Captain's Log October 23, 2009

Captain's Log October 23, 2009

It is now time for us to wrap up another sailing season in the islands. We have been to 3 island nations and each one as different as night and day. It was a great summer for us and so now back to New Zealand. I thought I would write this time about our clearing out and start of the journey back to our home for the winter.

It is Friday the 23rd and the day before we head out. I start the day by going to an informal captains meeting to discuss weather and routing to New Zealand. This is a time when everyone only thinks about the weather and if it is a good time to make the crossing. From Nuomea to NZ it is about 900 miles of Open Ocean. The weather systems start down off the east coast of Australia and move eastward through the Tasman Sea to NZ. They seem to appear about every 4-5 days. It is prudent to miss these systems because the weather in them can be quite nasty. Whoever I run into today will want to know what I think of the weather and when I am leaving. You don't take the weather lightly but once you leave port it is anyone's guess as what it will be. If you are very lucky the weather will be as predicted for the first 3 days and then anything could happen.

The weather briefing didn't change my mind Destiny would leave early the next day. The next order of business is clearing out of New Caledonia. This is about the same in every country and is a labor in patience. I start out by walking about 2 miles to the customs office. I hand in a couple of forms to the customs officer and they are checked and rechecked then photo copied. What they do with all this paper is a mystery. The customs official then fills out another form for me to take to the immigration officer which is in the next building down the block. I am lucky because in this port the offices are close by each other. It is not uncommon for these offices to be on opposite ends of the town. I get to immigration and hand in the forms from customs and give him our passports. He makes copies to keep for his files and fills out more paper for me to take to the Port Captain, my next stop. The Port Captain is about a half mile walk and on a hill overlooking the harbor. Very logical place for this office most countries we visit are not that strategic with their Port Captain. He usually occupies an office that is nowhere near the port or the water. OK, the port Captain takes the paper work from the first 2 offices and then fills out another form which is the most important form because it allows me to enter New Zealand and it says that I have officially checked out of New Caledonia. Without that piece of paper Destiny would have to wander the ocean never to put into a port. I am sure you get the picture, and I am now done and this only took about 2 hrs.

I walk back to the Marina and pick up some last minute groceries and then go to the boat. Barbara sometimes goes through the checking out process with me but she was on the boat getting things stowed. We spend the rest of the day cleaning and securing things on the boat. We pretty much have this down to an art form. Barbara works below deck and I get things put away topside. While we go about the job of readying the boat to leave some of our sailing friends stop by to ask us about the weather and are we leaving and how we are going to go , etc,. It is really all anyone can talk about. It is as if this were their first passage. I personally don't have a lot of patience for the same questions over and over so I will hide out on the boat for a while.

At 5 we head in to happy hour to sit at a big table with our sailing friends and, you guessed it, talk about what the weather is going to do and what will our track be. It goes on and on. Last year before the passage to New Zealand we had meetings every day about the weather. Not as bad this year but still pretty tiring. We don't last long at happy hour, we wish everyone safe journey and head to the boat for dinner a movie and a good night's rest. Destiny stand

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Captain's Log October 24, 2009

Captains Log October 24, 2009
We awake early and have some coffee, yogurt and my favorite, cookies. The fuel dock opens at 6am and we want to be ready to leave the dock soon after that to top off the tank and head out by 7. No problem getting fuel. One of the forms I filled out at immigration allows us to get duty free fuel which is about a 20% saving over the regular price. Cost per liter is about $1 (that would make it almost $4 a gallon) which is a very good price sure wish I needed more. We back away from the fuel dock and head to sea at 7am.

On a passage it usually takes us about 3 days to get in a routine of watch standing and adjusting to the movement of the boat. After clearing the pass and moving into Open Ocean the boat starts tossing around in every direction (Jeri Lynn knows what we are talking about). This is not for the squeamish. Even for us after sitting at the dock for a week you need a little something to help get you through the next 24 hours. For Barb and me it is usually one Dramamine before we leave port and we seem to do OK. If the seas are real rough on the first day we might need to take another but usually one does the trick.
We clear the reefs and go on a heading of 167 degrees. The wind is blowing 25-30 kts and the seas are running about 3-6 ft. More wind than we like to see and it is blowing from the SE which is the general direction we are headed. For us to sail the boat we need to change our course more to the south, 180 degrees. Because we are headed too much into the wind and the wind is so strong we need to turn the engine on to maintain our heading. This is pretty much what was expected maybe stronger winds than we thought but should only last about 24 hours. Because the boat is pitching and rolling so much we were not in the mood for meals. We got by on stack food, oranges, apples, potato chips. Crackers and cookies.

