Maupiti

After leaving Bora Bora and before leaving for the Line islands we ducked in Maupiti (we needed to scrub the bottom and remeasure the anchor chain). We left Bora Bora enroute to Hawaii with a novice crew. The trip was planned to be about a month in duration. The Line Islands are small dots of land between French Polynesia and Hawaii. They belong to the Kiribati Nation. The Kiribati have their own government, culture and language. English speaking and writing is taught in school. We were hoping to stop at a few of these islands but we knew that charts of the area are only approximate. Therefore, we planned to arrive in daylight from the southwest, prevailing winds being from the east/northeast. This is a view of Maupiti, our stepping off spot for the nearly month long trip north. The description of the entrance to Maupiti said to enter at mid day which we did. However it was still a harrowing entrance - very narrow with rollers on either side of the boat, threatening to dash us onto the coral at the first misstep. I was on the bow to direct Scott - the best instruction I could give him was to power as fast as possible through the swells to the calm water.

We took the dinghy to explore around the island at Maupiti. Traveling around the island inside the lagoon was impossible with the big boat because of the shallow water. Besides, after our harrowing entrance into the lagoon I was NOT in the mood to move the boat, now that she was safely anchored. Scott takes us around the island in his sure and steady way.

Caroline Island

Our first "driveby" was Caroline Island. Here Ariel, Colin and Dan look longingly at land. Our initial thought was that we'd find a "pass" into a central lagoon where we might safely anchor the boat. Barring that, we thought perhaps we'd find a shallow ledge on the west side of the island and then go ashore to explore. As we progressed up the west coast of Caroline Island we found no pass and no reasonable anchorage. The entire island seemed to be surrounded by a pretty good surf line - not good for landing a dinghy with three novices. We decided that this was a recipe for disaster - easy to flip the dinghy and risk injuring someone. So...we drove by without sighting any dwellings or human life - lots of birds though!

Here's a comparison of our electronic chart vs. our real location. This is a visual of where our pass was supposed to be. You can also see that the electronic chart shows us traveling north on top of the island. This is why a midday approach is best in these circumstances! We looked longingly at Caroline Island, but it'd only been five days since leaving Maupiti in French Polynesia - so we headed off for Starbuck Island.

Starbuck Island

There she is folks - Starbuck Island! Where's the latte? With the dark blue water (read: too deep to anchor) and the pounding surf, getting ashore doesn't look promising. In fact, at eight days out, this looks like another drive by! Now we're thinking that perhaps Malden Island would be another possibility. But as we try to head east against the prevailing winds our better judgment and desire for a more comfortable ride overpower us and we head for Christmas Island! At least with Christmas Island we're promised some real live people and perhaps a port for docking or anchoring. 

This is a partial answer to those who ask, "What do you do out there all day long?" Besides fishing, navigating and doing laundry, we eat, sleep and stand our watches! Hopefully you have as pleasant and helpful a crew as we did. And life goes on...

I know a chocolate layer cake is not the traditional celebration for crossing the equator! However, it was still enjoyed by everyone on Quest.

Christmas Island

We were happy to find a safe anchorage off the church in 30 feet of water on the west side of Christmas Island.. As we approached Christmas Island we made many attempts to contact "Radio Christmas Island." Finally another cruiser (mainly, "Belair") informed us that not only is there no "Radio Christmas Island," but there is no enclosed anchorage. There is no reliable or island-wide electricity on the island and the lagoon silted up in the last hurricane. Our visit ashore brought memories that will last a lifetime.

This is another view of our anchorage from the shore. You can see Belair on the left and Quest on the right. The wind is typically from the east and we're anchored on the west side. I think the shallow area is caused by the effluent from the lagoon slightly to the south of us.

This is a view of the lagoon at Christmas Island. The island is an atoll, or ring around a central lagoon. There's an interesting geologic history to these islands. They are originally formed by volcanic action and built up by coral growth. You can see the very light aqua color of the water. This indicates that there isn't depth for our boat. Also it's amazing how much wave action occurs across this lagoon. The distance is called fetch. The higher the winds and the greater the fetch the higher the waves become. This is one reason we anchor on the west side of the island when the prevailing wind is from the east. Also, there's more likely to be a shallow shelf built up on the west from the easterly wind blowing the sand off the island and depositing it on the west shore.

