Cheshire

Susanne and David Ames bought a catarmaran, Cheshire, in England. David took her to Portugal. In 2005 they brought her across the Atlantic, through the Panama Canal and, after spending time in the South Pacific, on to New Zealand. Susanne has written us about that set of travels. The adventure continues.

Cheshire is in New Zealand.

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 15 minutes of fame..
Date: Thu, 21 Jul 2011 01:16:27 -0700 (PDT)
From: David and Susanne Ames

Hi. I’m going to have my 15 minutes of fame while being interviewed on Radio New Zealand about our sailing trip. The interview will air live next Tuesday 26 July [in New Zealand]. You can also find the podcast on their web site: http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/nights

Hope this e-mail finds you well!

Susanne Ames, Cheshire

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: North Island holiday
Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2007 04:18:11 -0700 (PDT)
From: David and Susanne Ames

After two months of toiling in the yard, it was time for a break. I had managed to get tickets to WOMAD, a world music festival on New Zealand’s west coast, which provided a great beginning to our holiday. So we drove across the country to the Tasman Sea and Mt. Taranaki.

The festival was held over the weekend of March 16-18 in a bowl shaped park at New Plymouth, with the main stage down in the bottom. Most other stages were up a steep hill, so one got a good workout going from one performance to another. In addition to the usual concert format, many performers gave workshops with more audience involvement, such as learning to dance or play traditional instruments. Alas I did not take pictures, as we had no way to keep the camera’s battery charged, so here are some from the site. We were able to camp within walking distance on a race course, with free toilets and hot showers.

My favorite performers were the glamorous Mariza, Portugal’s fado star, and Celenod, a New Caledonian band on its first trip away from home. I had heard recordings of Mariza and listened to fado in Portugal, but her live performances raised my appreciation of fado, sometimes termed Portugal’s blues, to a new level. Her style might appear to be melodramatic, but somehow she brings it off and conveys the sense of her songs without a need to understand Portguese. For her finale, she sang “Summertime” from “Porgy and Bess” in the fado style, and it sent chills up my spine!

Celenod performed in traditional kanaka dress and language, but I think they had borrowed a bit from other world musicians to good effect. They were very energetic and fun loving, encouraging the audience to sing along and dance. At the end of their workshop I went up to say hello and see if we could visit them when we go to New Caledonia in September. They were very receptive and gave me their contact in Noumea, the capital, where we will need to go first to check in. They all actually live out in the Loyalty Islands, east of the Grand Ile. I hope we can meet up with them and get a more in depth look at kanaka life.

After the festival, we went up the Taranaki volcano for a short but beautiful hike, then headed south towards Wellington. View from Mt. Taranaki. Anywhere we went it seemed easy to find a good place to camp for the night: level sleeping, not too crowded, good views and sometimes even a toilet. The public loos in New Zealand are amazing, even those in the backcountry: frequent, clean, stocked with toilet paper, with flush toilets, running water and often soap!
Hawera freepark

We were also fortunate in a network of friends who facilitated our trip. A Kiwi couple on a neighboring boat in the yard gave us great pointers on where to go, and referred us to friends in Wellington, the Sallises, who not only let us stay in their driveway but fed us, and offered showers, laundry and internet. Steve is also an avid fly fisherman, and connected us with his friends the Swetmans at Lake Taupo who also provided hospitality and, even more valuable, at least to David, fishing tips. Kiwis are so friendly and at least as fond of cheap travelling as all us visitors. Outside of Wellington, we pulled off the road near a paddock, and the owner came out and told us to just go in and stay the night. The view the next morning as the sun rose over the city was fabulous.

From Wellington we headed north and east, through wine country and towards Napier. This seaside town was levelled by an earthquake in the 30’s, so was rebuilt in Art Deco. With the balmy weather, it felt like a more relaxed version of Miami. From there it was west over the mountains to Taupo, with a pleasant stop at Tarawera hotsprings half way.

The next several days were focused on fishing the Tongariro, the main river feeding Lake Taupo, and some of the other streams. It is between seasons, which meant fewer people but more difficult fishing. David was very pleased when he hooked three rainbow trout, after several days of learning the rivers and trying many gear combinations. I hiked nearby trails, and took on the 11 mile Tongariro Crossing on our last day. This trail passes between several peaks and craters, including Mt. Doom from the Lord of the Rings. Unlike Frodo and Sam, I had no wish to climb it as the weather was beginning to deteriorate into what would become a “50 year storm” over the following days. When I reached the highest ridge, the clouds closed in and it began to sleet, closing off some of the famous views. Despite 2500' in elevation gain, I did the trail in less than 6 hours because I didn’t stop; it was too cold! Still, it was good fun and I was not too crippled the next day.
Tongariro crossing lake : Tongariro crossing flat : Susanne and Mt Doom : Tongariro crossing other hikers : Tongariro crossing waterfall : Tongariro crossing finish

North again from Taupo to Rotorua, one of New Zealand’s best known tourist centers due to volcanic activity and hot spas. We forewent the commercial ones and sampled several natural, and free, baths. The weather was rainy and windy, but when you are sitting in a nice stinky hot spring, it doesn’t matter! Our freecamp that night was near the lake, and the van rocked almost as much as a boat from the wind.
Hot springs near Turangi ; David in hot spring : Susanne in hot spring

After two days the storm abated, as we headed north again to the coastal town of Tauranga where our friends Sharon and Rae on Mustang Sally had spent the season. We had not seen them since Tahiti so enjoyed a nice reunion. As it was David’s birthday, we joined our cruising friends on Cool Bananas for an evening of barbeque, cake, and charades.
Mt Managanui

This pleasant visit was marred by a weird event. While breakfasting with Rae and Sharon, we were summoned outside by calls from another boat. They had spotted a body drifting towards the neighboring berth. Rae, braver than me, reached in to pull it from the water. It turned out to be a woman from another boat, who had been escorted back by her husband after a party the night before. He went to a neighbor’s and when he came back she was gone. We think she must have slipped while leaving the boat, perhaps to go to the loo, hit her head, and drowned. It was dark, still very wet from the storm, and the current around the marina is very strong almost all the time. A very sad business.

Our last stop was Auckland, where we were able to spend the night at our friends Sandy and Joan of Zeferin, whom we had first met in Trinidad and who had just completed an 8 year circumnavigation. Their lovely house has a splendid view of the city. Their original trip many years ago took them from England to New Zealand with another couple and 6 children between them on a 40 foot boat.

Back in Whangarei, we have rolled up our sleeves and got right back into our projects, especially replacing our under bridgedeck stringers. Fall is definitely here and we are eager to get ready to head back north to the warm sunny tropics for one more season. We won’t be ready to go for at least another month, but as cyclones are still brewing in Fiji, we aren’t in a big hurry. It’s still odd to think of March as fall, here in the Antipodes, and north as the tropics, when I know most of you are welcoming spring with flowers, sun and longer days. Hope your spring is more like a lamb than a lion!

Happy Easter!
David, Susanne and Cheshire the cat
(whom I think is still sulking from being left behind for over 2 weeks)

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: What’s up with Cheshire?
Date: Tue, 24 Jul 2007 22:39:52 -0700 (PDT)
From: David and Susanne Ames

On July 4, we launched Cheshire after over 5 months on the hard! Our major project was replacing the stringers under the bridgedeck. These are the wooden support pieces under the area between the hulls which is subject to pounding. You may remember our earlier repairs to this area in the Galapagos, complicated by being in the water and Ecuadorian bureaucracy. They showed signs of further damage when we arrived in New Zealand, so David decided to replace them entirely. The originals were one inch square lengths of fir; we replaced them with several layers of kauri plywood laminated together with epoxy, and scarfed or joined on the diagonal. This job alone took several weeks, with priming and painting to follow. I mixed batch after batch of epoxy until I developed blisters, while David slathered it on. The new stringers

Here are some of the other things we have done:
• Replaced the 6 large window on the cabin, which had weathered so much they were barely transparent;
• Externally repaired the daggerboard case that had sprung a leak after our encounter with the reef in the Tuamotus;
• Replaced all the wire rigging on the mast, and added a steaming light and wind instrument, anemometer;
• Sanded and painted the bottom, again!
• Replaced about 20% of the cabin top which was beginning to rot;
• Repainted all of the deck areas we hadn’t done before, and rebedded the hardware on the cabintop;
• Installed a new fishfinder which will hopefully give us more accurate depth readings than our depthsounder;
• Bought and installed a larger windlass for the anchor;
• Repaired the tuner for our high frequency radio.

As winter came on, our progress slowed due to shorter days, and colder, wetter weather. It has been tough to see most of our other cruising buddies leave for the tropics; we hope we can join them soon. Still, Whangarei is not a bad place to have to stay. It is a lot like Olympia in size and personality: a regional center that is small enough where you can get to know people in a short while. Our favorite amenities include the local brewpub, Frings; the library; yoga classes; the farmer’s market; and a commercial base which is large enough to fill most of our boating and other needs. The folks here at the yard have been great, especially manager Charlie and his wife Sonia; Trevor the welding wizard; and Barry the rigger. We have also made another four footed friend in Anna, who pays us daily visits while her owner Graham is busy.

When we looked at coming here, I had asked Charlie on e-mail if they ever had cyclones this far south. “Naaaah!” He replied. Well, the second week of July may have proved that wrong.

On Sunday July 8, it looked like a low coming in from Australia would bring several days of rain. The low wasn’t too ugly looking, around 998 millibars. However, a large high pressure ridge of 1032 millibars spread out from Southern Australia towards New Zealand’s South Island, creating a difference of 34 millibars in less than 1000 miles. Weather maps look like topographical maps, and 34 millibars is a very steep slope that means LOTS of wind.

On Monday night the radio report began to warn of wind gusts to 130 kilometers/hour, 75 knots, for the following day. This was accompanied by torrential rains, which led to extraordinary high tides. Cheshire is currently tied to a barge next to the haulout area just off the river channel, which is convenient for finishing projects. Charlie warned us that the barge, which weighs 80 tons, could rise off its pilings and crash into Cheshire. We considered trying to move, but the wind had already risen to over 40 knots and we did not think we could get into the channel and to a more secure location. The last flood had brought down trees and other debris, so anchoring in the channel was risky.

We spent the night up in the yard’s office, tensely watching as two super high tides brought the barge within a foot of the top of its supports. Winds howled between the buildings, made whitecaps of the river chop and drove the rain in horizontal sheets, Happily, both the barge and Cheshire stayed put. The water got up to here.. Winds exceeded 70 knots on the nearby coast and 90 knots in Auckland; 60,000 homes lost power, and flooding and downed trees closed many roads in the area. The winds went down to 40 knots or less on Wednesday, but weather remained poor until Friday. It’s kind of ironic, coming down here to avoid cyclones only to have one, or the non tropical equivalent, find us! But it could have been worse, especially if we had been anchored in an exposed place or at sea.

We didn’t get a lot of pictures, but TVNZ did and you can see them in the photo gallery on this page: http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/1224799

I’ll write more in a week or two when we have finished our projects and can look for a weather window to sail to Fiji and WARMER termperatures!

Love
David, Susanne and Cheshire

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Cheshire is finally leaving New Zealand!
Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2007 16:02:01 -0700 (PDT)
From: David and Susanne Ames

After nearly 8 months in this lovely country, we are preparing to head north to Fiji. If all goes well with our clearance, we’ll sail past Whangarei Heads on Wednesday afternoon, Tuesday evening US time. It should take us about 10 days to sail the 1000 miles to Fiji, although weather, as always, will dictate our progress. Our biggest challenge is crossing a large high pressure system, currently heading east from Australia. Some motoring will probably be required, as it was on the way down here, but we have less than 500 miles worth of fuel so we will not want to use any more than necessary.

We plan to head first to Suva, the capital and largest city of Fiji. We hope to get permission to visit the eastern Lau group islands. These were off limits for a number of years, to minimize contact with non Fijian influences, and are still difficult to visit except in a cruising yacht : our favorite kind of destination.

Next, we’ll probably head to Taveuni, renowned for good diving and snorkelling, and Fiji’s second largest island, Vanua Levu. If time permits, we’ll go round the N part of the island, which is very reefy and not much travelled. Then on to the Yasawa group in the west, and checking out in Lautoka on the main island.

Vanuatu, formerly known as the New Hebrides, is an archipelago 500 miles west of Fiji, and the brewing ground for many of the Western Pacific’s large storms. We’ll probably just visit Tanna in the south, which is famous for a very active volcano. From there it’s another 300 miles south west to New Caledonia, our final intended destination before heading back south to New Zealand in November. Like French Polynesia, New Caledonia (aka Nouvelle Caledonie) is another French colony with uneasy ties to the metropole as mainland France is known. The native people are called Kanaks, and there is a strong independence movement which manifests in periodic unrest. We hope to visit the lovely Loyalty Islands in the east first, and perhaps meet up with the members of the band Celenod, whom we met at WOMAD, before going to the capital Noumea. The Loyalties and the Isle of Pines south of Noumea are supposed to be gorgeous above and below the water.

Here’s a map of the area – sorry it does not have more detail.

So that’s a summary of our cruising plans for this year, although as we are leaving late we may not get to all of it. The nice thing about this part of the world is that when it is time, from anywhere along the way, we will just head south to New Zealand. If we find especially nice places and/or people, we’ll take the time to enjoy them at the cost of missing others. Rushing is just not worth it.

The next time I write to you, I hope to be warm, without my fleece, fuzzy slippers and space heater. Mmmm, can’t wait!

Love from David, Susanne and Cheshire the very impatient cat

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Cheshire is in Suva, Fiji
Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2007 21:25:51 -0700 (PDT)
From: David and Susanne Ames

We arrived this morning, and entertained the clearance team on Cheshire. I think there were more forms to fill than any other country we have been in. But everyone was nice and it went quickly, so now we are out and about.

On our way from Whangarei, we stopped at Minerva reef, best described as a little blue bathtub in the middle of the ocean. The water was still pretty cold but we had to jump in for a quick snorkel. Our sailing was pretty uneventful, which is always a good thing. We had no wind to 25 knots, and it came from everywhere. But Cheshire took it all in stride. Most stuff is working well except the anemometer, which is frustrating. D. We are especially happy with our new genoa from Rolly Tasker.

We’ll be here a few days getting our permits to go around the country, then hopefully off to the Lau group to the east. The Hibiscus Festival is going on, with parades, beauty queens, music etc. Should be some good fun.

Bula vinaka!
David, Susanne and Cheshire the cat

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Update from Suva
Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2007 16:38:42 -0700 (PDT)
From: David and Susanne Ames

At the end of our first week in Fiji, things are going pretty well. Our paperwork is complete, and we have permits to cruise all the areas we want. While we were charged US $60 for ferrying the Customs, Immigration and Health officials to Cheshire, crowding the salon to capacity! The cruising permits were free, and everything has been done quickly and with smiles. For the first time, Cheshire’s stamp was requested and used on the many clearance documents, and the officials liked it so much they started stamping each other! In Suva we’ve been able to find most things we want, including a camera battery we could not obtain in NZ. The public market is the largest I’ve seen since Trinidad, full of many fresh, cheap fruits, veggies, eggs etc.

