Saturday, February 25, 2012

Stuck in Puluwat

The day before we had planned to leave Puluwat, a representative from the village came out and told us that they had closed the lagoon due to the death of a chief (I say a chief, as even the smallest island seems to have more than one and then possibly a mayor or two!). This meant that no one was allowed in or out of the lagoon for 4 days. Of course they told us this after the closure, which had been delayed by a day to allow a supply ship to unload and the people here from other islands, who were collecting supplies, to leave the next morning. Luckily, we really didn't mind spending another 4 days here and while I doubt there was much the locals could have done if decided we had to leave, it was nice to be able to respect their request for us to stay put. So here we are stuck in paradise! Now if only we had some fresh fruit and veges, ice cream and chocolate, it really would be paradise! And I don't mean aubergine or beans (plentiful in Vanuatu and the Solomons), not that we have any of these either, but real delicacies like broccoli!

We have spent a lot of time here in general gelling out but we have also done quite a few of the never ending jobs on a boat. In addition, we have gone for another 2 good walks on Alet island. The first was prompted by a desire for another look at the lighthouse to see if we could see some other islands from there (we could). We walked inland rather than along the beach this time, and discovered more artifacts hidden in the bush; (jungle? not sure of the exact terminology, bush sounds very NZ but jungle sounds very deepest Amazon) old vehicles, bottles, crockery and bunkers left from the second world war. We also found swamps, aggressive biting ants and mosquitos. In retrospect, maybe jandals weren't the best choice of footwear. On our third walk, we walked inland again and this time found the old road from what was a jetty to the lighthouse. Don't know how we missed it last time, but it led to a treasure trove of WWII relics: vehicles, at least 9 large guns (as in ones that shoot large shells rather than rifle-sized guns), armoured(!?) steam rollers, more bunkers and other assorted bits and pieces. We also came across areas where the villagers had felled trees and at least partially transformed the logs into canoes before hauling them out to the beach.

One day we decided to go for a snorkel on the outside of the reef. We anchored the dinghy in the shallows in the lagoon and swam over to the drop off. Despite trying to pick a calm patch, as soon as we got in the water, it always appeared to be breaking right where we wanted to go! We chickened out more than once, but also swam across in a couple of places. The coral in the lagoon appeared to be regenerating and was in quite good condition. We noticed this as it swept by what appeared to be mere centimetres from our noses as we swam through the breakers in the shallows and out to the ocean. The coral wasn't anything special outside, but we saw turtles, sharks and spotted eagle rays. We were glad to see a good number of turtles, as twice when Jim has been ashore, there has been a turtle roast going on.

There have been two boats call in while we have been here, the supply ship which was too big to enter the lagoon and a smaller (ca 50m) ex-fishing, now trading boat, with some officials from the department of education on board. We haven't seen another yacht since Pohnpei, over a month ago so it was odd to hear we had just missed another yacht which left Puluwat the morning before we arrived! While the trading boat was here, in true Murphy's law fashion, it dragged down on top of us just when we were in the middle of doing some tricky glueing and we both had our hands full of velcro with contact adhesive on it! Luckily, they put their engine on in time (the captain must have been alerted as none of the large group of spectators appeared too bothered by a 200m drag towards a yacht.) When the 'anchor' came up we saw it was only a t-shaped bit of steel!

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Sunday in Puluwat and other stuff

Today is Sunday and it is very quiet in our Puluwat anchorage. Like most places in Micronesia, Sunday is a day for going to church and not a lot else. Since we are not big church goers we have been spending a quiet day on board. Jim has been doing a variety of jobs, including getting out the sewing machine for some repairs and also to make a new cover for the beanbag which has gone in several places and now spills polystyrene beans when used. The new one is a bit smaller, which will be more convenient but Jim says it will be less comfortable for him to sleep in on watch! I have been helping, as well as making bread and ginger beer. Puluwat is a lovely sheltered anchorage; several islands around a small atoll, with a shallow lagoon just around the corner from where we are. A beached fishing boat in the lagoon indicates that maybe it is not always so calm. The weather alternates between sunshine and passing rain showers- good for filling the water tanks and doing the laundry.