We were happy to go ashore and walk around.  It's been about two weeks since leaving Bora Bora. We're walking around to see the sights. We need to check in at immigration. Dan wants to go diving; and Scott & I thought we'd seek out the local priest who runs a youth hostel, has translated the Bible into the Kiribati language and has the best post cards on the island. Amazingly, we also find a little restaurant that serves a delicious fish in a coconut sauce served over rice. What a treat to have someone wait on us and no cleanup afterward.

This is the typical construction methods of the government buildings.

The bank had an outdoor hallway and a public phone. 

There are several construction methods on the island. But, These methods are dictated by the availability of materials and the cost to import other building materials. A number  of the structures are left over from WWII presence on the island. This especially accounts for the roads around the island.

Just another photo of other living structures.

Water is collected from rain using the roof as a catchment device. And storing the water in a concrete tank. The condition of stored water is of great concern to local authorities.

The dive shop generated electricity by using a wind generator.

The dive shop had built a pretty impressive facility using locally available materials!

One sure way to meet the locals is to make friends with their children! Little gestures of friendship go a long way with kids! This little girl looks like she's gone to get water for her family. The only water on the island is rain water. People collect rainwater and store it in tanks.

Ariel and Colin decide to catch a cab! The back of a pickup truck is a normal way of getting around. It's very difficult to get vehicles ashore on this island. Gas and parts are limited or unavailable.

The Millennium came first to the Kiribati Islands! People who wished to be the first to greet the new millennium traveled here to celebrate! This marker commemorates that event and all around are structures that housed the festivities. People came by cruise ship for this purpose.

The people on Christmas Island are rightfully proud of this beautiful church. When you consider the remoteness of this location - the lack of building supplies and equipment - it's a testament to the Kiribati people that they have such an impressive structure.

The next day we went to visit the new high school. This picture is of the staff and a few students. Parents have built this school at night with the use of diesel generators for light - this is after working hard in the copra plantation by day. The school was very impressive, consisting of two classroom wings of four to five rooms each, a science/library building and modest dwellings for staff. We were all impressed with the parents' desire to educate their children. We were also impressed by the demeanor and appearance of the students.

When we were preparing to leave we picked up several letters and packages to deliver to Fanning Island, our next stop. There's no direct mail service between Christmas and Fanning Islands. Normally mail may take weeks or months to get between islands, so visiting cruisers are a practical way to communicate with friends. Here Fr. Bermond gives us a letter to deliver to a friend on Fanning Is.

Getting on and off the island requires a certain strategy! First, it's important to select an area of the beach that seems to have the lowest surf. Time of day can also be important as the winds vary during the day. It's also a good idea to secure the dinghy to something solid (like a palm tree). You can see in the distance where the waves have built up as the water leaves the lagoon through a break in the atoll.

Did I tell you about the heavy winds that hit us during our approach to Christmas Island? Well, here we are replacing our furling line. When the heavy winds hit us the furling line jammed and broke before we could get the mainsail all the way down. Fortunately with boom furling we were able to drop the main completely, flake it over the boom and tie it securely before anchoring. 

Fanning Island

We met Bruno on Fanning Island. Here he is building a coral home! He had devised some pretty interesting methods of creating a comfortable abode including solar energy and a hand pump to access underground water!

This is a more typical home - built with palm fronds. It was very interesting to observe that almost every house had laundry hanging outside. These people are very clean. Living in the tropics with no 911 or hospital means that infections could be deadly. 

By now our crew are getting anxious to reach Hawaii. Tomorrow we hope to come into Hawaii. The trip from Fanning to Hawaii has been a close reach - trying to gain easterly ground against an easterly wind. It's been an upwind trip and we're talking 25 days total! Our crew has worked hard to make this a successful voyage. WOW!