several days to complete. Mountains of food were prepared for the guests and included a whole turtle cooked in the ground, two whole pigs, a whole Marlin served sashimi style, several Yellowfin Tuna prepared in several ways, lots of reef fish, boiled octopus in coconut milk, curried giant clams and huge quantities of BBQ chicken and ribs. This was all set out with barrels of rice, salad and breadfruit and accompanied by many cases of beer and soft drinks. A band played well into the early morning hours. Hundreds of guests participated and a fine time was had by all.

I have no idea how Chuck's friend's house is constructed; traditional, modern or somewhere in between, as this time he sent along no photos. But I found this photo of a house in a google search and decided I'll work on the shack when I get home...I want a real porch!

 Japanese era weatherboard house on Bouj, Ailinglaplap Atoll 

(Photograph © 1989-2001 Dirk HR Spennemann)

     

     Earlier in the day, about 10 AM and prior to the festivities, a small group of friends and family gathered in the new house with the priest who blessed the house. He prayed and sprinkled Holy Water all around. He started at the front porch and sprinkled the water throughout the house. As he was wetting down the bedrooms the front door slammed shut.  Everyone was very pleased because obviously a demon-spirit had been chased out of the house by the Holy Water and it had slammed the door shut behind itself! It was a huge success!!  

    

     This was a party that will be remembered by all.  However there are two very important parties that are staged during the course of one’s Marshallese life that are never remembered by the guest of honor.

     

     The very first party to be held for a Marshallese is the keeman (pronounced Kay-Min). This occurs when a child reaches one year old. The infant mortality rate used to be very high here and most children did not reach the milestone of one year old. Those that did had a pretty good chance of further survival and so a big party was staged for them. Another limiting factor to the life of an infant (in the old days) was infanticide. That’s right. After a woman had 3 children infanticide was practiced as a means of population control. The reason being that these islands are very small and can provide food for only so many people. Today, in modern times, infanticide is no longer practiced and families with less than 5 or 6 children are rare. I was sitting around “talking story” with a 3 elderly gentlemen the other day and one of them remarked “Chuck, between the 3 of us we have over 125 children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. It’s very sad that you have no children. You must make some so that they can take care of you when you become too old to take care of yourself!”

    

     The keeman is still considered a very important milestone in the life of a Marshallese person and no expense is spared to throw the most lavish party possible. Parents will frequently go deeply into debt to provide for this event.

    

     The other party held in the life of a Marshallese person that will never be remembered by the guest of honor is the funeral. Typically it is a 3 day event and again it is a most lavish affair that often puts the family deeply in debt.

    

     Personally I do not get too excited by the keemans. Heck, I don’t even like kids! Horrible little monsters, most of them! And funerals have never been high on my list either. But this housewarming of Bwiji’s was really a spectacular and wonderful affair! Congratulations Bwiji!!

    

That’s all for now, Crew…

   Cheers from the edge of the world!

   Chuck

Have a traditional Thursday. Do something tangible.

Here and there

In the years I've lived in the Caribbean, there have been, literally, hundreds of 'nights out' that I've missed where good music was played and a fine time was had by all that I've heard about later on. But there are only a handful, like brighter stars in a sky strewn with them, that I've really wished I'd been there. Because I know what the magic moments are like, when what is already good becomes a gestalt of unplanned energies combining to produce something that lodges in the heart even as it is going on - 'Yes,' whispers the spirit, 'this one is branded deep already' as you return to the actual time you are having.

Grady and David played for four hours outside of Hector's last night. I walked up after work to the sight of guitars being tucked away in cases and the smiling gentle murmur of content people telling me what I'd missed. I knew I couldn't persuade one more song, but asked anyway - like a whiny child who wakes up to see his siblings just packing off to bed, the signs of their fun still in the air along with the smell of popcorn the sleeper missed out on. Ah well. While those times can't be re-created, the opportunity to hear Grady and David play together again can happen and hopefully will.

On a completely different note (so to speak). I just got an email from World Wandering Chuck, updating us on the fishing situation where he is presently at anchor in Majuro in the Marshall Islands. It is reminiscent of so many battles, but in such a unique place geographically, I thought I'd share it here; if only to remind us that we are nowhere near alone in trying to Save What's Left.