Yesterday was a much more active day, both for us and the islanders. We went across to an uninhabited island and went for a good walk along the beach - very nice change to be able to do this- and a bit of an explore. There is an old 1930 Japanese lighthouse, which is still standing and still accessible. We climbed to the top and enjoyed the view. The structure is in good condition but has bullet holes, complete with bullets in them, from the war. The buildings around it are grown into the forest and quite amazing. The site was also an air base during the war which the Americans bombed then left alone till the end of the war. Alongside these buildings (and about a mile from the villages) is the newer school. Built in 1980 and abandoned. Books, copy machines and filing cabinets are strewn about. The condition of the building is poor which says a bit about its construction compared to the Japanese lighthouse. That evening we enjoyed a beer (Jim's home brew), while sitting in the cockpit watching the big (40 foot) sailing outriggers return from the day's fishing. These very traditional craft are shunted rather than tacked (ie the bow becomes stern and the rig is rotated). They can be used to travel up to 400 miles to some of the other islands. As well as these impressive craft, at least 10 smaller, paddled outriggers had been out fishing. On arrival here, Jim had gone ashore to see the Chief and ask permission to be here. It is usual to give a gift but more often villages are now asking for a fee (US$30 in this case). Jim also was asked if he could fix some of the fibreglass boats. He patched up one, but another really required a serious repair using heavy duty mat, which we don't have on board.

Puluwat is in Chuuk state, one of the 4 states of the Federated States of Micronesia. We had to apply for an entry permit into the FSM, but other than that, the States appear quite independent and yachts have to clear in and out of each state. If you want to stop at islands between the ports of entry, officially you need to get permission from that state before arrival. This almost impossible if the island belongs to a state in which you haven't visited the main centre yet. We had permission to visit Oruluk (part of Pohnpei) but not for Losap (part of Chuuk). When we arrived at Weno in Chuuk to clear in, they knew we had stopped in Losap, but while they told us this wasn't allowed, they didn't seem too worried. We had mixed feelings about our arrival in Weno, as Chuuk has a very bad reputation for corruption, violence, crime and general squalour. Most yachts give it a wide berth. However, it is also world famous for diving and we did not feel we could be in this part of the world and pass up the opportunity to dive here. In the end, we enjoyed our brief stay in Weno (the Chuuk capital). The only damage was to the bank balance. We paid US$230 to various officials for the privilege of being here for a week (compared to $25 for a possible month in Kosrae). Not all of these fees were explained or broken down e.g. a random $100 for immigration and customs, for which no receipt was forthcoming. We also knew we would have to pay for our diving, as you are not allowed to go on your own (plus we would never have found most of the wrecks, as not all are buoyed and most of those have the buoy about 2m underwater and some sites the boat just anchored on the wreck -which can't be good). As soon as we satisfied the officials, we headed slightly out of town and anchored off the Blue Lagoon resort. We spent a week here, diving with the resort and hanging out there, feeding the many stray cats and socializing with other divers, and we had a great time. The diving was very good. For those of you who don't know, Chuuk lagoon was a major sea base for the Japanese in WWII, the US staged a major attack 'Operation Hailstorm' and as a result over 60 wrecks litter the lagoon. The event took place in February and while we were there, a large group of Japanese, including veterans, were there, one of several expected over the month to commemorate the anniversary. Two people diving with us had cameras and have kindly either given or promised some photos, so our next photo update should include some underwater shots of Chuuk diving. The wrecks are interesting, not only due to the artifacts that you can see (tanks, torpedoes, spare planes, depth charges etc) but also for the marine life. Several of the wrecks were covered with colourful soft corals and we also saw turtles, rays and sharks. One dive, I was surrounded by a circling school of several hundred golden trevalli.

We are not sure yet what our plans are for the next month or so, its looking like we will probably head very slowly direct towards Guam, rather than going to Palau and then bashing back against the NE trades to get to Guam. We are a bit worried about heading much further north as we are starting to feel the cold if the temperature drops below about 28 degrees!

Friday, February 03, 2012

New Zealand to Vanuatu, the voyage of Mike Taylor

For the voyage from NZ to Vanuatu via the Kermadecs my great friend Mike joined us. Mikes first trip offshore was a 14 day bouncy ride followed by some adventures around southern Vanuatu. A short video is available on youtube following the link below.