Mentawai

11/10/07
Siberut Island, Mentawai
Pulau Masokut
coordinates 01.49.615S,099.15.338E

You can definitely tell that we are nearing the equator again. When the sun is out it can be blazing above 90 degrees, the water a balmy 86 degrees. The monsoon season is about to begin as well though, so the majority of the days can be cloud covered and raining buckets. Our freshwater tanks are always full but nothing ever has the chance to dry out with the humidity. You can nearly watch the mold grow on the inside of the hatches and any utensil that considered rusting is letting loose now.
Electronic equipment such as computers and cameras are beginning to struggle as well but keep limping along while we baby them. The surroundings are beautiful if you have to sit/surf in the rain somewhere. We are having a wonderful time getting in our exercise before our chances for surfing are gone. Once we leave Indonesia they diminish greatly. The islands are thick with lush green palm trees surrounded by white sand beaches and turquoise waters. Being so remote we rarely see another vessel
shy of a few surf charters and local fishing boats.

We are slowly hopping our way up through the islands. Most of the islands and anchorages around here are actually known by their surf location name as given by charter captains. Mentawaian's actually has their own dialect as well separate from Bahasa, which makes communication even more challenging. Depending which map or guide book you look at the island or anchorage may have 2 or 3 different names. Southern and Northern Pagai, Sipora, and Siberut Islands are the main ones we have been hovering
around. The main islands are surrounded by hundreds of smaller, lesser named ones where we usually end up finding our anchorages. Thanks to some great charter boat captain's we have met out here, they have provided us with some great info and connections along the way. Since the most recent earthquake a month or two ago, the reefs and islands geography has changed as great as 1 to 3 feet depending on which side of the island you are standing. Quite amazing.

We spent a fun and wet Halloween in a place called Rag's or Teluk Pasangan just off of Southern Pagai, complete with carved watermelons and scary movies. The next couple of days we spent in a great location called Macaroni's, found off the west coast of Northern Pagai. Tristan had the opportunity to catch his last wave as an eleven year old and his first wave as a twelve year old with 20 of his closest australian surfer friends off a charter boat sharing the bay with us. Amazingly fun and supportive,
this crowd of surfers shall we say are of the more mature nature (i.e. pot bellies and pocket books), and let the little kid on the block drop in on them whenever he could. From there we headed up the way to Lance's Lefts, a surf break located off the town of Katiet, the main village on the southern peninsula of Sipura Island. We found a wonderful beach break there that everyone, including the locals on the bashed, beaten, often no tip boards were riding away. Great fun.
Bought a few carvings and on our way again.

Next stop was the town of Topejat. A major town by all standards out here. Complete with large supply ships and fuel. Good for us, since everyone was beginning to watch the fuel gauges bounce around the big E sign. Even better was a ton of wonderful produce. The only true excitement here was in the middle of the night, Ohana Kai's rudder managed to find a big beautiful SHALLOW coral bommie and crunch, took a bight out of the side we later discovered. Only about an 1/2" x 1" x 2". Once we reached
clear water in which we could dive and check it out we were able to place a patch on it and all's well. The guide books failed to mention that one.

Fast in and fast out and we were on our way towards the island of Siberut. A quick one night stop nestled between the islands of Pulau (Island) Karangmajat and Pulau Penanggalansabeu, also known as 4 Bob's. Before the rain hit, it was the picture perfect scene with a white sand beach arising out of the waters dotted with just a few palm trees. The deserted island you dream of. Every island surrounding us looks as though Max and his band of Wild Things could come parading out of the jungle at
any moment.

Finally we settled for a weeks worth of play near the island of Dodiki or Roniki depending on the chart and a surf break known as Burgerworld. Again we were able to hunt the coasts and find a beach break for everyone in the morning and when the wind was down, The big boy surfed Burgerworld in the afternoons. With only a few days left before we head to the mainland Sumatra, city of Padang to check out of the country, we are giving Pulau Masokut a quick try. The road less traveled has been serving
us well so far. Not sure if we are ready to head back on into the crazy city scene of Phuket and Thailand. Give us the chance though and we are sure we could find a road less traveled there as well.
until next time,
your crew on Ohana Kai

Gunung Krakatoa Erupts!

10/22/07
Gunung Krakatoa
coordinates 06.08.551S,105.25.461E

Famous for being one if not the loudest recorded explosion in history, Gunung (Mount) Krakatoa blew itself nearly to extinction in 1883. Sending ash as far as Singapore and tsumami waves as far as Aden in the Red Sea in a mere 12 hours. A distance that great would take a steam ship 12 days. It is nestled between the islands of Java and Sumatra. In the caldera of the old volcano is a beautiful anchorage that allowed the Kelly's on s/v Moorea and us to anchor for a couple of nights and be treated
to one of the worlds true wonders. After a tumultuous sail in which we blew out both our spinnaker halyard and the webbing to our head sail, we limped our way into the anchorage at sunset and managed to anchor in the dark. Something we try not to do often especially in such unfamiliar and uncharted territory. The currents and winds were so strange in this setting that both vessels put out bow and stern anchors and still had to raft up together to make sure we didn't bump each other unintentionally
at night. As we did enter the bay that evening we could see Anak Krakatoa, or the child of Krakatoa in Indonesian. It is a second volcano that has grown up two miles away in the shadow of it's father. A classic looking volcano if ever there was one complete with the open crater on top, though rather quiet and dormant we heard for the last few years.

We awoke the next morning to check out our new surrounding in day light. The plan was to repair our new projects and possibly take a hike up the volcano, which our guide books say, "An average overweight cruiser could do in just over an hour". We were in. Plans change though, and just as Bruce entered the cockpit of the boat for that morning stretch, Kaboom! Anak Krakatoa erupted a new crater right out it's southern side. We grabbed cameras and video's to try to capture the event. We were stunned.
Unbelievably, we watched as rock, ash and lava shot hundreds of feet into the air, creating majestic mushroom clouds, sending boulders to the sea and slides of earth down it's sides. The sounds would echo in our chests and eardrums. Simply amazing. After that initial explosion, it continued throughout the entire day on regular intervals sending plumes of smoke into the sky and the occasional land slide to the sea. It certainly kept us entertained as we tried to focus and finish the work we needed
to do. That night we all had dinner together and were pleasantly surprised again to get a continued show with eruptions of red lava up into the dark night sky. If that wasn't enough, Mother Nature added a lightning show for the Grand Finale. With all the lightning and storms came rain which we tried to capture. I suppose we shouldn't have been surprised when we tasted it only to find it to be acid rain. The taste was terrible and it would take the varnish off the table if you let a drop sit
too long.

Though we could have sat there and been mesmerized by the display for days, our projects were completed and it was time to head on down the road. In hindsight, how blessed that it blew when it did. We were fortunate in many ways with this stop. If it had delayed itself by even a few hours we would have been hiking up it and had a much more close and personal look that we would have liked. How wonderful to have the opportunity to witness such and event.
until next time,
your Ohana Kai crew

Bali and beyond

October 16, 2007
Bali, Indonesia
coordinates 08.44.726S,115.12.611E

We are departing Bali after a fun and fruitful stay in the marina at Benoa Harbor. To begin with, the entrance heading down the channel to reach the marina was almost more fun than we could handle. After nearly 6 weeks out in the more remote islands without so much more than the sight of a small fishing boat we were thrown into sensory overload. Surrounded by a dozen para-sailers floating above our heads, throw in 6 of the strangest looking air mattresses on steroids that hold 2 passengers wearing
helmets and at high speeds behind a boat and actually float 20 feet or more in the air. Add a few jet skiis, a touch or two of banana float riders and an occasional elderly man fishing in a traditional outrigger all together in a rather narrow channel and you have the perfect recipe for marine madness. It got our attention as we tried to anchor somewhere between the tugboats and the container ships that also share the water way.

The following day we found a spot in the marina which we have to say is run the by the most friendly and professional staff we have EVER had the pleasure of meeting! We got in contact with our friends Frank, Jeni and Abby from s/v Sea Kardinal who now live in Bali while they, as architects, are busy building a traditional wooden 140 foot sail boat for a customer up in Kalimantan. Stunning! They are enjoying life on land for the first time in 20 years in a lovely Balinese home just up the road
in Sanur. We got the hang of life back on the dock ourselves and immediately out came the boys scooters and they were off. Within walking distance were some family run warung (Indonesian eatery) and for about 7-8 USD you can stuff a family of four with all the food and drinks you can handle.

The two weeks were filled with practicing our language skills shopping, cleaning and repairing all of our boating needs. Kuta, the nearest town and site of the Bali bombings was a wonderful place to shop for trinkets and goodies as long as you are prepared to fend off the strongest of hawkers and willing to play the bargaining game. Simply making eye contact or touching an item is nearly an acceptance to purchase around here. Where we might consider it rude to ignore someone at home it is merely
an essential survival tactic out here. We toured Bali with Nyomen, friend and cook of the Sea Kardinal household. He patiently showed us the sight, sounds, smells and tastes of Bali of which there are many. From dormant volcanos, elaborate temples, acres of green rice fields and hot springs, to fascinating traditional legong dances, forests of monkeys and coffee tasting, I believe we covered it all. We can never get enough of local open air markets and are still finding new foods. The boys had
a day of riding elephants with Abby and we enjoyed a delicious traditional meal cooked by Nyomen at the Sea Kardinal home. A very special treat.

