by Judy Handley | Aug 22, 2006 | American Samoa, Sailing Logs Year 1 |
Day 309, Year 1: Careful What You Ask For
Date: Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Weather: Sunny, Hot, and Absolutely No Wind
Location: Pago Pago Harbor, Tutuila Island, American Samoa
It is 93 degrees F in the shade, there is not a breeze to be had, and the sun is shining with hardly a cloud in sight. I guess this is what the guide books were referring to when they said that American Samoa can be hot and sultry. They were right.
Mark had a slight change in plans this morning. He was planning to hike the three mile mountain ridge up to Mt. Alava with Brian from Thistledown. But then this morning, Mark decided to see if Glenda and Derek on Scotty would also like to go. They would, but not until tomorrow, so the hike was delayed. Instead, Mark and Brian took the bus out toward the airport to visit the big supermarkets. They first stopped at Cost-U-Less which is a Cosco. Mark says it has the same offerings as a Sam’s Club and he is sure I’m going to want to go there even if I have to crawl through the store. Unfortunately, they don’t have the kind of shopping carts for the handicapped like you do in the US. I’ve decided that either people out here do not have physical disabilities, or if they do, they just stay at home. I’m sure it must be the latter, but I have not seen anyone in a wheelchair or on crutches during our entire trip. Just me!
Brian found some wonderful buys at the Cost-U-Less. He has no refrigeration on his boat and he uses a kind of parmesan cheese that never needs refrigeration. They had that. And he loves hot sauce, but the cost in French Polynesia was not within his budget. A small bottle there cost between $5 and $7 US. Here he got two huge bottles for about $3.50. He was happy. The next stop for them was the K & S Market which is also a US style store, but it doesn’t sell the large quantities and has good produce and meat. You can buy sashimi grade tuna there for $5.00 per pound and that’s what we’ll have for dinner tonight.
Speaking of tuna, I’ve never really described the tuna industry here in any detail for you. The Samoa Packing Company is the user of the “Chicken of the Sea” and “Starkist” labels. America Samoa is one of the world’s largest tuna processors and the most important commercial fishing port under the US flag. Dutch Harbor, Alaska, is a distant second. The greater part of the South Pacific tuna catch is landed here, supplying the US with the bulk of its canned tuna. This alone is worth US$500 million a year. So folks here willingly put up with the smell and pollution.
Unfortunately, our great internet access has been experiencing difficulties since yesterday. We have had a great signal, but cannot get connected. Mark went back into town this afternoon with the computer, but we can’t get the problem resolved. It was great being able to call family and friends and send e-mails anytime of the day or night, so we hope to get this going again. This has been our internet oasis and we have enjoyed it and hope to continue to enjoy it once the problem is resolved.
We ended the day with me putting the first coat of varnish on the wooden Dorade boxes and Mark going into shore to do laundry. We wash all clothes aboard the boat, but we do sheets and towels on land when we have that possibility.
I am so glad that we have the luxury of time here. This island has so much to offer and we have just scratched the surface. We can’t wait to report on future explorations.
by Judy Handley | Aug 21, 2006 | American Samoa, Sailing Logs Year 1 |
Day 308, Year 1: Role Reversal—Log Written by Mark
Date: Monday, August 21, 2006
Weather: Mostly Sunny and Hot Day; Pouring Rain in the Evening
Location: Pago Pago Harbor, Tutuila Island, American Samoa
Some readers have written asking for more detail on American Samoa. I have to admit that Judy’s broken leg has slowed us down a bit. Normally she does the research and plans our shore jaunts. She is still researching, but since she can’t get very far ashore, she hasn’t much incentive to plan excursions.
Despite that, we have managed through the generosity of Evelyn Bowles Weilenman and the inexpensive aiga bus service to see a fair amount of the island. We plan to do more bus excursions and rent a car one day this week. And I plan to hike up to the TV transmitters on Mt. Alava along with Brian on “Thistledown.” On a clear day, you can see all the way to Western Samoa from the top.
