King of the Crab Hunt

James and Appi (the two park rangers) arranged for us all to go crab hunting the other day. We all met on the beach at about 10 am and James let us know how the day would play out including the park guidelines etc.

James wears his hair up in a bun on top of his head and has a full long beard. He has a huge belly with an enormous tattoo covering it. He is one of these people whose eyes are so happy that you know right away you are going to like him. He has a big laugh and is missing a few teeth. You feel an instant respect for him and for me anyway I wanted him to like me. His body is covered with tattoos. He told me later that when he was 14 his 12 year old brother tattoo'd him with little markings all over his body and once he was old enough he had nicer tattoo's put on to cover up his brother's handy work.

James described how we would travel by boat to one of the other motu's and then hike across the island and through the shallows to the coconut crab hunting area. He demonstrated on Alex how we would rip the crabs backs off to kill them. Since there were about 30 of us he said we needed to catch about 15 for a pot luck dinner.

Next James assistant Appi blessed the day. As many of you know I am not religious but I have to tell you I love the warmth of a group of people with heads bowed all thinking together about positive thoughts for the day. Absolutely beautiful on the beach of Suwarrow. Appi said the blessing in his native language and it was mesmerizing. Appi also exudes a warmth but his warmth comes from his smile rather than his eyes. He is so willing to share his knowledge and he also loves to laugh. It seems that these two men are fast friends with everyone. We feel very lucky to have met them.

Away we all went in 3 different boats. The hike was long and so HOT. We have had so many rain days that now that the sun has finally come out it is really hot and humid. When we finally reached the crab hunting area I was in for a big surprise. I had just assumed that we would be grabbing them along the reef. I guess I should have realized that "Coconut" crab means that they eat coconuts but I never clued in. Appi took us all into the deep brush of the island. The palms scratched our legs and we crawled over the trees and brush. It felt like a safari. He led us to the bottom of a tree that has the roots exposed like a teepee above the ground. In this mini prison he pointed out our first Coconut Crab.

Next he demonstrated how we would grab the massive crab out of his dark hiding place (without having the pincher's take a finger off) and then rip its back off and kill it. I forgot to mention that prior to this he had split us into teams of 4 people each and each team had to catch 3 5lb crabs. He put the Perry 4 together. Given this as Appi is wrestling the crab out and then killing it, I am thinking....."oh shit...we have to do this!" Luckily Alex was thinking, "Cool, we get to do this!"

Once the demonstration was over we were on our own. Graham describes the way Alex approached the hunt "like a hound dog". He was climbing over stuff, crawling on the ground, reaching in holes, poking his stick around....he was on a mission. Finally he spotted our first one and with no fear he poked and prodded and got the crab out. He then didn't even hesitate and ripped the back off! Alex the King of the Crab Hunt. We were all so thrilled. We were thinking, "Wow, our first crab within 5 minutes! This wasn't that hard."

We couldn't of been more wrong. We kept finding crabs but Appi had instructed us only to capture the big ones. Finally we spotted another big enough to catch. This time was Graham's turn....our fearless Captain and it turns out that our fearless Captain is afraid of Coconut Crabs! lol. He finally says, "Ok, Alex get in there". We managed to find 3 more after that!

The day was a success and we left with our 15 crabs. For me the best part of the day was eating them. Appi roasted them (shell on) on an open fire and we all made up pot luck dishes to accompany. James stood and cracked open all the crabs with ease for us as we dished up our plates. I have never seen it look so easy. He waited til everyone was well fed before he dished in.

It is hard to believe that we are at the end of our provisions and still eating like kings. We ate and ate and ate and of course we drank. A really great party. A highlight for me was when one of the French cruisers broke into a French song from my childhood called, "Aloe'etta". Everyone joined in and belted it out and it was such a hoot. We are having such a good time here that we don't even want to think about leaving just yet.

Spiders or Sharks

Artemo is surrounded by sharks. At any given time there are 4 to 6 black tip reef sharks circling our boat. This poses a bit of a problem since our method of getting clean is sea baths. Alex thinks it is pretty cool and as I did laundry on the back deck the other day he swam around the boat. It was strange to keep looking up to make sure he was safe and see Alex and then see the sharks. I told him to speak to me every minute or so, so that I didn't freak out. Later in the day I asked him to spot for me (basically wear his snorkel mask and watch for sharks) while I took a bath. Unfortunately on this occasion one of the black tips decided it would be fun to play a game of chicken with Alex and made a b-line right for him. He jumped up in the dinghy faster than I had ever seen him move. Regardless bath time was OVER.