Last but not least we extended our visa's for another 30 days. Murphy's law, as always, works it's magic when it sees the opportunity. You may only extend the visa one week before it expires. That week happened to coincide with the final week of Ramadan or Idul Fitri for us. Of course that meant that all the offices and powers that be would be closed and unavailable that one week. They wouldn't complete it earlier but if we waited we would be penalized for doing it too late. Rock and a Hard
Place = $. Luckily for us, Jeni and Frank already have some great contacts who "knew someone" that for the right price got the paperwork done in a day. In the country full of smiles money will still get you farther and faster than a hand shake.

As much as one can find a way to grease the wheel around here you can also find the equally honest and hard working people. Asis was one such man. He leaves his family behind on the island of Flores to come to the marina to find work and make money to send home to them for 5 months out of the year. For 100,000 rupiah, approximately $10, he will work diligently on your boat for 8 hours straight in the blazing heat, barely stopping for lunch. He was a dear sweet man who was anxious to get home
to see his new 2 month old son for the first time. If we ever make it back to Flores, we have a friend waiting.
Though there was so much more to see and do in Bali we only have 30 more days to make our way though the end of this alluring country. So off to Java and Sumatra.
until next time,
your Ohana Kai crew

Lombok

9/20/2007
Teluk Awang (Awang Bay), Lombok
Ekas surf break
coordinates 08.53.158S,116.26.604E

After departing Periscopes in East Sumbawa we had some distance to cover to make it too the next anchorage. We tried our luck by stopping at Scar reef, another potential surf spot in west Sumbawa approx. 110 miles away. The surf wasn't running there which actually worked out well as we had to deal with our anchor. The salt water environment is rough on everything including the anchor chain. Over time it had eroded enough of the links that they wouldn't hold well in our windless, which is the
electric wench that pulls up the anchor from it's depths. We ended up drifting, intentionally, in the bay while we hauled all 300 feet of chain up onto the deck and changed it out end for end, so the fresh links were now the first to hit the water. While it is on deck you have to measure it out and place markers every 20 feet so that you have a visual when you are setting the anchor to know just how much you have let out. Task done, on to find more surfing.

Ekas, Lombok
It just gets better and better. Though this bay wasn't much to look at, it was peaceful and serene with the most ideal waves for all involved yet! Everyone had the best time there and making great strides in their skill, confidence and most importantly all out fun. Four days there and the swell died out. Unfortunately we are on borrowed time while we try to get to Bali and renew our Visa's for another 30 days, we headed on as well.

Gerupuk was the next bay on the stop. Largely an Asian vacation destination it is home to Lauken resort. 6 small and stylish bungalows, complete with a pool, any of which can be yours for 2 weeks $550, all transportation and needs met. The town itself is terribly run down though the guide books say that it is much improved after the start of seaweed farming here. Which reminds me of just what a mine field of seaweed beds we had to dodge and weave around to get into the protected bay. We had
a very nice time here with some great surfing as well but a bit crowded and we had become spoiled with waves all to ourselves. On shore we met Matt, a local with an adorable wife and daughter Lina and Lira. He took us under his wing and arranged for us to go to the local market in Kuta. We purchased some great pottery, local woven hats and some beautiful hand made ikat blankets or sarongs from Matt's family.

Blongas Bay just 23 miles down the road we discovered what we have renamed Beggars Bay. As soon as we were anchored and the fishermen began to come in or head out to fish, they descended upon and surrounded each boat one at a time. We had 10 outriggers around us at one time. What we had never seen before was local that weren't here to trade, they just wanted hand outs and were then choosy about what they received. Even upon receiving gifts they wouldn't necessarily leave, just hang on to the
boat and not talk. At 6 am Bruce rolled out of bed and there they were already, hanging onto the back and staring down into the cabin. One night here and we were on our way.

We had a quick stop at Nusa Cenida or Lembogan which is just across the bay from the island of Bali itself. It helped to ease us back into the crazy pace of big city life again as we were surrounded by recreational water crafts and mini cruise ships. They even have giant floating water slide parks. On shore it was a bit more peaceful. Hindu is the main religion here and we were just beginning to be introduced to the wonderful offerings of flowers, foods and incense that are left everywhere many
times a day to appease the spirits. The aromatic imprint that Bali provides between sandalwood, cloves and fragapani will stick with us forever.

It was also in Lembogan that we got our first true taste of just how amazingly strong those women are who carry the baskets of good on their head. No matter the items to be couried around, flowers, veggies, melons, potatoes, they dutifully raise the basket to their head and deliver. We were at a market when one gal brought by the days goods to sell and it took some help to lift it off her head. Kelly boy and Bruce decided to investigate the weight of the basket and at first attempt it took them
by surprise at just how heavy it was. The baskets themselves though only woven reeds, have to be at least 3 feet across so you can imagine just how much stuff you can fill it with. We figure it had to be 50 - 70 lbs. Yikes!!! We are sure we have found only one of many ways to measure the strength of the people of this beautiful land.
until next time,
your Ohana Kai crew

Sumbawa

9/18/07
Sumbawa Island, Periscopes & Lakey Beach
coordinates 08.47.491S,118.22.619E

Technically we were anchored up inside Teluk Cempi or Cempi Bay. Not many tourists make it out this way except for the "surf" crowd heading for Periscopes and Lakey Beach. We found ourselves in recreation heaven. Just beside where we anchored the boats was a break built to satisfy all. The week that we happened upon this location that the waters were nearing high tide right after sun up. Perfect for surfing. The inside wave was just right for the kids, the middle for the mom's and the outside
break for the big boys. We could wake up, put in 3-4 hours of surfing before the wind would pick up. Back to the boats for a quick lunch, kids would start school and the big boys would grab their wind surf boards and kites and take off again for another few hours of play. We are certainly not complaining but all this play is exhausting. hee hee On shore we found a really nice hotel/restaurant the Aman Gati. Only $17/night to stay and about the same price to stuff a family of four with a fantastic
meal and drinks. A large screen hangs above showing surf movies and the sun sets in front of you. Paradise found. Though we didn't try it out there was a nice pool there as well. And always, a beach full of seashell treasures that continues to give our boats extra ballast.

We did have a small run in with Indonesian officialdom. Our second day there a long fishing boat appeared near s/v Luna first and boarded before the crew knew what happened. One official man in a uniform complete with motorcycle helmet on (a little strange to see out at sea) and 6 of his closest young male friends. After 45 mins. on their boat they boarded and spent another 45 on ours. Luckily Luna and Pelikaan speak Dutch and got the word out to each other and then to us of the nature of this
meeting before we were boarded but that didn't change much. Of course the interpreter's first words are "We want to make this very quick". HA! Clearly they were there for money, which we are more than happy to give. Let's just be honest about it's purpose though. If it is a bribe, make it a bribe, if it is an anchoring fee, make it be so. The official, who would never make eye contact with us, spent nearly the entire time arguing with his interpreter, who was always ever so kind to us. The 5
other cronies, kind and friendly as they were, perused the entire boat picking up and trying anything that fancied them, sunglasses, binoculars and so on. It was almost like a good cop, bad cop routine right before our eyes with added distractions. Their first request was 1 million rupiah. We flat out refused. OK, how about 500,000 rupiah. We said no again and then the arguing began. We were given reasons ranging from anchoring fees, parking tickets, paperwork out of order, surfing the break
fee, etc. etc. etc. We had planned ahead and emptied our wallets of everything but what we had pre-determined we would be willing to pay. Two could play this game we figured. We were wrong. We tried to play the hard sell and that only angered him more. Each time we met his match he found another angle until the poor little interpreter was so visibly disturbed by the officials tactics that he left the boat himself. At one point the official threatened to keep our paper work and that was all we
could take. We said no way. We tried to call his bluff and ask for his superior's name. He didn't even flinch and provided us with the perfect spelling. We said we had no more money. If he took all of ours what would we eat with. They offered us a ride into town on their scooters. We finally offered a few US dollars in addition to the amount we had to give and all 7 members of the team chimed in with agreement. Take the amount of money given by 4 boats and all 7 members of this official crew
were getting a nice payment for a days work. As they left, we quickly called over to the Kelly's to let them know of the proceedings. The Kelly's tried the hard sell as well and this time the official was done discussing. He quickly placed their paper work in his bag and left their boat stating that one of his workers would take them into town to get more money. He refused to travel back to the office with them and it would cost them 250,000 more rupiah to rent the car to get there and get the
money. Go figure. Kelly boy pretended to row back out to our boats and borrow the money from us so they could pay him off and get their paperwork back. It worked.