The reason I am writing the log today is that Judy has been sanding Dorade boxes all day. Normally I do the sanding and she does the varnishing, but I needed to go to town and Judy decided to stay here and sand away. My trip to town had two purposes. One was to track down a wheel chair for Judy and the other was to find a film about American Samoa that I produced back in 1968. I visited the TV studios where I once worked, but they no longer have the film. They sent me to the public library. No luck. But they told me that the film might be in the Archives at another location. I’ll have to check that on another day. I also had no luck in find a wheelchair, but I did get a couple of leads. Maybe tomorrow.
Once I returned to the boat, Judy was still sanding, so I am writing the log. In terms of describing the island, I’ll start close to home in Pago Pago Harbor. The harbor is shaped like a dog leg so that when you come in by boat you enter the harbor and then make a sharp left turn going deep into the bay where the yacht anchorage is. Once there you cannot see the open ocean – you are surrounded on all sides by mountains which make a beautiful backdrop. Actually, we are anchored in the cauldron of a very large volcano. One side of the volcano has fallen away to open up this very protected harbor. There are a number of communities surrounding the harbor but to all appearances it is one town starting with the canneries on the north side of the bay and working around to the Yacht Club on the other side. Pago Pago is a small community at the head of the bay from which the area derives its name. Today the harbor was calm with a slight breeze and we had only one sprinkle. And even for a couple that has become acclimated to the tropics, it is stifling hot. But some days and most nights it rains heavily and we have had some pretty good winds funneling down the bay (20 to 30 knots). So “very protected” doesn’t keep out the wind, but it does keep out the ocean swell. It can get a little choppy in here, but for the most part the waters are calm.
One of the criticism’s we heard and read often before arriving here is that Pago Pago Harbor is filthy. However, there has been an effort to clean up the island and it is having an effect. We see very little trash along the streets and roads. Yards are mostly well kept. The bay water does not have the oily sheen that we often saw in Rarotonga and is actually pretty clear. But after a heavy rain, lots of plastic bags and Styrofoam cups and fast food containers wash into the bay . . . enough that you feel you could walk to shore on them. They say the bottom of the bay is covered in plastic bags. Certainly, it is difficult to get an anchor to hold here. It seems that everyone drags anchor at some point. But that may be due to the thin layer of silt on top of a rock-hard base – or it could be the plastic bags!
Generally we have been pleasantly surprised by the cleanliness of the place. One thing we do have difficulty with is the smell coming from the Tuna canneries – “the smell of money” as Evelyn would say. And certainly the canneries are a major revenue producer for the island. Speaking of revenue producers, there isn’t much here in the way of industry and infrastructure to support tourism. In fact, it is almost non-existent. The US National Park Service produces a map, but it is pretty sketchy. There is a significant portion of land set aside as the newest US National Park. It includes a very large tract on the north side of the island from near Fagasa to Afono, from the mountain ridge to the sea. In addition, a large portion of the island Ta’u is included and a small parcel on Ofu. These are two islands in the Manua group.
Outside of the bay area the island runs roughly east to west being about 21 miles long. At it’s widest, it is about 3 miles. Pago Pago Harbor is right in the middle and cuts so deeply inland that it almost divides the island into two parts. When I was here 38 years ago the population was about 25,000. Now it has doubled. Most of the population lives in the bay area, but there are small communities all along the coast on the south side of the island and in every inlet on the north side. The main road runs from one end to the other along the south side with numerous branches going over the mountains to villages on the north shore. Gone are the traditional fales (thatched-roofed houses). Apparently a hurricane in the ’80’s wiped the last of them out and they have been replaced by modern palagi-style homes of concrete or wood frame (palagi is the Samoan word for white man or outsider). In the more remote villages there are Samoans still living a subsistence lifestyle. But for most Samoans bananas, taro, breadfruit, fresh fish, and papaya are supplemented with a wide range of imported groceries from the US and New Zealand. There is a McDonald’s here and lots of local fast food places. And the grocery stores range from tiny family affairs to large supermarkets very similar in style and offerings to those in the US.