Suwarrow is a really cool deserted island with a neat history. A man named Tom Neale came to live alone on this island in the 50's, 60's and 70's. He ended up writing a book about the adventures he had setting up his life here. It is titled "An island onto oneself". It is definitely worth a read. I love imagining him here and being able to put real images to each moment as he has described it in his book.

There are now 2 park rangers who stay on the island for the cruising season and there is a club house and cook shack where everyone hangs out. The rangers are from Rarotonga and are unbelievably nice and organize outings and pot lucks. When we checked in they said we were free to use the showers on the islands so given the fact that bathing with the sharks wasn't appealing this is what we set out to do!

The shower is at the back of the club house and has no light and is quite dark. I had Graham connect the wires for the pump and away I went. I forgot to bring my regular glasses, so I had on my prescription sunglasses. I basically showered in the darkness. It was still wonderful. Once I had finished Amelia had her shower. After about 10 minutes I found her and her pile of stuff outside of the shower room doing the "weebie geebie" dance. She said there was a HUGE spider in the bathroom. The biggest spider she had ever seen and she kept repeating, "It was furry, furry!" She was FREAKING out. Graham went in the room and managed to get the spider out and I watched as it scurried up the wall. It was huge and yes it was furry. Totally terrifying. I realized that I must of showered with it to!

Once Amelia had calmed down I asked her to describe what had happened. She said that she finished her shower and her clothes were hanging on the back of the door. She went to reach for them and she spotted the huge spider in the shadows on the wall. The problem was that she was naked. Outside the shower room all the cruisers were gathering for the potluck. Her options were....stay with scary spider and dress OR run out naked in front of cruisers. She opted for taking her chances with the spider. She said she kept her eyes on the spider and carefully put on her clothes. She then grabbed everything up in a frenzy, exited the room and proceeded to have her break down!

So now each day we are faced with the question as bath time comes round......"Spiders or Sharks?"

I do not like green eggs and ham

The morning we arrived in Suwarrow Simpatica called over and offered us fresh water showers on their deck. This was like offering us a trip to Disneyland. Graham didn't even hesitate with his quick, "YES" reply!

We spent a few hours organizing the chaos on board, sleeping and checking in. At about 4pm Louis picked us all up. I am sure it must of been quite the sight to see all four of us on his back steps all lathered up and oohing and aahing. Louis even gave us the hot water hose. Can you believe it???? Glorious, glorious hot water. OMG it felt so good. Graham said it felt like he was washing away 3 days of stress.

Once we were all clean, fresh and dry Louis slid open the patio doors and welcomed us in to the air conditioned salon. It felt like we were entering another world full of all those creature comforts we were all craving. We all stretched out on the cozy couch, poured the wine and toasted our safe arrival.

Alex brought over our massive Mahi Mahi to get filleting lessons from Louis. They cleared off the counter and got out the filleting knife. Louis is great with the kids. He would first show Alex how and then let him go at it. He was so encouraging that Alex wanted to do well. Each time he needed some course correction Louis would do it in a way that didn't cripple his pride. I watched and learned not only how to fillet a Mahi but how to "teach" my kids.

Once the Mahi was all filleted Jules informed us that we were staying for dinner. Yippee the day was just getting better and better. They had caught a HUGE 60lb tuna on the way and had a beautiful cut of tuna to share for dinner. Jules got to work bustling all over the kitchen and all the while involving Amelia and getting her to help out. Between the two of them the first thing they laid out beautifully presented was fresh slices of tuna, pickled ginger, soya sauce and washbi. It looked like what you would get at a gourmet restaurant. All the while as they are preparing it I am thinking to myself...."YUCK"! Once it was all laid out Louis was in shock to learn that Amelia and I had never ate raw fish. All of sudden out of nowhere Amelia says, "That's it, I am trying it!" I was abandoned. She took a big piece and she loved it.