Lesson to be learned. Don't mess around with 7 hot, hungry men (we discovered they are currently fasting for Ramadan) who have nothing to lose and everything to gain whilst they sit on your boat and hold your paperwork in their hands. Good thing we didn't offer snacks and really offend them. Next time we have a new game plan. Two can play the strength in numbers game. When the official boards one boat we will all descend upon the boat as well with the pretense of getting them all done at once.
At least he can't change the story from boat to boat and we might have a better chance of getting the price fixed. We shall see. Having said this we are sure there will be a whole new bag of tricks the next time.
until then,
your crew on Ohana Kai

Rinca

September 12, 2007
Lehok Uwada Desami & Lehok Ginggo, Rinca Island
coordinates 08.42.211S,119.39.601E

We departed Roti with the escort of dolphins, always a good omen and enjoyed a quick and easy double overnighter to reach the island of Rinca. We pulled in to the anchorage in the afternoon and quickly deployed the dinghy to start our search for Komodo Dragons. I don't think that we ever really thought that we would see too many or if we did it would be more like that video footage of big foot. You know, very aloof and far away. Within minutes Bruce and Matthew, who were running recognizance found
loads of tracks made by the beasts and before you know it they sighted one just like we suspected. Walking away quietly into the jungle. So excited the raced back to tell us the news and bring us to see. Along the way we were all tickled to see deer and monkeys running back and forth to the water as the sun was setting. Our pals on Luna and Pelikaan had anchored by this point and we were all on the hunt. By the time we ended our exploration of the shore and were heading back to our boats, we
spotted another one right on the beach off our boats. These creatures are powerful looking and command your attention. They don't get more prehistoric looking than this. They move with such a slow deliberate pace and stop to smell each footprint you've left behind. I don't care how slow they look, we never turned our backs. They certainly have stealth on their side. Thinking we were so blessed to have seen this one up close (close being a relative term), we didn't think it could get any better.
Weren't we surprised.

The next morning every one ventured ashore just beyond a large rock formation where a local fishing vessel had come in from a nights work. Pelikaan landed there first and were quick to call us when they discovered the locals feeding some really large komodo dragons left over fish pieces. What a treat for us to see them in action. We walked softly and carried our own big sticks. They are curious enough creatures and certainly not afraid of us. They would circle the dinghies and corral all 13
of us to what ever part of the beach when they felt the need to lay out the boundaries and ownership of the sand. We gladly obliged. Though you can't really see their teeth much we have no doubt at the injury they can inflict. It is actually the saliva that is so dangerous, creating severe infections in the animal that they take down. At most we had the privilege to see four at a time walking the beach. Indigenous to only Rinca Island, Komodo Island and a few on the coast of Flores we believe
the species is doing well here.

The kids spent the rest of the morning collecting debris, abandoned logs and twine from the shore to recreate their own Kon Tiki. With much work and perseverance they got it afloat and even managed to catch their own fish by hand and spear to cook on the bon fire that night. Robinson Crusoe has nothing on them. We got in one quick dive for those with tanks and snorkel for the rest of us. It never fails to amaze us when we find new corals and colors we haven't seen before. Isn't this world wonderful.
The next day we departed for the north end of the island to prepare an extraordinary birthday party for Matthew's and Soleil from s/v Luna who were both turning the big #9.

A very protected anchorage tucked way up inside the island all four boats setting to stay for a day or two. We all took to shore and hiked to the top of the ridge to admire the view. Always fun to see our boats from a different point of view. It was so blazing hot though that by the time we made it back down to shore all we could do was dive in and enjoy the perfectly temperate waters.

September 11 was our big day of fun and festivities. We divided the fleet into adults and kids and the games began. Potato on a spoon races, obstacle courses, three legged races, consumer relays (which involve eating a variety of foods and a lot of monkey business), water works relays and of course a treasure hunt complete with compass to navigate in order to find the buried treasures. We even had the special treat of a komodo dragon making his was quickly through the party. Not many 9 year old's
can say that! Cake and goodies was topped only by the bonfire complete with marshmallows, who could ask for more.

The only thing that could make the stop better was the glassy lake like water conditions that next morning that begged for some wake boarding. We couldn't let that opportunity pass so we each took a few laps until the winds picked up. When the winds raise up so do the sails and we were off again. Next stop, the island of Sumbawa.
until next time,
your Ohana Kai crew

Sumbawa Island

9/18/07
Sumbawa Island, Periscopes & Lakey Beach
coordinates 08.47.491S,118.22.619E


Technically we were anchored up inside Teluk Cempi or Cempi Bay. Not many tourists make it out this way except for the "surf" crowd heading for Periscopes and Lakey Beach. We found ourselves in recreation heaven. Just beside where we anchored the boats was a break built to satisfy all. The week that we happened upon this location that the waters were nearing high tide right after sun up. Perfect for surfing. The inside wave was just right for the kids, the middle for the mom's and the outside break for the big boys. We could wake up, put in 3-4 hours of surfing before the wind would pick up. Back to the boats for a quick lunch, kids would start school and the big boys would grab their wind surf boards and kites and take off again for another few hours of play. We are certainly not complaining but all this play is exhausting. hee hee On shore we found a really nice hotel/restaurant the Aman Gati. Only $17/night to stay and about the same price to stuff a family of four with a fantastic meal and drinks. A large screen hangs above showing surf movies and the sun sets in front of you. Paradise found. Though we didn't try it out there was a nice pool there as well. And always, a beach full of seashell treasures that continues to give our boats extra ballast.


We did have a small run in with local Indonesian officialdom. Our second day there a long fishing boat appeared near s/v Luna first and boarded before the crew knew what happened. One official man in a uniform complete with motorcycle helmet on (a little strange to see out at sea) and 6 of his closest young male friends. After 45 mins. on their boat they boarded and spent another 45 on ours. Luckily Luna and Pelikaan speak Dutch and got the word out to each other and then to us of the nature of this meeting before we were boarded but that didn't change much. Of course the interpreter's first words are "We want to make this very quick". HA! Clearly they were there for money, which we are more than happy to give. Let's just be honest about it's purpose though. If it is a bribe, make it a bribe, if it is an anchoring fee, make it be so. The official, who would never make eye contact with us, spent nearly the entire time arguing with his interpreter, who was always ever so kind to us. The 5 other cronies, kind and friendly as they were, perused the entire boat picking up and trying anything that fancied them, sunglasses, binoculars and so on. It was almost like a good cop, bad cop routine right before our eyes with added distractions. Their first request was 1 million rupiah. We flat out refused. OK, how about 500,000 rupiah. We said no again and then the arguing began. We were given reasons ranging from anchoring fees, parking tickets, paperwork out of order, surfing the break fee, etc. etc. etc. We had planned ahead and emptied our wallets of everything but what we had pre-determined we would be willing to pay. Two could play this game we figured. We were wrong. We tried to play the hard sell and that only angered him more. Each time we met his match he found another angle until the poor little interpreter was so visibly disturbed by the officials tactics that he left the boat himself. At one point the official threatened to keep our paper work and that was all we could take. We said no way. We tried to call his bluff and ask for his superior's name. He didn't even flinch and provided us with the perfect spelling. We said we had no more money. If he took all of ours what would we eat with. They offered us a ride into town on their scooters. We finally offered a few US dollars in addition to the amount we had to give and all 7 members of the team chimed in with agreement. Take the amount of money given by 4 boats and all 7 members of this official crew were getting a nice payment for a days work. As they left, we quickly called over to the Kelly's to let them know of the proceedings. The Kelly's tried the hard sell as well and this time the official was done discussing. He quickly placed their paper work in his bag and left their boat stating that one of his workers would take them into town to get more money. He refused to travel back to the office with them and it would cost them 250,000 more rupiah to rent the car to get there and get the money. Go figure. Kelly boy pretended to row back out to our boats and borrow the money from us so they could pay him off and get their paperwork back. It worked.


Lesson to be learned. Don't mess around with 7 hot, hungry men (we discovered they are currently fasting for Ramadan) who have nothing to lose and everything to gain whilst they sit on your boat and hold your paperwork in their hands. Good thing we didn't offer snacks and really offend them. Next time we have a new game plan. Two can play the strength in numbers game. When the official boards one boat we will all descend upon the boat as well with the pretense of getting them all done at once. At least he can't change the story from boat to boat and we might have a better chance of getting the price fixed. We shall see. Having said this we are sure there will be a whole new bag of tricks the next time.
until then,
your crew on Ohana Kai

Rinca Island

September 7, 2007
Lehok Uwada Desami, Rinca Island
coordinates 08.42.209S,119.39.602E

We came in search of the worlds largest lizards, Komodo Dragons and we were not disappointed! While dropping the hook we could see a dozen monkeys running from tree to shore and back again. We quickly launched the dinghy to see what else we could find before the sun set. At the far end of the bay Bruce and Matthew ran a reconnaissance mission, found tracks of many dragons on shore and much to their surprise spotted a couple of dragons. We thought it would be much harder to see the great creatures but they kept popping up everywhere. The next morning some local fishermen were on shore feeding the dragons some of the by catch from their evenings ventures. It gave us the perfect photo ops.