When I was here in the ’60’s I worked at the television studios. As I mentioned before, I went by there today to see what had changed. The outside is still about the same – except that the windows have all fogged up over the years. Inside is very different. There are cheap thin-wall partitions dividing up what used to be studios. We had four studios working in the ’60’s, now there is one. The rest has been converted to office and storage space. Still, it was possible to discern some of the old spaces where we worked and it brought back a flood of memories.
Yesterday Evelyn took us out to where I had lived for a short time in Tafuna and then to our house in Leone. It left me with mixed emotions. It was great to have it bring back memories of people and parties in those days, but it was depressing to see the condition of the homes. The ones in Leone are totally overgrown with brush and trees that weren’t there 38 years ago. And everything was mildewed. But a few of them were still lived in – though it is hard to imagine how! Some of the homes in Tafuna are a little better, but I was not able to identify my old place on a drive through.
My one big regret about those days is that I just don’t remember much. I wish we had published a yearbook so I could refresh myself with the names of old friends.
by Judy Handley | Aug 20, 2006 | American Samoa, Sailing Logs Year 1 |
Day 307, Year 1: Another Lazy Sunday
Date: Sunday, August 20, 2006
Weather: Sunny, Rainy, Sunny, Rainy
Location: Pago Pago Harbor, Tutuila Island, American Samoa
It’s feeling a little lonesome here in the anchorage. This afternoon four boats left headed for the other Samoa-Miami, Elsewhere, Splashes, and New Horizons II. John on Splashes helped Mark repair our lazy jacks on Thursday, Wolfgang and Eddie from New Horizons and George and Ute from Miami we’ve socialized with at Sadie’s and the Yacht Club, and we met Matt and Judy from Elsewhere last Sunday evening at Evie’s. We don’t know any of these cruisers well, but out here it is like a brotherhood. Once you have met, you are friends and you miss people when they leave and get excited when you see them again in another port. Glenda and Derek from Scottie came in day before yesterday and we haven’t gotten to visit with them yet. We must make a point of visiting them and getting to know them in person. We met them once in the Galapagos, really only know them from our radio net during the transit from the Galapagos to the Marquesas.
Speaking of radio . . . the local music radio station here has NPR news on the hour. It gave us both quite a jolt when the first hourly news report came on loud and clear. I guess I’ll have to catch up on what’s been happening in the world.
We answered a few e-mails today and made more Skype calls. We talked to both Heather and Justin, and we talked to my nephew Tommy and his family. He and Marilou have five children and we got to talk to all of them. They are getting ready to start school next week and the oldest, Josh, is going to be a senior. Hard to believe he is that old. It was great talking to them and we look forward to seeing them when we come home in December.
So after sitting around all day, we both decided that we needed to do something constructive. Mark removed the Dorade boxes and cowl vents. Tomorrow we will start the sanding and varnishing process.
by Judy Handley | Aug 19, 2006 | American Samoa, Sailing Logs Year 1 |
Day 306, Year 1: A Trip to the West End of the Island
Date: Saturday, August 19, 2006
Weather: Beautiful, Sunny Day (winds down just a little)
Location: Pago Pago Harbor, Tutuila Island, American Samoa
Note: The log and other e-mails were not sent last night. We could not get a channel to send, so we are trying again on Sunday morning after the net.
It was the kind of sunny day after heavy rains when everything green in the world glistens from being so clean. Almost everything in American Samoa is green, so it was a gloriously glistening day. Shortly after noon, we met Evelyn on the dock and started our tour of the island between here and Leone on the west end of the island. Although we had been out that way on the bus, Evelyn wanted to show Mark where he used to live and visit with a couple of people out that way. The airport is in Tafuna and that is where the largest group of government housing is located. We went there first. Mark lived in Tafuna for a few months when he first arrived and had planted hibiscus all around the house, but even with that as a guide, he couldn’t figure out in which of the many houses (which all look alike) he once lived. In this same area, we drove past some of the largest
churches we have seen in the South Pacific. The Catholic church in Tafuna is a huge complex that includes assisted living housing for the elderly. We then drove past the golf course in Ili’ili. It is beautiful with views of the ocean and Matafao Peak towering above it. Evelyn said that the scenery can be quite distracting when on the course.