Well there I was on my own little island. I knew I couldn't stay there. All eyes were on me. I had to jump out of my comfort zone and try the dreaded "Raw Fish". I was thinking in my head....."I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them Sam I am."

With my chopsticks in hand I took a piece of fish with a piece of pickled ginger and dipped it in the soya/washbi and now the moment was here. I put the whole thing in my mouth preparing to be disgusted and then to my shock the most amazing beautiful delicious taste filled my mouth. I DO, I DO LIKE GREEN EGGS AND HAM.....screamed through my head. I couldn't get enough of it. We all devoured the plate. What else have I been missing? I ask you....hmmmm

All the while Jules and Amelia were making sushi as we drank and ate. They made beautiful rolls and for the first time EVER I ate sushi rolls that weren't california rolls and they were so good. You might think at this point that we would be all stuffed but the eating continued. Earlier Jules had taken Alex's Mahi and chopped some up and made Ceviche and had this chilling in the fridge. Ceviche is basically raw Mahi, lime juice, onions, and a Louisiana spice. Again in my head I was thinking I had overcome enough today...no need to push my luck. Jules wasn't having any of it and prepared the cracker for me. My love for it wasn't as instant as the Sashimi but soon enough you could see me preparing cracker after cracker. YUM YUM YUM.

Still the feast wasn't over. Next Louis took the Mahi fillets and fried them up with the Louisiana spice. I don't know how anyone had room to get this down. The fillets were accompanied by a yummy fresh tomato concoction that we hadn't even realized was simmering on the stove since we had arrived.

As we all sat around the table totally satisfied and stuffed...Louis says, "Who is up for chocolate milk shakes for desert?"!!!!! We really shouldn't have but WE DID. We completed the evening with chocolate gooey's accompanied by chocolate milk shakes! Are we in heaven or what?

I am not sure how we are going to top this evening on Artemo but we are sure going to try. The people out here make this journey so much more fun. I find that we are so much more open to including people in our lives out here.....as extended family. I am not sure if this can be replicated when we get back home but I am sure going to try because the friendships are SO WORTH IT!

Thank you Louis and Jules for a night we won't soon forget!

Do not trust the weather files

We knew that the sail to Suwarrow would be challenging but we had no idea HOW challenging. This was the first time we headed out in such high winds and overcast conditions but the weather files we had received promised that lighter winds were on the way.

We raised our small storm sail, a spiff of main sail and a spiff of the missen. It had been a long time since we had sailed with both the wind and waves at our side. It felt strange and foreign and I won't lie to you I was a bit scared. We kept telling ourselves that this was the worst of it and soon light winds would be with us. The wind was consistently over 25 knots and as each squall would pass through it would blast substantially higher. The worst part was that we were only doing about 3 knots. The waves were so high and forward of the beam that they slowed us right down. We tried raising more sail but given the huge wind Artemo would heal so far over that the port deck was under water. We had never seen so much water running over the decks. I could just reach out of the cockpit and be touching the ocean.

The sounds down below were unsettling. I am sure they are normal but we hadn't heard them in so long. The bashing of waves against the hull at the front. It sounded like we had collided with something. We would all brace ourselves and look to Graham for a "it's ok" nod. For the first time ever we took a huge wave down below. We had the door in the companionway but we didn't have the sliding lid shut. A rogue wave hit us and water was everywhere. Alex was in the cockpit tethered in and took the worst of it. I was in shock and it was a lesson learned. We took many more waves into the cockpit on the trip. Water was everywhere. The tiniest drip down below would overtime cause "wet bed".

Since we hadn't felt this motion in so long we were all sea sick, even Graham. Alex and I were the only ones to woof our cookies. We would both try and make it to the cockpit in time.....sometimes we weren't quick enough. The boys took to peeing in a bucket since it was so much effort to travel from the cockpit to the bathroom and then to go. We all wore the same clothes for the 3 days. On the first day we had some pre-cooked chicken that Graham managed to throw in the oven to heat up. I passed us each out a piece in bowl for dinner. None of us could really eat but Alex was starving. He dug in immediately and after about 5 bites he says...."mom can you take a look at this". It was dark down below but I had a head lamp on. I shone the light on the meat and could see blood. I freaked out and felt even more sick. A fight between Graham and I ensued as I begged Alex to make himself throw up and Graham told me not to be so crazy. (fyi...Alex was fine and didn't throw up)

