The Triumph tied up in Seward:

Well it was a good run. I hadn’t put in an honest days work in almost 2 years. But all good things must come to an end. I’ve been hired back on as a deckhand again with Western Towboat. I just got done hauling a load of freight up to Seward on the Triumph and will be jumping onto the Ocean Mariner again on Friday for an undisclosed amount of time hauling freight around West Alaska. I won’t be blogging about my work experiences this time around, so the blogs going to remain on hiatus. My bank account should be flush and I should be back to Bodhran by November. Till then I hope to see everyone at the Subdued Stringband Jamboree in August.

One of the many beautiful beaches around American Samoa:

Last year cruising across the Pacific, I kept hearing stories about American Samoa. The basic gist was: the anchorage sucks, it smells, and the provisioning is really good. Well, coming here off season the anchorage is great, but the provisioning wasn’t quite as good as we’d expected. So there’s a big diesel power plant and the Starkist Tuna cannery right off the anchorage which certainly detract from the ambiance. On the other hand it gives the place a tropical Dutch Harbor kind of feel. Also the anchorage is strewn with wrecks sitting on the bottom just waiting to gobble up your anchor if you’re lucky enough to snag one, if not the holding is very poor and your boat is probably going to drag the first time one of the frequent squalls comes through the bay. Luckily for us, there are only 5 other boats in the anchorage and there are 6 moorings. The other boats had been here for all of cyclone season, so we got stuck with the mooring right next to the power plant, but still no anchoring hassles and no charge for the mooring. It’s also a great place to watch the races in the big 50 person rowing shells. Apparently the big race is on Flag Day in a week or so, but they’ve been out practicing every evening.

Nothing like having a diesel generation plant and a cannery right off your stern:

Good old Charlie Tuna employs 1/3 of the people on the island. They bring in fish from all over the pacific here even as far away as BC and Alaska:

Practice race in the 50 person Va’a lase(sp?):

There’s a big Cost U Less store out by the airport which is a $15 cab ride away, so yesterday we decided to rent a car and tour the island while making our provisioning run. Even after all the islands we’ve been to across the Pacific, all three of us were enchanted. American Samoa is absolutely stunning. It’s probably a lot like Hawaii was back in the 40s. There are two hotels in town and one more by the airport, but other than that there are no tourist facilities anywhere. As you drive around it’s just one quaint little beachside village after another with meticulously kept gardens and smiling friendly people. The harbor itself is made up of the caldera of an ancient volcano with an opening on one side. The other sides rise dramatically out of the bay into lush steep cliffs making it easily one of the most dramatic harbors I’ve been in. The rest of the island continues the theme with steep, verdant hillsides and beautiful reef strewn or volcanic beaches with massive surf breaks that you leave you in awe wishing they broke over sand so that you could go out and play without getting killed.

Me in front of a cool blow hole:

Another beautiful Beach:

The provisioning was certainly the best since Tahiti. Cost U Less is similar to Costco back home, but about 1/3 the size. The selection left us all wanting more, but prices were good and Bonnie Greg filled a shopping cart to the bursting point. Fortunately the nearby KS Market was similar to a grocery store back home and though a bit more expensive, nicely filled in the gaps with the rest of the products that we were craving. Unfortunately while loading up Willow from the skiff I tweaked my back something awful when Jake (the skiff) started pulling away while I was hefting a box up on Willow’s deck leaving me in quite an awkward position. So now I’m little better than an invalid, which would be quite a problem for Bonnie and Greg if I were continuing on with voyage. Fortunately for everyone I’m not. My Dad has made me an offer I just couldn’t refuse and so I’m flying out on Thursday to go back and work with him for a few months before hopefully getting on with Western Towboat come Summer. So for now my sailing adventures are on hold once again. I’m nearly scared to death of going back to Bellingham while temperatures are still only getting up to the 50s during the day, but a man’s got to do what a man’s got to do and it beats the hell out of going another 2400 miles to windward with a bad back. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to see everyone back home in a week or so.

Bonnie and Greg going nuts in the Spam isle at CostULess:

Typical weather for our trip as we make landfall in American Samoa:

We pulled into Pago Pago in American Samoa yesterday afternoon and we are very glad to be here. Bonnie, Greg and I stayed in Savusavu for almost a week, working on boat projects, waiting for weather and getting to know the local ex pat community. I’ve never been so hot in my life as in Fiji. 90 plus degree temperatures, high humidity and frequent thunderstorms which make you keep all the hatches closed. I think in the future I’m going to have to limit my tropical experiences to the dry winter season. The whole reason that we’re delivering Willow to Hawaii now is that it’s the end of cyclone season and the trade winds aren’t developed. So on the bright side you can get some wind behind you from time to time, on the other hand you can have to deal with the heat and the possibility of getting hit by a cyclone. There’s already been 4 named cyclones since I got to Fiji three weeks ago.

Killing time in Fiji trying to make a palm frond hat. It never did quite come together:

We saw a weather window last Monday showing 2 days of no wind, followed by a few days of northwesterlies. Perfect for our Northeasterly trip up to Samoa. In reality, the wind did it’s thing, but we had large, confused seas and frequent squalls all the way. We motored 2/3rds of the way, but did get a couple of good days of sailing in. The last day was painful. The wind shifted around to the NNE so we had to motor sail the last 100 miles against 20 knots of wind with a large sea running. It’s maddening when you can see your destination, but can’t make more than 3 or 4 knots. We ended up making landfall in the early afternoon and spent a good 3 hours trying to get checked in before COB so that we wouldn’t be stuck on the boat all weekend. A freighter had just come in and everyone was tied up. Fortunately a very friendly ships agent heard us on the radio and started making cell phone calls to all the officials and got us halfway checked in. Most of the officials never came down, but we at least had clearance to get off the boat and hit the nearest bar.