As we continued to drive out toward Leone where Mark had lived for a about a year and a half, he started recognizing some landmarks. Leone High School was and still is at the end of an old air strip. When Mark was here in 1967 to 1969 there were five government houses located on that old air strip just north of the high school. There was almost no vegetation, so the houses were out in the open. That has certainly changed. Those houses are now surrounded by green and almost hidden from the road as you drive past. They
are no longer government houses and have not been kept up very well. Mark got out and took a few pictures and marveled at the very large tree in what would have been his front yard. There was no tree there almost 40 years ago and the tree that is there now is massive. When Mark was here he was in the wedding of a colleague, Marvin Leach, who married a Samoan woman, Fafatai. Evelyn had called and knew that Marvin is off island, but she was hoping that Fafatai would be home. She was not, but her home is in a dramatic location overlooking the ocean. This was near the village of Vailoa and the location of Sliding Rock. As Evelyn pointed out, it is possible to slide down the very slick rock just offshore, but she personally knew three people killed here attempting this. She calls it “suicide” rock and doesn’t recommend it because of the very strong current that can pull you under the rock once you have slid down. Next we drove to
the village of Viatogi and along a scenic stretch of black lava coast. The seas were crashing into the black lava and it was beautiful. This is the sight of the Turtle and the Shark legend. There are many different versions of this story, but the one Evelyn told us was that during a time of famine, an old blind woman and her granddaughter jumped into the sea after being turned out of their village because they couldn’t provide for themselves. When their family learned of this, they came to the shore to look for them. When they called out their names, they saw a turtle and a shark and they
knew their family members were alright. If you sit here on the rocks, you will almost always see a shark and possibly a turtle. School children here sing the folktale. Our final stop was to visit friends of Evelyn’s who have just bought a five acre track of land right on the ocean in an area of black volcanic rock and blow holes. Dean, originally from New Zealand, and his Samoan wife, Isabelle, are currently remodeling the house to turn it into a bed and breakfast. They already have a very successful bed and breakfast in Fagotogo on the side of the mountain overlooking the Pago Pago Harbor entrance. This new location they are developing is the most beautiful spot on the ocean that we have seen in the South Pacific. We spent the rest of the afternoon sitting on a deck right on the beach watching the huge waves
crashing into the black volcanic rock shooting spray straight up into the air. Dean and Isabelle’s eight-year old daughter, Evelyn (named after our friend Evelyn), could play on the black rocks and be totally safe from the ocean’s waves. Sometimes the surf would come into the beach area right in front of us. On a calmer day, you sit in the pool formed by the surrounding rock. This description in no way really describes the beauty of this spot. The bed and breakfast will be completed by year’s end and they will begin
building beach fales and a small restaurant at the water’s edge. This is one place I would love to revisit once it is completed. I could sit on that deck by the ocean for days and never tire of the sound of the crashing waves.
We ended our day by stopping by the Yacht Club and visiting with George and Ute from Miami, Brian from Thistledown, and Eddie from New Horizons II and then having dinner at Sook’s Sushi Restaurant close to the dock. Sushi here is just tuna, but it is certainly fresh and good. We can’t thank Evelyn enough for her willingness to share her love of American Samoa with us.
by Judy Handley | Aug 18, 2006 | American Samoa, Sailing Logs Year 1 |
Day 305, Year 1: Sitting in the Convergence Zone
Date: Friday, August 18, 2006
Weather: Mostly Very Windy
Location: Pago Pago Harbor, Tutuila Island, American Samoa
Evidently the Sub-tropical Convergence Zone is sitting on top of American Samoa and it is wrecking havoc here in the anchorage. We hardly slept last night and I’m not sure tonight will be much different. It was very windy last night and Mark had to keep checking to make sure our anchor was secure. We were fine, but early this morning others in the anchorage started breaking loose. The boats Miami and Scotty both spent two to three hours re-anchoring. Then sometime in the early afternoon a new boat came in, Thistledown. This is a 32-foot boat with a single-hander captain, Brian. We, along with George on Miami, ended up helping Brian get anchored. In the 20 to 30 knot winds we have had all day, getting anchored was no easy task.
