by Judy Handley | Aug 28, 2006 | American Samoa, Sailing Logs Year 1 |
Day 315, Year 1: A Search for the Past
Date: Monday, August 28, 2006
Weather: Rainy and Windy Early Morning, Sunny Afternoon
Location: Pago Pago Harbor, Tutuila Island, American Samoa
Today nothing turned out quite as predicted. The weather was to remain stormy all day today, but late morning the sun came out and stayed that way the rest of the day. The winds also died down, so it was a very pleasant day. We were supposed to visit a star mound today, but the guide at the Historic Preservation Office (HPO) assumed we would have our own transportation. We went there on the bus, but in order to visit the star mound, we must rent a vehicle and be able to transport ourselves there. So, we had good weather and no way to visit the star mound today. What to do? We decided to go to the American Samoa Community College to check with the Department of Samoa-Pacific Studies about the video tapes from the past that Mark has been seeking. We had been told at the HPO that copies of at least one tape Mark has been looking for definitely existed at the Community College. So off we went.
The aiga bus dropped us off at the college and Mark walked about to find the right office. He found the Samoan-Pacific Studies building and inside he met the head of the department, Mika. Mika is married to a Samoan and has lived here about eight years. He sailed here when he was very young, and ended up coming back. He did have VHS copies of the Mary Pritchard film. Mary was an older woman when Mark was here, and she was about the only woman on the island still making traditional siapa (tapa) cloth. The 30-minute video tape was produced at the time Mark was here in the 1960’s and in this program Mary explains the traditional ways of making this cloth. Mark was elated to find a copy and Mika was kind enough to make a DVD copy for us. Since the copy had to be done in real time, we watched the program as it was copied. I was fascinated with her explanations of how this cloth is made. But this was not the program Mark worked on.
As exciting as it was to find this tape, we still need to search for a film Mark helped shoot while he was here. It was made into a program explaining the use of educational television here in the 1960’s. One day soon we will continue our search for the past at the Archives Office.
We stopped by the hospital on the way home to pick up my leg x-rays, but they were not ready for pick-up. I guess we will have to make another trip there to pick them up. We got back to the boat at about 3:30 and soon after got a call from the boat Long Tall Sally inviting us over for sundowners. Penny and Greg have a Tayana 55, making our Tayana 42 look like a baby. But that’s okay as we have less maintenance! We had a great visit and made plans for some island explorations.
Two new boats came into the anchorage today. Jonah on Araby arrived, as well as the sailing vessel ALK. We have not met the folks on ALK, but we did spend a great evening with Jonah on Araby in Comptroller’s Bay, Nuka Hiva, in the Marquesas. We are anxious to visit with him once again.
Tomorrow Mark, and Greg from Long Tall Sally, are going into town fairly early. Mark will try once again to pick up my x-rays and Greg will be search for the office where he can get some radio repair work done. I will spend the morning on the boat continuing my daily varnishing and spend any extra time getting American Samoa pictures labeled and ready for the website. My leg got quite a workout today, so it will be good to have a morning on the boat with no walking. I’m still not able to put full weight on my leg when walking, but I do at least let the healing leg touch the ground each time I take a step. What an effort this takes!
by Judy Handley | Aug 27, 2006 | American Samoa, Sailing Logs Year 1 |
Day 314, Year 1: Rainmaker Mountain Lives Up To Its Reputation
Date: Sunday, August 27, 2006
Weather: Stormy, Windy Day
Location: Pago Pago Harbor, Tutuila Island, American Samoa
As we sit here in the Pago Pago harbor, Rainmaker Mountains looms above us. And it is living up to its reputation as a rainmaker. Last night when I wrote the log I said that I thought the weather was clearing. Well, that was just the calm before the storm. Almost as soon as Mark hit the send key, the winds and rain returned with a vengeance. We had periods of hard rain and winds up to thirty knots all night. Today the winds gusted into the twenties, but it feels like they are increasing again. The American Samoa National Weather Service says we will have this weather for another day. Then they are predicting three days with variable to almost no wind. And then who knows. George and Barbara from Gdansk arrived today after a rough trip from Suwarrow in the Northern Cook Islands. They had heavy wind and rain most of the way here. George said that wherever they sail this year, the Convergence Zone follows. We have gone different directions, but we feel the same way. The South Pacific is having a turbulent season. Penny and Greg of Long Tall Sally arrived three days ago and they reported the same. They were also in Suwarrow in the Northern Cooks before coming here and they said that two boats there were blown on the reef on a particularly stormy night. Both were recovered without significant damage, but it is a scary thought. Doug and Sylvie from Windcastle are still in Bora Bora, and they have not been able to move their boat due to bad weather. They reported that one boat there actually sunk. So this crazy weather seems to be everywhere in the South Pacific these days. The man who runs the NOAA Observatory here, Mark, told us that scientists are perplexed with what is happening out here. The weather is not following normal patterns and they do believe it all has to do with global warming. He said that many still don’t want to believe there is such a thing, but something is making the ocean temperature warmer down here!
