School in Savusavu, Fiji

August 6 - September 7, 2012  

Tamsyn and Griffyn attended three weeks of school in Savusavu at Khemendra Primary School, a public school.

On the Friday (August 3rd) before they attended school, I went to the principal's office during school hours to ask if I could enroll my children. The principal said, "Yes, no problem." I asked him a couple questions about which grade they should be. Griffyn would be in Level 1 (like Kindergarten back home, although at the time I thought it was 1st grade). Tamsyn would be in level 3 (again I thought this was like 3rd grade.) They had final exams starting on Monday and I didn't want Tamsyn to be taking 3rd quarter exams for 4th grade since she was technically only beginning 4th grade in September - so she was assigned to a class at Level 3. The principal made no mention of money so I offered him a $50 donation (about $25 US) - the amount another ex-patriot parent had suggested. I figured they would only be in school for two weeks. The cost of school per student is $30 per term (4 terms per year), so to have our kids in school for one 10 week term would cost $60 (about $30 US). And the principal said not to worry about the uniform, it didn't matter for two weeks. (What a difference from New Zealand! - They charged U.S. citizens $1000 per month for two kids in public primary school, not including books, or uniforms.) 

I asked the principal what they should bring, he said their teachers would tell them what they needed. And the interview seemed to be at an end. I asked him if he wanted their names and a phone number - and he said, "That would be fine, give them to the her" (the office assistant.) So I helped her spell the names and told her to contact Waitui Marina if she needed to reach us. And I encouraged her to call if Griffyn proved difficult. She just smiled at me in the most understanding way and said, "he is a boy." 

And off I went, back to the boat to get Tamsyn and and Griffyn. We needed to go shopping for a dress that would be appropriate for Tamsyn and some shorts that didn't have stains, patches or holes for Griffyn. I bought Tamsyn a pretty summer dress that covered the shoulders mostly and a white shirt that she could wear under her other sun dresses. I found some green draw string shorts for Griffyn. He had two button down shirts that would do. 

Sunday we packed their back packs full of lined note books, (one for each subject), extra writing paper and pencils, erasers, pencil sharpeners (and crayons for Griffyn). We packed water bottles, toilet paper, and soap (generally public bathrooms in Fiji do not have soap, towels or TP.) We dug out the insulated lunch sacks Wendy had bought each of them for their trip to Mexico (way back when we left the U.S.). We laid out their clothes and made of list of things that they must do before we left each morning. It has been a long time since we have had to get up early and out of the door for school by 7:30AM. The principal said to be there between 7:50 and 8:00AM. The school was only a couple blocks from the marina, but they were both so excited and nervous, they wanted to be early that first Monday (August 6th). 

When we arrived I couldn't see a teacher anywhere, the classrooms were all chaos - in one a boy was crying. I went up to the principal's office to see about ordering lunches for them. One of the teachers (they were all up there signing in and waiting for their teachers meeting,) told me where the canteen was and how much it cost. So I went over and ordered curried chicken for Tamsyn and chips (french fries) for Griffyn ($2.50 each). Then there was nothing more to do. The teachers were still meeting upstairs far from the classrooms, the kids were running around or sitting at desks or all crowding around Tamsyn, the new white kid. There were a few caucasian kids in the school (of 700 students) but, whites are definitely the minority. Tamsyn was the only in her class and so was Griffyn. I was excited to have some time to myself but found it hard to leave them. I finally made myself leave the grounds after checking in on them one more time. 

And I was free. I went back to the marina and took a shower and rowed back to Madrona. I had such expectations for all of my time without them on the boat. Yet that first day I remember having a long conversation with Owen about "Game of Thrones" and his great grandfather, the famous caribou hunter. It was great to have some time to connect with Owen during the day. I was ecstatic, what would I do with myself for the next two weeks? Owen had a sign job to finish and I planned my 1st visit to Sisi. 

School ended at 2:50 PM. Griffyn came out of his classroom with two buddies arm in arm. He was swinging a plastic bottle around wacking things drunk with happiness. I couldn't remember the last time I had seen him so thoroughly elated. He came running to me with his friends as we met Tamsyn. She was almost as nervous as when she entered school that morning. (Granted she had a bandage on her face from a puncture wound, with which we were being extremely cautious - puncture wounds in the tropics can easily get infected - and on her face!) She was very self-conscious about the bandage. And she was trying so hard to be like everyone else which just wasn't possible. The school is predominantly Indo-Fijians (Fijians of Indian descent) who all have long black hair and brown skin. Girls wore their hair in two long braids looped and tied with a white ribbon to match the school uniform which is blue with white. Tamsyn's blond hair was barely long enough for braiding and even with all this sun, she is pale. 