We ended up not going into the Yacht Club for Happy Hour. It seemed too risky to leave the boat. Instead, we invited Brian over and he and Mark are still here exchanging boat stories. Brian is one of the twenty-something sailors out here. He worked as a soft-ware engineer in California just long enough to make enough money to buy and boat and sail his dream. At some point, he will return to work back in the US, but for the next couple of years he will continue to follow his dream.
We didn’t make any Skype calls today as our connection was not as strong as it has been. Yesterday we talked to Mark’s brother Steve and to Alan and Helaine Kanegsberg back in Concord, NH. They have Skype on their computer and have a video camera attachment. We could actually seem them during our conversation. When I was a young child, one of the dreams of the 1950’s was that someday we would have telephones with little TV screens attached. I guess that dream has come true.
Our son Justin and my niece Lynn finally have their flight reservations for coming to visit. They will arrive just in time for Justin’s birthday on September 14. They are flying into Apia in Independent Samoa, so we now have a deadline for leaving here. This still gives us a full 3-4 weeks here which will allow time for exploring, reprovisioning, and doing a lot of boat maintenance. Tomorrow we will tour part of the island with our new friend, Evelyn. We are very much looking forward to that.
by Judy Handley | Aug 17, 2006 | American Samoa, Sailing Logs Year 1 |
Day 304, Year 1: Changing Weather . . . Pouring Buckets of Rain
Date: Thursday, August 17, 2006
Weather: Sunny, Rainy, Rainy, Rainy
Location: Pago Pago Harbor, Tutuila Island, American Samoa
A weather system is moving through and we are getting literally buckets of rain. We have only one bucket left onboard, and we have filled it multiple times this afternoon with rain water. We started this trip with only two buckets. One of those was a little West Marine bucket that Mary Krueger, once a New Hampshire Public Radio employee and a good friend, had bought for us during a passage from Charleston, SC, to Norfolk. Even back then, she noticed that we didn’t have enough buckets aboard! Well, that little blue bucket is still aboard, but it has a huge crack in the bottom and only holds the supplies for doing stainless cleaning. The other bucket we started with bit the dust long ago. The bright red bucket currently have onboard, we bought in a little store in the Las Perlas islands, Panama. We have searched and searched since then, but no buckets have we found. When we arrived here, the first thing I asked Mark to do was to try and find a good plastic bucket, but so far no luck. So here we are with gallons of water escaping us because we have no way of collected the water. One day soon we will rent a car and do a shopping day where I’m sure we can find loads of buckets. I never knew a person could write so much about buckets, but here you have it.
Garrett, where are you when I need you? This is a plea to Garrett Stuart who served as our anchor locker hero while in Rarotonga. Anytime we have to reset the anchor, someone has to crawl up into the v-berth and be there to flake the chain. This afternoon during the pouring rain and changing wind conditions, we drug anchor and had to reset. I really missed Garrett as climbing into and out the v-berth multiple times is a real hassle with only one good leg. Garrett, we miss you for more reasons than this, but just wanted you to know that if you ever want to leave your parents, you have a place to stay!
We spent a great portion of the day answering emails from friends and family. We have more to write tomorrow. And this morning John, from the boat “Splashes” came by to offer if we needed any help. Since Mark needed to climb the mast to fix our lazy jacks we accepted his offer. For those of you who are non-sailors, lazy jacks are a set of lines that stretch between the mast and the boom and help the mainsail stack neatly on the boom when it is lowered. Ours had broken during a reefing operation on the trip here. It was an easy fix. Mark went up the mast while John tailed the halyard that Mark was attached to to make sure that he couldn’t fall. Mark tied and stitched the line that came loose back where it belonged and all was well again. Only problem was that while the line was loose it had chafed against the headsail so now that sail has to come down for some re-stitching. Always something to keep us busy.
But all in all, a day that only includes answering email, filling buckets with rainwater, fixing the lazy jacks and re-anchoring the boat has got to be called a laid back day by anyone’s standards. Maybe we can get a few more tasks on our list done tomorrow.