From The Marshall Islands Journal, 1/22/2010

I quote:

“Palau is proposing the first presidential summit on fisheries in the Pacific region.

The move is part of the increasingly active fisheries role of the eight island nations that are members of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA), which is now setting up its first headquarters in Majuro.

Palau President Johnson Toribiong has invited the heads of state for the other seven member nations to the first summit on the fisheries that is to be held in Palau at the end of February.

Marshall Islands Marine Resources Authority Director Glen Joseph confirmed to the journal Tuesday that planning for a summit is underway. “This would be the first of its kind,” he said.

Although fisheries ministers representing Forum Fisheries Agency member nations have been meeting annually for the past several years, there has never been a presidential summit on what is unarguably the Pacific’s most important and high value resources: tuna.”

This is a follow up to my last email “rant” to you. As you can glean from the preceding article that was printed in The Marshall Islands Journal, our weekly newspaper here in the RMI, a meeting is scheduled to take place concerning the issue of the Pacific fisheries .If I were you I would not get my hopes up that this “Presidential Summit” will do anything to stop the problem of overfishing here in the western Pacific region. These summits generally do nothing at all except to provide a nice junket for those involved. Even when the “Forum Fisheries Agency” member nations get together little or nothing seems to be accomplished.

(photo credit: Chuck Handy)

I am told, and I can not support this with hard evidence, that certain large and wealthy nations out here who contribute significantly to the economies of these small island nations (or to certain specific individuals) get a carte blanche to do what they want in regard to fishing. It’s called “checkbook diplomacy”. Meanwhile the resource of tuna is being rapidly depleted. The sad thing about this is that the resource of tuna, like that of the forests on land, if properly managed, is a renewable resource that can be sustained.

On that note, Crew, I am signing off for today.

Cheers and Carry On!

Chuck, from the edge of the world

It is, once again, Sunday. If it is anything like the gorgeous Saturday right behind us, it will be a good day to go fishing, swimming or just lazing about outside somewhere, enjoying the warmth of a Culebra winter day. I can't SEE the day yet, but the stars are still blaring out their light in a cloudless sky, so that is a promising omen.

(photo credit: Center for Coastal Studies)

To end, speaking of good omens, Greg told me yesterday that he saw whales earlier this week on the ferry going over to the big island (Greg was on the ferry, not the whales - they shop local-ly). I confirmed that it wasn't just HIM seeing the whales by asking if the captain stopped the boat, and indeed he did, so this is a true whale of a tale sighting (when I asked if it wasn't a bit early to see whales, Greg replied, like a teacher to an errant student, "MJ, they've been known to be seen as early as January FIRST!") So keep your eyes open on any crossings!

Guest speaker time and yes, the party was good

I'm going to gracefully tumble out of the way and let Chuck take over the blog today with another segment of his ongoing journeys. So get in your comfy arm chair traveling mode with a nice cuppa and enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tropical Lows and Blues (Blue Marlin, that is…)

Ahoy Crew and Bula!

I’ve got the Deev just about ready for the1800 mile passage north to the Marshall Islands. I was considering spending some more time in Fiji this time around but after conferring with my weather gurus I decided not to wait much longer as the weather situation can continue to deteriorate as the Tropical Cyclone Season advances. Unfortunately there is a low pressure system just north of Fiji as we speak that lies right in my path to the Marshalls. This system has the potential to develop into the first named storm of the season! I’ll wait and see… After this one rolls by there should be a clear weather window for my trip. As I said, I’ll wait and see…

I waited for two days and today is Saturday the 12^th of December (Friday for all of you on the other side of the dateline. The low pressure system is moving past us as we speak. The weather models showed 35 knot winds and 16 foot seas where I wanted to go and then wind from the north which I don’t want at all. It’s very pleasant sitting it out here in the marina. My plan is to leave tomorrow morning, just behind the low pressure system and I hope to have fair winds and following seas as I make a dash through what is called “Cyclone Alley” and on past the equator.