Komodo Dragons are large monitor lizards. They can grow to be over 3 meters long and weigh over 100kg. They are majestic and powerful looking when they are standing still but there is something amazing when they start striding on those stout and muscular legs. We hear they travel up to 22km/hour. They can cover some serious ground in a short quick burst when they want to. All komodo's are carnivores, eating everything from large deer to other small komodos. It was eerie to watch them track our footsteps with their keen smell. They kept us well herded on the edge of the beach even if we were the ones holding the long stick. Though we didn't have any troubles with them, we wouldn't think of leaving the kids on the beach alone. We took a quick snorkel/dive on a local coral head and saw some amazing aquatic life. More varieties of coral than we had ever seen before. It was so tempting when we spotted some lovely pure white large cowries, if only they weren't occupied. The kids from Luna, Pelikaan and our boys found this beach to have the perfect collection of scrap bamboo and drift wood to recreate Kon Tiki and spent the day conquering the bay on their self built vessel. Complete with their own home made bows/arrows and spears, they even caught themselves some fine little fish to cook over the fire. I believe they could give Robinson Crusoe a run for his money. On to the north end of the island for more adventure.

Lehok Ginggo, Rinca
A well protected anchorage provided the perfect backdrop for Matthew's 9th birthday. With all the crews from Luna, Pelikaan, Moorea and ourselves we trekked up to the top of the island for a great day hike and then an afternoon swim. Next day was filled with the festivities and games of a joint birthday party for Soleil from s/v Luna as she was turning 9 in a couple of weeks herself. 3 legged races, water works, consumer relays, obstacle courses in which all crew members, adult and child alike, had to participate. And of course no treasure hunt would be complete without a compass in hand and a komodo dragon to cross your path. We are trying to impress on Matthew that not many 9 years old's can say that! Our last morning there was remarkably calm so we whipped out the wake board and took a couple of laps around the bay before the winds picked up and carried us on to our next destination, the island of Sumbawa.
until next time,
your crew on Ohana Kai

Nembrala, Roti

September 6, 2007
coordinates 10.52.980S,122.49.121E
Nembrala, Roti East Nusa Tenggara

We have found a little piece of heaven here in Indonesia. The absolute opposite to Kupang in a little anchorage called Nembrala on the island of Roti. After a most pleasant overnight sail from Kupang we drifted into the anchorage to find our pals on Luna and Pelikaan holding our place here. Of course they were already out surfing on one of 3 breaks that would keep us entertained for the next week. We dropped the hook and were out on our boards before the boat had settled. The swell was up and
all 3 breaks were going off consistently so you had your choice of sessions, sunrise to sunset. Everyone had a great time and at the very least got some great exercise.

Shore side was the next surprise. The town was more developed than we had imagined with a paved road but still remote, clean and quiet. Most homes consist of a surprisingly large concrete building with a few rooms and lovely paned windows and many smaller thatched huts behind. The bathrooms or waysays often have a large tub of water that is only used by scooping out the water with a cup and pouring it over yourself for a shower or down the toilet. Many of the homes here are also "losemen" or
homestays like a hostel and for only $3-5/day you will be well cared for and 3 warm meals. Goats and pigs walk freely about the town and though we could never tell, I am sure the owners know who belongs to whom. Many homes also make crafts such as jewelry and ikat, a hand woven cloth where each strand of thread is dyed first and then the design woven into place. We did quickly discover that they have a sales technique we hadn't yet encountered. They simply board your boat ready or not. They
are always very pleasant and happy to just sit and stay a while, even if you are not purchasing. Happy to go eventually and never seemingly offended. The first true Indonesian phrase we have learned though is Thank You, I Don't Want It - say it with me, "Terima kasih, Tidak mau" - very good!

The only true noise to be heard around the island is the "tuk tuk tuk" sound that their colorful and diverse fishing vessels make as they pass by morning and night. They head out each evening to begin their fishing and "tuk tuk tuk" back in each morning with the sun for some sleep. The smaller vessels are a marvel at how they even float first for being so narrow and tippy looking, secondly for holding so many men. How they maneuver and fish is a wonder. The larger vessels are a combination of
gigantic outriggers held together with a weave of lines that could equal any suspension bridge. Despite all this fishing going on though, we never saw any fish to eat at the market aside from the piles of dried sardines.

What they do have on shore are seaweed farms. Low lying mesh fences staked into the grounds like a garden that sit under water in everything but the lowest tides. They grow this plump twig like sea weed that they collect daily. As soon as high tide turns to head out the women are out there to collect pieces that start to wash up to shore. As low tide emerges, they spend hours of bent over back breaking work collecting this green crop and placing it into 2 large mesh bags that they then carry
over their shoulders with a long stick, yoke style. Once it is cleaned up, it is laid out to dry on large tables of palm leaves. For their efforts, they receive 15,000 rupiah per kilogram. That is less than $2.00 a bag for you and me at home. Their water is retrieved in much the same fashion from fresh water wells around the island, double bucket yoke style. I mention this because this is the woman's job around here. Never did we see men carrying either. All this back breaking work leads to
lot of sweet little old women hunched over and in a fair amount of pain we imagine. Well if Vanuatu and Fiji had their kava to forget their woes and ease their pains, Indonesia has their betel nut.

Evident by their red stained lips, teeth and gums, betel nut, or sirih pinang is a combination of 3 parts of the betel palm tree. The green stalk looks remotely like a limp green bean with a funny texture, the nut looks like a tiny immature coconut seed and the lime, a white powdery substance. Combine all three in your mouth often with a bit of shredded looking tobacco, chew like a mad man and you will eventually have a mild stimulant like effect of nicotine, and a mouth full of red spit, which
of course ends up on the ground. Watch where you step. The market in town holds as many piles of this for sale as any other product or produce available.

Two perfect weeks quickly passed right under our noses here in this little paradise. The kids all enjoyed afternoons of body surfing and sand castle building. They even managed to get the local kids to finally break down and join them. Always eager for a photo opportunity they were a little more hesitant to actually join in the play. The adults enjoyed the occasional drink at the local hut on shore to watch the sun set. We placed our orders for fresh bread and somewhat begrudgingly pulled anchor
to find our next adventure. We are all heading north to the islands of Rinca and Komodo, as the name suggests, in search of dragons. We'll let you know what we find.
until next time,
Selamat tinggal,
your crew on Ohana Kai

Kupang, West Timor

August 23, 2007
coordinates 10.09.600S,132.34.533E
Kupang, West Timor, Indonesia
Selamat Pagi,

We entered Indonesia last week through the port of Kupang in West Timor. It was a little sad to see the bread crumbs of litter that led us into the bay and to the anchorage. You can hear horns honking from shore to the boat, it is a form of communication that they have mastered. The city itself is crowded, dirty and extremely noisy but with all that buzz comes it's own excitement. At the boat we were greeted by a young man named On who was to be our guide the next day and help us navigate the
system. Let's just say he is worth his weight in gold. For starters, we had reset our clocks incorrectly to the new time zone and showed up an hour early, at 6:30 am on shore, and there he was. To kill the time before Immigration and Quarantine offices opened up, he helped us to learn how to navigate the buses (bemos) and hop an early morning ride on the back of his friends scooters to visit an abandoned money zoo of sorts. There is nothing like sitting 3 people deep, on tiny scooters, with the
wind in your hair, at 7am through the streets of Kupang to visit monkeys! An amazing experience while we sat there for a couple of hours and fed them corn kernels, some brave enough to take it from our hands.

Once we cleared customs, On continued to help us navigate no less that 9 of these buses, which by all purposes are interesting sized and shaped mini van, in which you sit sideways on a long bench, bent over if you are any taller than Lisa, with 10-12 of your closest Indonesian friends, all the while trying to keep your ears from bleeding due the techno beat that is shaking you to the core. Heaven forbid the bemo next to you is playing louder music, your bemo will only match the cacophony. We have
entered the land of smiles though and your neighbor sitting next to you is always eager to share a grin, maybe a "Halo Mister, halo misses", and for the boys a good pinch or stroke of the hair. They can't keep their hands off the boys fair bodies. Too make them feel better about it we made it a game that each time someone touches them they are giving off good luck. They are not really buying it but tolerating it still.

On took us to the market where we tried our hand at getting the hang of the new exchange rate. With an exchange rate of approx. 20,000 Indonesian Rupiahs to $1 Australian dollar, it is hard to wrap your brain around paying $15,000 for a plate of food. Even stranger to think that we have entered this country with billions of their dollars and yet everything is so inexpensive. We are quickly getting the hang of their language, which right off the back was a fun challenge when there are 5 or more
different ways to say hello depending on where the sun hangs in the sky at the time of your greeting. We thought we were really doing well when a man patted the boys and said "Bagus, Lucky". We understood him and in all our wisdom, we replied, Yes, we do have good boys and we are lucky. "Bagus" we knew to mean good but later while reviewing my book I found the word "Laki" pronounced "lucky" which actually means "son". Well, we were close.

