Decision Made

We have decided to head north to miss the storm.  There is a definite rotation and I am pleased to say that we chose the safest solution.  We will travel north until we are out of the storm's way and then turn west and eventually south or south-west to our destination Santo, Vanuatu.
Click on the link to the right and follow our progress.

What's Up!

Some  of you may have been following us on the position reporter.  You can find it as a link to the right.  We left Funafuti, Tuvalu headed for Santo, Vanuatu on Thursday at 11:23 AM.  We have had all different kinds of weather from no wind to 28 knots of wind and everything in between.  We have had beautiful sunshine for part of the trip and torrential downpours as well.  So what's up?  We decided to heave to at 7 PM last night to determine what is happening with a low that is developing to the west of us.  To be safe we are staying in a position that will allow us to easily retreat to the north-east should the need arise.  Our original plan was to head directly south and then west to Santo but Bill who has been struggling with sea sickness did not want to enter the 4 or 4.5 metre seas predicted to the south of us.  We currently have 1 to 2 metre seas with 18 to 21 knots of wind.  We will review the GRIB files in a few minutes when all are awake and determine our next step.  Drina the other Blue Planet Odyssey boat that left at the same time as us decided to heave to about 50 miles north-east of us and are now slowly motoring north until the potential low has moved off or has dissipated.  Stay tuned an updated GRIB file will come soon and we will decide our next course of action.

Poem from the Philippian Sea

We recently enter the Philippian sea. My email regarding my heave to experience was added as a post. Here is a poem about it as well.

We are hove to and now it is time to wait

We don't want to be early and we don't want to be late 

At just the right moment we will decide to depart 

You need to know the end time to pick the start

We will sit and wait until the time is right

It is the big waves we don't want to fight 

The wind it blows at an incredible rate

With it blowing this hard we won't be late 

We need the sunlight to go through the pass

It's got to be done right or then alas

We will hit the reef or just maybe a rock

Then we won't make it safely to the dock

The dock or the harbour where it is safe and sound 

With your anchor planted firmly in the ground 

To hold you tight to the bottom until

Your ready to go on another sailing thrill

Sailing is not for all that is to be sure

But my love of sailing is very pure

The wind, the waves and a boat built to survive 

What the ocean throws at you and keep you alive 

Meeting the Prime Minister of Tuvalu

Doina, Zeke & I arrived at the dock at 8:30 AM. We were met by a fellow asking if we were Micheal on Drina. We told him were not but that Doina was from Drina. We were informed that the Prime Minister would like us to attend a workshop in the building beside the airport terminal at 9 AM. We were to meet with another gentleman Flyodd so off I went to find Flyodd to let him know we had been summoned by the prime minister and ask him if we could meet with him in the afternoon. I located Flyodd and made arrangements to meet him in the afternoon. Upon arriving at the workshop we were informed that the Prime Minister would be signing the UN Coalition Against Corruption. At 9:00 the Prime Minister arrived. Then the Minister of Finance arrived. The attorney general arrived.  A few other dignitaries arrived a few minutes later and the MC started. Unfortunately the majority of the workshop was in Tuvalian. After the MC's opening comments & welcome to everyone a religious leader spoke and I think he ended in a prayer. Next the Prime Minister addressed the audience and told us Do the right thing & do things in the right way.  Other countries should commit to the agreement in their own country. There is lots of corruption in these other countries In many cases National & commercial interests take precedence. He ended with a plea to Save our homes.  The Prime Minister then signed coalition 

A lady from the Attorney Generals office explained the agreement. Then it was time for tea. The person Doina knew in the finance department came and spoke to us and indicated he would introduce us to the Honorable prime minister Enele S Sopoaga. Once the prime minister got his food we were introduced. He encouraged us to get something to eat and he would meet with us later. What a spread. There was crispy chicken, Tuvalu's version of donuts. All sorts of fruits and vegetables. Pancakes and sandwiches and grilled sandwiches. A type of lasagna made with corn beef I think. Several desserts including lemon cake, chocolate cake, bunt cake. They also had crepes rolled up and hot chocolate to drink. Once we finished eating the Prime Minister came and chatted with us. He was very interested to hear Doina had been here for the independent in 1979 and the prime minister told us his brother had been involved in the acquisition of independence as had one of the other dignitaries. He was very disappointed that Jimmy Cornell was not with us. He told us he would have loved to meet him. He told us his big focus was Save Tuvalu Save the world from climate change. Zeke piped up to say we should all get T-shirts made and he loved that idea. He felt in his position that maybe he couldn't wear one in Parliament or when he was meeting dignitaries. He was tickled that Jimmy had made the focus of the BPO climate change and that we were visiting Tuvalu to bring attention to climate change. He encouraged us to raise awareness of Tuvalu's dilemma in any way we could and to spread the word

Here we are sitting with the Prime Minister . I have decided that I will write a personal letter to the Right Honourable Prime Minister Steven Harper informing him of my meeting with Prime Minister Enele S Sopoaga, the need for the Canadian Government to take climate change seriously and the seriousness of the issue particularly for this nation who are about to loose their homes due to the rise in sea level. 