Willow moored up in Pago Pago:

New racing canoe that just arrived from Seattle after we pulled into the dock:

Greg and I singing some Neil Diamond at the Karaoke bar:

Tropical Storm Lin popped up over Fiji while we were enroute which is going to be pulling some strong winds through our area. We’re certainly glad we’re not in Fiji anymore, but it looks like we’ll be here for a while waiting for things to clear out. From Samoa it’s about 1400 miles to get to Christmas Island in Kiritibati 2 degrees north of the equator. From there it shouldn’t be too hard to make the final 1000 miles up to Hawaii, but getting there is going to be a long haul. At least cyclone season is running down and we’re now right on the edge of the cyclone belt.

Hundreds of enormous fox bats keeping the mossies at bay for us in Savusavu:

Some might think that a tsunami warning followed by two days of thunderstorms would be the best way to start out what for Bonnie, Greg and myself is sure to be our toughest sailing passage to date. Turns out that things have been going swimmingly, but it was a bit rocky to start. Whilst drinking our coffee the morning of departure from the Vuda Point Marina we were minding our own business listening to the local 80s rock station when the DJ disrupted a Duran Duran song to inform us that a 7.7 magnitude earthquake had just struck neighboring Tonga and that it was possible a massive tidal wave was bearing down on Fiji. The news quickly spread around the marina and much debate ensued as to whether or not the wave could get through the reefs and curve around both islands to hit us on the West side of Viti Levu. For our own part we doubted it, but figured that we’d have enough warning on the radio when the wave hit eastern Fiji to get Willow out of the marina and into deep water. Turns out that the wave never formed and the warning was called off. Still it’s the kind of thing that gets the adrenaline flowing.

Willow at the very picturesque fuel dock at Vuda Point:

The crew sporting our new palm frond hats woven up by George, one of the yard workers at Vuda Point:

After the tsunami warning was called off, we topped off Willow’s diesel tanks, said our goodbyes to everyone in the marina and set off on the 10 mile motor up to Lautoka. I’d already been to Lautoka with Bonnie on a provisioning run and was prepared for the insanity. The city is dominated by the descendants of Indian laborers brought over by the British. The shops are filled with impossibly elaborate saris and the smells of curry waft down the crowded streets. Our stop in Lautoka consisted of anchoring off the big commercial wharf in the company of three freighters. Greg spent his time delving through the bureaucratic red tape of a country just over a year into a military government and with a long history of corruption. Meanwhile Bonnie and I failed in our mission to find some outdoor cushions and bought a few more provisions.

We were required to leave Lautoka within an hour of clearing through the officials, so we crossed to a nearby island and anchored for the evening. Ever since I’d been in Fiji, there’d been daily rain and thunderstorms and that day didn’t disappoint. The next morning when we tried to take off around the north end of Viti Levu, the sky was black and lightning was flashing every few minutes. Normally that would be enough to keep anyone in port, but it’d been doing that pretty much every day so we took off anyway. It only took an hour and a sky growing even more ominous to turn us around and send us back to an even more protected anchorage. It was a good call, as we were soon hit by a squall that had Willow dragging anchor at 3 knots across the bay. Fortunately the next day found us with good visibility and building westerly winds that we used to make it the 150 miles to Savusavu on Vanua Levu.

Willow anchored off a typically Fijian verdant green island:

We pulled into Savusavu yesterday morning after a beautiful sail through the night. We’re having to skip lots of places on this passage, but I’ll be back on Bodhran next year and it’s nice to be able to scout things out a bit. Savasavu is the main cruiser base on Vanua Levu and it’s easy to see why with it’s beautifully sheltered harbor right off of a bustling small city. As per the norm, we already had friends here on Lotus and Malaika and were quickly clued into the local scene. So Bonnie and I had a productive day in town while Greg spent a miserable day cleaning out Willow’s black water system. Fortunately cold Fiji Bitters were at hand, but Bonnie and I had to stay off the boat until he was done. Now it looks like a new cyclone is forming over New Caledonia. It shouldn’t hit us here in Fiji, but it will effect our weather and probably keep us in port for a while. The minute the forecast calls for light and variable or anything not out of the east, we’re out of here and on our way to Samoa.

Coming into Savusavu:

Another great public market in Savusavu:

Greg, Bonnie and a stunning sunset in Savusavu:

Bonnie and Greg right after launching Willow at Vuda Point Fiji:

Hmmm funny thing about the tropics, it’s hot! damn hot! I’m sitting here at the little cafe at the Vuda Point Marina near Lautoka Fiji. I’ve decided to help my good friend Greg and Bonnie sail Willow 3000 nautical miles against the trades from Fiji to Hawaii. It’s not really a pleasure cruise. For the most part we’re going to be waiting for light or disturbed winds and then motoring like crazy until we can get to the next island group. The plan is to go from Fiji to American Samoa, possibly the Cook Islands, Christmas or Fanning islands in the Line Islands and then Hilo all in about 2 months. Even if it’s not going to be the most enjoyable trip, at least we’re going to be hitting some island groups that I missed on my way across the Pacific in Bodhran. Speaking of Bodhran, she’s all buttoned up and secure in Whangarei NZ where she’ll ride out the southern Winter while I go home and work tug boats again. The weather’s been a bit nasty and I haven’t taken many pics yet, but hopefully I’ll get some more interesting blog material as we make our way across Fiji to check out of Savu Savu sometime next week.