A full day in town and our host made it known to us that the Customs agents were reportedly heading toward the anchorage and were told we should make haste out of there. There have been some boats stuck with expensive and unnecessary fines for checking into the country or else head back to Australia. Instead we were told to check into Bali when we arrive. Don't have to tell us twice and by sunset we were on our way to our next destination in the East Nusa Tenggara Islands Chain, Nembrala, Roti.
until next time
your crew on Ohana Kai

Australia

August 23, 2007
Fannie Bay, Darwin, Northern Territory
12.25.517S,130.49.3433E

A quick respite in Australia and return to civilization. It always amazes us when we can smell the land long before we see it. Here it was the smell of campfires or what we now believe were the controlled burns that they regularly do to protect the land from fires and rejuvenate the soil. Our check in at Thursday Island went swiftly and smoothly. They are amazingly friendly and trust us, the Australian Coast Guard is good. No one is getting into or out of that country with out them knowing about
it. From there it took another few days of passage and we timed the tides just right to let the current help to suck us into the Darwin, Fannie Bay. Here we were reunited with some friends on the s/v Luna and s/v Pelikaan. Two more kid boats which was a great big deal and great fun. We haven't really seen a kid boat in nearly 3 months. They are heading to Indonesia and beyond as well so we'll have even more company along with the Kelly's as we travel.

What was meant to be a week stay easily turned into two while we got all our paper work for Indonesia ready to go. Never fear, we found plenty to do and kept well entertained. You can find a open air market or street fair nearly day of the week if desired. We certainly found it quite a few times. We mastered the Northern Territory bus system, completed our projects and repairs, caught the new Harry Potter film at the lovely air conditioned theater, witnessed the last performance of the "Amazing
Drumming Monkeys" puppet show at the Mindle Beach Sunset Market (the best), and of course reprovisioned. Best of all we are the proud new owners of a bull-roarer, boomerang, and a nice long didjeriydoo (imagine those music lessons on a sailboat). We had a great time looking at Aboriginal art and culture. Definitely a place we hope to come back and explore by land at great length some day. For now though we are off to Indonesia. A quick relaxing crossing of 4 days are we are nearly at our starting
destination of Kupang, West Timor.
Coordinates 10.09.385S,123.34.466
until next time,
your Ohana Kai crew

Australia

August 23, 2007
Fannie Bay, Darwin, Northern Territory
12.25.517S,130.49.3433E

A quick respite in Australia and return to civilization. It always amazes us when we can smell the land long before we see it. Here it was the smell of campfires or what we now believe were the controlled burns that they regularly do to protect the land from fires and rejuvenate the soil. Our check in at Thursday Island went swiftly and smoothly. They are amazingly friendly and trust us, the Australian Coast Guard is good. No one is getting into or out of that country with out them knowing about
it. From there it took another few days of passage and we timed the tides just right to let the current help to suck us into the Darwin, Fannie Bay. Here we were reunited with some friends on the s/v Luna and s/v Pelikaan. Two more kid boats which was a great big deal and great fun. We haven't really seen a kid boat in nearly 3 months. They are heading to Indonesia and beyond as well so we'll have even more company along with the Kelly's as we travel.

What was meant to be a week stay easily turned into two while we got all our paper work for Indonesia ready to go. Never fear, we found plenty to do and kept well entertained. You can find a open air market or street fair nearly day of the week if desired. We certainly found it quite a few times. We mastered the Northern Territory bus system, completed our projects and repairs, caught the new Harry Potter film at the lovely air conditioned theater, witnessed the last performance of the "Amazing
Drumming Monkeys" puppet show at the Mindle Beach Sunset Market (the best), and of course reprovisioned. Best of all we are the proud new owners of a bull-roarer, boomerang, and a nice long didjeriydoo (imagine those music lessons on a sailboat). We had a great time looking at Aboriginal art and culture. Definitely a place we hope to come back and explore by land at great length some day. For now though we are off to Indonesia. A quick relaxing crossing of 4 days are we are nearly at our starting
destination of Kupang, West Timor.
Coordinates 10.09.385S,123.34.466
until next time,
your Ohana Kai crew

Crossing again

July 19, 2007
Departing for Australia
The old sailing superstitions states that you never want to leave for a crossing on a Friday, bad luck. So we figured maybe we could double our luck by departing for Thursday Island on a Thursday. We shall see. An 11 day crossing to reach Torres Straight and then another 4 days to reach Darwin. Much can happen in that time. The weather reports look like good strong steady winds for the duration so under grey skies and many water drops we are on our way. The best luck of all may be that we inadvertently
found the answer to our engine trouble. Bruce knew all along in his gut that it was a fuel delivery issue, we just couldn't seem to find it. The prospect of how many hours and how much money it was going to take to find the problem in Australia was secretly getting us down. Well happy day and good news. We think the kill switch cable somehow had a kink in it that was not allowing it to fully disengage, thereby not allowing the flow of fuel needed to throttle up as necessary. Hopefully the fix
is true and will hold for good. If that is the case we bought ourselves a little more time for sightseeing along the way and relieved a lot of pressure off the captain. It seemed like such a quick and easy fix until we realized we had been battling this issue for an entire year. All in good time.

If Bruce doesn't have his projects to keep him busy he would go stir crazy I believe, so our girl Ohana Kai is much obliged to keep him going. He spent the morning harnessed up and strapped to the bow amid wind and waves while he did some maintenance repair stitches in the head sail. By night fall we had lost our auto pilot due to a sheered off bold on the arm of it. Thank goodness for dork lights and spare parts on a boat. The prospect of hand steering for the next 9 days was a bit daunting.
Never fear though, our captain can fix anything even if it is in the dark and upside down with 25 knot winds scooting us along.
until next time
your faithful Ohana Kai crew

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Espiritu Santo

July 13, 2007
coordinates 15.31.391S,167.09.912E

Our next destination was Espiritu Santo Island and just far enough away that we didn't want to do an over night passage so we made a stop back at the north end of Malekula Island. A quick overnight sleep tucked behind the little island of Wala and we were ready for our final push the next day. Regrettably our last stop in Vanuatu would be Luganville. We were running out of time and there were so many more outlying islands to visit. Once anchored in the bay of Luganville the weather turned very
wet and rainy. We spent the next 4 days dodging rain drops, resupplying the boats and finishing our paperwork to clear out of the country. Of greatest interest on Espiritu Santo Island is the role they played during WWII as a base for the US. There are many a relic of old war planes, cannons and such to see. Perhaps the most interesting though is Million Dollar point. The story goes as such, the war was over and the US was pulling out. They had a ton of extra equipment left there and offered
to sell it to the local government for a very good price at the time. Thinking they could get a better deal the Vanuatu government held out hoping to get the lot for free. The US said no way jose and dumped every piece into the ocean where it still rests as a marvelous dive site and now home to coral and sea creatures. There is also the USS Coolidge which sank here and is now a spectacular dive site as well we hear.

Luganville and Port Vila are really the only two towns of industry especially since they are both shipping ports. Therefore, the only few jobs to be had throughout the islands of Vanuatu are there. It you ask anyone on any of the other islands what they do for a job you will get the most perplexed look. Are you silly? There is no shame in not having a job and there is no desire either. Certainly not because they are lazy or have no desire to work. Quite the contrary. First it is too expensive
to live near the city for the amount of money you will earn, and there just aren't that many jobs. Outside those two ports of call the rest of the villagers are too busy tending their gardens to have a job. They are busy living life, surviving on what the earth has to provide them.

The running joke on the boat is that when we set sail for the islands we didn't expect to find natives in loin clothes with bones through their nose, but neither did we expect to find cell phones, satellite dishes and weed whackers in every yard. Maybe rather naive of us. Again, not that they don't deserve them, we just didn't think they had made it there yet. And we had hoped to travel the world to simply experience these other cultures in their own environment, not look like walking dollar signs
ready to hit every tourist trap possible. Though it took crossing the entire Pacific Ocean, we believe we have finally found this and much more in Vanuatu. They are happy making their way in their own world and they are happy to introduce you to it as well. There is an obvious respect and care for their world and land. They have all they need and they have dreams they are working toward, one coconut shell at a time. Always happy for assistance or a donation, as a rule you never felt pressured
or obligated to give. But who wouldn't want to share with such a generous and genuine people. We will miss Vanuatu.
until next time,
your faithful Ohana Kai crew

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Ambrym

July 10, 2007
coordinates 16.08.445S,168.07.169E

Ambrym, home to two active volcanos, Mt. Benbow and Mt. Marum. We anchored in front of the village of Ranon. The weather was with us again as we had a marvelous day sail there. Maybe just to celebrate our anniversary of 2 full years at sea, we had the luck of catching our very first wahoo. Actually we caught 2 of them, at the same time and they were each 4 ft. long. whew. Not wanting any to go to waste, we let one go and kept one for ourselves. There is enough meat on these massive creatures
to last us quite a while. Even with that, we gave half of it away to some local villagers out fishing, gave a bag away to the local harbor master Jeffrey and a bag to the Kelly's. What we had left, we feasted on for 2 or 3 days.

The weather was also on our side in terms of the anchorage. Due to the two volcanos so close to the shore, when the winds blow out of the S/SW, the air quality can become so bad with ash and fumes that we heard you may have to wear a cloth face mask in order to tolerate it. They can even have difficulties with acid rain that destroys their crops we heard. Our goal here was to head 45 mins. inland to the town of Fanla and witness the ROM Dance, exclusive only to this village. With light winds out
of the N, we would have no troubles.