We are anchored off the Royal Suva Yacht Club, a 20 minute walk from town center which is helping to get our land legs going again. It’s next to the prison, a funky edifice built in 1913 and decorated on the street side with colorful Bible murals and quotes, mostly Old Testament. God looks distinctly Fijian. There are about a dozen boats in the anchorage, including 4 other cats, and almost every night there has been socializing at the bar or on other boats. Showers, laundry, fuel and water are available along with a decent Chinese restaurant, though we must go to town for internet. I am savoring these amenities as well as the many good and cheap restaurants in Suva: lots of good Indian curries! It will be a while before we have access to them again. Indian feast for US $5.50

We’re revising our cruising plan back a bit because:
We’ve gotten such a late start;
We need to be back in New Zealand in December, as Paige and David will visit for Christmas; and
There is so much to see here, and we don’t want to rush.

So we may just stay in Fiji until it is time go south again at the end of the year. I’m a bit sad at letting go of visiting New Caledonia and Vanuatu this year, but I want to have the chance to see Fiji properly, especially the remote locations we love such as the Lau group. Off in the SE part of the country, the Lau group are physically and culturally separate from the rest of Fiji, which has been heavily flavored by Indians brought in to work the sugar cane 150 years ago as well as other Western influences. As in Trinidad, the Indians now make up a substantial portion of the middle class in the two largest islands, and are resented by many indigenous Fijians, which has led to political upheaval and occasionally violence. From our perspective, this creates an interesting cultural mix, Bollywood meets South Pacific, but the indigenous Fijians are worried about retaining their own culture as well as control of their land and economy.

A few years ago, drugs were discovered somewhere in the Lau group with a stash of US funds. Local officials placed severe restrictions upon visiting the islands: an invitation from a resident was required and a fee of US $500 imposed to visit more than one island. A year or so ago these restrictions were relaxed, but prospective visitors were required to get a clearance from the police which could take 2 weeks. Bearing this in mind, I made my way quickly to the Lau council office, tucked away from the rest of the government next to a grocery store. This resulted in an interview the next day with Ratu Tevita Uluilakeba, the cousin of the incoming Lau chief. He made sure that we understood the need to follow local customs, such as presenting kava root to the local chief as soon as we arrived in a new area, and wearing a skirt at such times, sulu for David, sarong for me. Since we appeared to be OK folks, he provided us our permit without the police clearance on the spot, which pleased us immensely. We have a few more things to sort out, but plan to be ready to leave Suva next Tuesday, one week after arriving. If the winds aren’t right to go east towards the Lau group, we’ll head to Kadavu and the Great Astrolabe Reef just south of Suva and snorkel around there a bit.

Today, Saturday, we’ll watch the Hibiscus Festival parade, complete with Miss Hisbiscus and her court, and plenty of music and other celebratory stuff. I’ll try to get some pictures to Steve for the website before we head out.

Once we leave Suva, we’ll be away from regular internet for most of our stay in Fiji, except for brief stops in a couple of towns. So don’t despair if you don’t hear from us for a while. As before, Paige can forward messages to us over the radio in case you need to reach us quickly. We’ll make sure to write up good reports with pictures when we get connected.

Enjoy the rest of your summer!
David, Susanne and Cheshire the cat

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Happy Fiji Day!
Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2007 21:41:13 -0700 (PDT)
From: David and Susanne Ames

Bula vinaka from Vanua Balavu Island. We have been thoroughly enjoying the remote Lau islands in Fiji. No internet, no news, no other sailboats or white people. Just beautiful islands and friendly islanders. Today is independence day, so we have been watching schoolchildren in a local track and field meet.

We have many wonderful pictures and stories to share, but they will have to wait until we arrive in Savusavu in 1-2 weeks. We just wanted everyone to know we are well and having fun.

Sotatale (see you later)
David, Susanne and Cheshire the cat

------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: A long post
Date: Thu, 18 Oct 2007 19:05:00 -0700 (PDT)
From: David and Susanne Ames

We left Suva August 28, bound for the Lau group on the east side of Fiji. These islands run along the east side of Fiji, from about latitude 17 south to 20 south between longitude 178 and 179 W, or 150 miles east of Suva across the Koro Sea. Roughly halfway, there are three volcanic islands: Moala, Totoya and Matuku. These are adminstratively grouped with the Laus.

The Laus are somewhat remote from the rest of Fiji, and also upwind and thus more difficult to reach from a port of entry. The islanders and their chiefs wish to retain a largely traditional way of life, so there is little of the resort or other development that has occurred elsewhere in Fiji. As mentioned before, the discovery of a drug stash led to curtailment of visitors, including yachts, for a number of years. These things made the Laus an intriguing destination for us, though we knew it would be a test of our navigation skills. There is little formal information available, eg cruising guides, and the charts are all over 100 years old and not aligned with GPS data.

Weather also played a larger role in when we travelled and where we anchored. Periods of strong trade winds and rough seas lasting up to a week are common through early September, bringing rain and reduced visibility. These are known locally as “bogi walus”, which means 8 nights in Fijian, and are caused by high pressure systems passing to the south. They are broken up when a low pressure system passes south of Fiji, which causes the winds to change direction counterclockwise, usually NE, NW, SW, S and then back to SE during a couple of days. These times were often good to travel even when we were going with the prevailing wind, as the waves were down and the weather more fair. We looked at the upcoming forecast carefully when choosing anchorages, as we found only one anchorage that was well protected in most winds. We had two nights when strong winds required anchor watches, and in one case an emergency re-anchoring after dragging. Very stressful!

Everywhere we went, we were expected to make “sevusevu”, the traditional presentation of 1 lb of kava roots to the chief or his representative. The chief’s acceptance of our offering made us temporary members of the village, allowing us to anchor, walk, fish and snorkel in the village territory. In some cases, our kava roots were pounded on the spot and consumed mixed with water, a ceremony derived from a traditional religious practice. Nowadays, kava drinking is often more social than religious; men gather at the close of the day as they might at the local pub, consuming rounds of kava and gossiping. Kava produces a tingly feeling in the mouth, and a mellow feeling. Many rounds of high strength kava can lead to a drunken state where one has difficulty standing. We did not try to go that far!

Despite their remoteness, it was interesting to see when and how elements of modernity had been introduced to the islands. Every place we visited had Sky satellite TV, though not in every village, so islanders were able to follow World Cup Rugby in France, as well as Fiji news. Small battery powered radios were common. Many homes had land line telephones, with village satellite connections, and the health clinics also had HF radios. We saw one computer at a school, and helped to set it up, a donation from a university in Tasmania. Villages had large communal generators, some working, some not, and many families also had their own. Solar panels were rare except where installed by the phone company. Cooking was usually done on large kerosene campstyle stoves, though many homes had propane stoves with ovens too. Some homes had large freezers, where fish and lobsters intended for Suva were kept. Some also had washing machines, but it appeared most laundry was still done by hand.

Many islanders had panga style fishing boats powered by 40 hp Yamaha Enduro engines. David is getting more and more familiar with these! In many islands these are used to get around within the lagoon as well as occasionally for interisland transport. A generation or two ago, sailing canoes were used, which were largely made at Ogea, but sadly this tradition is dying out. Though with the price of outboard over $3/liter, maybe there will be a revival.

Most islands export one or more things to Suva such as fish, lobsters, sea cucumbers, handicrafts, and kava root. Some cash is necessary to buy the things they can’t make on the islands such as fuel, sugar, rice, cloth, etc. Families had land outside the villages on which they raised produce for their own consumption: yams, sweet potatoes, cassava, taro, squash, chili peppers, carrots, coconuts and other fruits. Traditional bure in Susui Pigs, dogs, cats and half feral chickens are everywhere, and occasionally ducks, horses, cows and goats.
Land crab, a local delicacy.

Everyone we met had been to Suva. In Ogea we were told that everyone goes about once per year. These trips may last several months due to the infrequency of ship traffic to the islands. Secondary or higher education is usually done in Suva. Everyone has relatives in Suva and some overseas. One man’s brother is currently in Iraq in a private security company. Many family members come back to the islands for Christmas holidays.

All villages we visited had a small store and a Methodist church. One every island there was one or more health clinics staffed by a nurse, and a school through 8th grade. Sundays are quiet days, with most attending church service. During the first week of every month, the men of the village work on a community project such as painting the school. The women help by raising funds for materials.

We began our trip with an overnight passage ending at Moala Island: 18 36 S, 179 53 E. We had planned to head for Matuku, a little further on, but with head winds building we decided on Moala instead of another night at sea. Barracuda caught on the way. We went first to Naroi on the north east corner, the regional center which even has an airstrip. But the assistant chief told us that the island’s chiefs had recently decided to start charging a fee of $100 for boats to visit. As we had heard that fees had been lifted when we got our permit in Suva, we were shocked. We decided to move on quickly, although the assistant chief later said that he would waive the fee as we had not known about it.

We tried again to sail to Matuku to the south, but the strong winds and seas again dissuaded us, so we turned in to the west side of Moala, at the village of Cakoba. We were invited to lunch before sevusevu, where no mention was made of any fee. Sunday lovo at Cakoba Upon hearing of David’s mechanical experience, the chief asked him to take a look at the starter motor for the village generator. An attachment bolt had broken off, which David was able to clear, but the motor itself was frozen beyond his magic powers to repair, so had to be send to Suva. His efforts provided a focus of interest for most of the village men, and a good excuse for kava drinking later.

Village entertainment. Village music. Visit to Cheshire

We also gave small gifts books, handkerchiefs. which are required for schoolkids, colored pencils and crayons, swimming goggles, etc away at each village. Remembering the San Blas, I bought a few pairs of reading glasses in Suva, which were eagerly snapped up by the chief and other older villagers in Cakoba. Chief Nabete. David's first bilo I wish I had brought lots more! And we went to the school to show the kids some pictures from our trip. The giant leatherback turtle from Trinidad was quite popular, as well as the penguins and other fantastic creatures from the Galapagos.

A couple of days after we got there, the wind built, and we dragged our anchor at about 9 PM. We had been in about 40 feet of water, with all our chain, 160 feet plus about 40 feet of rope, as rode: 5:1 scope. This was pretty scary as there were some reefs a little ways behind us. We had initially tried anchoring closer to the village but had had trouble holding. However we decided that we should attempt that again, rather than trying more navigation in the lagoon in the dark. We knew there was a possible spot where the creek ran between the near shore reefs. Slowly and carefully, we approached the shore, with a couple of lights serving as a guide. We scraped the bottom of the port daggerboard on a reef, but got off OK, then dropped the anchor in about 12 feet of water. We let out all our chain rode again, and sat anchor watch all night. In the morning we found we had tucked inside a reef finger, now only about 50 feet off the port stern quarter. For insurance and to keep the boat from swinging, we deployed our old Bruce anchor off the starboard bow, and set our large Danforth off the stern. Everything held well, but it made for a little work to get all the anchors back when we left.

After a week, the winds shifted enough to permit an overnight trip to the main Lau group. So we gave up on Matuku and set sail for Ogea, 19 09 S, 178 25 W, about 100 miles east. We made such good time that we had to stop the boat around midnight, when the reefs from the island next to Ogea showed up on the radar!

Cakoba was our favorite stop for the people, but Ogea was the nicest anchorage. The main island is divided by a tidal stream at high water, which we explored in the dinghy. There are lots of little lovely blue green bays, dotted with tiny undercut limestone islets. We found a very well protected anchorage in the main bay, quite a relief after our adventures near Cakoba, though the depth in the approach got as low as 7.5 feet, at high tide. The village was around a headland, on a flat shelf that dried out a long ways a low tide. We had to time our visits carefully, and usually had to wade to the dinghy one way or another.

Tao, the schoolmistress had recently gotten a donated computer, but could not power it during school hours as the generator only runs at night. However, the phone company had installed a huge, 12x8D12 volt, battery bank in the school, powered by 1200 watts of solar panel for the island’s phone system. We hooked up our 300 watt inverter to one of the batteries, and it was just fine for the computer. Since we could not spare it, we left specifications with Tao and her assistant Sami so they could order their own. Susanne spent some time installing a compatible version of Adobe Acrobat, so they could read the electronic manual that came with their copier/printer, setting up different levels of computer accounts so the students could use the software but not change it, and helping Sami and Tao learn some basics. She hadn’t expected to use these skills in the villages, but it was nice to be able to help. This was the only computer we saw, but since many children go on to school in Suva, and the rest of the world is becoming so computer dependent, it is logical for the kids to learn the basics of using them.

Meanwhile, David helped the chief’s son get his outboard running, and we celebrated our 10th anniversary with a lobster dinner. Lobsters are caught on the outer reefs and frozen for transport to Suva. We did a bit of snorkelling on the reefs, and found once again that the leeward side, Northwest, seem to be in better shape than the SE exposed side.

A short hop north across the Bounty Boat Passage, navigated by Captain Bligh in the lifeboat after the infamous Mutiny, got us to Komo, 18 41 S 178 37 W, another single village island. As the winds were predicted to be more northerly for the next few days, we anchored off the SW corner of the island, near a little island connected back to the larger one by a reef. As usual, our approach was noted by the islanders; as soon as the anchor was set a man appeared on the beach, waving to us. Suga escorted us to the village at the east end of the island, providing us with Rugby World Cup updates: the NZ All Blacks had trounced Portugal, 104-3; Fiji had defeated Japan. Suga escorted us to Tui, the headman; we had to wait a bit until the end of the daily church service to make sevusevu. As it was near sunset and we had a long commute back to the boat, we had to defer on kava, but promised to return the following day.

While David worked on Tui’s generator, a fried diode board, so the generator part must go to Suva, Susanne had a lovely walk down the N side of the island. Here steep cliffs meet the water in places, but at low tide an exposed shelf allows passage. A path leads over the top of the island past the school, where the children were rehearsing meke, traditional dances, in preparation for Fiji Independence Day. Tui demonstrated the islands main export, braided coconut twine, for which they get FJ$5 for 25 meters. The sticky red clay that coated Susanne’s feet is in demand for masi, bark cloth decoration, as it is unique to that island.

The villagers wanted us to bring Cheshire closer, so we could have a kava session without concern for the commute. Alas, David came down with a painful tummy bug which confined him to the boat for the next few days. Apparently it hit the village too, as many kids were out of school with it, though it was strange that he got it and Susanne didn’t. So Susanne did a bit of exploring nearby with the kayak and snorkel. We were befriended by a juvenile brown booby whom we named Charlie. He visited us a couple of mornings and seemed quite comfortable with us, even within a couple of feet.

Once David was feeling better, we made for Oneata, 18 26 S 178 28 W. This larger island had two villages, both on the south side, though getting to them was a bit difficult. We anchored on the north side, and went ashore to look for a trail without success. Next day we dinghied around to Dakuiloa village for sevusevu, a rough trip which was hard on David’s recovering stomach. It turns out there is a path from the village to the beach we had first visited, but we had missed it as it is not used much since the advent of the outboard motor. Years ago this beach had been the launching point for the sailing canoes used for fishing, but the panga style botos, powered by the ubiquitous Yamaha Enduro 40 hp engines, are kept next to the village.

You can hear the villages from afar due to the pounding of the wooden pestles used to make masi cloth from bark. The paper like cloth is decorated with traditional designs in black, brown and red. Some pieces are made for special occasions, such as weddings and funerals; other pieces are sold as handicrafts. Two smaller masi cost us FJ$15 total, which seemed a very small amount when one considers the labor that made them. They are only made on a few islands, and each island has specific designs.

Several days passed quickly here, with the usual generator visit and a walking tour of the island. One night we had some unusual squalls from the north, which we hadn’t expected. As we were once again near reefs, David got the motor going to relieve pressure on the anchor. From the GPS, we think the anchor may have moved a little, especially as the wind changed direction. We tested it again later and it had reset properly, but we still had a mostly sleepless night. The dinghy took so much water that David decided to use it as a bathtub!