Thar she blows

We spent a day getting the hydraulic pump on our auto pilot replaced by Trouble in Paradise. Great name for a mechanic wouldn't you say. I may have told you about Ian in an earlier blog. He is from Britain and lived in Canada for a good part of his life. Most recently in Vancouver fixing boats. He never complains and nothing seems to phase him. The next day we were off to Kentunu Island on the east side of Vava'u. On route what to our glorious eyes do appear but a Humpback whale. Zeke's keen eye sight picked out the whales right away and he got some great photos. 

Here you can see the whale glistening in the sun. I've just learned that these are humpback whales not Beluga whales as I previously thought. I stand corrected. After seeing the whales we proceeded through the pass where we saw the Manta Rays but didn't see anymore Manta Rays. We proceeded through a 2nd set of passes that led us to Kenutu Island. Upon arrival we could hear the surf crashing on the other side of the island. 

While there we walked the beach and took a walk to the far side of the island. Upon arrival we discovered a tree house which we of course had to explore. 

We watched the crashing surf from the top of the cliffs.  We walked as far as we could and then headed back to the beach.  When we got there we could hear the waves exploding out of blow holes. We looked for another path to the blow holes but were unable to find one. The tide was out so we walked to the north end of the island and watched the surf crashing there. 

On route we saw some great sea creatures. 

Zeke headed offshore and got some great pictures of fish and saw an eel. 

The next morning I was rewarded with a spectacular sight

With the rainbow is a promise of a great day ahead.  We had a great sail back to Neiafu. Sailing in Vava'u is tremendous as we had great winds and flat seas because it is surrounded by protective reefs.  We tested our new auto pilot hydraulic pump to insure it was working properly. The next few days we spent provisioning for the next 2 months of sailing. 

Helping the locals

We spent part of 2 days and a night back at my favourite anchorage in Vava'u at Vaka'eitu Island. While there I finally got to use my training in testing children's eyes as we tested 7 kids eyes and one 25 year old. All but one where children of one family that lived in what appeared to be a one room house. I was in charge of testing the near vision of the kids. We had 6 stations set up. 2 to test near vision. 2 to test distance vision,  one for a machine that tests for anisometropia and one data entry station. Janet from Chapter 2 set everything up and once we got underway we had all 8 tested in less than an hour I think. Following the eye testing we were invited to a feast with roast pig, fish, salad, breadfruit and some deserts. The next day the guys on No Regrets helped the same fellow with repairs to his boat. He explained the problem and we went back to No Regrets to determine if we had what he needed to make his repairs. We came up with a solution and took it to him explaining the steps he needed to follow for a successful patch to the hole in his boat. Apparently a previous patch he had put on his boat had given way. 

Quite a night

At a little before 9 PM I was woken up by Bill shouting my name. Those that know me know I don't wake up easily. I answered and was told that I was needed on deck. I arrived in the pilot house to find Zeke struggling with the wheel. I'm informed that it is blowing 30 knots and we need to take down the para sail( a spinnaker). I'm asked if I'm awake enough to proceed and answer yes so my next question is do we need our life jackets. The answer is yes bring them all. I grab all 3 put mine on and head for the trampoline at the front of the boat.   Bill gets the lines used to pull the fibreglass sock down over the para sail untangled. Once we are ready we check with Zeke at the helm to make sure he is ready. He is so he releases the sheet and down haul on one side & Bill starts to pull the sock down dousing the para sail. I notice he is being pulled forward so I grabbed the down haul above where Bill is holding and using all my body weight pull down. The sock continues to come down over the chute at the front of the para sail. As we got the sock to the bottom I tried to gather in the rest of the sail and the sheets and down hauls. I'm unable to hold them as they are flapping too much. Bill hollers. "We need to drop the halyard ". Zeke says he's got it & Bill and I gather in the para sail in its sock as it comes down the best we can. We then put out a small part of the jibe. Bill and I gather up the para sail and tie it to the trampoline after coiling up the sock down haul lines. Bill announces that we will leave the down haul line and sheets attached as he hopes we will put the para sail up again in the morning. He then thanks me for coming to his rescue when he was being pulled forward. We tied the para sail to the trampoline.  I asked if we are done and if I can head back to bed. 

At 2:45 I'm awake and get ready for my shift. On deck I notice there is lightning in front of us and to the starboard side. After checking the radar I determine there is no rain in a 48 mile radius around us so we shouldn't be in for any squalls for a while. The stars are brilliant with no moon. In the distance I notice a flashing light. I determine as it goes behind clouds and then appears that it's an airplane. Then I notice a 2nd one just in front of it. A half hour later I notice a 3rd plane on the same flight path. Through the night I observed 5 shooting stars. Someone will have to check to determine if the South Pacific has meteor showers or had a meteor shower in the early morning on July 21. All in all a very exciting night. Didn't spot any boats though