That afternoon we all went for an ice-cream cone. I treated Griffyn's friend and his older brother, who tagged along with us. We ran into Bligh and he joined us too. Then we bought food for more school lunches and after some play time on shore all went back to the boat. The Fijian boys loved the dinghy ride and Griffyn loved showing them all his toys and around his home. He told them how to us a marine head, he told them where he slept (a settee in the salon), he showed them the V-berth and talked them around topside. Finally it was time to bring them back to shore and eat dinner. That night before bed I asked Griffyn about the slight black eye I had noticed when I picked him up after school. He said some boy poked him in the eye during the fight in class (while the teacher was not there.) He said two boys started fighting and then someone jumped on him and the whole class started fighting. He said he also had a cut on his elbow from when he fell down at recess. I noticed that his new shorts were covered in mud.  He said he fell down a few times when he was getting chased by an older boy at recess. I asked him how he felt about school, he said, "I love it, I wish school was 20 hours a day and sleep was only one!" and promptly fell asleep.

There were two more days of exams for this term. Tamsyn's experience of school was quite different from Griffyn's. She was so nervous and the girls and boys were so excited about her - wanting to know everything - that she felt crowded and on display. The exams were not challenging for her and the classroom environment made her miss Lynndale Elementary. Her teacher handed out exams and left the classroom, she was gone most of the day. She began to retreat while Griffyn blossomed. Before bed, the second night of school, he said he'd, "made friends with everyone in his class." Tamsyn said she felt awkward because she couldn't pronounce or remember anyone's names, nor could they remember or say her name correctly. We talked about it over dinner.

After exams (3 days) Tamsyn was allowed to read her own book (Wind in the Willows) in class in the mornings and in the afternoons, the class watched a movie. The teachers corrected exams during class time, the teachers made copies of exams during class time, the teachers had teacher's meetings during class time. I don't think the teachers had homework. By the third day I began bringing the kids to school after 8 AM. Griffyn said his class brawled before the teacher arrived. According to the principal, students should arrive at 8AM but were not late if they arrived by 8:30AM. I figured it was because the students who took busses rode city busses (there are no school busses.) Students got priority rides or everyone else in the mornings, but some busses got kids there later than others. Kids seem to come as late as 9:00 AM (and the teachers as well.) Taking the city bus to school was free for students (it used to cost 35 cents for students - but that was recently changed.) So we began to show up later also, I wasn't sure how I felt about Griffyn in an all-class brawl every morning. His behavior seemed wilder than usual and Tamsyn wasn't eager to be early either.

On Friday Tamsyn had a uniform (from Sisi) to wear and that made her feel much better in class. She has become very conscious of her appearance and it meant a lot to her to look like everyone else. They both brought their exams home at the end of the 1st week. They both did well. In health science, one of the questions Tamsyn got wrong was - 'what to do with used bottles and cans?' She entered 'recycle' them, the correct answer was 'burn' them. Another one she got wrong had to due with pest problems and how to treat them, her answer showed a cultural difference in how pests are treated - as with recycling. We talked about the exams and it was nice for me to see how they measured up after not being in school for 18 months.

The second week of school (the last week of that term) was almost treated as a holiday. Tamsyn brought in her Harry Potter movies and her class watched them each day. Griffyn's class did some reading/writing, but also watched movies. On Thursday, they had a sports day, similar to our track and field days. Griffyn really wanted me to be there and watch him, so I stayed a while after classes began. Everyone wore clothing according to a certain color, for games, rather than uniforms. Tamsyn was on the blue team and Griffyn was yellow. Each team had all ages. After everyone changed into their team colors, there was an assembly. The principal spoke while the students stood on the grass in long colored lines. Tamsyn and Griffyn looked tired and pale and it wasn't just their skin color, Tamsyn looked especially bored too. I remembered what school assemblies were like when I was a kid. There were times when I remember being incredibly bored. Then a teacher lead the school in the school prayer, sung in Hindi. The kids slogged through all twelve verses. I couldn't believe how long it was. Then the sports teacher began releasing students into the field slowly and orderly. The 6th through 8th level students left to play rugby against one another. It seemed to be all boys. Then younger students were sent to stations. They're were long lines at each of six stations where students waited to performed simple field exercises, like throwing a ball at a ring (for net ball, our basket ball). At each station a couple older students helped the younger ones perform each activity. All the helpers seemed to be girls (from levels 6 - 8). 

The day was very hot, the sun was intense and the kids just cooked. I went back to the boat to cool off. Griffyn seemed to be enjoying himself. I came back early to see how they were doing, they were supposed to play team sports in the afternoon. When I got there Tamsyn and a bunch of girls were making flower bracelets and necklaces and Griffyn was harassing older students playing net ball. They were kind to him, but he was so hot and sunburned and dehydrated he could hardly function. I brought them home and decided they needed a low key weekend with lots to drink. Friday Tamsyn didn't want to go to school, she had a cold. Since she had done little more than read her own books and watch Harry Potter all week, I had no problem with that. I was told that only about 100 out of 700 students would show up for the final half day of the term - to clean the classrooms and grounds. Griffyn wanted to go, so I brought him and found him later around noon running wild around school grounds with a couple of other boys.