Once anchored here you are immediately met by Jeffrey, the "harbor master". His house is the closest to the anchorage and he can get to you first in his outrigger, which is one reason why he got the job. Not to mention he speaks wonderful English and is quite a good will ambassador. Australia has a very significant volunteer force and had been instrumental in this community with helping them set up a visitor information center, and outlining various events and guided outtings that you can participate
in. It was here that we met Able, a kind young man who became our guide for our hike to Fanla. Enthusiastic and eager to tell us all about his island he was happy to do the talking, which was good. Our less than fit "yachty" bodies, which have spent more time sitting on boats than walking, focused on our breathing while hiked 45 mins. up through the jungle to the village of Fanla.

Vanuatu itself is famous for big and small namba dances. Namba refers to the woven pouch that fits over a males genitals, and big or small refers to how large and fancy the decorations are on that pouch. The Rom dance adds a new costume to it with men dressed from head to toe in giant costumes made of panadus leaves. It is difficult to describe except to say that they look like giant trees of sorts with intricately woven face masks that are pointy on top. Men throughout the islands go through
different "grades" as they call them. Usually by proving your strength and worth by how many pigs you can deliver. They go through different grades to reach the Rom dancer status. In the village they also did some exhibitions with playing their "tamtam" slit gong drums, bamboo flutes and sand drawings. Each act is used to call to and or appease the appropriate spirits for the occasion needed, such as a good yam harvest in December.

After the performances were through, we realized they had laid out all their hand made wood and stone carvings for us to purchase. It was difficult to decide as there were so many spectacular items to choose from. It seemed like we were encircled by the entire village while we contemplated how much money could we spend and how much room did we have on the boats to store trinkets. We would have taken it all if we could. As we chose our items, the maker and craftsman of that particular item stepped
forward. We didn't really put two and two together in the beginning that they were watching us appreciated or pass over each of their own artifacts. It broke our hearts to not take one of something from everyone. Each as deserving as the next. The joy though is getting to watch the money go directly to families and villagers that desperately need it. Especially inland, they live by such meager means, torn clothes, and barely cots on hard dirt floors for sleeping. We gladly left the village
a heavy purse and hiked our way home with fresh coconut milk to cool us on our way. It was amazing to see that as we walked out of the village, the women were already back at work, cutting more pieces of bamboo with their hack saws, in order for the men to begin carving more flutes. There is no wasted time or effort in these neck of the woods.

Once back in town, as the sky grows dark, the volcano can be seen glowing a red crown over it's crest. Impressive. We spent dinner on shore with Jeffrey as our host. We are growing quite a palate for laplap by the kerosene lantern, while sitting on woven mats on the ground. Always happy to sit and discuss each others cultures, they are generous and giving spirits.
until next time,
Lisa and the boys

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Malekula

July 7, 2007
coordinates 16.32.048S,167.46.181E

From Epi we head on towards the island of Malekula. Specifically we anchored in a small bay of the southern tip of Malekula at Awai island. We had read a story about magic rocks here that can be found by a particular tree, and if struck together at night in the dark, they create blue sparks, which in turn leads to sparks in the sky (lightning) and stormy weather. On our second day there we went in search of them and Matthew was the first to spot them. Gigantic quartz stones folded in the rocky
cliffs and mountain face. Many were just laying about on the ground. We collected our loot and were apparently bold enough to tempt fate that night, we struck them together in the dark. Low and behold, they do make sparks! Luckily for us though the winds and weather didn't turn on us, but I'd be lying if I said we didn't keep an extra ear out that night for the signs of change.

Our first encounter on the island though was a barrage of outriggers. We had grown accustom to the routine. As soon as you drop anchor they all row out to you in hopes of trading fresh fruits and veggies for clothing, smokes or whatever you may have to trade. And is custom in many of these islands, they grow their gardens on one island and row back across to live on another. So at sunset while we drop anchor they just happen to be finishing up their day tending their gardens. We weren't in need
of much so we exchanged smiles and photo ops of these creative outriggers outfitted with sails and carrying entire families. Then came our first true experience of someone trying to pull the wool over our eyes. In comes David. A local who kindly offered his goods. He had bananas, let me tell you, the only thing we never need. We politely declined, unless he had some yams or grapefruit to come back and trade later. He said he would be back at 5:30. He returned but brought only small reef fish,
dozens of them. The ones that you might find in a really nice fish tank in the doctors waiting room. Not wanting to be impolite we accepted 3 of them. He then tried to explain to us that his father was the chief of the island and it would cost us 1000 vatu's to anchor there for the night. He explained that is was not just us, but every yacht that stops here. We were instantly curious about this because we haven't heard of this anywhere before, we had already met a dozen of these locals including
David and no one made mention of it earlier. Why wait until dark and our 3rd meeting to give us this news. He said his father was the island chief and sent him to collect it. Slightly suspicious but wanting to do what it right we informed him that if this was true, we would meet with the chief personally in the morning and give him the money directly. He pitifully hung his head and said, "You don't trust me." Ahhhhh Admittedly, I (Lisa) am the biggest chump/sap/any other name you'd like to apply
there, and he was playing me like a fiddle. The Kelly's at this time were anchored a stones throw from us, so I sent him over there first to let them know of the news. Thank goodness for technology. We quickly hailed them on the radio to let them know he was coming and of his agenda. To make a long story a wee bit shorter, he gave them a slightly different story with a more demanding tone. He didn't know that you don't take those tones with Kelly girl. He even came back one more time in the
dark and brought the supposed "chief" with him. We said we would pay tomorrow in the light and that was the last we saw of them. They apparently didn't even live on this island.

Bruce and Kelly boy did make a trip to shore though to meet the real "chief" Marse. A delightful older gentleman who kept an immaculate village. He was happy to offer some fresh veggies for no trade and there was no fee for anchoring in the bay. We were free to stay as long as we liked. He even gave Bruce a beautiful nautilus shell. We couldn't accept it for free so Bruce gladly gave him the 1000 vatu's we had been holding onto for just such an occasion. In the morning as we were departing
the anchorage he rowed like a mad man to catch up to us and offered a large woven basket full of fruits and veggies. The kindness of strangers and the good in people will always prevail.
until next time,
Lisa and the boys

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Efate to Epi

With so much to see and so little time, we are on an "island hopping crusade" as Matthew puts it. Only 30 days on our visas and a new group of villagers on each island with a little different variety of culture and traditions to share. We have managed to visit 7 anchorages, 5 islands and many different experiences into the last two weeks. It is hard to chose sometimes which way to go. Luckily the winds are some help in deciding that for us and have been very favorable all along the way.

June 30, 2007
Efate, Port Vila - Really just a quick pit stop and customs check in for us. A nicely protected anchorage with all the amenities of home, surrounded by nice water side resorts. The main excitement there was the Kelly's boat getting hit in the middle of the night by an unmanned local passenger ferry boat. No damage but Kelly boy had to board this other vessel to try to move it away only to find out that they ALWAYS leave the engine running.
We did have the opportunity to connect again with a great couple that we had met in Tanna en route to the Mt. Yasur volcano, Trevor and Rhiannon from Southern California. Very adventurous spirits, here enjoying Vanuatu as much as we were. The second big event was our "Kava" experience. That could be an entire journal entry in itself, but suffice it to say, it is terribly nasty tasting. This opinion is coming from a crew that doesn't drink coffee though. As always, it is the people that you meet
that make it wonderful. Our host for the evening was Kenzie. A kind man with a small snake on his arm that caught our attention. Again we were blessed with meeting such people that have no other agenda than to share some time with and introduce you to their world. As they told us, "We have met now, now we are friends". He took us to a local nakamal (bar) of sorts. It was dark, muddy outdoors and relatively quiet as you sit under blue tarps on picnic tables in muddy dirt and listen to the kava
speak to you. (we never did hear it say very much) They did have a great string band to listen to in case you couldn't hear your kava talking to you. We also met wonderful young guy named Edmund, who is a peer counselor down at the local health clinic. He was just as excited to sit with us for the night and learn about life at home as we were to learn from him. Don't think we will try kava any time soon again but are so glad we had the chance to share it with our two new friends.

We attempted to anchor at Hideaway Island resort where we were hoping to visit the Mele-Maat water falls and mail some underwater post cards but the weather didn't cooperate. So off we sailed with 35 knots of wind and confused seas to find a more pleasant place to sleep for the night.