Meanwhile some of my friends from the Marshalls are here in Fiji to attend a wedding and they have stopped by to visit me for a couple of days before they head to Savu Savu on the second largest island in Fiji, Vanua Levu. The Commodore of our yacht club in the Marshalls, Cary Evart, and his wife, the journalist Karen Evart arrived here Saturday. Our pal Neal Skinner will be flew in, Monday. And Dennis arrived Tuesday. Some of you know these folks well. For those of you who don’t know these guys let’s just say that they are a good bunch. I worked for Neal last year while I was in the Marshalls and he has asked me to work for him again. He said that he’s got some interesting projects in mind. Last year it was solar power systems and water purification projects. I can’t wait to see what he has in mind for this year! An eco-resort perhaps?

I have really enjoyed my stay in Fiji and am sorry to be leaving. I’m thinking that I may come back this way next year. You never can tell… I just barely scratched the surface of Fiji on this trip so there is a lot more to see and do… I’m thinking 6 months in the Marshalls and 6 months in Fiji. What’s wrong with that?

I have been inquiring about the fishing in the offshore waters and I’ve been told that there are good numbers of Blue Marlin, Black Marlin. Striped Marlin and Sailfish with the Blues being the predominant species although most seen and caught are small males and the big females are seldom seen. But you know that if a lot of the boys are around the girls must be in the mix somewhere, too. There are some very reasonable island resorts in the outer islands that are close to good fishing grounds and could work as a good base for further exploration. For those of you who are interested in the topic a Google search for Sport Fishing Fiji will lead you to some very good websites including the Denarau Game and Sportfishing Club, The Royal Suva Yacht Club Game Fishing Association and Gamefishing Fiji.

That’s it for now, Crew. I hope to be off tomorrow morning. I’m all fueled up, iced up, watered up and provisioned and I’m chomping at the bit to go.

Cheers and Carry On!

Chuck

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Sneak peak of the party post...or in this case, the post party, when Francie and I went down to The Spot...apparently. The camera doesn't lie.

Me, Chiqui, Wally, Francie

Have a salubrious Saturday. Do something invigorating and do it for me too. Thanks!

An interlude before the main event

I got an update from my wandering sailor friend, so just to assuage a few armchair travelers, here is the latest. Then I will post the Chefs for Charity event, which I just got home from...it went far, way far, beyond expectations. A hugely wonderful time was had (and is still being had!) by all. And, up until I left, no one fell in the pool. Which seemed highly possible.

From Chuck, back in Fiji.

Cyclones, Everyone Loves a Haul Out and the Cruisers Midnight

Greetings Crew! All hands on deck! Avast ye matey’s! ARRGH! (I see that got your attention!)

It seems like the internet is working here in the marina again. For how long I just don’t know so I will try to get this latest crew letter out ASAP…

Cyclone season here in this part of the South Pacific extends from November until March or April. Fiji has been spared any major damage in recent history but the fact remains that it lies right smack dab in the middle of cyclonic activity. One mustn’t forget that… Remember St. Thomas in the USVI… Until 1989 they had no direct hurricane hits since like 1930. People became lackadaisical about it. Then came the devastation of Hugo and the Virgin Islands, particularly St. Thomas, was rendered a mess. In neighboring Culebra, a place considered to be a safe hurricane anchorage, 197 boats were lost. Of course we know that Hugo went on to lay waste to the East Coast of the US as well. Between 1989 and 2000 (correct me if I’m wrong) there were 3 direct hits including Marilyn in 1995. Marilyn is the storm that put the Deev on the bottom of the Caribbean Sea and led to my purchasing her from my pal Tim Peck who had built her and still owned her. I bought her a week after the storm in a “as is, where is” condition. Hell, I’m still not finished rebuilding her but I’ll be darned if that will stop me from sailing the old girl! (As a side note, I lost two friends in Hurricane Marilyn. One we found washed up in the mangroves 3 days later and the other body was never recovered.)

Why am I sticking around here during Cyclone Season? I don’t know exactly but you know sometimes sailing or just hanging out in the Caribbean during Hurricane Season can be the best time of year. The weather is generally nicer, there are far fewer cruising boats and almost no bareboats are active. Folks around here tell me the same thing. Furthermore, the season doesn’t get really active until later in December and January. When I get the Deev back in the water (Tuesday) I’m planning on some sailing here in Fijian waters for a few weeks before heading back to the Marshall Islands. The Marshalls are north of the equator and so out of the cyclone belt.