The next two weeks were break (no school). So we home schooled. Tamsyn had discovered that her classmates although behind her in many subjects, knew their times tables better than she did. Griffyn and I began his reading lessons again. He took to it much easier than before as long as we started directly after breakfast. Going to school in another country had been wonderful for Griffyn. Fiji seems to love it's little boys and has no expectations about their behavior. "Boys are boys," I heard repeatedly. Tamsyn's class gave her a card, signed by all the students and her teacher and a frame for the class picture we took. It was their way of thanking her for the movies she shared. She didn't make friends the way Griffyn did, but she did make some connections and was able to say hello to girls she met in the street. The conversations we had after looking over her exams about cultural differences seem invaluable to me - hopefully she will feel the same some day.

During break we met Louis and his mother, Ruth from Australia. Ruth, a single mom and her 7 year old son, were traveling around the world together. She was house sitting and they would be in Fiji for 5 weeks. She had just enrolled Louis in Khemendra and he was in Tamsyn's class. Tamsyn was excited to be in class again. After break the kids attended one more week of school at Khemendra. During that week, they were expected to have certain work books, so I went hunting for the right exercise books (the post office sold them.) Griffyn was told he would get a smack if he didn't behave (in class). He was scared to go to class the next day. But he went and never did get the smack. Tamsyn was still reading her own books in class at times and another white boy showed up in her class and monopolized Louis. She felt left out despite all the attention she got from everyone else. She said the teacher would write an exercise on the board and then leave while they solved it. Her teacher was out a lot and when she left, the kids would crowd around her. We couldn't leave Fiji yet, Owen was quite sick with a fever and we still had the water tank to clean out. 

We weren't sure about school next week, but on Saturday (September 8) we noticed head lice on Griffyn. He was covered with nits and scratching badly. I had been scratching too, but not realized why until then. That night we treated Griffyn and myself, picking nits out of Griffyn's head until midnight (then Owen looked at me.) Griffyn had been sleeping in the V-berth with me since Owen gouged out his shin (he took skin off exposing the bone when he slipped descending the mast. It was much too painful to kneel - and get up into the V-berth - so he was sleeping on the settee in the salon.) Our weekend was defined by nit picking, laundering sheets and administering lice treatments. Owen didn't want to send them back to school. I couldn't argue, he was sick and needed to get well, not to deal with more problems. So Monday morning we walked to school and entered each of their classrooms and said our goodbyes. Tuesday we began home schooling again.

After attending public school in Fiji both Tamsyn and Griffyn appreciated home schooling more. We discovered a local library and found simple readers for Griffyn. He reads one book to each of us every school day now. Tamsyn has checked out a series of books on Merlin's (of King Arthur legends) younger years. She loves the library with it's air conditioned and peaceful atmosphere. I love the Young Scientist series and am inspired by new resources. We all miss the fabulous teachers back home at Lynndale Elementary.

A house in Fiji

July 21 - 30

I could live in Savusavu.

In Fiji, my heart grew, my world view grew. When you have a child your heart expands to make room for yet another human that you will love with all your being for the rest of your life. The Fijians have an openness unmatched by any other pacific island culture that we have visited. People are people yes, but you have to get to know them to believe that each time you are introduced to another culture. Cruising around the Pacific Ocean as a life style is made up of passages and visits to remotes places with the occasional visit to a well developed country (New Zealand). 

Unlike European Kiwis, highly religious Tongans, and the proud Marquesans and French of French Polynesia, the friendly Fijians want to get to know you, to share something with you. If you follow the cultural norms when you are off the boat in Fiji [guide books suggest that women wear knee length skirts with a shirt that covers their shoulders;  men wear a shirt and may wear shorts; children imitate adults but the norm relaxes, i.e. girls can wear shorts,] you will be met with smiles of approval, "Bula" (Fijian for hello) and a genuine desire to meet you. 

Most cruisers make little effort to follow cultural norms and are seen only as rich tourists and their experience of Fiji is similar to their experience of Tonga or any other remote Pacific Island - except that the Fijians seem friendlier. But if you make a little effort with your clothing and do not display affection towards your adult partner (do not hold hands or kiss in public) you can easily bridge the most obvious cultural barrier, the color of your skin. Fijians are black and Indo-Fijians are brown while cruisers are predominantly white of European descent.