July 4, 2007
On to Epi in search of dugongs. A dugong is a mammal that looks nearly exactly like manatee with the exception of the tail which looks like a whale tail. We kept an eye out for them for they were known to be seen in this bay. Occasionally we caught a glimpse or two of their noses or tails as they sounded, until the last day. A calm, quiet and overcast morning left the surface of the water very smooth which made it very easy to spot these creatures. We were just about to leave the anchorage that
morning so we had already put the outboard away for the dinghy. Instead we all hopped in the dinghy and rowed out to where we last spotted them. Relatively uninterested nor afraid of us, they continued to feed in the area. Bruce and the boys quickly put on some snorkel gear and jumped in the water. In no time Tristan spotted one swimming directly under them. They swam with the dugong for just a minute or two until he decided he didn't want company anymore and swam away. You could hear the excitement
squealing up out of their snorkels and when they surfaced there were eyeballs the size of dinner plates. Very cool!
Also on Epi we had the chance to go ashore and meet Kenneth, minister of the village. He graciously gave us a full tour of his village, church, school and airport (a simple runway strip with a nice building). So full of pride and information about his island he was a wonderful host. The most dramatic difference between this village and others was the division between the houses and pieces of property. I almost looked like home with set yards and fence lines marking out beautiful jungle style
yards. They also have a boarding school in the village with a library to rival any of ours at home. It was very impressive. The children live there at the school and the tuition can be up to 1000 vatu's (approx. $10 USD) a quarter for the higher grades. The pride they show for their surrounding and the work they have accomplished is heart warming especially when you see it standing next to the meager means by which they live.
until next time,
Lisa and the boys

Vanuatu

A simply calm and boring 3 day passage from Fiji to Vanuatu found us happily in the anchorage of Port Resolution, Tanna Island, Vanuatu. We did end up motoring a bit due to the lack of wind toward the end but we'll take that trip over something breaking this time. It is amazing the difference four hundred miles can make. As far as introductions go to the Vanuatu islands, this southern island is absolutely pristine and fascinating. I will start it by saying that up to this point we had prided
ourselves on trying to learn the local language and get to know everyone by name, where ever we go. Vanuatu called us out and won. As a nation they speak over 100 languages. The island of Tanna itself speaks over 40, beyond English, French and Bislama. Thank goodness they are so kind and patient with us.

Port Resolution, Tanna, Vanuatu
coordinates 19.31.506S,169.29.788E
When we arrived we were greeted by kids in outriggers anxiously awaiting for the local supply ship to unload it's goods. The weather here is amazingly humid and of most interest to us, you can see the perpetual venting of steam around the edges of the bay from the hot springs that well up at the base of Mt. Yasur, their very active volcano. It too has it's own weather system of sorts with the continual release of large steam clouds and winds at the top of the mountain.
The four days we spent here were each an adventure in it's own right and each worth a page of writing so I will try to summarize. Walking the roads, tire tracks cut into lush grass, to find each village, a smaller community of families living together in woven huts was great fun. 20 to 30 people would live in each community, all family, surrounded by all the mango, papaya, banana, produce, etc. they need.

A local named Olsen rowed out to our boat and befriended us, trading produce for clothing and fish hooks. He even spent an entire day aboard our boat and answered every question we could come up with regarding their culture and ceremonies including their languages, he knows 27, the kastom (custom or ceremony) of Kava, the children chew the root up and spit it out, only the men are aloud to drink it, and they do, every night, magic rocks and potions, much preferred over western medicine and cannibalism
that supposedly stopped in 1969!
We were invited to a birthday party for a one year old in one of the villages and had a great afternoon sharing lap lap (a doughy substance made from bananas, yams or manioc, wrapped in banana leaves and cooked under ground with hot rocks), and snake beans, which taste much like thin strips of broccoli. We shared our stash of balloons and marbles with all the other children in the community and had a wonderful time being included in Leah's family.

Best of all was our trip up the Mt. Yasur volcano. You are only allowed to travel up the with guides when it is a level I or II and we were in luck with a level one. Truly I don't know if we would have wanted to stick around for a level II as the amount of lava we could see being spurt into the air, and the roaring sound that accompanied it was plenty exciting. Though it is plenty far away and much below the ridge we were standing on, there were moments where we would all look up and wonder if
that was the belch that may send the globs of glowing red stuff high above our heads. They actually have the only volcano post office box in the world up there as well.

Though the missionaries made their mark here long ago, and of course were then promptly eaten, Christianity is very strong here with an amazing mix of their own beliefs still held intact. The rituals for the coming of age for both boys and girls, weddings, circumcisions and funerals are alive and well. Luckily the wives are no longer strangled and placed in the grave with the chief when he dies, and for a woman it is no longer an honor to have your front 2 teeth knocked out by your husband. From
what we can tell though, each village let alone island is slightly different from the next and all the more fun to explore!

until next time,
Ata!
your crew on Ohana Kai

Erromango, Vanuatu

June 24, 2006
Dillon's Bay, Erromango, Vanuatu
18.43.401S,169.00.742E

A good day sail away from Port Resolution, Tanna Island and we were in Dillon's Bay on the east side of the island of Erromango. Named for the plenitude of mango's that grow on the island but darn it is they aren't in season. That's OK because everything else is and true with many of the islands, the locals are eager to trade for clothing, fuel and even DVD's or CD's for produce. We are even getting back into to world of grapefruits much to our delight.
We were greeted by David and Oliver in a vibrant red dugout(outrigger canoe). We would soon learn about David's friendly and entrepreneurial spirit. In many of these towns it is best to get permission before walking about the land because they do own everything are you are literally walking in their yards. David gave us the go ahead and even offered to give us the grand tour the next day. We sent them over to the Kelly's who were anchored next to us and much to David and Oliver's delight they
were soon invited aboard for their very first taste of pizza.

The village of Dillon's Bay sits along side the beautiful fresh water William River, aptly named for the missionary, John Williams who of course met the same fate as most other missionaries. Upon being killed they took his body to a rock at the edge of the river and chipped an outline of his body before they cooked and ate him. On our last day there we hunted for the rock. We think that perhaps the plaque we found now sits where the outline once stood.
David and his sons gave us a lovely tour of the town, following all the way up the river to where they grow their food and draw fresh drinking water from the river. Each family owns a plot of land that is theirs to maintain all the papaya, mango, grapefruit, coconut, bananas, manioc, yams, cassava and sandalwood they can grow. To the unknowing eye it all looked like luscious jungle to us. No fences, no marks, we asked how they know where their is. They just know of course. Down river is a peaceful
looking swimming hole and just below that is a shallowed area of river rocks where at any one time you could find villagers doing laundry together or bathing babies. Just up the hill overlooking it all was an impressive piece of property fenced off for the school grounds. The children on lunch break were eager to show us their classroom and teacher Marianne had to come and see why her students were so eager to be in their classroom on their break. They learn English in school and are soon to learn
French there as well. They are not allowed to speak Erromango or Bislama within the classroom. As always we were impressed with the material they are covering and the quality of their work. Despite this education, most Erromangans stay within the island. Few even venture up to Port Vila because they have found the cost of living there is barely outweighed by what money they may be able to make if they can find a job, especially when nearly everything they need is right there on their island.

On Erromango they only speak 4 languages and they rarely partake of the Kava. It was noticeable as many of the older men in the village looked much more bright eyed and bushy tailed. Long term Kava use must wreak some serious havoc on the liver. We met up with Chief William who welcomed us with open arms and wished us well. It was here that we began to learn again of David's hard working nature. He had been the first out to our boat and invited us to his home for a traditional dinner with his
family. First come first serve when approaching sailors it seems but you have to be careful not to step on local toes. You see, he wanted to charge us for our dining experience, fair by us since it is his food and time, but the village chief often likes to see the wealth the village brings in spread throughout the village. We seemed to make it through this one without causing too much strife, but you can see the importance on making sure you have all the information before you start committing.

We did meet back at David's home and that evening and shared a wonderful meal with his wife Rhoda and quite a few local children. Matthew and Tristan kept them giggling the entire time with silly charade games and some good ole' wrestling. The meal was delicious and we can easily say Rhoda's lap lap was the best we've tasted yet. They had even killed a pig fresh for us that day. What made the evening extra special was the importance David placed on the sharing of stories of our lives, home and
own cultures. They truly love opening their doors to meet folks like us. At the end of the evening we handed out our share of balloons again and I am afraid they may never ask us back again. Even as we rode our dinghy back to our boat, late in the evening in the dark, with the Kelly's, you could hear the never ending 6 balloon salute as the squeaky air continually leaked out of each in long wailing tunes. There are some tricks that kids just inherently know, no matter what part of the globe your
standing on.
Ata
your Ohana Kai crew

Done in Fiji

6/12/07
Lautoka, Viti Levu, Fiji Islands
coordinates 17.36.029S,177.26.535E

We are all done in Fiji. We have a lovely last week. Rather relaxing time all together here which was just what we wanted. We filled our mornings with some great school work. The boys have been really motivated lately! We tried to keep the afternoons as fun as possible with swimming and wake boarding and of course, projects of one sort of another. We received our new water maker membrane and new fuel uptake valve. We even received a new hand held mic for the outside radio so we are back in
business. Unclogged a clogged head, cleaned the bottom of the boat a bit, changed the alternator again,
the list goes on.

A final field trip to the local school on Malolo Island was a fun treat. The island itself it connected to Malolo'lailai Island by reef at low tide so we had a choice. Either walk across the reef and around the island to the villages or time it just right with the dinghy to arrive around high tide. We opted, successfully, for high tide, with Kelly girl from s/v Moorea watching for depth and Laura from s/v New Dawn at the helm of her dinghy, and Lisa raising and lowering the outboard as needed
to avoid hitting the prop on coral. We didn't realize that when we met up with the head school master one day and asked if we could come for a visit we would end up being the "guests of honor" along with the villages minister. The whole school was celebrating their version of "Earth Day/Arbor Day" with oratory competitions between students, singing and a flag ceremony. All their art work and recent writing projects were hanging about on display for all to view just like at home. The theme of
the day was their environment and the protection of the resources. They are doing great work there, and head master Philipo runs a wonderfully fun and tight ship. We had the opportunity for view our first Kava ceremony.