We were in the cockpit late this afternoon when the computer rang. I still have difficulty getting used to the idea that I can get a telephone call on my computer, but I love the technology that makes this possible. Today’s call was from Alan and Helaine Kanegsberg back in Concord. They have a camera attached to their computer, so we can also see them when we talk. Helaine had on a heavy sweatshirt and explained that there has been a little cool weather. Yikes! It is too early for this.
We were going to do more island touring with our friend Evelyn today, but the weather just didn’t cooperate. Tomorrow we are supposed to go to the Historic Preservation Office at 10 AM and be taken on a personalized tour of a well preserved star mound. I’ll explain what this is, even though I think tomorrow’s trip might have to be delayed until Tuesday if this weather continues.
Star mounds are “tia seu lupe” which translates as “earthen mound to catch pigeons”. The one we will see in Tafuna tomorrow has a particularly unique connecting platform and great views of Matafao Peak, the highest in American Samoa. More than 140 different mounds have been found throughout the Samoan islands. These mounds can be any where from 18 to 90 feet in length and are up to 9 feet high. Some have as many as 11 ray-like projections from the center-thus the name star mound. Evidently at one time, pigeon-catching was a very popular sport and the event always involved lots of festivity. There are archaeologists who believe that the mounds had to do with much more than pigeon-catching. They have evidence to suggest that ceremonies took place on these mounds-marriage, warfare, and healing. These archaeologists believe that the importance of a chief or matai was expressed through these mounds and that supernatural power or mana was expressed here. Some believe these mounds are centers of energy. Hey, maybe I’ll go to this star mound tomorrow and invoke some sort of special healing power for this leg of mine!
by Judy Handley | Aug 26, 2006 | American Samoa, Sailing Logs Year 1 |
Day 313, Year 1: A Trip to Ace Hardware
Date: Saturday, August 26, 2006
Weather: First Sunny, Then Squally
Location: Pago Pago Harbor, Tutuila Island, American Samoa
Mark started his morning returning the rental truck we have had for the past two days. It was to be returned by 9 am, but he got an extension so that he could take Brian of Thistledown to the Post Office to pick up packages from home. The PO here doesn’t open until 9:00. Brian actually had ten packages-everything from bottles of his favorite hot sauce from his mom to a new radio receiver, a new stereo, and on and on. Some of his electronic equipment was destroyed by salt water, so he ordered as soon as he arrived here, had everything sent to his mom, who then forwarded it all here to him. Since American Samoa is part of the US Postal System, we can receive Express Mail within a few days. Very convenient. Mark brought Brian back to his boat so that he could play with all the new toys, and then Mark picked me up. We dinghied to shore and then I walked the three to four blocks to the bus station. I tried really, really hard to put weight on my healing leg, but I just could not make myself do it.
We took the bus out to the Ace Hardware on the western end of the island. It is a very big hardware store, but unfortunately they didn’t have the propane fitting we were after. They do, however, have all of the exact same things you would find in an Ace Hardware store in the US. I had to walk from the bus stop across the road to the parking lot, across the parking lot, and then into the store. I made it about half way through and then parked myself on a bench outside. When Mark was finished shopping, we walked back across the parking lot and road to the bus stop. I still have to crawl up the bus steps, but I am not hopping down them. We rode back toward town and got off again at the True Value Hardware store. They didn’t have the propane fittings, but they at least had small propane canisters that we can use with our grill until we find the fitting we need. Again, when Mark was finished shopping, we got back on the bus and rode to the bus station near the docks. There is no “station” per se, just a place where all of the busses pull in to end or begin their next run. I made the trek back to the dock, but that was about as much walking on crutches that I could do for one day.