Our experience of Fijian life and cultural exchange began in the house Grandpa John rented for us near the city of Savusavu, between the Savusavu airport, and the village of Nukubalavu. Staying in that house for nine days cemented a friendship with the caretakers of the house that has affected our entire stay in Fiji. Every amazing experience we have had here had its roots in the friendships we made with Sisilia and Andrea. Sisi cleans and cares for the interior of the house and may be hired as a cook. Andrea is the grounds keeper, maintenance person and holds the keys.

The house is beautiful, every exterior wall is at least 60 percent windows while the interior walls display large carvings made by indigenous Hawaians, large Tapas cloths from Fiji or Japanese antiques. The curtains are made from brightly colored Polynesian fabrics. The walls, ceiling and floors are all lightly varnished wood similar to knotty pine. Griffyn and Tamsyn had their own rooms and their own bathroom. Owen and I shared our own suite of rooms on the opposite side of the house. Of course for us everything felt incredibly spacious and luxurious after living in such tight quarters for the last year and a half. 

It also felt simple and easy compared to living on a boat. I didn't have to dig for anything, I didn't have to move four or five items to get the one I needed (and put them all back before I could begin making bread for example, ) everything was within easy reach. The kitchen was large with lots of counter space, a six burner stove and large oven. Even the silverware was memorable - an antique silver plated service for 8 to fit the dinning room table, a glass octagon. I loved the huge bouquets of flowers - one a center piece to the round living room, another on the dining room table and each bathroom had a small arrangement. All the flowers were picked from the gardens surrounding the house. 

The whole piece of land felt like a huge tropical paradise. Everyday Andrea brought something fresh from the land - papayas, passion fruit, bananas, oranges, lemons, limes, breadfruit, lemon grass. I would then offer him tea and he would sit at the table on the veranda talking with Owen until the tea was brought out. 

Sisi or Andrea would scape the coconut and squeeze out the coconut cream for lemon grass tea while I found an ornate Japanese tea pot, china tea cups and saucers and a small pitcher for the coconut cream. The tea was served with brown sugar, from the local sugar cane plantation. 

The drive to the house.

View from above the house.

Andrea and Griffyn and "Lucy"

Pineapples along the road.

We would have have tea while sitting on the veranda looking out across the yard at tiny red and yellow flowers, pinkish red (stems), blue bells, orange bird of paradise flowers, to large leafed breadfruit trees, majestic mango trees, stalky papaya trees, vast rain trees with enormous canopies, and towering coconut palms surrounded sparsely by ferns and creeping passion fruit vines, to the bay with its blue, green and brown waters full of coral and tiny mushroom islands, to the crashing white surf beyond where we had sailed past the reef surrounding Vanua Levu - an island in Fiji where we moored our boat in Savusavu. 

Vinaka John

(Thank you in Fijian)

Griffyn Turns Seven

July 16 - 19

Griffyn actually turned seven on passage (July 14th) between Tonga and Fiji. Because the anticipation was killing him and making it difficult for us to live with him, we let him open one small present (WW II plastic army guys) a couple days before his birthday. Our salon became a battle field for the next three days. And because we realized when we left Tonga that his birthday would occur during a rough passage we let him open another present (a squishy light up ball Tamsyn had found in Tonga) on passage knowing we would not actually celebrate until we were in Fiji - until we had rested enough in a new country to organize a party (of newly made friends). 

Matt (who Griffyn net in Tonga), had arrived in Fiji a couple days before us and was invited to Griffyn's party, to be held at 3pm Friday (July 19th) on the island beach across from our boat. We also invited Kennedy (S/V Far Star), who had already left Savusavu once but returned a day later with engine trouble, Sylvie and David (S/V Puddy Tat) who had just arrived from New Zealand, and two British couples we had just met. Kennedy not only met our boat and helped us to a mooring ball in the dark, he also helped the British boats moor as well. Knowing Kennedy was our friend, they invited us over for drinks. While Tamsyn and Griffyn howled over Abbott and Costello in "Africa Screams", we all became friends with Mount Gay Rum and Coca-Cola. Their large cat had a full-sized propane powered refrigerator - wow. As with all large catamarans, it felt more like a floating house than most mono hulls ever could. The two British couples were best friends and were sailing around the world together. We really enjoyed getting to know them and hope to visit them one day at their homes in the U.K. 

We generally eat out within the first 24 hours of arriving in a new country, simply because we are so exhausted from the passage. 'Decked Out Cafe', was recommended as a yachties hang out with good food at typical Fijian prices (a beef hamburger is $3.85 US). The food was good and we met the owners Jeanine and Colin (who also run Koro-Sun Dive) and their son Bligh, a 9 year old boy who hit if off with both Tamsyn and Griffyn. 