A day or so later, we had a boat load of fishermen show up with a grumpy engine, hoping for help from the kapalagi mechanic. Between rain showers, David looked at the fuel pump under an umbrella, while I cooked up two whole fish for their lunch the Fijian way, eyeballs and all. Not much progress was made on the fuel pump, but the lads were entertained with pictures of Cheshire on the computer, including themselves.

Then it was off to our last Lau destination, the islands in the Exploring Isles lagoon, 17 15 S 178 52 W. This would be a 67 mile trip, since the two possible island stops enroute had dubious anchorages. We usually consider trips over 50 miles for overnight, as we need good daylight to enter and leave lagoons. However, we had been making such good speeds in the Laus, due in part to our new genoa, that we decided to try the trip in daylight. If we weren’t able to average at least 9 knots by noon, we would sail away and go slow overnight to arrive the next day.

We set off earlier than usual, because we had saved our track in to Oneata so could “follow our breadcrumbs” back out through the pass on the GPS. The wind was 15-20 knots, so we had a broad reach with the genoa poled out the same side as the main. One after another, islands rose before us and fell away behind, each no doubt with its own wonders, but not for us this time. Finally we saw the Exploring Isles ahead, as 4 PM approached and clouds thickened overhead. The waves grew steeper, consistent with a reef ahead, but we could not see it until barely a mile out. This is a pretty small margin as we were surfing off the waves at over 14 knots, so we quickly got the sails down, laid ahull and started the engine. This pass was the most challenging we had tried, because it was on the windward side, so more waves, and each side of the pass had rocks along the channel. It was mid tide and the pass had 3 foot standing waves in the middle so we stayed on the left side which had fewer rocks. But visibility was so poor that we nearly ran over them before we could see them!

We were pleased to get safely away from the pass, but daylight was decreasing and we still had several miles to the nearest anchorage. The waves were less in the lagoon, but the wind was strong, spitting a fine rain at us. The shelter of Munia Island was most welcome, and we quickly found a narrow shelf between shallow coral and 50 feet. Down went the anchor, out went all the chain, and we backed down on it several times to make sure it was well set just as night fell. Williwaws occasionally lashed around the point as we opened cans of chili for a quick dinner, but we stayed snug and in place.

The next day we went off to Susui, a more protected anchorage near a small village. We attended church the next day and were formally introduced. Susanne even sang the hymns in Fijian, which impressed our interpreter. We enjoyed another delicious Fijian Sunday lunch and relaxed on the boat, as it would have caused offense to our hosts to have gone off to snorkel or hike. A week passed quickly, during which Fiji beat Wales in the Rugby World Cup, becoming the only Pacific team to survive the quarter finals. Alas, the NZ All Blacks lost to France again! The local primary school has only a dozen children, so we invited them all for a field trip to Cheshire. Very entertaining for all concerned.

When the weather moderated, we made a pit stop at Lomaloma for groceries and internet, and watched the local school’s Fiji Day field day competitions. We had hoped to cheer our friends from Susui, but at the last minute their participation was postponed for a week due to weather. Still it was good fun. We had one last kava gathering with our friends Tevita, who teaches at Susui school, and Susana, the first couple we have met who are our namesakes:Tevita is Fijian for David. Then we headed for our last stop in the Laus, the Bay of Islands.

This lovely spot is at the NW corner of the Exploring Islands lagoon, and is the most visited spot in the Laus, with over 30 boats so far this year as opposed to 5 or so in the other places we went. Wee rocky limestone islets dot the anchorages, with underwater caves and some nice snorkelling. The village is a long upwind dinghy ride away for sevusevu, but once we were done with that, we enjoyed a couple of days of peace and quiet, and the fresh Spanish mackerel David caught on the way in.

Another long day took us to Taveuni, where more adventures awaited, such as going to the store by bus. We were sad to learn of Fiji’s narrow loss to South Africa in the Wor;d Cup. Barely a month remains of our cruising season, and we hope to see a lot more of Fiji before we go!

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Stories and pictures from the Lau group
Date: Fri, 26 Oct 2007 19:00:14 -0700 (PDT)
From: David and Susanne Ames

We’ve moved to the west side of the islands, which is like going from W Wa to E WA . Much drier, a little hotter. Today we are in Nadi where the main airport is. We hope to head off into the Mamanucas and maybe Yasawas for a week or two. Than it will be time to unpack the fleece and head south again to the land of the kiwi.

David has not been persuaded to wear his sulu since our last sevusevu, but I’ll be ready with the camera for the next time. Or maybe I’ll have to make up some kava to get him to do it!!

Susanne

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Taveuni to Savusavu
Date: Sat, 10 Nov 2007 18:25:08 -0800 (PST)
From: David and Susanne Ames

We’re presently anchored at Port Denerau, near Fiji’s international airport at Nadi. This makes David happy as planes are frequently taking off and landing nearby. Port Denerau is the departure point for most tourist traffic to the Mamanuca and Yasawa Islands, so it is pretty busy into the evening. A cluster of touristy shops is located near the docks, including a good, if expensive, ice cream store which makes Susanne happy. Beyond the stores are a maze of hotels, time shares, golf courses etc that could as easily be in Ft. Lauderdale, giving us quite a culture shock when we first came in here two weeks ago.

Taxis at the marina want $10 to take you 6 km to Nadi town, where there is a good fresh market, supermarkets, internet, etc. Most of these can be found at the resort shops, marked up 50%-400%. If you catch the right Bula Bus shuttle, you can find your way out of the maze and to the front gate. We didn’t once and were treated to several rounds through the hotels before realizing we had to switch! Taxis or rides with locals are $2-5 from the gate, with a little negotiation.

We arrived back here Friday 11/9, which is the Indian Festival of Diwali, or Deepawali. It is intended to commemorate the return of Lord Rama from exile or death, sorry, my Hindu mythology is a little weak. As you may remember, we greatly enjoyed our Diwali in Trinidad in 2005, so wanted to experience it in Fiji too. Alas it was not quite at the same level, especially since we did not have a connection to the traditional family feast. We caught a taxi to town in the evening and toured the neighborhoods, where houses were decorated with Christmas style lights and fireworks were set off in the streets. Even from the boat, many fireworks were visible up and down the coast. It was good fun all the same, and we needed to come back to the mainland to get ready to leave for New Zealand.

A little catching up is in order. We left the Lau group in October, sailing west to the island of Taveuni, third largest in Fiji. It’s mountainous, well watered with rain, very fertile and laid back. A variety of resorts at the north end is now being augmented by more eco-tourism ventures on the east side, where we anchored. A large national park offers lovely hikes with waterfall swims, a marine park and offshore diving. Tavoro waterfall trail. David jumps into the waterfall. Cooler and refereshed. We spent several days at Vurevure anchorage visiting the local village and Canadian expats Claude and Danielle, who are starting a black pearl farm with some coaching from Yves in the Gambiers whom we had met on our way through. There was lovely snorkelling on the point, and a bus to take us around the island to Naqara for shopping, slow but cheap, and well worth it as an island tour.

A big Taveuni attraction is diving on the west side, especially near the Rainbow reef which extends from the neighboring island Vanua Levu. We anchored in Viani bay after scouting other potential spots which were nearer the reef but too deep and full of coral bommies. There’s nothing to set your heart racing like seeing a bommie pinnacle materialize 10 feet off the bows from 70 feet depth, so close that we could not have turned without scraping a bow across! Jack Fisher and his family live at Viani Bay, and do some low key cruiser guiding. While we usually like to go off on our own, it was remarkably delightful to have Jack take us to the reef pass and guide us through a drift snorkel. Even at slack tide, the current was stronger than we would have felt comfortable with alone, and the coral and fish were the nicest we had seen so far.

We set off next for Savusavu on Vanua Levu, choosing to motor 40 miles due to some approaching bad weather and lack of wind. The town is on a creek off Savusavu Bay, so it is fairly protected. However Vanua Levu, “Big Island”, Fiji’s second largest island, attracts/creates near daily thunderstorms especially with the approach of rainy season. This makes timing laundry drying a bit of an art! The town was a little smaller than I had expected, and one of the supply ships was out of service which meant that some products were not available, like COFFEE! John, the local computer guru, who happens to hail from Oregon, understood my distress at the possibility of running out and generously offered to bring some back from his weekend trip to Suva.

We spent about a week in Savusavu catching up on laundry, resupplies, socializing with other cruisers and even wireless internet which John had just introduced, and were able to catch the final World Cup Rugby match between South Africa and England. The local bar opened at 7 AM for us, so we had to have a beer, not as good as coffee but it seemed appropriate. We decided to join the lone South African boat, another cat, in supporting the Springboks as Pommie fans were well represented. I was a bit disappointed that there were no tries, only field goals, but it was still a good game.

We knew we wanted to spend our remaining time in Fiji on the west side, but faced a dilemma as to how to get there. Originally we had thought to sail west in several hops from Savusavu through reef strewn Bligh Water to the north end of the Yasawa islands, then back south east towards Lautoka, our intended check out port. But closer scrutiny of the charts and discussion with other sailors revealed that this would be a challenging route, though it has been done. Depending on where we ended up, we would have to sail 40-70 miles in a day to reach the Yasawas, through areas with many reefs and unsurveyed waters. While we had done a similar push to reach the Exploring Islands in the Lau, we decided that perhaps we should not count on pushing our luck too many times. So instead we decided to sail back down towards Suva, then west around the bottom of Viti Levu. The fewer reefs on this 200 mile route appeared well charted and avoidable, and we could do the entire passage at one go in a couple of days, without having to find nightly anchorages and make sevusevu.

Light winds added another day to this trip, but on October 26 we sailed through Navula Pass and anchored in Momi Bay on the west side of Viti Levu. Once past Suva, the air became drier and more pleasant, and the hillsides browner,- a bit like going over the Cascades to Eastern Washington. Ah, the dry side

I’ll write another installment on cruising the west side, which has been very different from the first part of our trip. Meanwhile, wish for us a good weather window for our upcoming New Zealand passage, currently targeted for November 19.

Love
David, Susanne, and Cheshire the cat

-------- Original Message --------
Date: Sun, 25 Nov 2007 12:44:07 -0800 (PST)
From: David and Susanne Ames

After a peaceful night at Momi Bay, we anchored off the resort center of Port Denerau to run a few errands and decide what to do next. There are seven resorts around this peninsula, interspersed with fashionplate waterfront homes on artificial canals, and a golf course in the middle. We wondered if somehow we had wandered through a Star Trek wormhole, as it seemed we had been transported from the Fiji we knew to Fort Lauderdale. The marina is the departure point for most transport to the Manamuca and Yasawa islands, including high speed catamaran shuttles, tall ship cruises, and fishing charters.

We came in and out of here several times whilst waiting to leave Fiji, so got pretty familiar with the place. Everything seemed to cost at least twice as much as we were charged elsewhere, including a charge to anchor off the marina. But the ice cream and pizza were tasty, and we were entertained by a group performing Polynesian dances and juggling cane knives and torches. During the day, they’d sing to the arriving buses and give juggling lessons and demonstrations. One windy day they were demonstrating fire juggling a little too close to a thatched bure and set it alight, providing a little different diversion than they had planned (kids, don’t try this at home ...).

Port Denerau is close to Nadi, Fiji’s third largest town and home to the international airport as well as a sizeable Indian population and good markets and shops. We became skilled at dodging the taxi drivers offering $10 fares to go 4 miles, and joined the locals in ridesharing at $0.50. A coffee shop offered free wifi to customers, no hardship as the cappucinos and gelatos were tasty. Occasional deals were possible at hotel restaurants, the one at the Westin had a lovely salad bar with octopus in sambal oeleck chili sauce, and offered Susanne a complimentary shoulder massage and Fijian costume fashion show.
The Bula bus

On our first visit we caught up with Jude and Richie of Ka Pai whom we had met in Raiatea last year, and who are now headed up to the Marshall Islands. As we had a couple of weeks before we planned to prepare to leave for NZ, we headed out to Musket Cove and Mana Islands. Although there are many lovely islands in the Mamanucas, these are the only two that have good protection and holding. This was a good choice as the weather began to sour. The South Pacific Convergence Zone moved over Fiji, bringing low pressure centers and troughs, line squalls and strong and shifting winds. Whilst there was fine weather between the bad, it could change quickly and tended to deteriorate at the end of the day triggered by cloud build up from the mainland.

David wanted to anchor as close to the airstrip on Mana as possible so as to watch the planes takeoff and land. He got his wish for a close up when the Beaver seaplane took off about 10 yards past the boat! We balanced our resort relaxation with necessary maintenance projects, such as diagnosing a corrosion problem in a solar panel and doing a rigging inspection.

After some debate as to whether we had time for an excursion, we decided to head up to the Yasawa Islands for a few days before beginning our preparations to leave Fiji. The dramatic landscape makes the Yasawas one of Fiji’s finest cruising grounds. They are still touted as a remote getaway spot, and may seem that way compared to Port Denerau, but the proliferation of resorts and tourist boats makes it hard to find an anchorage to oneself. We spent 5 days around the two southernmost islands, Waya and Naviti, and finally caught up our friends Paul and Mira of Ironbark. It was almost a year since we had met them in the Ha’apai, and now here we were again, the last two cruising boats out in the Yasawas. Visiting Ironbark
West side of Waya
Octopus resort

We made our last sevusevu at Nabara village, where I finally got a picture of David, aka Tevita Tsunami, in his sulu. Our young guide assumed he needed help to tie it, not knowing that Tevita had had some practice with this before. It’s in lovely Yalobi Bay, where there was also nice snorkelling. We anchored between the main Waya Island and little Waya; at low tide you can walk between the islands. We also met Valentino, who runs charters on his Wharram cat and was a good source of local information.
Nabara Pass

Cheshire’s track through Fiji

The Indian Festival of Lights, Diwali, was set for November 9, so we had a lovely spinnaker reach back to Nadi in time to see lots of fireworks. We hired a van, a silver Toyota of all things!, to drive us through the Indian neighborhoods to see the lights. It was nice but not quite as good as Trinidad, and alas we had no invitation to the traditional family feast. The streets were littered with firecracker debris, and we called out “Shup Diwali”, Happy Diwali, to the people in the streets.

We had hoped to quickly find a weather window and be on our way to NZ, but our forecasts kept showing a major low pressure system forming to the NW and travelling over or close to our route. This year, the South Pacific Convergence Zone has been sitting over Fiji, generating troughs, squalls and lows several times a week. This is summer weather in Fiji, but we were told it usually doesn’t come in like this till January, when cyclones are more common!

A week ago we thought we had a chance to go, but checking out involves a trip up to Lautoka and additional logistics with shopping etc. By the time we were actually ready the weather had deteriorated again, with no improvement in sight. So we checked back in again. The poor and uncertain weather has kept us on the mainland, as we are afraid that if we went out to the islands we might get stuck out there.

Our friend the flirtatious low pressure system finally materialized as Tropical Depression 02F, and is now finally moving off to the SE and out of our way. So it looks like on Tuesday we will stow away the anchor, unpack the fleece, take our seasickness meds and sail out the pass and back south. It promises to be a difficult trip, with light head winds most of the way, but at least without the threat of strong weather that has been present for the last few weeks.

Hope you enjoyed a peaceful Thanskgiving.
David, Susanne and an eager Cheshire the cat

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Passage notes
Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2007 18:35:32 -0800 (PST)
From: David and Susanne Ames

One final Fiji note: We got to meet Dr. Gavin LeSoeur and his family. He wrote the book, literally, on multihull seamanship. He has spent much of his sailing life on Crowther catamarans, and knew Lock for many years. He has even capsized one, in extreme conditions, so can speak authoritatively about what to do should this occur. We enjoyed visiting briefly with him, wife Catherine and their three children at Vuda Point.