It started raining a little while we were waiting for the bus home from the Ace Hardware, but just about the time we returned to the boat, we really got hit with heavy rain. We had one squall after another all afternoon. Things seem to have settled down a bit now. Who knows what kind of weather tomorrow will bring. Mark spent the afternoon changing fuel and oil filters, changing the oil, and changing the filter on our Seagull water system. Tomorrow we will spend a quiet morning on the boat catching up on e-mail writing, and then we meet Evelyn at noon on the dock. We are going to spend a few hours exploring with her tomorrow.
I just finished downloading the pictures from yesterday onto my computer and reliving a really fantastic day. The Polynesian Revue that we saw at Evalina’s last night was possibly the best we have seen to date. The Samoan style of dance is so different-slow moving and expressive. I’m going to write an island tour guide to do along with the pictures we have taken the past couple of days. I think that will give you a better idea of what things look like here.
by Judy Handley | Aug 25, 2006 | American Samoa, Sailing Logs Year 1 |
Day 312, Year 1: Second Tour of the Western End of American Samoa
Date: Friday, August 25, 2006
Weather: Windy, Rainy Day
Location: Pago Pago Harbor, Tutuila Island, American Samoa
We had another one of those days. We explored the west end of American Samoa and found the same beauty that we saw yesterday on the east end. We ended our day at the Yacht Club and met up with other cruisers here in the anchorage. We all then went to Evalanie’s for dinner and for their Polynesian floor show. It was spectacular and I will just have to write all of the details tomorrow.
We started our day at the hospital and I got what I hope is good news. The x-ray looked way worse than the last, but supposedly that means the break is healing. I was told to start putting weight on the broken leg–easier said than done. But I will try and hope that soon my leg will be back o normal.
Tomorrow should be a day on the boat when I will have time to catch up on local news. I’ll add the detail then.
by Judy Handley | Aug 24, 2006 | American Samoa, Sailing Logs Year 1 |
Day 311, Year 1: Tour of the Eastern End of American Samoa
Date: Thursday, August 24, 2006
Weather: Sunny, Return of the Southeast Trade Winds
Location: Pago Pago Harbor, Tutuila Island, American Samoa
Whoa! I can hardly express the varied emotions I feel after our tour today. This island has been a US territory for 106 years and, therefore, it reflects much of the American way. Yet there is Fa’a Samoa-the Samoan Way. And it is very clearly reflected in the village life here. It is fascinating to see conflict in terms of ancient and modern civilizations. Today we saw the most dramatic and beautiful scenery that we have yet seen in the South Pacific. But when we returned to the harbor area, we saw neon signs and brand new black and white American-style police cars.
We drove our rental car across the mountains to visit villages where people today live as they have for hundreds of years, with the addition of Coke machines, homes made of concrete block instead of materials from the land, and schools that are very modern. In those same villages, you could see men out on the reef using seine nets to catch fish the way they did 100 years ago and woman walking in the reef waters with woven baskets collecting clams. We drove across the mountain toViatia, a village that is within the National Park boundaries, and saw nothing but beauty. We returned to the south side of the island, drove a little further east, and then back across the mountains. Here we saw trash all along the road down to a beautiful little village. The village was beautiful and trash-free. Again, another conflict. We continued on and drove all the way to the eastern end of the island where we found a pristine village living in another age.
On our trek home, we made a side trip on Cape Matatula at one of the five NOAA (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration) stations in the world. There is one at the South Pole, then the one here in American Samoa, one in Hawaii, and one in Barrow, Alaska. Mark, the single employee at the one here, gave us a great tour. He sits on the top of a bluff overlooking an unbelievable expanse of ocean. On a clear day, you can see all the way to Western Samoa. It was a bit hazy today, so we could not see those islands that are more than 50 miles from here, but still the scenery was magnificent. I crawled my way to the top of the building to see one of the best views in all of American Samoa. I can’t climb mountains right now, but driving to the top to observe is certainly a second best.
Another stop on the way home was at Tisa’s Barefoot Beach Bar. We read about it in the Moon Handbook of the South Pacific. It sounded neat, but not nearly as neat as it is when you visit in person. It is a great little bar/restaurant sitting right on the ocean. Tisa is off island right now, but her husband, “Candyman,” who is always the bartender, is running the place in her absence. He is from New Zealand and Tisa is native Samoan. She ran for governor in 2000 and plans to run again in 2008. We learned much about the island from “Candyman” and definitely plan to return next Wednesday for their traditional Samoan dinner.