Bligh was invited to Griffyn's party. Lastly we invited Gavin, a 4 year old boy who spends his days alongside his parents at the office of Waitui Marina and Bebe Electronics. Bebe Electronics manufactures LED lights - highly desirable in boats for their low amperage. We later retrofitted our Aqua Signal tri-color and anchor light with LED lights from Bebe Electronics. Now those two lights use only .3 amps when lit as opposed to 6 amps. A great power savings for us which means we can leave our anchor and tri-color lights lit after sun down during passages, something we have not been able to do. Kendra and Michael, the owners of Bebe Electronics, (S/V Shangri La) sailed into Savusavu 12 years ago and decided they'd found their paradise. Labor here is very cheap compared to American. I spoke with a local who worked in construction, his wage was $3 Fiji dollars / hour (roughly $1.50 US.)

The Wednesday before Griffyn's party,Tamsyn began making paper masks. She made a tiger, a rabbit, an owl and a cat and many paper boats with rubber band chin straps. On Friday Owen took the dinghy to the beach to plan out the treasure hunt while I began making cakes. Griffyn wanted a mountain cake so I took out all the pans. Starting with a 9 x 13 as a base, I made a spice cake. Then I topped that with two smaller round layers of chocolate cake (and some white frosting) and poured a mixed berry compote over all. It looked like a volcano.  It is quite difficult to transport a mountain cake in a dinghy - so I put it together on the beach with the help of all the adults there. 

Griffyn & Bligh.

The wind was kicking the sand around so it was a little sandy but no one seemed to mind. We decorated the trees with balloons and laid out the presents. Thank you Hinka and Lois for the foam water blasters (one of which was for Tamsyn). Thank you Wendy and Joe for the medieval soldiers, thanks Matt for the wallet and $10, thanks Bligh for the light saber, movies and candy money, thanks Kennedy for the cool sun glasses, thanks Sylvie and David for the dart board and coloring book, thanks Tamsyn for the little ketch carved from bone. Mom and Dad gave him a miniature New Zealand garbage truck (he's wanted a garbage truck since he first saw Toy Story 3 back in Washington. I finally found a small enough one in New Zealand.) We also gave him a small motor boat with it's own boat trailer and station wagon to pull it. Over all it was a very nice batch of toys and didn't increase the ratio of toys to non-toys on the boat too much.

After the cake and presents, Owen, Matt and the kids went on a treasure hunt around the island following clues written on a parchment from 1728. The clues were riddles which lead them across the island to a leaning coconut palm. Reluctantly Griffyn shared the booty (candy) with all. Then they played with the water blasters and floated around with balloons strapped to their middles until dusk.

Matt out on a limb.  If you were 7 would he be one of your best friends too?

Moving On Soon & "Back in Paradise" Post

Hi all,

We'll soon be pulling stakes here and moving west.  Just finishing up a few things and waiting for a weather window.  Until then, dial in the Way Back machine to our arrival some months ago in the Kingdom of Tonga after that nasty passage from New Zealand.

Owen

P.S.  Carrie's done a lot of writing and she'll be posting things chronologically as much as possible to catch you up - Now with these colorful things called Photos!

*****

June 20 - July 11, 2012

Back in Paradise (Kingdom of Tonga)

Tonga was a terrific place for us to recover and begin to gain some perspective again. We were totally exhausted from our passage from New Zealand and badly needed to rest and recover. After such a tough passage, it felt very welcoming to come back to a place we knew well. The customs people were great, they didn't charge us for coming in un-annouced nor did they take any food from the boat, not even our onions and potatoes (fresh). The fees for being in Tonga are reasonable and the dollar was stronger than it was last fall when we left Tonga. It felt good to be in a place that you knew where things are. We knew where the grocery stores were, where the market was - when it was open. We knew when the cruisers net started and which channel it was on. We knew where the ATM machine was. We knew where the good internet cafe was. And the weather was perfect - sunny and warm! We spent 4 days on the dock sleeping a lot and beginning to tackle the boat repairs. Owen discussed the broken SSB radio with the skipper of the large cat who pulled in next to us. He suggested a spray to force the salt water out of the unit. So Owen sprayed the SSB all over. The spray discolored the casing - but after it dried - it worked again (saving us a small fortune - new ones can cost  up to $4000). Being on a dock made it very easy to walk into town and visit other boats.

We heard daily as we lived on the dock how bright, intelligent and alive our kids were. Our neighbor, a delivery captain was reminded of his own children, now grown, when they were aboard for long stretches. Tamsyn and Griffyn spent whole days hanging out on the big cat with its crew of 4 men (two in their early 20s). Matt, 23, enjoyed rough housing with Griffyn and Griffyn loved him. Matt would also be sailing on to Fiji.

Tamsyn caught these in her net off the dock.