This being our first day out, in a while, we have to adjust our body clocks to our watch schedule. Usually during the daylight hours we have no watch schedule. So we each take short cap naps. After 7 pm Barbara went to bed (couch in salon) and I took the watch until 10pm. At 10 I got her up and she was on watch till one then I took it till 4. Barbara came back at 4 and stayed on till 6:30am and was just too tired to keep going so I took over. We don't get too concern with watches during the day because we would be a hard target to miss. At night we are on the watch for other ships so we can get out of their way. Very rare that we ever see one but it is something you always think about.

Our first day back at sea went pretty well. Except for some big wind we had a good day. This is Destiny back to 1-6.

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Captain's log October19, 2009

Captains Log October 19. 2009
I know this is somewhat of a shock to those of you who follow this column but it has only been about 2 months since my last report. If I remember correctly we were on our way to Vanuatu from Fiji. So here we go. This report will take a different twist because I will spend some time telling you about my golfing adventures in Vanuatu.
In my world there are people who play golf or people who sail boats. It is very rare that you find someone who has the time or even cares about doing both. I for one like to do both but finding someone to play golf have been a big challenge. A couple of things stand in your way out here. For one there are not many of the villagers who play. Let me rephrase that: there are no villagers that play golf. I think the last person out here that played golf in the islands was V J Syngh. He got to learn how because his dad was the groundskeeper of golf course in Fiji. So if no one plays what is the use in building courses? Exactly, no reason, so there are very few if any golf courses. The next obstacle is for me to find someone in the sailing community that wants to play if we do happen upon a course. I hate going out and playing by myself (why play if there is no one to bet with?). So in the 2 years we have been doing this I haven't played, until we got to Vanuatu.
We had anchored in a bay outside of the town of Luganville on the Island of Santo and we had hitched a ride into town to pick up some groceries. As we went down the road we went right by a golf course. I couldn't believe it, a real golf course, out in the middle of nowhere. It also looked like it was fairly well taken care of. So when I got back to the boat that afternoon I was on a mission to find another golfer. As luck would have it I found a Kiwi who loved golf and had a 3 handicap. I told him I was a 20 and he could give me a stroke on every hole but one. Let the games begin. A time and date was set. I am probably the only sailor that has carried his clubs with him sailing. So I told him we could share my bag and he would carry the bag for both of us. I was trying to find a way to tire out this 3 handicapper.
To get to the course we took the dinghy. How many people can say they are taking their dinghy to the golf course? Tide was going out so we anchored off shore and waded in to the beach carrying the clubs and our beach sandals. As we approached the pro shop we could tell no one was there. Not sure what to do we teed off. We were the only ones playing that Friday. It was just us and a guy cutting the grass. My first shot was right down the middle about 250 yds. The 3 handicapper needed a mulligan but who cares we were playing golf. My next 3 shots were not very memorable and I ended up with a 7 on a par 4. I am only telling you this because I won the hole. When we got to the 7th hole the guy mowing the grass came over to collect the green fees. The price for golf, this fine day, was $15 US dollars for as many holes as you wanted to play. All in all it was a marvelous day and it was great to be on a golf course again. I ended up losing the bet but a rematch was scheduled for when we arrived in Vila the capital of Vanuatu. There are only 2 courses in the whole country and I get to play both.
When we played at The Port Vila Country Club we were guest of one of the members. We arrived at the club in a taxi no dinghy this time and John, my partner, was able to rent his own clubs. To play this course you have to use one of their caddies. The caddies are all ladies from the local village. They all wear a traditional Mother Hubbard dress that is about 2 sizes too big. Picture, if you will, 4 golfers and
4 caddies, and as we walked down the fairway the caddies dresses blowing in the breeze reminded me of a parade. The ladies were very nice and didn't understand a word of English they were there to carry the clubs and find our errant shots. So for 9 holes of golf and a caddy the price was $15 US. I have died and gone to golf heaven. So I got my golf fix and we will live through another year with some great memories. I have also found someone that likes to play as much as I do and whenever we are in a port that has a golf course we are there. He is also Kiwi so when we get back to New Zealand this year I now have a playing partner and someone that likes to bet on almost every shot just like Scott, Rick, Lee, Top, Larry, Jim, etc., the list is a mile long.
It has been a fun year for us. We have spent most of it on a beach or sitting on the boat looking at a beach. In about 3 weeks we will head back to New Zealand and get ready for next season. For those of you who don't know, we have to leave this area during the cyclone season. We go south and wait for the cyclone season to end and then come back up here next year. There is so much to see and do in these islands that one year is just not enough. Until next time this is Destiny back to 1-6.