After three weeks and two attempts to leave, we left from Musket Cove on November 28 on the heels of the second tropical depression in a week. As a result our first 12 hours were a bit rough, but things settled down quickly. Alas, the SSE winds were blowing directly from New Zealand, so we had to sail west for a while, towards the Cewa-I-Ra reef and Hunter Islands SE of New Caledonia. Finally the wind backed towards the east so we could come close to the rhumb line: sail straight towards NZ. We had hoped the wind would back further towards the north, allowing us to fly the spinnaker, but this was not to be. We had wind forward of our beam the whole way, but the seas were pretty flat so it was not too uncomfortable. During the last 3 days we were riding the edge of an approaching low pressure system, and at one point were reaching at 20 kt.! As this was just before nightfall, we decided that we had better reduce sail and dropped to a more sedate 9 knots (miles per hour). Other than the dropping temperature, requiring shoes and socks, our only drama was when the autopilot started overheating and going offline. Of course this happened at nightfall, too. We made it till first light when we hove to and David discovered that some grease had made it from the drive reduction unit to the brush assembly. He cleaned it out using starter fluid and it was good as new. Since at that point we had nearly 500 miles to go, I was greatly relieved as the thought of continuous hand steering was a bit daunting. It’s scary taking the wheel off in mid ocean.

Once again, the clouds and rain socked in as we approached the New Zealand coast. But unlike last year, the skies did not clear at sunset and the friendly dolphins were not around to do the welcome dance. We began to see rocks and islands just a couple miles away on the radar, but outside only clouds and sea were visible; we could have been in mid ocean, except for the steepening waves bearing us to shore. It was eerie. Finally at Russell we tucked in and dropped the sails, motoring past folks waving on the new Opua Yacht Club deck at 7:30 PM to the quarantine dock. So delightful to tie up and sleep an entire night through! The next day, we were cleared in even faster than last year; “You guys know the drill, it’s your second time here.” And set out to anchor.

The system that gave us a great push in then proceeded to pummel us with two days of rain and wind up to 40 kt, whilst our friends still offshore saw winds up to 60 kt. Our friends still in Fiji were preparing for the onslaught of cyclone Daman, predicted to reach category 5 status, which fortunately diverted to the east and faded. Guess we got out just in time! In Opua, we managed to catch up with old and new friends but were impatient to head to Whangarei to get ready for our trip to the South Island. A couple of breaks in the weather allowed us to harbor hop down the coast, but we still have not seen the sun since several days before the end of our passage. The lack of sun has required the first use of our new little generator, noisy and ineffective. We sailed into Whangarei harbor in gusty easterlies, which caused the surface of the water to smoke with spray and pushed us upriver at 11 knots! At any rate, it is nice to be back in a familiar place, and to have at least one more adventure in front of us.

We plan to return to Whangarei in mid February, and will look around at that point to see whether we can find work here. The cruising kitty is depleted, and we really like New Zealand. So if that works out, we’ll be here for a few years, but will visit the States to see family as soon as we can. We’d love to do more cruising in the Western Pacific islands in the future; here is still so much to see. If we can’t stay in New Zealand, we’ll follow our original plan to sail back to the Northwest via French Polynesia, the bits we haven’t seen, and Hawaii. It’s a little sad to have our cruising come to an end for a while, but it has been a fantastic adventure and well worth it.

We hope you are preparing for a very Merry Christmas and a Happy 2008!

Love David, Susanne and Cheshire the cat

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Going back to EnZed
Date: Wed, 12 Dec 2007 17:38:24 -0800 (PST)
From: David and Susanne Ames

Cheshire is now moored between 2 pilings in Whangarei as we prepare to head to the South Island, where we will meet Paige and David Lemcke for Christmas. As usual it is weird to hear Christmas carols and see decorations with summer coming on, maybe we’ll get used to it eventually.

Hope your Christmas preparations are going well.

Susanne

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: S Island postcard
Date: Thu, 7 Feb 2008 18:24:40 -0800 (PST)
From: David and Susanne Ames

Hello! We have been enjoying ourselves on NZ’s beautiful S Island. It’s reputation for beauty and fun things to do is well deserved, even for cheapskates like us who are not into expensive thrill seeking. D has found a few brown trout while Susanne immersed herself in yoga teacher training. We have visited hotsprings, lovely hiking trails, beaches, breweries, museums, a marae and had a wonderful time.

On Monday we’ll catch the ferry back to the N Island and head for Whangarei, where we’ll write a more complete account of our adventures, together with pictures. Stay tuned!

D&S

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: South Island holiday, part 1
Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2008 19:49:01 -0800 (PST)
From: David and Susanne Ames

Wow, it is hard to believe that 2 months have gone by since we left Whangarei for our South Island adventure. The start of our trip was a bit dramatic, since we had not been able to get Schatzie, our 22 year old Misubishi 4WD van through her six monthly Warrant of Fitness and thus were also out of registration. In addition we realized that our driver licenses had expired while we were in Fiji. However we had to leave in order to meet Paige and David Lemcke in Christchurch. As we left Whangarei, resolved to drive cautiously to avoid attention, the fan belt shredded 30 minutes out of town. NOT an auspicious beginning! A helpful Kiwi family pulled over and gave David a lift back and forth to the nearest town for another belt, and we were en route again. We continue to be impressed with the kindly, helpful attitude of Kiwis in all situations.

We broke up the trip with a stop to this vintage plane, now a roadside attraction...

The ferry trip across Cook Strait takes about 3 1/2 hours, and can be quite rough as Cook Strait can be a wind tunnel. We were lucky both ways, though I stocked up on seasick pills just in case. On our way out, we passed close by the leeward mark for a dinghy race. The last hour of the crossing takes you through Marlborough Sounds, a lovely series of waterways amidst a sunken mountain chain. We arrived on the South Island at the small town of Picton, which could easily be mistaken for somewhere on the Inside Passage. By nightfall, we made it down the coast to Kaikoura in hopes of having crayfish, rock lobster. But at $85/plate, we settled for fish and chips instead.

It was raining as we approached Christchurch, and David stayed a conservative 5 kph below the speed limit on a long stretch of road with no shoulder or turnouts. A queue built behind us, with a police car third back. Finally we entered a town and pulled over, and the police car pulled in front of us, lights on and all. “Oh S&%T!” we gasped, as the expired WOF sticker was clearly visible on our windscreen. “You’re not from around here, are you?” inquired the officer. We smiled weakly and acknowledged our tourist status. He informed us that it was dangerous to allow a queue to build up, as other drivers might get frustrated and try to pass in a bad place, causing an accident. He claimed that there had been several pullout opportunities, and we should be more careful in future. David squelched Susanne’s attempts to defend ourselves with a “yes sir!”, and the officer walked back to his car. Phew!

Alas, as we stopped in a Christchurch suburb for lunch, carefully parking Schatzie on an unmetered side street, a bored parking officer scanned our license plate and wrote us 2 $200 tickets for being out of WOF and out of registration. Merde!

We went next to see about getting David a driver license. He had to take a written test and a driving test, between which he had a learner’s permit and could only drive whilst supervised by a qualified NZ driver. Hah. He passed the written test next morning, after studying the road code till 1 AM. Then dropped Susanne off for a joyful reuinion with the Lemckes at the airport, whilst seeking out another WOF inspection in Christchurch. We all met up again at the inspection station, allowing David Lemcke a short orientation to left hand driving NZ style. The inspector referred us to a Midas shop for repairs. Imagine our surprise when the Midas manager not only got all the repairs done that afternoon, but took Schatzie back himself to get her WOF! David still had just enough time to dash in and get the registration sorted, so we once again had a legal vehicle if not a completely legal driver.

Due to Christmas holidays, David’s driving test was scheduled for mid January. So having done what we could, we set off with Paige and David on December 22 towards Wanaka in the Southern Alps, where we were to spend Christmas.

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: South Island Holiday, chapter 2
Date: Wed, 5 Mar 2008 13:55:24 -0800 (PST)
From: David and Susanne Ames

As we headed towards Wanaka and the Southern Alps, rolling forest and meadows gave way to high desert country. Creeks were lined with lupine in brilliant shades of white, pink, purple and blue. Alas, it is another invasive species, crowding out native plants - but quite nice to look at.

Our first night was spent on the shores of bright blue Lake Tekapo. Many lakes and rivers in the area are this color from glacier flour. The next day found us at Twizel, from whence Mt Cook, the tallest peak in New Zealand, was visible in the distance. We considered a side trip to the park, but decided to just push on at our leisurely pace through the high country. Paige was raised in Nevada and felt right at home in the brushy hills.

Our next destination was Omarama, a small town with a world class reputation for gliding. Located on the edge between the plains and the Southern Alps, it’s a great place for thermal winds. We knew that the world gliding championships had been held here before, and were delighted to discover that they were going on again as we arrived. On our way in to town, we saw one of the competitors soaring along a ridge, and hastened to the airport. The race was broadcast on a large screen, and competitors were shown against a 3 D background, produced by the same company as was used for the America’s Cup. Each plane had a GPS broadcaster and a cockpit camera, and there was a helicopter following the race allowing the linkup. So there was great coverage. In fact, of the competitors did not know where the other racers were, but we could see all of them!

As the first competitor came back into the valley, everyone ran outside to watch him dump his water ballast, then land. As soon as each glider landed, his friends and family hurried out and pulled the plane off the runway to clear the space. There were about 20 competitors, a couple hundred spectators and several million dollars in shiny, high tech gliders. Most were from overseas, and had their planes shipped in special frames inside containers. David had used to fly gliders, and maintains a keen interest in gliding so we walked around to check out the planes, chatting with owners and bystanders.

As if all this weren’t enough, there was an additional attraction at this event. The captain of New Zealand’s rugby team the All Blacks, flanker Richie McCaw, keeps his own glider at Omarama and was enjoying a cocktail at the post race happy hour. Susanne could not resist a photo request, to which he graciously agreed. So it was an altogether satisfactory day all around! We rejoined Paige and David at the holiday park, where the Davids decided to go find some fish in the near by stream.

Christmas Eve found us in Wanaka, where we spent the holiday at Altamont Lodge, a very good value. It’s owned by a group of people, and whenever members aren’t using it others can do so. A large, well equipped kitchen, hot tub, comfortable common areas and proximity to fishing and other local attractions made it a great stop. The Davids made several attempts to lure fish, assisted by a couple of Australians who had been there for several weeks, but alas had no luck. Fortunately one of them gifted us with a trout for Christmas tea, as he prefers to catch them rather than eat them. Since the only way to enjoy trout in NZ is to catch one, we were delighted to have such a treat. Paige and Susanne hiked and relaxed.

The only thing open on Christmas Day was Puzzling World, which housed a giant maze, several illusion rooms and many games. Wow. David’s grandfather, Dr. Adelbert Ames Jr., did a lot of work at Dartmouth around how the brain interprets the eyes’ perceptions, and was celebrated at Puzzling World in the Ames room. This room appears symmetrical, but the height is actually much shorter on one end than the others. This type of illusion was used frequently in the filming of the Lord of the Rings, to make the normal sized actors who played the hobbits appear smaller than everyone else.

On December 27, we got underway again, heading for the West, aka Wet, Coast. It was evident when we crossed the pass. Suddenly we were back in a mossy green rainforest, punctuated by frequent waterfalls and reaching our to rocky beaches, very much like the Olympics. Most weather systems come in from the west, hit the mountains and dump rain, just like in Washington. Alas this was once such day. Paige and David tried to stay in their tent but were flooded out. Fortunately the car’s seats were comfortable enough for the night. Self contained units, such as our Schatzie and this deluxe Road Warrior, were much appreciated.

We stopped at the Fox and Franz Josef glaciers. Both are receding, but still very impressive. Paige and the glacier. Susanne and friend at Franz Josef Glacier. Then we travelled a short way up valley to an unmarked hot spring, just off a tramping track and only about 1 km from the highway. A little digging made the soaking pools just right, except for the voracious sandflies, very similar to US/Canada black flies, with a painful bite that raises a welt. This was David Lemcke’s first soak in a natural hot spring, but he liked it enough that I don’t think it will be his last ...

Thoroughly relaxed, we headed next to Hokitika, a good place to shop for New Zealand jade or greenstone. The traditionally carved pieces are quite expensive, but they do make good souvenirs. Then it was time to head back up into the mountains and our last stop, Arthur’s Pass. This town came to be as a stopover on one of the first roads through the mountains. This 2 day journey was infamous for its hardship, and a railway was finally constructed at great expense. It’s still in use though largely as a tourist venue, as the surrounding peaks are quite dramatic.

One attraction of this small town are the nearly tame keas, or mountain parrots. They know to hang out around the visitor center and the store, where they are well fed, despite signs to the contrary. They can be pests, going after the rubber around car windows and doors. Flying kea.

After 10 days and 1200 kilometers, it was suddenly time to say goodbye again to Paige and David. Their flight left Christchurch on the afternoon of New Year’s Eve, and by crossing the dateline, despite spending 20 hours in the air, they were able to celebrate the New Year at home, back in winter. Brr!

We celebrated New Year’s Eve by going on a pleasant hike, through delightful forests and lovely valley views. David tried a little fishing at this lake - alas no luck! With several days remaining before Susanne was due to start her yoga teaching class, we decided to explore the Banks Peninsula just south of Christchurch. Created from three volcanoes, it is a network of steep valleys and fjords. It was originally colonized by a group of French settlers. Learning of their plans, the British sent a delegation to raise the flag only days before the French arrived. Their legacy remains in their descendants, street and place names, and a cultivated French flavour which attracts the tourists. French flavour.

Boating is popular here, and we stopped in at the yacht club who were holding a week long regatta. We were invited to crew on the next day’s race, but uncertain weather led us to choose a hike in a neighboring valley instead. On our way back towards Christchurch, we encountered this hedgepig who was undoubtedly surprised at our interest in him, but didn’t mind having his tummy rubbed.

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: South Island Holiday, chapter 1
Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2008 15:42:17 -0800 (PST)
From: David and Susanne Ames

We are now back in Whangarei, and David is expecting a job offer from a local boatbuilder early next week. This will allow us to stay and work in New Zealand for a while, and possibly to get residency. It’s another adventure, albeit a bit different from those of the last 3 years. One advantage of staying here is that when we return to cruising, we are only 1000 miles from many lovely tropical destinations. One way or the other, we’re planning a visit to both Oly WA and the East Coast by the end of the year, so hopefully we will see many of you soon.

Cheers!

David, Susanne and Cheshire the cat

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Last chapter of S Island holiday
Date: Mon, 12 May 2008 02:19:45 -0700 (PDT)
From: David and Susanne Ames

Pop quiz: what would you expect if you saw this sign on the road? Other than be surprised, of course! Stay tuned for the answer at the end of this post ...