After buying some food and taking on water, we decided to head out to an anchorage that we hadn't seen the first time we were here. We motored out to a crescent shaped island (anchorage #16 by the Moorings Group guide). It is a very protected bay, surrounded by low hills, sandy beaches and near two non-navigable passes in the reef (surrounding the Vava'u group of islands) - which made for very good diving. There water was blue green, clear and 80 degrees. After spending 6 months in a cold murky river, it was glorious to be able to swim, to snorkel and bathe daily. I made bread every other day and began to feel as though I had really mastered it. We ate pineapples and bananas, and the kids found lemons, limes and coconuts on shore. We spent over a week in one spot soaking up the sun. There was also fresh water available - so we were able to wash and stow away all of our fleece clothes, sleeping bags, jackets, pillows and blankets (that had kept us warm on passage and in NZ). 

A neighbor.

Griffyn's corner.

From our 1st morning on the dock to our last day in the anchorage, people we met openly enjoyed and played with Griffyn and Tamsyn. We were there during the New Zealand holiday (school break) so there were many families that sailed to Tonga for their holiday. They took Tamsyn and Griffyn for hikes, kayaking, swimming and play dates, leaving a little time for Owen and myself. We met Daniel and Michelle (SV Evangeline) who live on a Westsail 33 (hull number 1). Daniel is a second generation cruiser from New Zealand and his wife met him during her AFS year abroad (in New Zealand). She grew up in Hawaii, so they spend their winters either in Hawaii or New Zealand. 

Michelle eating one of Carrie's famous cinnamon rolls.

We spent the 4th of July on a beach together sharing dinner and roasting marsh mellows over a fire built near the waves that eventually quenched the flames as the tide came in just after sunset. We drove our dinghy home that night across a starry bay amazed as the largest full moon we had ever seen rose into the sky showing us the way back to Madrona. It was one of the many perfect moments we had in Tonga during our three week stay. We didn't teach school, instead we made it a point to swim, to explore the waters and land, to play daily. We needed to be reminded as to why we live in such a tiny space, why we endure such tough passages.

The kids playing around with friends in anchorage 16.

Leaving Tonga.

More to come soon.

Carrie

News and Passage Making tale of sailing from New Zealand

Hi all.

Long time.  We've had quite the adventures here in Fiji.  weddings, accidents, good companionship with new Fijian friends, kids in local school, dysentery, and more boat repairs and as always boat projects.

Right now we are busy provisioning for 4 months, and preparing for the barter economy of the Solomon's and Papua New Guinea.

Here's Carries first entry of many to catch you up in the past.  So dial in the Wayback Machine to our passage from New Zealand - and hold on.


********

Passage: Opua, New Zealand to Nieafu, Tonga

Departed Thursday May 31st - 5:30 PM  :  Arrived Tuesday June 19th - 9:30 PM

19 days

Passage: Nieafu, Tonga to Savusavu, Fiji

Departed Thursday July 12th - 5:30 PM :  Arrived Monday July 16 -  9:30 PM

4 days

"Did you have a pleasant trip?" asks Mr. Darcy as he attempts polite conversation with Elizabeth just after she is caught spying on his sister and himself while touring Pemberly. Darcy is trying to ascertain if Elizabeth enjoyed the 50 mile carriage ride from her home to Darbyshire. ["Pride and Prejudice" with Kiera Knightly].

Owen suggested that I not write about our passage from New Zealand to Tonga - at least not until I get some perspective. Well, . . .  still working on that. 

John F. Kennedy once said to a large crowd (promoting the Space Program), "We aren't going to the moon because it is easy. We are going to the moon because it is hard," (pronounced without the "r"s.) 

Well, we've been to the moon. Our passage was 19 days. The trip to the moon and back is only 8.

Here are some catch words for would-be sailors interested in sailing within a 1000 miles of New Zealand. 

"LOW" as in "A low will be crossing over northern New Zealand early next week." 

Lows can create hurricane force winds as air rushes in toward their center to equalize the 'low' pressure. When the low passed over northern New Zealand, we were 400 miles north of northern New Zealand. Yet we experienced 3 days of stormy weather with winds in the 40s and short period (6 second) swells. We felt like we were in a freezing cold washing machine. We wore all of our fleece day and night. We bundled into layers of fleece sleeping bags. Yet neither of us could sleep as our muscles braced for the slap against each side of the bunk (padded with pillows). Owen developed a migraine from the muscle tension in his shoulders and neck. The loud waves crashed and broke with such strength that I felt certain the boat would break apart. Water forced it's way into the hull and cabin house forming new leaks as the fiberglass flexed amidst 5 meter seas. We stayed below, but tried to keep our regular look out schedule (scanning the horizon every 14 minutes around the clock.) It helped me mark the time, to know it was passing. 

"STORM" a swirling low pressure system with high winds generally in the 40s and 50s knot range. Whangerei Maritime Radio says, "The wind will be fresh at times."