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Tsunami NOT a Problem for the Gladneys

Sorry for the mass email, but we have received some troubled inquiries and want to put to rest any concerns for our safety. First of all, Frank, Barbara and Destiny are all A-OK.
Yesterday we arrived in Ouvea, New Caledonia. We have no internet access and therefore do not know who among you heard about the Tsunami that emerged in the South Pacific today. Early this morning we received emergency evacuation orders to get offshore as quickly as possible. An earthquake had occurred in the ocean near Samoa and the resulting Tsunami was headed this way, with an expected landfall in New Caledonia of 9:16 this morning. We immediately made for deep water (4,000 feet) and stood offshore until the officials in Noumea, New Caledonia gave us the all-clear. Other than a little excitement over our morning coffee and a chance to do some deep sea fishing, it was a non-event for us. Sadly, we heard there were lives lost and many unaccounted-for in Samoa.
We hope also that anyone who bore anxiety for us will forgive us for not getting in touch sooner. Also copying our blogs on this message...
Love and best wishes, Frank and Barbara

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Captain's Log September 3, 2009

Captain's Log September 3, 2009
Barbara did not believe I would ever sit down and write another log. So that was a challenge I couldn't refuse. I just looked to see when I wrote last and it was in April before we took off from New Zealand. It would be foolish and probably pretty boring for me to tell all so I will just stay with the high points.
Our first stop after leaving New Zealand was Fiji. You could sail there for a lifetime and never see it all. Perfect Islands with white sand beaches and swaying palm trees and water so clear you thought you could see over a hundred feet under water. The reefs were abundant with fish and the coral was the healthiest we had seen in the South Pacific. We spent almost 3 months in Fiji and only sailed the western side of the islands. So much to see and so little time. With all that there were 3 things that really stood out in my mind about Fiji. Kava, the reefs, and the Manta Rays.
Kava, for those that are not familiar with this island drink, is a root that is ground up into a powder mixed with water and then drank. In Fiji it is customary that when you anchor off a village you go into the village and seek out the chief and present him with kava (sevu sevu) as a token of appreciation for him letting you anchor off his village. So, for us to present kava we needed to go to the market and buy the kava. Not hard to find because half the market is people selling kava. As they are selling they are drinking the stuff so you can have free samples. I forgot to mention kava taste like dirty dish water or maybe drinking from a mud puddle. It is really awful stuff. Being that I am not a sissy you have to step up and drink it like you like it. When we found the perfect place to buy our kava, we settle on a price, and how much we want. Since we were new to this our cab driver came with us and helped us negotiate. The next important point is how it is wrapped so it can be presented to the Chief. The roots with dirt and all are wrapped in newspaper and tied with ribbon in such a way as to look like a bouquet of flowers. The newspaper has to be wrapped a certain way and the ribbon has to be very tight as to hold it all together. I can't make this stuff up. Our cab driver, Dole, didn't think the guy was doing it right so he took over which caused a little disturbance at the mart. We got 3 bundles weighing about ½ kg each. We are ready to find a village and present. By the way, our 3 bundles of dried out roots cost about $30 US.
We had some friends join us on the boat for a week and we thought it would be perfect to seek out a village on one of the remote islands and present our Kava to the Chief. Our search led us to the island of Waya in the Yasawa Group. The main village was on the south end of the island so we were hoping to find the chief there. After anchoring Sandy and I went ashore to present our Gift of Kava and ask permission to anchor in the bay. Not sure where to look we just wandered into the village. We saw some villagers sitting under a shelter and we ask them where the chief was. One of the elderly looking guys stood up and said he was the chief. His name was Big John and didn't look very chiefly to me but what do I know and I certainly wasn't going to argue with him. After introductions and some small talk we presented our Kava to the Chief. He took it and prayed some ancient blessing over it and we were now free to go through the village and anchor in the bay. We asked if we could come back later and bring our wives. He said that was good and we left. We were a little miffed that we didn't get to sit and have Kava with the Chief but didn't want to get pushy. So, at about 4pm we all came ashore. Normally women do not drink kava so we weren't sure if Debra and Barbara would be invited to stay. As soon as we got into the village we were escorted to the shelter, where Sandy and I first met the Chief. We were invited to sit on the dirt floor and they