On the Subject of Swells, and Future Destinations

I joined up with the WTP and crew in Tahiti, with limited offshore sailing experience. The thought of multiple days at sea was new to me and I didn't quite know what to expect. The most noticeable thing on the boat was (and still is) the degree to which the size of swells affect the motion of the boat and the location of various secured and unsecured objects down below. Things that don't get a second thought when we're calmly at anchor become the most persistently annoying source of thumps, bumps, and squeaks when we're rocking and rolling around underway. Often I search for the culprits of these noises for days before figuring out what's causing them and finally silencing them.

Aside from the noise caused by things bumping around, the general level of comfort while moving about, sleeping (or trying to), and being up on watch is directly affected by the size of the swells. In big swells, it requires both hands and timed ricocheting off walls to move from the galley to your bunk. Once you arrive at your bunk, more careful timing is needed to determine the precise moment at which to aim and launch yourself into said bunk. To become comfortable, I usually strategically place my sleeping bag between myself and whatever side of my bunk I'm more likely to roll into harder. It also helps if I spread myself out as flat as possible, as this reduces rolling.

During the first two months of my time on the boat, we sailed from Tahiti to Cairns, Australia. The swells on some of the crossings were pretty big. Some, like the short hop from American Samoa to Samoa, were downright huge. We held a team meeting to test and secure strobes onto PFDs, just in case.

While it was daunting to have the boat pitching and rolling so drastically right at the start, I wouldn't have had it any other way. I would much rather see how rough it can be right away, because then anything calmer is appreciated more. The same goes for length of crossings. From Bora Bora to American Samoa took 10 days and from then on anything shorter seemed like no big deal, because we had already done something longer.
Our time in Australia has been very pleasant. Since we're inside the Great Barrier Reef the swells have been practically nonexistent, and with trade winds behind us we've had steady and good speed. Even across the Bay of Carpentia we had good weather, and many Australians we spoke to said that could be the worst bit of sailing in Australia. The temperamental squalls of the South Pacific are gone. Often we'll see massive thunder heads and a distinct line of dark clouds that will simply dissipate into nothing, and our days have been full of sunshine. We're not in a great hurry; as long as we make it to Darwin by the last day of the month to meet Halley, we're good.

I will miss Australia's sheer wildness, the 'life is good!' attitude of Australians, and the relatively calm comfort such protected sailing provides, but the allure of new places full of their own sights, sounds, people, animals, and foods is a strong one. We will probably (alright, definitely) encounter rough weather and big swells in the future, but the first sight of land in a new country always banishes thoughts of a rough crossing from my mind, and I am greatly looking forward to all the exciting destinations ahead of us.

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The Zoo!

The Cairns Tropical Zoo has been the highlight of my time in Australia so far. I love going to zoos and seeing all the animals, and this zoo had animals specific to Australia. Even better? We were allowed, even encouraged, to pet and feed some of them!!

We got to pet koalas and kangaroos. Koalas are terribly cute- they have huge ears and big noses. Romeo, the koala the keeper was carrying around and the one we got to pet, seemed to enjoy being held. (He reminded me a lot of my cat, Dart, who likes to cling to me in a similar fashion while purring.). Kangaroos are even softer. These kangaroos are extremely friendly/lazy from years of people petting and feeding them, and we could walk right up to any of them, even the baby one. I even shook his little paw.

We got to feed kangaroos, pelicans, cassowaries, kookaburras, frog-beaked owls, doves, and a lorikeet. The kangaroos ate pellets and also had alfalfa in their feed trough. We threw fish to the pelicans. Mine ducked. The cassowaries got fresh fruit through the fence; they enjoyed bananas and kiwis the most and dropped the other fruit on the ground. The kookaburras and owls got dead mice which we dangled in front of their beaks by the tail (we wore gloves). I was told the owl might be kind of nippy, so I carefully placed his lunch in a tree fork below him. He ate two mice, and seriously thought about a third. The doves ate fruit and veggies from bowls and even they seemed to have favorites. One ate all the peas, the next ate all the carrots. Will fed a lorikeet that got louder when his sultanas were held too far away.

This next animal we watched from behind a fence- the crocodile! The keeper showed how they wait under water for unsuspecting land animals to lean over for a drink, and then strike with lightning-quick speed. This croc's name was Zach, and he was massive. I was glad for the fence.

Finally, we watched the bird show, where owls, hawks, magpies, cockatoos, and a white-bellied sea eagle soared down over our heads to land on the keeper's glove or various trees around the grass stage. One little hawk got scared when a larger, wild bird happened to fly high over the zoo. He flattened his feathers and his eyes grew huge as he trained them on the larger bird, and the keeper sent him back to the aviary so he wouldn't become stressed.

We spoke to many of the keepers at the zoo and the general feeling was love and appreciation for all the animals, whether big and ferocious like the crocodile or small and cute like the koala. Everyone was eager to tell us about their animal charges, answer any questions, and explain why each animal's conservation is vital to the environment. This zoo and its animals are very awesome!!

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Laundry List of Learning

The crossing from Fiji to Vanuatu held many surprises. We left Lautoka heading for the island of Tanna, which is in the southern part of the Vanuatu island chain. Will was keeping us up-to-date with his almost daily cruising guide readings, piquing our interest in the island more and more with stories of an active volcano we could hike up, island coffee production, and horseback riding. The crossing guide said this stretch was fast and easy. Five days and we'd be there, no sweat. We couldn't wait.