"The sea, she is angry my friend," says George Costanza [Seinfeld]. He really has no idea. Each time I looked out during my watch, I felt the mountainous depth of each wave as it crested, as we crested, as it moved under out little boat while we bounced along. And I knew that the wave in all its volume was only the tiniest tip of that ocean of water on which we floated. A storm can help us appreciate the immensity of the 12,000 feet of water as high winds whip it into looming waves. We sailed on a moonless sea, through pitch black nights, the stars covered over by thick clouds. On the second night of that storm, Owen attempted a look out standing in the hatchway when a boarding wave dumped 3 gallons of sea water over his back, onto the SSB (single-side-band radio), the electrical panel, the nav station, the quarter berth (where Owen and I sleep) and into his storage cupboard where spares are kept. It killed our SSB - as Owen mentioned and we could no longer communicate with anyone outside our little 37 foot boat. We stopped our regular look outs. We went straight east for 3 days - not north, northeast or northwest as we needed to. We were glad not to loose ground (go south).

This was the first low we experienced on our trip north away from New Zealand, 5 days later around 700 miles north, the second low went over northern New Zealand. Again we experienced storm conditions, again we white knuckled it as we tried not to throw up for 3 days. By the second night, I was so tired from lack of sleep that I couldn't function. Owen kept watch all night (and all the next day). Somewhere during that 24 hours, he pulled a muscle in his back. As the storm let up and the sky cleared we thought maybe we would get a much needed break, and Owen could recover a bit. But no - a control line on 'Monty' (our monitor wind vane) chaffed through the spectra line we had bought in New Zealand. There seems to be no marine line made tough enough for the abuse it gets attached to Monty. (Kevlar anyone? We couldn't find it in Opua.) Despite all our best efforts to smooth out the rough spots on Monty, most passages eat through a monitor control line. Wincing from back pain, Owen had to go over the rail and perch on the monitor frame to restring the control line as the boat lurched in 4 meter swells. As always he was able to make a temporary repair.

"GALE" as in, "expect gale force winds in Brett, Cape Reinga and further south over the next couple days, - Whangarei Maritime Radio - Zulu Lima Mike." 

Gales have different definitions in different places. In sailing books there is the 'fresh gale' and the 'full gale'. In New Zealand "gale" meant a weather pattern with high winds - into the 30s. While storms tend to rotate, gales do not - they are more like a front - they pass over. A storm backs - meaning the wind direction changes in a counter clockwise fashion. During that first low, the wind direction changed from downwind sailing (with the wind at our stern) to up wind sailing (with the wind direction on our nose). 30- 40 knot winds are loud no matter what direction the winds come from, but 30 to 40 knots on the nose are 10 times louder howling through the shrouds than downwind sailing. And the boat is more healed generally when sailing to windward. Some sailors call it beating into the wind because one is trying to sail a boat towards the wind rather than being pushed by it. I think it is called 'beating' because you feel like you are getting beaten by the wind. The ride is much rougher when sailing into the wind. Seasickness was difficult for Owen the entire 19 day trip. 

We needed to go west northwest in order to get to Fiji. We were only 160 miles from Savusavu (Fiji). But as the winds picked up that day, the swells increased and kept taking us east. We tried tacking the boat, changing the sails, motoring with sails up and finally, dropping the sails and motoring - every combination we could think of - and still we drifted east on the 4 meter swells. Fiji is made up of hundreds of islands half of which have motus, all having coral reefs extending beyond their visual limits (land that we can see). We were being pushed into the Lau group of islands in Fiji and there was nothing we could do to avoid it - except to change our course. So we did. Owen noticed that it was a downwind sail to Tonga. After an exhausting day which began with Owen going over the side to repair Monte while he winced in pain and swore like a sailor - it was a simple decision to change course, to choose a downwind route. And going somewhere familiar - Nieafu, Tonga - gave me such peace of mind that I slept better that night than any other on the entire passage. 

It would still take us another 4-5 days sail from the moment we changed course. And 5 more days of weather gave us one more hitch in the passage. On what should have been our final day at sea, the winds backed (and the swells had not dropped) - they were on our nose again. We simply could not sail northeast as we needed to approach the Vavau group of islands in northern Tonga. We realized we had to think differently, I mean when you are on land you simply turn the wheel of your vehicle left and go left on the road that goes left. Even if there is a detour you can drive the general direction you need to get west. This sort of thinking doesn't work in a boat. We've been sailing for some time now and you'd think we'd have figured this out, but we really hadn't been up against weather patterns like those surrounding NZ and their accompanying swells. You can't always just turn the wheel in a boat and sail over water in the direction that you need to go. In a car you only need pavement (and not always that). In a boat you need favorable winds and calm seas to go wherever you want to go. We could either motor for the final 80 nautical miles in our approach to Nieafu or find a way to sail there going other directions. We have a small boat with the loud 40 horse power engine in the kitchen, the cabin, the bedroom, the living room, everywhere but the cockpit (unless you consider the exhaust). We don't like to motor and it is expensive. So we sailed due north with the idea the we would be able to tack and head south east at some point and come through the pass (the reef) on the north end. After sailing north for a day we tried to tack and found we could not sail south east, we couldn't even sail south, we could only sail south west (away for our destination). But as were were now only 30 miles for the reef we decided to motor. Owen drove for 10 hours (I had a hard time keeping the boat on course in huge swells, so I only spelled him for short breaks.) We arrived in Nieafu, around 10pm, tied up at the dock and collapsed.