As you know, I spent the heart of the Caribbean Hurricane Season in the BVI’s with my friends on Jost Van Dyke. I’ve also been known to spend winters in Maine! (In February in Maine you can actually drive on Route 1 in less than bumper to bumper traffic and it is possible to get a seat at most restaurants without a reservation.)

So I’ll stick around here in Fiji for at least another month or so…. Please send out some good vibes to help keep the mean and nasties away!

I always say that everyone loves a haul out because it is so far from the truth. Haul outs suck. There is way too much work to do and it is way too expensive (B.O.A.T. stands for Bust Out Another Thousand.) This haul out is going rather well, though, despite the fact that I am hemorrhaging cash at an astounding rate. Vuda Point Marina and Boatyard is the nicest place I’ve ever hauled. The facilities are clean, all sorts of marine services are available and the rates are considerably better than stateside prices. But haul outs still suck.

I allotted myself plenty of time to get things done so I managed to get to some horrible jobs that I’ve neglected for far too long. For example I have removed and am refurbishing my anchor windlass. That little project required very large hammers, large pieces of pipe, a propane torch, hardwood wedges and every curse word that I could think of in several different languages! I recall that after 35 or more years of living onboard with his lovely wife, Carolyn, my pal Capt. Fatty Goodlander (read his stuff in Cruising World and other publications) finally broke down and bought his wife an anchor windlass for a “present”. All those years he had her hauling up that groundtackle by hand she was developing some serious muscles and I’m sure he finally was threatened with a severe beating if he didn’t break lose of some cash and by that wench a winch! But Fatty, let me advise you to service that winch on a regular basis or it will freeze up on you for sure. And you don’t want that to happen!

It’s getting late in the evening now and I’m going to try to send this off. By “late in the evening” I mean that it is well after dark, like about 8:15 PM. That’s getting late for me. I’m usually hunkered down with my book or fast asleep by 9:00 PM. 9:00 PM is considered Cruisers Midnight. We all know that.

Cheers and Carry On!

Chuck

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, in a land and sea far away Chuck carries on his haul out and exploration. We can do the same in our own backyards. It's all here, as well as all there. Life is good. Chefs for Charity post tomorrow!

A Woodchuck update

This is from my sailing amigo Chuck, now safe and fairly soundly ensconced in Fiji! If you've got sand in your shoes, or itchy feet syndrome, trust me, this letter won't help. But it could be an excellent motivator!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Windward Voyage

Bula Crew!

The trip from the Marshalls to Fiji was entirely to windward. Almost 1800 miles to windward, in fact. The wind was never abaft the beam. North of the equator we enjoyed the Northeast Trades which helped with our “easting”. The equatorial zone provided variable winds and calms through which we motorsailed, still making good easting. Once south of the equator we met up with the Southeast Trades and it was hard on the wind from then on. Fortunately the wind and seas were not too strong and we managed quite well. The new sails that I put on the Deev in the Marshalls made the trip much more pleasant than it would have been with the old sails. No doubt about it, with the old sails the trip could have been miserable indeed!

The fishing was excellent and we caught more fish than we could eat. We seemed to catch Mahi Mahi and Tuna at will.

As I said before, I had two crew aboard the Deev with me. I really believe that the trip would have been as good or better if I had single handed. It seemed that I had a full time job just babysitting and making sure that the crew didn’t mess up too badly. The crew has been discharged from the Deev. As my former shipmate and Captain, Pete, used to say to me “You just can’t get good crew these days”. He would say this while looking me straight in the eye! Anyway, it sure is good to have the Deev back to myself.

(but they made the fish look good, didn't they? <--- MJ addition)

So far Fiji seems like a wonderful place. The unsettled political scene doesn’t seem to be a cause of concern to the visiting cruisers. The government seems to realize that the visiting boats provide a good source of income for their economy.

Vuda Point Marina, where I’m currently staying, is one of the nicest marinas that I’ve ever been in. The prices are very reasonable as well.