went to get the Chief. His hut was next to where we were sitting so we could tell they were trying to wake him up from his nap. Chiefs nap and do nothing all day so they can drink Kava all night. They finally got him up and after introductions again the kava was mixed with the water and about 5 guys sat down with us and the chief to do Kava. The girls were invited to stay so we are set to have our Kava. We all sit in a big circle with your legs crossed. I really didn't think my body could get in that position. There is one guy in the middle that tends to the kava. He mixes it and pours it when the chief says to. They started with me since I was the Captain, what respect. There is one coconut shell that everyone drinks from. When they dip it into the bowl they ask you "high or low tide", which translates to how much do you want? Being that I am the captain I say high tide, he then fills the shell to the top and hands it over. Everyone then claps and says "bula bula" and you drink the cup in one gulp. That's probably a good thing because if you stopped you might not want to finish. You hand the bowl back to the guy and they fill the bowl for the next person. When everyone has had their turn everything stops and you talk with everyone. Side bar discussions go on and questions are asked and generally everyone communicates. After about 10 minutes the chief barks out some orders and the next round of drinking starts. This will go on for about 7 rounds or longer depending on how much kava was made. By this time my legs and back are numb from sitting crossed leg on the hard ground. I am really ready to go back to the boat and have a beer but you can't leave until the Chief says we are done. We started this at about 4pm and we didn't get done till about 7. Kava affects everyone a little differently but generally it numbs your lips, tounge, and throat. You will have some slurring of your words and maybe a little difficulty walking but you will really sleep well. And it only takes about 3 days to get the taste out of your mouth. Fiji kava is not real strong unlike Vanuatu kava which is very strong - two or three times more potent. Kava is also an appetite suppressant. You can tell the villagers who drink a lot are real skinny. Most villages forbid alcohol use in the villages so the only game in town is Kava. In Fiji kava is ceremonial and has a prescribed way to be used. In Vanuatu the Kava is stronger and there are kava bars everywhere. Go in the bar get a cup and have at it. No chief and no Bula Bula. More than you ever wanted to know about Kava.
Bear with me I know this is a long log. In Fiji we got to swim with the Manta Rays. Last summer we swam with whales this summer the Mantas. What an awesome experience. We did the swim in a pass between 2 islands. The pass narrows and forces all the fish and nutrients in the water through a small break and at high tide the water is rushing through the pass at about 6 mph. What we did was go to the upstream side and jump in the water and just let the current take us through the pass. When you get in the water and put your head down and start snorkeling you see thousand of fish. All there for the same reason to feed or be eaten by the bigger fish. As you drift along suddenly you see this huge manta with a wing span of about 10-12 ft moving effortlessly up stream. I tried to turn and go with them but the current was too much. It's not long and another and another goes by you. Some get so close you think they might hit you. You are awed by their size and how graceful they are. After about 30 minutes it is over. All the fish and Mantas are gone. I have to say that was truly a highlight for me this summer.
The last big thought from me on Fiji was how difficult it was to sail in Fiji waters. What makes it so difficult is there are coral reefs and rock out-croppings everywhere. What makes it even more interesting is some of this nasty stuff is not even included in your charts. When you went island hopping you never went if it was cloudy or overcast. You needed to be able and see what was in the water and you never ventured out after dark. The rule was always making sure when you were sailing to do so in daylight and good weather. Even following that simple rule was not a guarantee that you would be unscathed. There are many boats each year that end up on the reefs or have some encounter with the reefs and coral heads. I tell this because I was a victim. I just turned into a pass too soon and the bottom got us. After I made the turn I saw I made a mistake and started backing down trying to go back where we had come from as quick as I could but the momentum of the boat was enough to take us into the reef. Only the front section of the keel was touched and we were able to escape without any real damage just some of the bottom paint scratched off. After the escape and getting back on track it was time to clean my drawers and thank all the Fijian gods and all other gods for saving us. I still have nightmares about that. It is now time to anchor and drink all the beer on the island.
After 3 months in Fiji on August 6th it was off to the islands of Vanuatu. I will update you on that in my next report. This is Destiny, WDD8870, standing by on 1 6.