"SQUASH ZONE " - like it sounds it refers to a convergent zone where weather patterns meet. 

Edmonds, WA (USA- where we are from) is at the southern edge of the prevailing Pacific Northwest Convergent Zone. The weather in Edmonds is often rainy and overcast - much more than other parts of the Seattle area. The squash zone we sailed through on passage from Tonga to Fiji created large short period swells, winds of 25-35 knots and tons of little squalls (rain showers). Each little squall has a head wind before the rain comes, the head winds represent the top edge of the "high" winds. While most sailors would consider these winds good sailing, I was more seasick from the rough seas than I have ever been before. (Three full days out of a 4 day passage.) Despite the time we loved in Tonga, I was again searching for perspective all the time knowing our current sailing plan would cover 8000 miles of blue water over the next six months if we headed to South Africa (near the roaring 40's).

"ROARING 40s" - the 40 to 50 degrees south latitudes at the southern tip of New Zealand produce reliably bad sailing weather. 

New Zealand is called down under because it is so far south (or under) everyone else on the globe that the seas are always unruly - dangerous. Every single Securitee Warning we heard on Whangaria Maritime Radio included Pusica, a region near the southern tip of the southern island of New Zealand. I have no desire to explore the roaring 40s. Owen's already been down there so he got it out of his system on the NOAA ship 'Surveyor' which steamed on research trips to and from Antartctica. Owen can tell you more about what it is like to be in 50 foot seas, hurricane force winds and zero G as you are strapped into your bunk. He was the astronaut, I have only visited the control room. But that one short visit was enough to make me re-consider the sensibility of this adventure, to feel deep fear in the heart of the sea, to feel truly alone.

"HIGH" as in "A high has formed over the Tasman Sea" (between Oz and NZ). 

A huge high - despite how lovely the weather can be - often means bad weather is lurking. Highs move toward Lows - that movement is wind and wind makes waves (or swells). Lots of wind makes bigger waves, the longer the winds blow, the bigger the swells. While a high can produce gloriously sunny weather, if it stalls somewhere (like over the huge land mass of Australia) nasty weather elsewhere will also be stalled. There was a huge high parked over Australia while we were in Fiji, we had two weeks of humid windless cloudy rainy weather as we waited for the high to come to us. When the high moved, the southeast trades came with it bringing back the sunny breezy days that make paradise perfect.

"CAUTION"  (for anywhere on the high seas)

If you plan to sail anywhere near New Zealand, expect a number of those scary lows (after May about one Low per week), some squash zones with rough seas, and the occasional high racing toward the nearest low. During our stay in Tonga we heard about a brand new 50 ft mono hull on a delivery from Italy to Oz that had just crashed into 'Late' (an outer island we had passed on our approach to Tonga). The crew (two experienced sailors in their 60s) were not recovered.  As we chatted with the delivery captain of the 50 ft catamaran parked next to us on the dock in Nieafu - we discussed fatigue and the poor decisions that follow. The boat that crashed had been sailed straight from Gibraltar to Tahiti (with a couple nights rest) and then to Tonga with only two nights rest in Tonga. They had planned to leave early in the day, but the fuel truck didn't arrive until late afternoon. So they left Nieafu harbor just before dusk.  'Late' is a big island with a lee shore and the swells traveling eastward (toward the island) at that time were 4 to 5 meters. Maybe their engine failed, maybe they just didn't take into account the swells, maybe they just set their rum line and took a nap. 

We ran into other cruisers from New Zealand, on their first blue water trip, who had experienced 50 knot winds on their passage. They were a bit shaken. We also ran into sailors from NZ who had left in early May and had a glorious passage (no lows, storms, or gales). We have since learned from longtime cruisers who make the passage to and from New Zealand annually that the best time to head south is early December - before hurricane season in the southern ocean begins AND after most of the NZ spring blows. The best time to head back north from NZ is early May - after hurricane season in the southern hemisphere ends but before the NZ fall/winter lows begin.

And somehow despite all the weather on passage from NZ we managed to home school 9 out of 19 days. A boat is a great place to home school and routine activities (like Math reading, and writing) help Griffyn and Tamsyn deal with lots of time in a confined space. 

Carrie