After the long windward trip I’ve found that I have quite a lot of things to do on the boat…engine problems, some rigging issues, charging system snafu’s… the TO DO LIST is keeping me occupied and out of trouble! Progress is being made.

I’ve found some good prices for flights back to the States and hope to fly back in mid-July for a couple of months Stateside and in the West Indies. I look forward to seeing many of you this summer.

Cheers and Carry On!

Chuck

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I'm looking forward to some great story telling sessions on Jost with Chuck and Tessa & Foxy...oops, now MBE Foxy. Good lord...does this mean I have to practice my curtsey? If I must say so myself, and I must, I have a fine curtsey from back in the day when it was thought to be something every little potential debutante needed to master. In real life, I found it came in handy for sitting on the ground in tight spaces (rock concerts for instance) without having to move your butt around a lot. Instead of standing back up, you just keep on going. You know you want to try it...

On bended knee: 1950s debutantes learn this essential element of social etiquette.
Photograph: Hulton/Getty/Daniel Farson

Wide world adverture update

I was going to post about bits of this and that but I got an email from my friend Chuck that I thought was a lot more interesting (you might even read names you know). As he heads for Fiji on his boat Deviant, our own Lori is in St. Martin getting ready to take off tomorrow for not quite so exotic, but very beautiful Rhode Island on a boat delivery. I'm very jealous of both of them in the best of ways, and wish them both fair winds and following seas.

But I do have these pictures from Dinghy Dock that I must post! Of course, now I'm jonesing for lobster...with asparagus...and strawberries...Yes, all fed to me by my slave who somehow manages to keep the hammock swinging and fan me at the same time. It's my fantasy; go get your own.

"They catch 'em, I cook 'em" - Chef Neil

Them's some serious lobster!

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Bula Crew!

Bula is the word of greeting in Fiji. The Deev is Fiji bound in two days. 1,600 miles southeast should take 2-3 weeks depending on weather and sea conditions. I have 2 crew members onboard the Deev with me, Heather, a 43 year old professional women’s basketball player and coach and Taylor, a 23 year old World Teach teacher who spent the last year working in outer island schools. Taylor wants a ride to Fiji so she can fly to Western Samoa and visit her boyfriend who is Peace Corps there and Heather is on walkabout. Small world… Taylor’s Dad sailed the Caribbean back in the 80’s and it seems that he and I have several friends in common.

The new sails for the boat arrived 2 weeks ahead of schedule from Lee Sails in Hong Kong. They are damn near perfect. Of course I should have put them on 10,000 miles ago but I was reluctant to spend the loot. They turned out to be much less expensive than I expected and the quality is excellent.

In Fiji I plan to haul the boat out for bottom painting and other routine maintenance. It’s been 2 years since the last haul out. While there I hope to get a chance to fly back to the States for a visit and perhaps down to the Caribbean for a month or so. We’ll see…

Chuck's sail - 1787 miles to go....

This past year in the Marshall’s has been very satisfying and pleasant. Hanging out with my old pal Neal Skinner was a plus as was reacquainting myself with old friends that I had met here when I passed through with Pete Washburn in the 80’s onboard his boat “Buxom II”.

Fishing has been excellent here in the Marshall Islands as summer approaches. Fishing is good here year around but can get exceptional in the summer when the Yellowfin get thick. Sea conditions get more pleasant in the summer as well. Several 500+ Blue Marlin have been caught recently and quite a few smaller fish in the 300 pound range have been caught as well.

I have mentioned before that the fishing boats here are not top of the line. We have no real boats out here. Most are just small boats with outboards. Fishing techniques are not advanced either. It’s “Jungle Rules” with everyone on board helping to pull in the fish. And nobody backs down or chases the fish.

This place is hot and really should be intelligently developed as a premier fishing destination. Any takers??? Get in touch!

That’s all for now, Crew.

Cheers and Carry On!

Chuck Handy, from the edge of the world.

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If you see me in the street, shout out a 'Bula!'.

With the beautiful weather, I've been going to town and back home via the water. Should have been doing this a LONG time ago (yes, Francie, I'm a slow learner).

Heading home