On January 4, we returned to Christchurch so Susanne could begin her three week yoga teacher training program with Donna Farhi. Susanne had studied with Donna in March 2007 and was very impressed with her teaching style and profound yoga knowledge. Donna has studied yoga for over 30 years, combining her training in bodywork and dance with her yoga. She has been a columnist for yoga periodicals and written four books, and now teaches internationally when not at her South Island farm. In particular, she continually challenges herself and us to seek the connection between “yoga”, and our own bodies and lives, not just unquestioned pursuit of a particular teacher’s dogma or trying to force our poses towards those of the yoga calendars. Her co-teacher for the class was Marcia Munroe, who chose to face her personal scoliosis, severe spinal deformity, by studying various bodywork approaches such as Feldenkrais and Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen’s movement analysis. Donna and Marcia provided an interesting and complementary mix in both their knowledge and styles. Donna tended to be more structured and metaphysical, whereas Marcia’s sessions often more organic, inviting us to feel what we were learning, not just experience it in our heads. Down on the floor, we returned to infancy or even sensations of pre birth development, experiencing how our bodies learned to move and then taking this into our asana practice. As a group or while watching volunteers, we saw and experienced profound changes in how we worked with yoga poses, with our breathing and even basic body movement.

Not all the learning was completely positive. Although the class was less strenuous than other trainings, for many students the deeper experiences brought to the fore physical and other issues to grapple with. In Susanne’s case, an old back/hip injury resurfaced, leaving her unable to fully participate for most of the last half of the training. Finally she visited Donna’s osteopath, who identified the nature of the injury and whose magic adjustments restored her to better than normal. While it was frustrating to be sidelined, Susanne tried to learn as much as possible from observing both the other students and the teaching methods Marcia and Donna used to communicate and reinforce various ideas.

We had some free time on the weekends, which coincided nicely with the Christchurch Buskers’ Festival. For ten days, street artists from all over the world performed at various venues throughout the city, including Cathedral Square. After each set the hat was passed and one paid what one thought the act was worth. Juggling, acrobatics and contortion featured in most of the acts, with some music and improvisation comedy as well. Our favorite was the high wire act Fusion, which presented a long, varied and very professional performance at the aerial rig. But we enjoyed almost all of the acts that we saw.

We also took some time to wander through Christchurch’s other attractions, especially the roses and other delights in the large Botanical Garden. Even the drinking fountains are works of art. The river Avon meanders through the city, creating bucolic oases. The people of Christchurch have ties to many countries, either directly or through their families. This is reflected in diverse restaurants and stores who carried items like mole paste not found elsewhere in New Zealand, even in Auckland. And of course good coffee was readily available! Overall it was a busy but enjoyable break in our South Island holiday. And Susanne enjoyed spending three weeks in a room with a real closet, for the first time since we moved onto Cheshire!

Meanwhile, David went off in the van to find some good trout streams. He returned for Susanne’s days off and to take his New Zealand drivers’ test. Finally both he and Schatzie were completely legal! His favorite spot was on the Acheron river north of Christchurch. A combination of a long unsealed road in, and challenging river access, meant that the trout had not been overfished. The jungle gym : Another jungle gym. We enjoyed a tasty breakfast of trout, though he released most of them. His best fish was a brown trout around 7 pounds.

At the end of January, we headed north towards Hamner Springs for our final circuit at the top end of the South Island. A large commercial hot springs is the main attraction here, but we elected to wait for the undeveloped and free delights of Sylvia hot springs on the Lewis river. It was quite nice except for the swarms of sand flies, which kept our stay short as we could not cool off between soaks.

Next day we enjoyed a lovely, gradual beech forest hike to Lake Daniells, which unfortunately was too warm for fishing, then headed north along the Motueka River towards Golden Bay. This was our favorite area in the South Island, because there were many interesting fishing possibilities, gorgeous hikes, great weather and a generally relaxed atmosphere.

The first week in February is especially festive, due to Mardi Gras, the national holiday Waitangi Day, and the last week of summer school holidays. We arrived in the small, hippy culture town of Takaka in time for a charming little Mardi Gras festival, complete with a parade which reminded us of Olympia’s Procession of the Species. Takaka also features the Dangerous Kitchen restaurant, of especial attraction to David who is a long time Frank Zappa fan. Alas, they no longer play his music as it didn’t sit well with the customers ... but the burritos were tasty.

Waitangi Day is the anniversary of the signing of the treaty with Maori chiefs and English representatives, so is the closest thing to 4th of July in New Zealand. Not everyone, especially some Maori, feel that it is an occasion to celebrate. However the local marae, gathering house for the local sub tribe, held an open house, with a tour, nibbles, and demonstrations such as flax weaving. This was our first chance to see a “real” marae, as we had only visited the ceremonial one on the Waitangi grounds. We had a great time chatting with the Maori and other locals, and Susanne made a small flax basket. Unfortunately pictures weren’t allowed ...

There are several hikes, locally known as tramps, in the area famous for their proximity to the water. Susanne elected to try the north end of the Abel Tasman tramp, which is not often included by those doing the southern section so was not too crowded. The 8 miles alternated 5 or 6 golden sand beaches with rolling hills and various views east and north around Separation Point. The weather was perfect, and she can’t think of a hike she has enjoyed more. After dropping her off, David spent another day along the Motueka chasing the elusive brown trout. He had just found some when alas, it was time to turn around and pick her up.

We also hiked a spur of the Heaphy track to Shakespeare Flats, supposed to be another good fishing spot. The spur track was steep and eroded, but the well used camping spot was evidence that the fish had been harassed before. Finally, we drove up to Farewell Spit, which extends for miles into Golden Bay and has great hiking and birdwatching opportunities. All this healthy exercise was a good excuse to visit to the Mussel Inn, who brew their own cider and had an entertaining library. We also had a great camping spot just across the river from Takaka, which was a good place to base our explorations from.

With a week to go before our ferry trip north, it was time to head towards Nelson. Its attractions include several breweries with scrumpy cider, 8%, yum! And two good local coffee roasters. Our favorite was little Sublime, whose coffee reminded us of Batdorf and Bronson in Olympia, a good antidote for the scrumpy ... The museum for the Wonderful World of Wearable Art and companion classic car exhibit made for several hours of entertainment. Open air musicians serenade cafe diners, and the Saturday market made for great browsing. We parked near the marina, to see if there was anyone we had met, and encountered a fellow from Gig Harbor about to sail home. Small world!

Our last stop was Blenheim, center for the burgeoning Marlborough wine industry. We visited two wineries, Hunter and the upmarket Cloudy Bay. Whilst far from true enophiles, we could definitely taste a quality difference in the wines. Naturally this was reflected in their prices, so we didn’t stock up. The Moa brewery was tucked in between all the vineyards, and we sampled some tasty brews including a dry cherry variety.

An extra-tropical cyclone had been sending 5 meter waves to the nearby coast, so we were a bit nervous about the ferry trip and stocked up on some anti-nausea medicine as a precaution. Fortunately things had settled a bit and we enjoyed another uneventful crossing back to Wellington. We spent a lovely evening with our friends the Sallis in Waikanae, trading fishing stories and other adventures of the year since we had seen them last.

Our trip back to Whangarei was punctuated with mandatory stops around Lake Rotorua for hot soaking and fishing. We tried out a new spot at Lake Okahuri, very nice and with no smell. We also visited the Butcher’s pool but were put off by heavy growth, so revisited the Waterfall Spout Bath near Waiotapu for a pleasant if stinky soak. David tried out several spots along Lake Rotorua, but the fish were not cooperating, so we had to content ourselves with tasty Kapiti ice creams at Lady Jane’s.

As per last year, we made our last stop at Sandy and Joan Mills’ lovely hilltop home outside Auckland, catching up again on all the events since we had last seen them in May. Atomic Coffee roasters and Indian grocery stores provided top ups of goodies not available in Whangarei, then it was time for the final leg “home.” We were pleased to find Cheshire just as we had left her on the Town Basin pilings, apart from a couple of spider webs. Our cosy berth and galley seemed spacious and pleasantly familiar after so many nights in the van.

Since then, we’ve been busy investigating the possibility of staying in New Zealand for a while, working and preparing for some more cruising in the many places we haven’t yet visited in the Western tropical Pacific. All has been going well except that New Zealand Customs quietly changed their laws in November 2007, which has created some problems for us in keeping Cheshire here long term. I will write more about this in a subsequent post, when we should have some resolution to our situation.

Answer to the pop quiz: it means a ford. Culverts are common, but in some places, the stream just flows across the road. Go firgure ...

-------- Original Message -------- Subject: Last chapter of South Island holiday Date: Tue, 13 May 2008 16:34:28 -0700 (PDT) From: David and Susanne Ames

It’s getting chilly here in Whangarei. A large high pressure system means nights in the 40s, 10C, and fine days for painting the cockpit and other projects. Most of our friends have gone or are preparing to leave. It’s a little weird seeing the bustle in the laundry room, listening to repeated analysis of potential weather windows, and waving as another friend unties the docklines and heads down the river to the sea.

It would be a little easier if our own situation was a little more sorted. Customs changed their rules right before we came back last December. Our friends who came here last year to work were allowed to import their boats without paying GST and duty, 20% of boat value. While this is still possible for us, we must leave NZ and reapply for our work permits outside the country to do it. This is not so bad since we are planning to come home for a visit, but Customs are also insisting the boat must leave too.

Upon careful reading of the law, I noticed the possibility for an exception to these requirements. So we have written the Comptroller of Customs to see if we can get an exception. Since we are one of the first to come under this law, it has taken a month to work through it and determine our options. It definitely pays to read the law and go through it with Customs, as the first directions we got on this matter were quite different and would have been more difficult to comply with. While it is frustrating to not be ale to move further into working and not worry about whether we need to leave, I have been viewing this exercise as good practice in learning the Kiwi government framework, and the proper approaches for getting things done here.

We should know in a week or two when and how we’ll be heading for the US, and hope to see many of you when we visit the East and West Coasts. Until then, I hope you are enjoying the advent of spring wherever you are.

Cheers!
David, Susanne and a shinier Cheshire the cat

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Cheshire sails to Port Vila, Vanuatu
Date: Wed, 9 Jul 2008 20:44:48 -0700 (PDT)
From: David and Susanne Ames

We arrived in Port Vila, Vanuatu yesterday, July 9, around 2 PM local time. A pleasant quarantine officer named Armstrong came aboard and took the rest of our fresh veggies and eggs. Oh darn, an excuse to go out to dinner and go to the market the next day. We went ashore to the Waterfront Bar and Grill, where we were also able to get showers along with tasty local beers, a steak and ribs. It is always such a treat to get really clean again, and then spend an entire night sleeping in clean sheets.

We left New Zealand June 30, the day our temporary import permit expired for Cheshire, and the first decent weather window for at least 2 weeks. We were able to check out with 9 other boats from the new Marsden Cove marina, which has been approved for Customs use. The approved alternative was the scary commercial wharf we were forced to use last year, which is subject to swell and current so is difficult to tie to in the best of conditions. We were very grateful to be able to use the more protected marina berths, which should hopefully be official in a month or two.

After two months of escalating communications with New Zealand Customs, we determined that we could not remain in New Zealand and avoid the vessel importation fees of 12.5% tax and 9% duty. This would have amounted to NZ $8,600, US $6,500, which was down from last year’s 24,000, but still more than we were willing to pay. Apparently this change results from changes to immigration laws in 2007, designed to attract wealthy foreign investors to NZ. However, they don’t want these people to bring in too many expensive assets into the country, such as boats, so they tightened the conditions for doing so. The Customs officer who cleared us from New Zealand said that they might be in the process of reversing some of these changes, to make it easier for people like us to import their boats if we come in to work. However these changes came too late to help us; because we came in under different conditions, subsequent changes don’t affect the conditions of our permit. Sigh ... bad timing on our part.

We will qualify to import Cheshire without these costs upon leaving New Zealand on the boat, and obtaining long term work permit/visa from outside the country. So we set about preparing Cheshire for departure, with the assurance of David’s long suffering prospective employer that his job offer will still stand.

We had initially planned to return to Fiji, because Nadi is the center for international flights in the South Pacific. However, the Fijian government abruptly changed its rules for visiting yachts in May, requiring any yacht who returned after less than 9 months to pay importation fees of up to 43% of the yachts value! So we decided to go Vanuatu instead, which is the country immediately west of Fiji. There is a good protected place to leave Cheshire in Port Vila, and we will hop a flight to Nadi and thence back to the US. Before we left Whangarei we didn’t broadcast our plans, as I was getting paranoid about Customs changes. Had we somehow offended Poseidon, or whoever the patron saint of Customs is? This has been more trouble than we have experienced in our entire trip! It seems like it is at least as hard to stop cruising as to start, especially if you want to stop somewhere other than your home country.

Our trip from New Zealand went well, assisted by forecasts from Commanders Weather in New Hampshire, whom we had used on our last trip down from Fiji. We had a good southwesterly helping us along for the first day or two, then the wind went northwest, in our face, and then died altogether as we transited from the temperate south of 30 south towards the tropics and a high pressure ridge. We stayed east of rhumb line as we assumed we would get pushed west from the tradewinds as we approached Vanuatu. We also monitored the wave conditions, as large storms south of New Zealand sent big swells our way. And we had “nibbly bits” to look out for as well; there are small islands, reefs and seamounts extending southeast of Vanuatu and New Caledonia which we didn’t want to sail too close to. Another difference from previous trips was leaving with a group going the same direction. For the first half of the trip we were usually within sight and VHF range of one or another of our comrades. It was kind of fun, but made me a little nervous as I did not want to go bump in the night with anyone! The music and playlists loaded on the Ipod were a definite bonus. It is so nice to set it to shuffle and listen to music we hadn’t heard in so long because of the hassle of finding and shuffling CDs! We never quite got around to fishing, and conditions weren’t right for the spinnaker, either wrong wind or waves that were too big. But all in all one of our better passages.

We didn’t get into the southeast tradewinds until July 6, and while it was warmer I still needed my fleece at night. We sailed up past Vanuatu’s southern islands of Aneityum, Tanna and Erromango during our last full day and night at sea, while the winds reached 30-40 knots and seas built to 12 feet or more and were steep and breaking, which is harder to steer in. On the night of the 8th we sailed with our staysail only, listening to the wind whistle and waves roar as they crested behind us, hoping they would not make it into the cockpit!

Conditions improved on the 9th, so we put up a reefed main and genoa and surfed in past Pango point to the harbor at Port Vila. You definitely don’t want to leave here when the trades are roaring as you must push against the prevailing wind and seas to get out of the harbor. Inside it is pretty protected, with plenty of yachts, some we have met before, and a number coming in from the ARC around the world rally. Port Vila seems a nice medium sized town, and not too expensive. We hope to do a little cruising in the area before we leave for the States and as we prepare to return to NZ.

We’ll let you know specifics of our trip to the states as soon as we book our tickets. We’d love to see as many of you as possible. We will have pictures on our fabulous Ipod to share. Until then, best wishes and fair winds from

David, Susanne and Cheshire the cat

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: We’re finally flying back to the US
Date: Fri, 11 Jul 2008 23:11:34 -0700 (PDT)
From: David and Susanne Ames

We bought airline tickets today, over $5,000, gulp! The complexity of this trip would be a challenge under any circumstances, but especially when you must explain to your travel agent where Albany, Hartford, Newark and Cincinnati are. I can sympathize though; until recently I was unaware of where Erromango, Ambryn or Vanua Lava are either, all Vanuatu islands.

Below is a summary of our plans. We’d love to see you if you will be nearby. Please let us know. We may not have a car all the time, so if you can come to us that would be best.

1. Port Vila to Philadephia, PA
Leave Port Vila Tuesday July 29, connect through Nadi, Fiji to LAX, arriving July 29 1:20 PM. Red-eye nonstop to Philadelphia, leave LAX 10:30 PM arrive Philadelphia July 30 6:50 AM, yawn. Visit Mary & David Meese in Chadds Ford approximately 1 week

2. Philadelphia, PA to New Englad- Amtrak
August 7-12ish
David may make his way to either Vermont or Massachusetts earlier than Susanne, allowing him more time with his family and her some time to stop and visit family and friends in Philadelphia, NYC and Connecticut.