We ended our day at a local Chinese restaurant where one meal gives you enough food for at least three people. It was good and we will be eating left-overs for days.
There is so much more that needs to be said about today’s tour, but I will just have to incorporate parts in each day’s log. Tomorrow we head to the western end of the island. I don’t believe American Samoans understand what a beautiful island they have here. There are problems with trash, and problems with dealing with the largest tuna processing plant in the world, but the beauty that is here is absolutely overwhelming. We would rank American Samoa the most underrated place we have visited. It is stunningly beautiful.
by Judy Handley | Aug 23, 2006 | American Samoa, Sailing Logs Year 1 |
Day 310, Year 1: To the Top of Mt. Alava
Date: Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Weather: Sunny, Hot, and Sill Very Little Wind
Location: Pago Pago Harbor, Tutuila Island, American Samoa
Our daughter Heather wrote today saying that we should share with you how Samoa has always been a part of our sailing lives. I had never really thought of it that way, but once she mentioned it, I realized she is right. When Mark lived here as a young man, coming directly from the ocean-less mid-west, the island life here surely enchanted him. He heard the Samoans tell of the first white men who came to the islands. They referred to them as papalagi. This translates as “skybreakers” or “skybursters”. When the first white men came, to the islands, all the natives could see were the white sails cutting through the sky -breaking the sky. The name stuck and now Samoans refer to all white men as palagi. When we got our first sailboat, she came with the name Yarely. This means “stable sailor” and that sounded like a good thing, so we didn’t change the name. Our second sailboat was named F-stop. It was owned by a photographer and we just couldn’t see sailing around with a boat by that name. It is bad luck to change a boat name, but we did it. I had heard Mark tell the story of the “sky-breakers” and I was fascinated with that image. So our second boat became Skybreaker. I have to admit that I envisoned that boat entering the harbor here in American Samoa, the land for which she was named. But we are here . . . not on that boat, and I don’t think anyone could see our white sails when we came in because it was raining so hard/ but those white sails did break through and we are here. For Mark and me, two people who have always wanted to be “skrybreakers”, arriving here was very special.
And then I got another e-mail from Linda Stuart wanting to know what in the world Dorade boxes might be. I mentioned that I was sanding them, but didn’t mention what they are. If you are not a sailor, I know you have seen pictures of big sailing vessels. There are always big air vents on boats, sometimes looking like big horns. Sometimes these vents sit on wooden boxes, and these are the Dorades. On our boat there are six stainless steel cowl vents that bring outside air into the boat. On Skybreaker, the vents sit on wooden boxes. These boxes cover a special drain system that lets air, but not water, into the boat. These boxes were designed by Olin Stephens for a boat named Dorade . . . thus the name. I finished sanding them on Monday and started varnishing yesterday. They are looking good once again. Actually, they still looked good at first glance, but unfortunately there were places on each box where the varnish had cracked. Therefore, I had to completely sand each of them back to raw wood and start the 14 coats of varnish from scratch. I’m on varnish coat #3, so I have a few days of varnishing to go.
This morning Mark and Glenda and Derek from “Scotty” and Bryan from “Thistledown” all hiked to the top of Mount Alava. Mark had been to the top of Alava before when he lived here, but the trip to the top then was by way of a cable car. In the ’80’s a Navy plane hit the cable during a celebration and broke it. It has never been repaired so goint to the top today is by way of a 3 mile trail. Actually the trail is a very rough 4-wheel drive track that is maintained by the National Park service and used by the engineers going up to maintain the television transmitters at the peak. Though it was just a “walk,” it was a strenuous and sometimes muddy walk that left all four of them dirty and tired. The view from the top was terrific. They could see from one end of the island to the other, but they were not able to see Upolu in Independent Samoa nor the Manua islands as they had hoped. Either it was too hazy or the mountains on this island simply blocked the view. Despite that, the views were dramatic and all returned with a sense of accomplishment and some more great memories. While coming back down the mountain the discussion was whether a shower or a beer was the highest priority. After showers all gathered on Windbird for a few beers and to learn more about each other. As usual, the camaraderie with fellow cruisers is a large part of the fun.