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Captain's Log June 14, 2009

Captains Log June 14, 2009
Just a brief recap. Barb and I left New Zealand on May 3rd to head north to our next land fall, Fiji. We did the crossing (1,067 miles) in 8 days, one and a half hours. Not a record time but exactly what we had predicted. We had great weather and a beautiful bright moon to cruise with. It would have been nice to have had a little more wind but better that than too much. As it turned out we used about 60 gallons of fuel and sailed the boat 52% of the time which is below our average of about 70%. The other, very significant, thing about this crossing was that the boat had zero mechanical issues. In fact it has now been almost 3 months since anything has broken and or needed servicing on the boat. If this keeps up I am going to get way to lazy because there is nothing to fix. Some of you who read this want to know how we did in the area of fishing on this crossing. We caught 4 good size fish that gave us some great dinners over the passage. Nothing better than fresh fish. From ocean to dinner plate in less than 2 hours.
We are currently on the Island of Malolo Lailai at Musket Cove Resort off the SW coast of the southern Island of Fiji. We have used this as sort of our home base for side trips in exploring the island groups in western Fiji. We go out for a week or a few days and then come back to regroup and replenish and then head back out. Musket Cove is a resort but is also a cruisers paradise. They make it so easy to stay here that you never want to leave. People asked us what we are doing and it is hard to answer that question because we don't do much of anything. Typical day goes something like this: Get up about 7 and have coffee and watch the sun rise. We read a book until about 10 and then go to shore to the pool. We get our lounge chairs on the beach and read more of our books. Sometime around 1 we get some lunch. After lunch we go back to our chairs read and take a nap. Sometimes we add in a walk on the beach and look for shells. About 4 we go back to the boat. We then sit on the back of the boat and watch the sunset have dinner read and go to bed about 9:30. We have now been here for a month and it doesn't get old. The really good part of this is not only is everything pretty inexpensive but the dollar is $.45 per Fijian dollar. In other words everything is half price.
If the weather is good tomorrow we will leave for a 2 week tour of some of the islands. As we do our islands hoping we never leave a place before 9 and we are always at anchor by 2. If we like a spot we stay for 2-3 days before moving on. If the weather turns bad we don't move until the sun comes back out. Biggest reason for that is we have to be able to see the coral heads and reefs in the water. Some of the reefs and coral formations are not charted so we have to be extra careful.
So that's what we are up to these days. We sort of feel like we are in slow motion. Not much going on and that is exactly how we like it. Until next time this is Destiny clear and back to 1 6.

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Captain's Log May 19, 2009

Captain's Log May 19, 2009
We left New Zealand on Sunday, May 3rd headed for Fiji. Always an exciting time when we leave port for a distant land we have never been to before. The next 8 days were pretty uneventful. Everything on the boat performed as designed and there were no mechanical problems that I had to deal with. For most of the trip we were within a few miles of several boats which made for a comforting trip knowing someone is close by makes a fun journey. I think more than that our weather was really outstanding the whole way. In fact if we were drawing a perfect picture for a perfect passage we could have used a little more wind. Other than that we had a full Captains Log May 19, 2009
moon and clear skies all the way. The Sailing Gods were kind to us and we appreciated their good favor.

We arrived one hour later than our posted ETA which we had to declare (best estimate) before we left New Zealand. The boats we left with all guessed at their ETA's with the winner getting a prize so we won. We are now on a mooring in Musket Cove on the island of Malolo Lailai. The island is located about 15 miles off the SW coast of the Main island of Fiji, Viti Levu. The resort of Musket Cove could not be more accommodating. Everything we need is right here and all the people in the resort make it a point to call you by name whenever they see you. If that isn't enough it takes $2.20 Fiji dollars to equal one US dollar. We just might never leave.

Lest we forget the risk and reward of what we do and how we get from one place to another one of our fellow cruiser's boat sank. We don't know all the details yet but it seems that he had a problem with his steering which turned into them taking on water, not sure how all that was related but that was what was reported. They could not find the source of the leak and within 2 hours the boat was 6,000 ft on the bottom. Steve and Wendy were both able to have time to board another boat that was close by so good news here is that only a boat was lost. This is the 3rd boat in 8 months, that we have been associated with, that has sunk. Very humbling and brings to the forefront the need to take care of the boat, don't cut corners and always be on the lookout for possible problems. Sorry to report a sad detail of what we do.
There is currently a coup going on in Fiji but you would never know it. Most of the islanders could care less. We went over to Nadi on the main island yesterday and it was business as usual. When we asked the cab driver about the political unrest he just said he wasn't interested in that sort of thing and didn't like to dwell on those negative issues. Life goes on.

As you can probably tell we are very happy here and it could almost be defined as a true paradise. Still not sure what our plans are but at the moment we are happy to sit at anchor and we have no plans to leave in the foreseeable future. This is Destiny clear returning to 1 6.

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