3. Albany, NY to Seattle, WA
Week after Labor Day - 9/3-9/5
We haven’t finalized this one yet, because I could find airfares around $200 pp online, but the agent could not seem to find fares for less than $1,000 ! So we will wait and buy this ticket separately when we are back in the US, as we have a month from when we arrive. We’d like to be in WA before 9/6 as our friends Bryon and Maria are getting married that day.

4. Seattle, WA to Port Vila
Leave Seattle 5 PM September 21. Connect in LAX and fly to Nadi, arriving at 5:10 AM Tuesday, September 23, lose a day over the dateline. Fly to Port Vila arriving 9:10 AM.

So, that’s the plan! Hooray! Meanwhile, we are enjoying the warm and relaxed atmosphere here in Port Vila, and hope to do a little sightseeing around the island before we leave.

David amd Susanne, Cheshire is sulking at being left behind

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: David and Susanne visit USA
Date: Sun, 3 Aug 2008 08:45:05 -0700 (PDT)
From: David and Susanne Ames

We arrived back in the US last week. We will be here until September 21, when we return to Vanuatu. We would love to see our US friends during our stay. Alas, we have a fairly busy itinerary, and additional side trips are difficult. So if you can come to see us, that will be easiest. We plan to be in the Olympia area in early September and to attend Bryon and Maria’s wedding and the SSSS Meeting. We have a number of things to do during our stay, such as reviewing some issues with our house, so please contact us ASAP if you want to meet up with us.

For your reading entertainment, the account of our trip from Vanuatu to Philadelphia follows:

It was took about 30 hours from when we left Port Vila, accompanied by our friend Patrick from Eagle Dancer, to reach Philadelphia. He was good company for the trip through to LA, and warned us to lower our expectations for plane travel in the US, which proved to be good advice.

As we approached Nadi on our first flight, an announcement was made that the Fiji quarantine service was concerned that we might bring in nasty foreign pests into the country, and therefore the cabin would be sprayed with a “non toxic” aerosol prior to landing. If this bothered us we could cover our mouths with towels they provided, sort of a larger version of a Wet-one, saturated with hand cleaner.

Now first of all, it doesn’t make sense that a spray designed to quickly kill pests is completely non toxic to humans. Nor would I take the word of the Fijian government for it anyway! Secondly it seems at least as likely that such pests would travel in our luggage. As far as I could tell these weren’t treated. But anyway, the attendants proceeded to stroll through the cabin, fogging the air with this magic spray. Soon I could neither see nor breathe without coughing, it was so thick. I pulled my shirt over my mouth, and David cranked up the air jet over my seat, but it was at least 10 minutes before the air cleared. The towel suggestion was a non option; try breathing through a couple of wet-ones! When we landed, he noticed that a small blood vessel had burst in my right eye, which looked quite scary though there was no pain and I could see. I’ve had no subsequent effects, but will definitely inquire if they plan to do this on the flights home, and will bring a particle mask and make a run for the bathroom if so!

With a scheduled three hour layover in Fiji, I had had hopes of a quick run to a nearby curry joint for refreshment before the long leg to LA. Air Pacific’s amenites are not bad, with plenty of pillows, blankets, free drinks and entertaiment on the LA flight, but the food was mediocre to unappetizing. Alas, the flight from Port Vila was late and by the time we got our boarding passes to LA, only an hour remained which seemed not quite enough. The veg curry in the International terminal was tasty, though probably twice as expensive as a comparable meal in Nadi town! When I saw the ancient looking sandwiches for dinner on the LA flight, I was glad I had filled up before take off.

We were in one of those 747s with the upstairs deck, which I think used to be for first class but is now available to slobs like us. We got seats up there which worked out brilliantly. Air Pacific’s policy seems to be to fill up the downstairs first, so those folks were sardine packed whilst we had enough empty seats to allow many of us to stretch out for a nap, pure luxury on a 10 hour flight! David and I each had aisle seats with couples as neighbors. The ceiling drops low enough toward the window that they can’t put seats all the way to it, so there is a little carryon stowage with a shelf atop, which allows extra legroom for those in the window seats.

The seats each had individual video screens in the back of the seat in front, but mine didn’t work. So after take off the pleasant flight attendant allowed me to move up to an empty row, allowing me not only a working video screen but a primo napping spot! This was good because although there were at least a dozen audio and video channels to choose from, and free headphones, the selection was not great. You could also track the plane’s progress, which feels very weird relative to the speed we usually make on passages. Both audio and video included at least one Bollywood option, not surprising as there were a number of Indians aboard. My neighbors were a young man from Edmonton and his blushing Fijian Hindi bride, on their way to Canada. Since it was his first trip to Fiji (he loves it and wants to go back) and she’d never been out of Fiji, I suspect it was an arranged marriage. They seemed to be quite as taken with each other as any other newlywed couple, so hopefully it will all work out well for them.

The clearance process in LAX went surprisingly quickly, and there were free baggage trolleys to haul our stuff around. This was a good thing, because after a long walk to another terminal we were informed we could not check our bags for the next flight for another four hours. There are no longer any other luggage check options after 9/11; too much paranoia about terrorists abandoning bags with bombs in them, I guess. We considered a bus or taxi to escape LAX, but were feeling a bit ragged at this point. So we went back to the International terminal, where I wanted to reserve our seats on the upstairs deck for the return flight. We found a nice place to hang out near the food court with a great view of various jets such as Aeroflot. David napped whilst I checked email and trotted around to other terminals finalizing seat selection and other flight arrangements. LAX is an interesting place to people watch, especially when you are sleep deprived and culture shocked. There is quite a mix of travelers, seasoned with the Christian volunteers and security personnel. There seemed to be almost as many security personnel as travelers. Mexican food is available again for lunch, yum, I order my coffee drink in rusty espanol, and help translate for a group of Francais in line in front of me.

Another long but not unpleasant walk back to USAir in the LA evening, and we can finally relinquish the bags. One of those gadget shops has a foot massager to try out. Ooh, does that feel good! At the gate, we are told that the plane scheduled to fly us to Philadephia needs repairs, and they will use a different one that is just coming in from another flight.

Minutes tick by, and the terminal empties as the last flight to Las Vegas boards. An airline staffer entertains us with guitar over the PA system for a few minutes; not bad. Another delay is announced because the first class toilet is not working and the captain won’t let us board till it is fixed. This is probably a wise move as the plane is completely full and it is a non stop red eye, but is not popular with those people who have tight connections in Philadelphia. I am tempted to suggest bringing a bucket, a boat joke, for a spare to the doggedly cheerful airline staff, but decide this might not be well received. They wander amongst us trying to get people to give up their carry ons to be checked since the overhead bins would be stuffed. A few small children voice their opinions of the situation and I hope we are not seated near them.

Finally we board, shuffling down the ramp; I try not to think of cattle on the way to the abbatoir. There is perhaps one pillow and blanket per row, and I scurry to get two pillows for us before the plane fills. Off we go, the lights dim, and drinks are served. A mediocre plastic bottle of red wine is $5, and we are told it will cost $7 in 2 days. All food is for sale, but mox nix as there isn’t any served on this flight anyway. Guess you can’t complain about airline food if there isn’t any. No movie or other entertainment either. At least the small children have settled down. I put my earplugs in, we make ourselves as comfortable as we can, and actually nap most of the way.

Once at the gate, we let our seatmate out, she’s one of those with the tight connecting schedules, and wait for most of the others to leave too, grateful that this is our last stop after two nights on aircraft! David goes to the baggage claim to meet up with my mom and step dad while I swing by ticketing to arrange the last set of seat assignments for our return flight. Then a joyful reunion, collection of baggage, and drive through the rolling countryside to an eggs benedict breakfast at Mom’s. All in all, even with the involuntary pesticide shower, uncomfortable seats, and lack of quality and quantity of food, the flights were no more painful than most passages on Cheshire, and the reward has been worth it!

Hope to see you soon,
David and Susanne

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: "What we did on our summer vacation..."
Date: Tue, 30 Sep 2008
From: David and Susanne Ames

Below follows the account of our time in the states. It sure went by fast.

What a fantastic trip we had back to the United States. It lasted exactly 8 weeks, which seems a long time but, as we expected, went by very fast. In addition to catching up with family and as many friends as we could fit in, we had some chores to do as well, most notably, getting our NZ work visas renewed so we could import Cheshire without payment of duty and tax. We were able to do all of these things without feeling terribly rushed, mostly, but there was not a lot of pure slack time either. Here’s the highlights of what we did:

Got our NZ work visas renewed for 3 years. When we arrived at Susanne’s mother’s in Pennsylvania, we mailed off the NZ visa applications to the LA consulate. Having prepared several NZ visa applications before, and reviewed questions with Immigration in NZ, Susanne felt that the application was complete. However, our situation appeared very unusual to the staff at the consulate, who rejected the application and declared that we could not re-apply at this time as our current visas were good until February 2009! After a week of negotiation and many emails of supporting information, they agreed to reconsider our case, and we finally got the visas less than 2 weeks before we left.

Got our US driver licenses renewed. Susanne is particularly happy about this as hers was stolen in the Canaries. Now she can get a NZ drivers license just by passing the written test. David is not quite sure this is fair, as he had to do a fairly strict driving test as well.

Susanne passed the second level, general, of amateur radio, ham, license examination, which will allow us more ability to communicate by voice and limited email over the radio, though first we have to figure out how to do it! This turned into a bit of drama, since she couldn’t take the first available exams as she didn’t have a copy of her original license. Also, she discovered 36 hours before the exam that it had changed significantly since her study manual was published. So she scurried to the library and sat down with the new manual to soak up as much of the material as possible in the time remaining. Finally, the exam was given on McChord Air Force Base, where they are quite particular about proper identification. Fortunately, in that day’s mail she received both her passport, with the NZ visa, and new drivers license, so was able to get onto the base and pass the exam.

Visited our house, met the new tenants, reviewed some of the work done in our absence, and took care of a couple projects. This took up quite a bit of David’s time in Olympia. Somehow the wiring for the bathroom switches had been changed with some surprising results. David sorted that out, cleaned the stovepipe and gutters, and then spent several days applying cold mop to the roof to the chagrin of the resident chihuahua.

Went through our storage boxes tossing unnecessary stuff, safe deposit boxes, reviewed our insurance and finances, various other administrative chores.

Planned the logistics of the trip, including visits to as many people as our schedule permitted. This included getting permission to return to Vanuatu on oneway tickets, so that we weren’t turned away at the airport.

So as you can see, it wasn’t just a pleasure trip. At times it felt too much like work! But it was very worthwhile. It was a continuing lesson of cruising: you can prepare all you like, but there will always be issues that crop up which you can’t prepare for, so you must roll with the punches.

Now for the fun part. We spent 10 relaxing days with Susanne’s mom and stepdad Mary and David Meese, in the rolling countryside around Chadd’s Ford, PA. Think Wyeth paintings, Dupont estates, Amish in carriages, and lots of good summer produce. We were extremely lucky during the entire trip with our weathe: not too hot, cold OR humid, thank goodness! Then it was off to New York City where Susanne’s Aunt Ann lives at the historic Osborne apartments on 57th Street, kittycorner from Carnegie Hall. We haven’t been back to New York for 10 years and were pleasantly surprised by how clean the city has become, and the profusion of market stalls on street corners now seems to outnumber the hotdog vendors! We visited the 9/11 Ground Zero site, now in the midst of reconstruction, which is difficult to comprehend. Then it was uptown to visit Susanne’s godfather, out to Long Island to see her Uncle Paul, and time to get back on the train to head north.

David went directly to his dad’s in SE Vermont, while Susanne spent a couple more days in Connecticut visiting more family and friends. Reunited at Jenckes Farm, we drove off to the MA coast to meet up with David’s brother and sister for a couple of days. En route, we stopped at Nashua, NH to meet Brynn, our weather forecaster at Commander’s Weather who has been so helpful for our last round trip from NZ. The office is not terribly grand, just a few rooms next to Rte 3. It was fun to meet her and some of the other staff and take a closer look at what they do.

At Bayview, we were able to stay at a friend’s house called the Tiltin’ Hilton. When the present owners bought it, the house was off plumb on two planes, making for a funhouse sense of distortion. They decided to keep it that way, reinforcing the structure in place, custom glazing the windows with trapezoidal pieces, and accumulating quirky mementoes in keeping with the house’s off kilter theme. It seemed an especially appropriate place for us to stay, since David’s grandfather, Adelbert Ames Jr,, pioneered studies of the way the brain and the eye interact to create perception.

David and Susanne at Bayview : Bluefish caught at Bayview : Sunset at Bayview

Then it was back to Vermont and the annual family and friends workday at Jenckes Farm. This farm was started by an ancestor of David’s stepmom, Polly Wilson, in the 18th century and has remained in the family nearly continuously since then. Del and Polly have bought up a lot of the surrounding area which includes a number of former homesteads, now grown back into forest and marked only by cellar holes and stone ways. They have cut 26 miles of trails, which were mapped by a neighbor. So on August 16th several groups of us set out to do various projects clearing and repairing trails. We met up for lunch and dinner, followed by a collaborative music night. Great fun!

The next couple of weeks were quite relaxed, except for the ongoing negotiations on the NZ visas. We hiked many of the trails around Jenckes farm with the aging but still energetic Brittany spaniels Jacquot and Jolie, helped build a couple of bridges, and found a number of delicious mushrooms including several species of chanterelle. Susanne was in heaven! The Olympics and the Democratic convention kept us entertained at night. We also made a foray up to northern Vermont, visiting our friends Ed from Trinidad and Alec and Stefan from Olympia, as well as Mark’s property near Burlington. Over Labor Day we made another trip out to Bayview with Mark, his girlfriend Carol and her daughters: caught more fish, ate more lobster, more walks and yoga, yum...

We flew from Hartford CT to Seattle for the last leg of our trip. Susanne realized a couple days in advance there might be a problem as she had neither a current driver’s license nor her passport. She did have an expired license, and a copy of the passport which is useful as ID while travelling. So she gathered up all other forms of ID she could access: copy of bank statement, property tax statement, library card, radio license, boat documentation ... and anxiously approached the security guy at check-in. He had to call over his supervisors who looked at us a bit suspiciously, but agreed to let her though. Overwhelmed by the paper?. Once we were onboard and awaiting departure, a fellow came through with a printout and came up to Susanne. “Just checking to see if you got on the plane,” he said. Hmm.

In Seattle, we rented a cute little red Chevy Cobalt, resisting the agent’s pitch to upgrade to a "more comfortable" larger, and thirstier, model, and headed off to Lisa Seifert’s and Mitchell’s house. Mitchell the cat and resident guardian spirit has more presence than most other animals I have met. He is definitely completely aware of what is going on, and very good at quietly yet effectively communicating his opinions. We are glad he approved of us!

Lisa was a great hostess, allowing us an extended stay and use of her house for a fabulous BBQ party and slideshow on our 11th anniversary, September 12. Close access to downtown Olympia allowed us to finish off most of our chores and catch up with many friends and former co-workers. We also stayed a few days with Paige and David Lemcke. Paige has made it possible for us to successfully stay out this long, by cheerfully staying on top of more details than either she or we thought were necessary when we started: like the septic system replacement for starters, a tree landing on the house! We were able to sort out a few things while we were home which will hopefully make this less burdensome in the future, but it continues to be a great relief to us that she is there.