Two days in, we encountered a storm. What started as a light drizzle quickly turned into a howling mess, and it was a good thing that there were only small swells to contend with. I'm learning my way around the boat pretty well and feel competent in many things, but I wasn't ready for this. A big storm isn't the right time to double check, ask questions, or be hesitant about anything.

The boys all donned their foul weather gear, harnesses and tethers, and prepared to tackle it. I put on my gear just in case they needed me but stayed out of the way down below, ready to do anything they asked. The wind howled, the boat made strange loud noises I'd never heard before, and the boys yelled to each other over the noise. I waited, standing between the companionway stairs and the head. The hatch opened a few times with instructions from above:
"Take this sail and pile it up right there." "Ok I got it."
"Can you turn on the steaming light?" "Yep, done."
"Here, take this," as I was handed the GPS. "…What??"

It was frustrating and a bit scary to be down below, not being able to see what was happening on deck and knowing I would be little help in this situation. But this just gives me a very tangible goal- take everything I can do in good weather, throw a storm full of wind and waves at it, and be just as sure of myself. It will take more practice and repetition, but I'm up for it.

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This restaurant has some great entertainment.

Kittens! They were shy, only becoming brave when they suspected people might share a bit of food. It was very entertaining to watch the pair of them race around the yard, stalking each other from behind bushes, pouncing when one's back was turned, wrestling ferociously until one managed to flee, and then starting all over again.

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"You haven't lived until you've gotten a haircut in Vava'u."

These were the words that stuck in my head as we left the city of Neiafu, in the Vava'u Group of Tonga, headed to some not-so-distant anchorage to spend the next two nights. They were spoken by an English man outside of a small shop that advertised three things: jet kayaking, cart safaris, and Billysnip's Haircuts. It was the afterthought sort of way that 'haircuts' was added to that repertoire of goods that made me think long and hard about the drastic change I had in mind.

While we explored the beaches, villages, and caves around Vava'u, I was mentally going over the pros and cons of such a haircut. Pros: it would no longer blow around in my face. It would look better (hopefully) when I don't wash it for days. It would be cooler. It would dry faster after swimming in the ocean. I could style it using the easy method of 'bed head' and make that mohawk I'd always secretly dreamed of. Cons: it would be the shortest I'd ever had my hair and that's kind of scary. I couldn't do my usual ponytail. If I wanted it long again it would take a long time to grow it out, which may look silly. More pros clamored over the cons: short hair is better when it's so hot! Ponytails don't look good when you haven't showered in four days! So what, it's not permanent!

On our last day here in Neiafu, I went back to that small shop and spoke to Billy of Billysnip's Haircuts. I said, "I'm back for that haircut." "Well you've only been thinking about it for days now!" he replied. We paged quickly through a couple old magazines and I told him the general idea of what I wanted, but in the end he just picked up his scissors and started cutting. The end result is a haircut that will suit being on a boat much better than the long hair I had when I woke up this morning. And I'm really looking forward to bed head when I wake up tomorrow morning.

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Baron, Isis, and Dart

On a recent sat phone call, Mrs. Palmer's class asked a tough question- are you homesick? I don't think I was quite prepared for it, but the answer is yes. I have friends in Raleigh- people I met in college, from my job at a coffee shop, neighbors from my apartment, and fellow trail runners. I also miss my parents and brother in Charlotte, and being able to call them whenever I want, from wherever I happen to be. The good thing about traveling now is that you can email and call home from almost anywhere in the world, so I still talk with all these people as often as I can.

Another big part of my family are my pets- my dog Baron, and my cats Isis and D'Artagnon. It was very hard to leave them, because I can't just send an email to Baron or call up my cats on the phone. Luckily, my wonderful parents are taking care of both Isis and Dart. I get email updates about their escapades, like how Isis very stealthily rubs against my mom's legs, and how Dart enjoys surveying what's happening below him from a perch high on the cabinets and fridge in the kitchen.

Baron is also living the good life at my friend Kelly's house while I'm away. She has a dog of her own, Vernon, and he and Baron are pretty much best friends. Kelly has a huge yard for them to play in all day, and he even gets to go down to swim in the lake. He's an awesome dog, and the best part of my day back in Raleigh was the moment I opened the door coming home from work. I knew he'd be there to greet me, sometimes carrying a toy to show me, always wagging his tail, and stretching in preparation to play outside and go running. Although I miss him very much, I know Kelly and Vernon are taking great care of him!

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Kitten!

On the hike around Mt. Rotui, the inevitable happened. I found a kitten. My friends and family back home won’t be surprised by this, in fact they may only be surprised that it happened on my third day here.

While walking up a road listening to birds chirp, I remarked that one particular bird sounded a lot like a kitten. That comment quickly turned to, ‘Oh it IS a kitten!’ and I ran up ahead to see if I could find it. It wasn’t very hard, as the kitten ran out to meet me. As soon as I picked him up he started purring, rubbing up against my chin, and meowing very loudly.

We didn’t know what to do with it, so I decided to carry it along and see if anyone along the way wanted to keep it. It’s a mystery as to how the little guy got out there in the first place! We soon came upon the Ranch Opunohu Valley, where people can go horseback riding. There were many dogs, cats, and other animals here, and it seemed like it would be a good home for the loud kitten. We explained to the young girl there that we were on a boat and the kitten wasn’t ours, and asked if she wanted it. A simple ‘ok’ and she ran back to the house with the kitten, undoubtedly purring, in her arms.

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