Kava or yanoqa (aka grog), is a drink made from a local pepper plant. Although we haven't tasted it personally, we've heard it tastes like dirty water and makes your lips and tongues go numb. It is non alcoholic but we've heard different stories claiming it's tranquilizing capabilities. It is an integral part of their culture and daily lives and is passed around between the head men of the village with a bit of ceremony and lots of clapping. When entering any new village we were to brings gifts
of the kava, specially wrapped as an offering or sevu sevu the village's chief. Though we were never able to give any away either, it was still fun to witness the ceremony.

Officially checked out of the country, we are on our way to our next destination of the island of Tanna in Vanuatu.
until next time,
Lisa and the boys

Keeping ourselves busy

Bula,
We are keeping ourselves busy this week with projects. Still hunkered down in Malolo'lailai Island, one after another we are checking off items that aren't even on the list. The water pump began to act up, so that took a few days to diagnose and solve. The back head had sucked up a piece of pumice and refused to do it's job anymore. Thank goodness it was only that. We managed to break the shower nozzle on the swim step in the back. McGyver is alive and well on our boat. Next came the toys.
The wind has picked up around here so Bruce got a lot of kitesurf time in, which leads to wear and tear on equipment. Two holes in one bladder and a baton broke in two places. We are masters of tape and fiberglass.
The Kelly's on Moorea had a fun project as well. This time the master tool was a plunger. They needed a new through hole put in for their head. When you place a plunger on the underside of the boat in the water, you can actually drill new holes or in this case larger holes in your boat. We had done it a time or two before with Lawur in Mexico, so now we initiated the Kelly's into the club.
PE this week consisted of some great snorkeling and more wake boarding. We are looking forward to exploring the island of Malolo'lailai by bike today. Try out some new muscle groups and see some new sights. Last but not least we had a little visitor this morning on the swim ladder. While outside chatting we noticed a veritable aquarium developing in our backyard. We had left the plug out of the dinghy and it was half full of water. A little fish had jumped in and made it home for the evening.
Second, a beautiful black and light blue stripped sea snake coiled around the steps to rest before going on his way.
until next time
Lisa and the boys

Malolo'lailai Island

Bula,
No doubt the most common word we hear any where in Fiji. Hands down they are some of the most friendly people we have met anywhere on our travels. They will come up behind us on the streets just to say hello and have a conversation, genuine and kind.
In the last two weeks we finished the repairs on the sails and other odd projects and set out to explore. Our first stop was Batiluva Resort on the island of Yanuca, just south of Viti Levu. A quiet little surf resort get away run by American's Sharon and Dan. This exquisite little get away was the perfect stop to rejuvenate our souls. The Kelly's on Moorea joined us and they boys got in a great day of surfing at the famous Frigates Pass. The odd thing about Fiji is that whether by tribal or
American influence, they have come to "own" the waves. Some of the worlds most famous surfing waves exist here but are off limits to most people unless you are paying the right price to stay at the hotel that "owns" the wave. Interesting concept. We enjoyed the friendship and kindness at Batiluva and felt none of the that there. Everything there is for you to share in. They boys had a blast with kayaks and helping Dan care for the grounds by keeping the burn pile well fed. Sharon kept us well
fed with a delicious home made meal.

Next on the stop was Musket Cove on the Island of Malolo'lailai. Located west of the main island of Viti Levu it is tucked in a host of islands that are quickly becoming covered in resorts. Guide books a couple of years old that may have mentioned one or two resorts could now be packed with seven. The friendliness is still present, maybe a bit more forced. We are enjoying being anchored out in a slightly protected cove. Still spending our mornings with chores and school and our afternoons filled
with fun. We gave the boys their first lessons on riding Bruce's kite board as a wake board behind the dinghy. Great fun and everyone was able to get up the first day. Next on the list was testing out a couple of different resort pools on shore. Some with slides and some the perfect shape for Marco Polo. There aren't many places where you literally have to walk across a dirt airport landing strip just to reach your destination. Only in paradise. Last but not least this week the boys and I
had our first shot at flying the trainer kite in preparation someday for learning how to kite surf. Set on a small sandy cay that disappears with the tide we had to hustle as the water came up around our ankles. The smiles on their faces said it all.

We took a quick break in there to move the boat over to the main land for check in's to this new island group and when the opportunity arises, we always see a movie. This time it was Pirates of the Caribbean III. Our favorite quote "The world is getting smaller. No, it's the same size, there's just less in it." Watching as each culture we've visited losses a bit of it's individuality in the name of progress we might have to agree.

We will play out the remainder of our time in Fiji floating around this and some surrounding islands. We are awaiting some parts to be mailed here and then we are anxious to head out to Vanuatu and explore their volcanos.

Until next time,
Bula
your Ohana Kai crew

Remember, when you email us, please write to this address as we cannot retrieve the yahoo and ohanakai.net addresses until we find internet. It has been very difficult to find in Fiji. When you do reply make sure that you cut out the old email info and start fresh. We cannot handle great volumes of information through the Ham radio. Thanks.

On to Fiji

May 11, 2007
Suva Harbor, Viti Levu, Fiji Islands
coordinates 18.07.369S, 178.25.782E

After an 8 day crossing we had the islands in our sights. What started as a delightful sail turned into quite a busy experience for us. After a couple of glorious and sunny days of sailing we were aware that big winds and weather were on the way. Prepared as we were, the 35-45 knot winds and 3-4 meter seas for the next few days were not necessarily comfortable but not a big problem. As they passed though things started to unravel. As the saying goes, if it could go wrong it did.

Right off the bat the fridge and freezer decided to act up soaring to new temperature highs. Next the water maker stopped desalinating up to our standards. The engine began to lug down to a near dead stop and not have the power it usually does. An issue we had thought we addressed in the marina but were not sure now. We ended up changing the alternator 4 times including rebuilding one with our two combined backups before the heavy weather hit. The engine never did have it's usual pep but it
hung in there questionably when we needed to use it for charging the batteries.

As the heavy weather hit we took many a breaking wave over the stern knocking out the autopilot and shorting out lights in the cockpit. Truly one of the toughest parts is the sleep deprivation, the root of all evil. The noise created by the large breakers hitting the boat night and day disrupts any sort of decent sleep. After 48 hours of howling winds and the weather began to die down. Aside from electrical issues we seemed no worse for the wear. Now with a nominal 10 knots of wind we had to
motor sail. Some how in only the lightest of winds with a reefed main a 10 - 12 ft. seam in the main sail let loose. There was no big blow out, no flogging of sails, so we figure there must have been some worn stitching that just decided to let loose. We took that sail off and put up just the jib to help motor sail as well. Not long after that a strange sound arose and we found by some fluke of nature we back winded the jib to find the spreader spearing right through it. Two sails down.

Five days out and lots of motoring ahead and again the engine didn't sound well, running itself down to nearly a complete stop at times. We nursed it along, changing filters, changing fuel tanks and deciding that we had best get at least one sail repaired if possible. We knuckled down and we hand stitched around the clock, we figure 3000 stitches. We weren't sure at this point if we would have enough fuel to make it to Fiji. We could definitely feel the changes in latitudes as the temperature
in the cabin was soaring into the 90's. Running the engine only exacerbates that inside the cabin. Each time we turned around though small things continued to plague us, the fridge and freezer continuing their rising temperatures, GPS would randomly go on the blink, computers would stop working when we least expected it, the clock stopped, new batches of batteries right out of the pack wouldn't work. We were beginning to think we were in some new Bermuda type triangle. We limped into Suva with
a beautiful sunrise on Friday, dropped anchor in 8 feet of muddy water in front of the Royal Suva Yacht Club and looked in awe at the busy port working around us. One sail repaired, the engine stuck in there with us the whole way, the fridge and freezer decided to come back to life and some friendly Fijian custom agents boarded our boat and checked us into the country. Listening to the various nets we realized we still had much to be thankful for as other boats lost their autopilot all together
and had to hand steer nearly the whole passage.

Our first journey onto shore brought much fun and surprises. Enjoying the differences between the mix of Fijian and Indian culture here, you can get a taste of both worlds. The open air market is full of familiar and still new foods for us. We found new sea weeds treats, Indian jack fruit, and of course the coveted Kava root that we will be delivering as gifts to the chiefs of the various islands we meet. We almost had the boys married off to an adorable little Indian gal in the first few hours.
It may be a long journey. We will continue to repair a few of our projects here in Suva for a couple of days and then head to the outer islands in search of more fun and adventure.
until then, Bula!
your crew on Ohana Kai

Slight Blog Change

Hello everyone, We had to make a Change to our old Blog Site so all of our new posts will appear here. If you would like to see any of our older posts please click on the Link to the right labeled "Old Blogs" or here http://ohanakaiold.blogspot.com Sorry for the inconvenience.


Bruce and Crew