It was particularly delightful to attend the wedding of Bryon Dahl and Maria Chiechi on September 6, which happened to be on the 6th anniversary of their introduction on David’s former boat, the O-My-God. We were also acknowledged as the guests who had travelled the furthest to attend! David also enjoyed several visits to the expanded FishTail brewpub and catching up with the South Sound Sailing Society crowd at their September Meeting, although Susanne had to miss it since she was cramming for her Ham test. Hopefully next time ...

We made a quick trip to the Portland area to spend some time with good friends Kurt and Maureen Knutson and fur children Homer and Rufus, nearly identical yellow labs. This also allowed us a chance for tax free shopping in Portland, including a visit to Powell’s bookstore which Susanne believes is The Center Of The Universe. We considered buying another laptop, as they are cheaper and more powerful than the models available in NZ. However when faced with the issues related to converting to the Vista operating system, we decided to defer this decision until we are back in New Zealand.

Our last stop was a few days in Seattle with David’s sister Judith and her husband Hank and son Ethan, a recent high school graduate. Wasn’t it just the other day that he was four, when Susanne met him for the first time? Just enough time to go through some more boxes, do some final shopping, pack the extra suitcases, making sure not to exceed the 50 lb/bag limit!! And attend a yoga class. Before heading off to SeaTac to begin the journey back to Vanuatu and Cheshire, safe on her mooring.

Our flight back was happily less eventful than the flight over. No surprise “non toxic” pesticide dousings, hough Susanne was prepared with a charcoal filter mask this time!. We once again scored seats in the underpopulated upstairs of the 747, eight passengers, 2 flight attendants and the flight crew. We each had our own rows to stretch out on when we wanted, and the movie selection was better: Iron Man, Flight of the Concords, etc.

Now we are putting Cheshire back in cruising mode for a little more sightseeing in Vanuatu before heading back to NZ. We’ll head up to the islands of Epi and Malekula for a little exploration, then start hopping south as far as we can before checking out of either Tanna or Aneityum. One constraint on the trip is the upcoming US presidential election. We finally managed to get registered to get our ballots via email, so we want to make sure that we are able to post our votes timely. This might delay our return to NZ a little bit. It’s still spring down there, the weather is boisterous and not warm, and David isn’t exactly chomping at the bit to be at work at 7:30 AM.

We are very grateful for the chance to spend time with so many people on this trip. It’s particularly poignant with our older friends and relatives, as one never knows if they, or we, will be around or in as good shape when we next return. However we have learned the hard way that this can also be true for younger friends and family too, and we especially appreciated efforts they made to juggle other commitments and opportunities to see us. So each meeting felt significant, and precious to us. While it might have been nice not to have to work as much, it’s hard, and probably not realistic, to imagine the trip going any better. A big THANK YOU to everyone who helped with the trip and met up with us, especially our “landlords”: David and Mary Meese, Ann Michell, Del Ames and Polly Wilson, Mark Ames, Alec Brecher, Lisa Seifert, Kurt and Maureen Knutson, Paige and David Lemcke, and Judith, Hank and Ethan Holzer-Ames.

We’re already thinking about the next trip, tentatively for spring 2010 because:
We probably can’t take enough vacation from work to make it worthwhile before then;
It’s Susanne’s 25th college reunion (o-my-god!), which Michelle Obama may attend;
It’s just before the next Rugby World Cup, which will be held in NZ in the fall. Just kidding, I think?

We plan to work long enough in NZ to go cruising again in and around the South Pacific for at least a couple of seasons, probably sometime after that. There are so many lovely places we haven’t seen yet, and some we’d love to revisit. We aren’t sure yet if we’ll pursue staying long term in NZ, or think about returning to the US. We’ll see how we like NZ first, and Susanne needs to take a break from being an immigration agent!

Whew! A long post, but so much has happened. We hope this finds you well and enjoying 2008, wherever you are. Stay tuned for our further adventures in Vanuatu!

Love,
David, Susanne and Cheshire the cat, who just wants to get off the $@#%! mooring and go SAILING!

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Cheshire’s adventures in Vanuatu
Date: Mon, 15 Dec 2008 20:53:44 -0800 (PST) From: David and Susanne Ames

Cheshire’s adventures in Vanuatu

We cleared into Vanuatu on July 8 at the capital, Port Vila, on Efate Island, after an 8 day passage from New Zealand. We had a couple of weeks before our flights to the US to explore a bit locally. So we visited Mele Bay, which has a little resort on an island just offshore, and which provided a great place to clean Cheshire’s bottom. Hideaway resort is low key and has great snorkelling off the beach. We made friends with the diving instructor and were able to take lovely high pressure hot showers ashore, yumm. Of course we patronized the restaurant, which had good food at a reasonable price. So if you ever come here, it is worth a visit!

It was the week leading up to Vanuatu’s Independence Day, with many activities planned. We attended the opening ceremony and tried to follow the “toktok.” speeches, in Bislama. Just about every village in Vanuatu has it’s own dialect, often completely different from the village 2 miles away. The colonial administration didn’t help, some villages were under French control and some English, I think just depending on which missionaries went where. So the common national language has become Bislama, or pidgin. “My name is ...” translates to “Nem blong mi ...”, literally name belong me, and so forth. It is common for many people to speak 4 or more languages: the one for their village, one or more other local ones from their spouse or parents if they came from somewhere else, English or French taught in school, and Bislama.

We met the diving instructor, whose name alas I have forgotten, again on shore, where he lives with his partner and their two daughters. She gave me my very own Mother Hubbard dress, a missionary invention which most women still wear, so I could be dressed appropriately. Huh. Guess I can wear it to costume parties? As a thank you, tank iu, we invited them aboard Cheshire for dinner. The most popular items were not my vaunted Indian dishes, but commercial tortilla chips and cookies.

We hung out for a day in Mele village watching a soccer match, and the girls played with my hair, so different from their own. We tried some local tuluk, which is plantain paste wrapped around meat, and cooked in a banana leaf. Not bad. And some of the local kava, our Fijian mates had warned us that it was much stronger in Vanuatu. Instead of drying it, they pound it green, and don’t dilute it much. It compares to Fijian kava like espresso to weak coffee. The kava stalls were offering buy 4, get one free, but half a bowl each for us was plenty!

We also visited Havannah Harbor, on the NW coast of Efate, which is protected by 2 islands. It was good to get out of Port Vila for a bit, but we weren’t thrilled with the anchorages at Ai Creek and Lelepa Bay: not big, poor holding, and a bit exposed. On our way back to Vila we discovered the reason for naming Devil’s Point: it is a compression area for wind and waves and was very rough for a long ways offshore. It didn’t help that we left in the afternoon, when the wind and waves are usually strongest, and forgot to lock a forward hatch. So, we shipped 150 gallons of water in the starboard hull! The benefit of which was that David was able to successfully test our new bilge pump...

After our trip to the US, we returned to Vanuatu at the end of September. Cheshire was safe and sound, albeit a bit forlorn on her mooring at Yachting World. However, she had grown quite a marine park on her bottom, testimony to the aging of our bottom paint. We spent an afternoon in the water with putty knife and scrub pad. Most of the growth came off fairly easily, but the small shrimp and other creatures who had been living there made their displeasure at eviction by stinging! Our suits were full of the little monsters, ugh. It took us over a week to get sorted out and topped off, ready to go again.

We wanted to see a little more of Vanuatu, but as cyclone season was approaching and David was expected to start work at Friendship Yachts in Whangerei, we didn’t want to go too far. So we planned a short trip in the central section. We elected to begin taking the antibiotic Doxycycline as a malaria preventive, but came to regret this as it upset our stomachs and made Susanne in particular dizzy and seasick, even on relatively short and mellow trips. We eventually stopped taking it, figuring that it was more important to be in shape to sail the boat, especially as we faced more upwind, rougher, legs heading south. We were careful to coat ourselves with high content DEET bug juice when we went ashore, and often sprayed the boat’s bug screens with it too. This is necessary anyways as dengue fever is also a mosquito borne risk in Vanuatu. Dengue is very painful and there is neither prevention nor cure, just treatment of symptoms.

Our first stop was Emae, a small island 50 miles north of Efate. We just spent the night aboard here, then pushed on to another overnight stop at Revolieu Bay and finally Lamen Bay, on Epi Island. Lamen Bay is famous for it’s “tame” dugong, manatee, called Bondas, which we were fortunate enough to swim with. Mostly, he meandered along the bottom of the anchorage, snuffling up goodies from the bottom with his vacuum cleaner snout. He was accompanied by a small group of fish who were irritated when he rolled over and wriggled in the sand like a dog! Several large turtles swam around the boat, unafraid of humans since they are protected here. The villagers from the outer island paddle in each day to their plantations on Epi, then cut a large palm frond to use as a spinnaker to sail home. Cheaper than your local sailmaker, and it’s even recyclable!

We enjoyed a reunion with our friends from Koncerto, Poco Andante, and Ironbark, including a potluck dinner and bookswap. Then it was off to the Maskelyne Islands at the southeast tip of Malekula Island, a lovely and protected little group with nice snorkelling. Many canoes stopped by to visit and offered vegetables, fruit and even lobster for trade. When Kaisa learned of David’s fondness for kava, he invited us to a delicious “cocktail hour” at the nearby village, Avokh. He prepared freshwater prawns, sweet potato, coconuts and other fruits as well as plenty of fresh kava. We found that a coconut water chaser helps clear the throat after a gulp of the pungent kava. Most of the local men were there, but all waited until we were finished to avail themselves of the leftovers.

Vanuatu and the waters to the west are a breeding ground for low pressure systems. In the summer, November to April, these can develop into cyclones. At any time of year, this instability coupled with the high islands’ tendency to generate weather can make for unpredictable squalls, with lightning, high winds and rain. When the formation of a small low pressure system was predicted near us, we decided to head around the corner with Poco Andante to Port Sandwich, which is well enough protected to serve as a cyclone anchorage. Fortunately we just had a rainy day, and spent some of it exploring a local river and a wreck in their dinghy. Ezekiel, who owned the neighboring farm, rowed out to invite us over the following day. He presented us with piles of papaya, cucumbers, lemons etc, and proudly showed off his visitors’ books in his small Presbyterian chapel. We made sure to make up some gifts of food staples such as sugar and powdered milk in return.

After a brief return to the Maskelynes, we sailed westwards around the southern end of Malekula to Melip at the corner. It had been cited as a possible anchorage in our guide. We found it shallow, with limited anchoring possibilities due to coral bommies which were exposed refracted swell. The next morning, we were visited by police from the Tekoro, a patrol boat. They were making their annual rounds to find and prevent marijuana cultivation and use; apparently Melip is well known for this! They were quite polite but went through our papers very thoroughly, writing down all our details. Watching them leave, we noticed that the waves in the channel appeared to be getting larger, and perhaps we should leave to avoid getting trapped.

So we set off for Southwest Bay, just up the west coast, and found Ironbark anchored off the village of Lembiwen. We spent a very pleasant week there: kava drinking, visiting the “yacht club”, a grass hut with a visitors book, and a potluck with a family we came to know. David scored major points from fixing Salin’s sewing machine. I got to go for a ride in her outrigger canoe! It was fun but harder to steer than my little surf kayak. A Kiwi named Kevin has started a farm next to the village, and provided us with two of the best steaks I have ever eaten. His manager James also sells eggs, and they threw in some lovely lettuce and other produce from the garden. We had a feast!

Paul and Mira from Ironbark persuaded us to go up and visit Dixon Reef, just to the north, before heading back to Port Vila. It was the best snorkelling we have done in Vanuatu. Lush corals and many types of fish; rays, tuna, turtles and some sharks; hmmm. The locals here had just started a “yacht club” and our foursome was invited to a dance performance, with fresh coconuts, yum, tour of a traditional hut where Paul tries out a traditional Vanuatu bed, and sand drawing. The male dancers were in traditional small Namba undress which is rather revealing by western standards! I tried to persuade David to try on a costume, but no luck...

Getting back to Port Vila was not easy, as our southeasterly course was directly in the path of the prevailing winds. Although only 100 miles, it took us over 24 hours to sail. We gave Devil’s Point a wide berth this time! Many boats had already left as it was the beginning of November and potentially of cyclone season. We spent another 10 days doing laundry, errands and maintenance, and waiting for the winds to shift for our next southeasterly leg.

There are three islands south of Port Vila, one of which, Tanna, has both a port of entry and a famous volcano, Mt. Yasur, near the eastern anchorage of Port Resolution. We decided that we wanted to visit Tanna and, if the officials permitted it, the southernmost island Aneityum, “ah-neet-yum”. The port of entry is Lenakel, on the western side, a long truck ride round trip from Port Resolution. But there are no good anchorages on the west side.

Our friends Luc and Jackie of Sloepmouche had worked with some local folks to set up two moorings just north of Lenakel in 2006, and assured us that they were strong and still there. So off we went on another 100 mile overnight sail. Upon approach, we found that there was only one mooring visible in a small bay set about with reefs and bommies, so we tied up to it. The weather looked pretty settled and we were exhausted, so we made an early night of it.

After a leisurely breakfast, we were ready to go ashore. But, we thought, we should make sure the mooring is strong enough for us to feel comfortable leaving Cheshire. David dove down about 20 feet but could not go deeper due to allergies, and could not see the mooring itself as it was 60 feet deep. So, we decided to bump test the mooring as we do with our anchor to ensure it is set, by pulling with the engine in reverse. Alas, on our second tug the mooring broke loose, precipitating an emergency go to sea drill. We felt badly about breaking the mooring, but it had been described as strong enough for cruising boats, many of which are larger and heavier than Cheshire. We suspect that it probably had not received any maintenance since installation. So, off to Port Resolution ...

We saw a canoe floating off of Tanna, and as it appeared to be in good shape we thought maybe the owner might want it back. But we had to abandon it when the mooring broke, so we will never know...

It is only 35 miles to Port Resolution from Lenakel direct route, but most of it is upwind and we didn’t start till after noon. It was clear we could not reach it in daylight, so we sailed off the south coast a ways and then back to make sure we did not arrive too early. Around sunset, we had a bit of a scare as we watched an approaching squall move towards us from Aneityum. It was dense and black, with thick rain curtains, and there was a scary looking cloud with fingers hanging down. At the weather station in the Maskelynes, the duty officer had told us they had seen a waterspout just offshore the year before. So we tacked back towards Tanna, and the squall crossed our track about two miles behind us. We didn’t see any water spouts or lightning, but better safe than sorry!

We arrived at the entrance to Port Resolution just after sunrise, with Mt. Yasur providing a welcoming, or warning? belch over the cliffs. This is a popular spot for yacht arrival in Vanuatu, as it is close to Fiji, so often there are many yachts in the harbor, but there was just one other cat so we had plenty of anchoring room. The chief’s son Stanley came by in his canoe and told us that there was a trip to the volcano that afternooon, so we took a nap and came ashore at 4 PM. We joined the Austrian crew of the other cat, Ishana, Kristof, Anna and their daughter, along with Australian visitors Annette and Ruth, and some villagers in an open truck. The ride was about an hour, up some rutted and steep roads.

We were fortunate that the weather was clear, and Yasur was active but not too much so. Sometimes it is not safe to even leave the parking lot! We were able to walk a short distance to the crater rim, where every 10-15 minutes a small eruption would occur and occasionally sent globs of material over our heads and outside of the lip. It was humorous to see some tourists with plastic hard hats which I don’t think would offer much protection. When there was material in the air you had to keep your eyes on the ball and move if necessary. Apparently this is the closest tourist access to a live volcano in the world, and that was good enough for me. We were able to stay after sunset, where the glowing pumice was like a fireworks display. The picture doesn’t quite do it justice, so you will just need to come and see it for yourself.

3500 vatu, about US $35, apiece bought us the round trip and almost two hours at the crater - that seemed like good value to us. If you want to visit Yasur yourself, a good place to stay would be Port Resolution Bungalows, where you can either have a view of the bay, or ocean front on White Sand beach. It’s not Club Med; don’t bring your hairdryer as there is no electricity. But the village, like everywhere in Vanuatu, has friendly, helpful people and it is a lovely, relaxing place to visit. It’s easy to fly in from Port Vila and the village truck makes daily trips across the island to the airport, depending on water levels and road conditions. There is an interesting display of photos and artifacts at the cultural center, with a short glossary in the local dialect.

David rode the truck back across the island to Lenakel to do our outward clearance, a 2 hour spine jarring trip each way. He was also able to top up our gasoline, $4.40/liter, and get some groceriesnot available in the village: eggs, bread and carrots . Most importantly, he got permission for us to visit the southern most island, Aneityum, on our way out to New Zealand. To celebrate, we bought a nice tasty lobster.

It’s 50 miles to Anelcauhat, the large SW bay on Aneityum, which is about as far as we can safely travel in daylight and still have good light for coral navigation. As a back up, we plotted routes into a couple of the northern anchorages. But conditions cooperated, we were able to go directly to Anelcauhat and get a good, solid anchor set. This was important, because during the week we were there we weathered two short but intense squalls, with forks of lightning dancing over the roofs of the nearby village! Even though the wind exceeded 30 knots at times, and clocked all around, our trusty Delta kept us in place with the help of all our chain. We had good warning of these squalls with the enhanced grib weather files, which now show forecast precipitation, and spot weather forecasting which shows the chances of convection, squalls. Still, we spent one night on anchor watch, as we had coral reefs within 100 feet on several sides and would not have had much time to react if the anchor dragged. This is my least favorite part of cruising, but unavoidable in order to visit many of the most interesting places we have been.

We spent a mostly pleasant week at Anelcahaut, though David had another bout of tummy bug for a couple of days. Just before we left Tanna, he had decided to try some “traditional” kava, which is made by young boys chewing the kava root and spitting the pulp onto banana leaves, yuk, then mixed with water and strained with coconut leaves. He claims the flavor was very good, but I’m inclined to attribute his illness, fever of 102 F, to this cultural experiment. Unfortunately, I developed a milder form just as we left on passage to New Zealand, making me somewhat lethargic and requiring more toilet paper than usual. I thought this wasn’t fair since I didn’t even get t try the kava!

Two white couples were in residence at Anelcauhat: Bill and Grace, who were working on a project to translate the Bible into the local dialect; and Ted and Susan, an English/Australian couple volunteering to help develop sustainable local business ideas. Anelcauhat is visited every 4-6 weeks by a cruise ship, and the villagers provide tours and sell handicrafts to the passengers. Ted and Susan had spent several years cruising Vanuatu in their boat Alice Colleen, and liked it so much that they decided to stay and see what they could do to help the village. Susan encouraged some of the local artists to use traditional designs in their pictures, which led to increased sales and interest from Australian galleries. It was very interesting to talk with them and get a more in depth view into village life, politics, etc.

We also met Roscoe, a pleasant young man who brought us some greens and coconuts from his own garden. He is twelve, but has had to quit school because his parents cannot afford to pay school fees for all their children. So he only made it too the second grade and is helping his grandparents. Susan has given him some reading lessons, so we gave him a National Geographic to practice with together with some fishing line.

Meanwhile, the weather once again was unusual. Instead of a nice, regular weekly procession of low and high pressure systems, we had weak systems popping up and disappearing, interspersed with troughs that generated squalls as described above all along our projected route. Day by day we checked the forecasts, waiting for even a mediocre weather window. We were depleting our stores of fresh food, and had limited funds left to purchase more from the village, where prices of anything not produced there were 150% or more of Port Vila levels. Finally, on November 29, we saw our chance and left.

We had a pretty good albeit slow passage to New Zealand. The direct route was south-south-east, mostly south, and a little east. But the winds were such that it was quite a challenge to get as far east as we needed, in order to end up on the right side of the North Island! Winds were mostly light, so it took us nine days, sailing as close to the wind as we could. But the waves were also small, so it was comfortable enough to get up on the tramps and even do some on deck yoga. Partway through the trip the NZ a search and rescue Orion plane flew over us, and asked us for an updated ETA over the radio. It was somewhat reassuring that they could find us in such a big stretch of ocean. Once my stomach settled a bit, David trolled a surface plug and attracted a marlin with a 3' sail, 100+ lb., and was worried enough to retrieve the line hastily. Otherwise no other fish came for dinner, though I did get a bird. Not so tasty.David and the bird

Our last day of sailing was the best, a fitting end to these chapters of our trip. Sunny and pleasant, with the wind finally far enough north to fly our spinnaker, we cruised down the New Zealand coast. The half moon lit our progress almost all the way to the Whangarei Heads, and the oven kept the cabin comfortable as we baked our remaining potatoes and garlic, along with a batch of brownies to use up some eggs. Between 2 and 3 AM local time we rounded Whangarei Heads and entered the channel. although we had been in and out twice before, it was remarkably confusing with all the lights from the oil refinery, commercial wharf and curving channels. We carefully made our way back into Marsden Cove Marina, now an official quarantine berth, from whence we had departed just over 5 months before. The sky was just beginning to lighten on December 8 as we tied up, so we had a quick nap before a breakfast of banana pancakes and the arrival of Bruce, Customs, and Helen, Quarantine. As usual, clearing in was quick and easy, and Bruce and Helen were happy to help us consume the brownies...

Then it was back up the river to Town Basin marina for a couple of days. As we approached the pontoon, our little friend Anna the Jack Russell terrier began barking in recognition, and friends waved from their boats. We have spent the last week settling back in, visiting friends both local and yachtie, making arrangements for haul out, we hope for less than 6 months this time, and, most importantly, successfully importing Cheshire. David is due to start work on January 5, so he has a little time to get Schatzie the van through another WOF inspection, and help with some boat chores. We went up to Opua to visit our friends Ken and Beth of Eagles Wings, and pay our respects to Des Renner of Opua Offshore, who runs the radio net that we use on passage.

It’s still odd to reconcile December, and Christmas, with New Zealand summer, but not by any means unpleasant. We will probably celebrate Christmas day with a low key barbeque here at the yard. Most people here have two weeks off, and businesses are generally closed for Boxing Day, December 26, as well as Christmas. So we’ll work on some projects, but also fit in a few day trips to enjoy our remaining time to ourselves before work intrudes. I will begin looking for work once we have finished painting the bottom and doing any other critical projects. However the economy here is also in decline, and a recent change in the national government makes for additional uncertainty, so it may take a while to find a position.

It’s been a grand adventure on the Cheshire, and while it is a bit sad to put our active cruising on hold for a while, hopefully we will be able to go again when we replenish the cruising kitty. We still think the South Pacific has enough destinations to entertain us for the foreseeable future, though we could go as far west as Thailand and be able to return to New Zealand, and potentially the west coast of the US, with continuing on around the world. Our friends on Eagles Wings went to the quadriennial Pacific Arts Festival in Samoa and found it to be wonderful. The next one is in the Solomon Islands in 2012, a country we would like to visit. So there’s a goal. We are tentatively planning another trip to the US around spring 2010, probably not as long as this year, but hopefully with fewer jobs to do as well.

We hope this finds you enjoying your holiday preparations. It has been good fun writing about our adventures for you, and we particularly enjoy getting emails from you in response. Do please let us know if you want to come and visit us here. New Zealand is well worth the plane trip, especially if you can stay for 2 weeks or more to explore. We won’t be writing as frequently during our sojourn here, but we will probably send a few updates in the coming months, and then when we prepare to embark again. Please let us know if you wish to leave our email list, and do please stay in touch.

With much love, and best wishes for 2009

David, Susanne, and Cheshire the cat

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: So, what have David, Susanne and Cheshire the cat been up to in 2009?
Date: Sat, 26 Dec 2009 00:49:14 -0800 (PST)
From: David and Susanne Ames

We apologize for the long silence from us down under. It has been a "funny old" (crazy) year for us, and we kept putting off an update until we were "sorted". We aren’t entirely sorted yet, but a lot further along, and Christmas is a good time for these things anyway, sooo ...

To recap, David started work in January for Friendship Yachts. Despite the oncoming recession, just starting to be felt in NZ at that time, they gave him a permanent position as boat builder and assured him that there was work for at least a year. Unfortunately in March, David was laid off, since the recession caused orders to be cancelled. We had just begun the residency process, and spent some time thinking through our options. Susanne had deliberately not looked for work yet, which was good as her ability to work was tied to David’s job and she would have had to quit. Instead, she had been working on more Cheshire projects, such as getting at those pesky little blisters on the hull...

We decided that we wanted to try to stay in NZ. We both looked around for other jobs, but they were in short supply. A project manager in China wanted to hire David to help build wave piercing power catamarans, which would have been interesting, but didn’t help with NZ residency. Susanne had people interested in hiring her for shorter term project jobs, but residency requires at least a year of skilled, full time employment.

Another option was to start a business. We met two other couples who were doing this. It is a more difficult option than regular employment because a full business plan is required, along with the other immigration requirements: medical exam, police report, etc etc. Preferably you have already operated the same kind of business elsewhere before, or make a very convincing argument that you have sufficient equivalent experience to do so in New Zealand.

We decided to pursue relaunching Ames Marine, David’s boat repair service, in Whangarei and spent two months researching the market and preparing the plan. At the end of May, we sent a kilo, 2.2 lbs., of paper to Immigration. Of course, the office was in the midst of a move, so we didn’t hear anything till July; and also of course, they wanted more information; they always do. The major question was evidence of David’s prior business experience. Like many small businesses he was not in the habit of preparing annual company reports and financial statements, and we destroyed most of the records he did keep when we left Olympia to prevent bank account numbers, etc falling into the wrong hands. We were able to get copies of business insurance policies, and affirmations of commercial activity from the bank and his major supplier, Fisheries in Seattle. However, we think the best evidence was the testimonials from five former customers in Olympia, several of whom clearly wished David would give up this silly business of staying on the other side of the ocean, and come back to take care of their boats as per the original plan.. We are very grateful for this support in light of the circumstances!

Things were taking so long that we were in danger of overstaying our visitor’s visa, and were starting to think about a return to the USA if the business visa was not approved. However in mid September we got the green light, and started up Ames Marine, New Zealand. Check out our web site: www.amesmarine.co.nz.

As spring progressed and the days lengthened, our spirits lifted to watch the adorable newborn lambs frolicking in the paddocks. Visiting yachts began to arrive at the marina, along with old friends tanned from the tropics and complaining about how ccooolldd it was; we didn’t have a lot of sympathy! We took a short holiday to Hamilton to watch a live All Blacks rugby game, scoring seats just behind one of the goal (try) lines. It was great fun although, alas, they lost. Then a quick detour ending in Rotorua, where David caught a trout while Susanne soaked in a hot spring. There is a postcard worthy view around every corner in New Zealand, and we still have a lot of corners to go around.

Once the basic administrative details of Ames Marine were sorted, Susanne began an intensive job search. This was important for several reasons: income; the gap on her resume was longer than we had originally planned; and, if she could get a job, we could get through residency more quickly. Under the business visa, David had to start and run the business for two years, showing a profit and a benefit to New Zealand before he could apply for residency on that basis. But with a work permit resulting from the business visa, and a qualifying job, Susanne could apply for both of us right now. If this sounds complicated, it is. We checked and double checked with Immigration to make sure we read the rules correctly before proceeding!

As a friend of ours had predicted, Susanne’s government background meant her best opportunities were in the capital, Wellington, which is 600 miles south of Whangarei. Before the business visa was approved, she had been approached to work on a project related to government contracting, but could not follow through until the business visa, and her work permit, were approved. She put in right away, and was contacted for a phone interview after a few weeks. Meanwhile, she continued to apply for other jobs that looked like a possible fit. To write a credible application required up to 2 days of research about each potential employer and the issues related to the position, so looking for work became a full time job. The phone interview led to another interview, initially planned as face to face but ultimately conducted on Skype. This was really good because the alternative was to fly to Wellington and stay at least overnight, which could have cost close to $1,000. Susanne also had to take on-line psychometric tests, which are popular here in New Zealand to suss out the personalities of prospective candidates to try to ensure a good fit with a team.

Some of these were similar to ones she had done before, such as selecting statements that describe how you prefer to work: I like, or don’t like, being on teams, etc. The last test was a form of IQ test, designed to be racially/culturally neutral. It consisted of matching patterns in a table, and got increasingly more complex. It was kind of fun, except that Susanne made the mistake of doing these tests in the evening, with a glass of wine, after spending the day on another job application. By the end, she had a headache and her brain felt like custard, Note to self: next time, do this in the morning, with a cup of coffee!

Apparently, this went OK though, because in mid November Susanne got a job offer to join the project for a year. This was pretty much an ideal situation: an interesting job, a commitment long enough to ensure residency and get some good NZ experience, but with a defined end point. The down side means that she must live in Wellington for 2010, returning to Whangarei for holidays and weekends. Then, we will decide where is the best location for both of us to live and work in New Zealand, for at least a couple of years until we are granted unlimited residency.

So the last month has been in high gear. David has started to get work from incoming cruising boats, while Susanne has been moving to Wellington, finding housing and starting her job. She did fit in an Anusara yoga workshop in Christchurch with Desiree Rumbaugh, a fantastic early Christmas present and a great place to start full time work from. Wellington is rather like Portland OR, lots of activity and culture centered in the downtown, with lovely parks close by. She has found a downtown flat with 2 other housemates, clean and tidy, and a 15 minute walk to work, and a good yoga studio. As anticipated, work is busy and interesting, with an experienced international team of co-workers. In the same division, there is another fellow from Washington state, who actually knows one of Susanne’s former bosses. There were three office Christmas parties, with lots of food, a scavenger hunt, and plenty of wine, beer and champagne on site and during the work day. These were great opportunities to get to know work mates a little better, and ease the transition to full time work.

What is Christmas like in New Zealand? As I write, HM the Queen broadcasts her Christmas message to the Commonwealth, asking that we remember men and women in the armed services, etc. Earlier today, we went for a walk on a beach with many other families celebrating their summer holiday. It feels a lot more like the Fourth of July than Christmas, but we’ve decided we can get used to this summer celebration.

We’ll spend the next few days catching up on various things and each other. We’ve had the good fortune to house-sit for friends Les and Dianne while they are off working in Abu Dhabi, and coming back on New Year’s Eve. So we’ll get the house spick and span for them, then take off for a few days in Schatzie the van before it is time for Susanne to head back to Wellington again.

We are beginning to plan another US trip for late May into June 2010. Susanne won’t have as much time to spend as in 2008, since that is a particularly busy point in her job. David will probably spend more time in Vermont and Olympia, especially catching up on house maintenance. We hope to see as many family and friends as we can. If you are interested in a NZ visit, let us know. Our guest accommodations are limited, but we would be happy to provide any help that we can in sharing our experiences of this wonderful country.

We hope you are having a happy, peaceful Christmas, with time to do the things you enjoy with the people you love. Our lesson from 2009 has been that the things you really want in life are worth the effort to gain them. We hope your 2010 is full of the things you want.

Happy Holidays,

David, Susanne, and Cheshire, who longs to be back in the water, someday ...