During all of this Alex continued to fish. We had no idea what we would do if he caught one. There was no way the boys could of gone on deck to reel it in and clean it. On day two Graham heard the dreaded words...."I caught a fish Dad!" Graham was laying down below and told Alex that we would just have to drag it for a while til it was dead. Alex and I watched up on deck as it fought and jumped from the water. It was huge. Graham could hear us oouing and ahhing on deck and he said after that he was so hoping the fish would win the fight and he wouldn't have to bring it on board and clean it. Luckily he got his wish and Alex watched as the line went from tight to loose. He was so sad. He brought in the lure and the fish had ate half of it and taken one of the hooks. He had double hooked the line, so there was still half a lure and a hook on it. He spit on the lure and back out it went.

On day three he landed the biggest fish yet on that half eaten lure....a five foot Mahi Mahi. Luckily he landed it during the calmest part of the voyage. Winds were still 25 knots but the sky was blue. The boys cut off the head and tail and quickly gutted it. The threw it in two huge long bread bags and put it in the fridge to deal with once we were safely at anchor.

On the morning of our arrival we were hit with the worst squall yet. Normally Artemo could manage each squall without us having to reduce sail since we were already reefed in but this squall hit with such a force that we were battered down towards the sea. We yelled at the kids down below to get on their life jackets and we secured the hatches. We knew we had to go forward and bring down the storm sail but conditions were just so crazy that the thought of one of us going forward was way to scary. We were using our windvane to steer us because our auto pilot had given out due to the high winds 2 nights before. We decided to turn off the windvane, hand steer and run with the squall. The strange part was that we were in sight of the island but this brought us no feeling of peace since the squall was pushing us towards the reef. Once we had Artemo turn away from the wind I tried to hold her on course. I was shocked how hard this was in the high high winds. Graham went forward and lowered the sail. We rode out the worst of the squall and were so happy to finally see it pass.

We finally made our way to the pass for the island and it was much easier to get in then we anticipated. We made it to the anchorage and just as we laid the anchor down the wind blasted to 50 knots. Can you believe it? Luckily Artemo was well set and now here we sit safe and sound and reflecting on our journey. Trying to think...."Cup half full" and all I can come up with is that the universe felt we needed the sailing experience. If things are always good then how do you learn....right? and I guess challenges do seem to also bring us all even closer. Oh and they also make the good times even sweeter.

We called over to Simpatica once we arrived. They had arrived a full day before us. We all love to hear Louis's take on things. Again in his fabulous Texan accent he says, "It like we were shot at and missed, and shit at and hit.".....Yup, this pretty much sums it up!

ps....don't trust the weather files!

Mass Stripping Frenzy

I love the moments out here when I can actually see the kids surpassing my knowledge and comfort level. I found when we were back home these moments would usually slip by and I wouldn't really notice them. Out here they are so often defined by action, that they are hard to miss.

The morning we left Palmerston we readied Artemo for passage. We tied up the ladder, attached all the splash guards, did up the gates, stored away all the gear and prepared to lift the anchor. Just as we were about to turn on the engine Alex spotted whales not to far off. We postponed a few moments and just watched in awe. All of sudden the kids realized they were coming towards us. In a flash Amelia jumps down below and begins throwing up their snorkel gear. I was in shock. She says, "This time we are getting in with them!"

Alex thought this was a great idea to and there was a mass stripping frenzy and snorkel gear flying. I told Graham to hurry, hurry. I told him he had to get in with them. There was no time for him to go get swim trunks, since the kids were going. He just had time to whip off his shirt before the kids had jumped over board into the ocean with the WHALES!!!

My heart was RACING! "Get in Graham, get in", I was shouting. The winds were really high and I worried about the current. Alex wasn't waiting for no one. He swam off ahead. Graham jumped in and grabbed Amelia's hand. I tried to watch from deck as I could see HUGE whales and the three most important people in my life snorkeling next to them. Unbelievably amazing. I ran around untying the ladder, attaching a long rope off the back of the boat given the current, getting their fins to pass to them, getting the camera and all the while trying to take it all in. Attempting to do all these things with tear filled eyes was very difficult.

I was just so proud and in awe of my kids. Even despite all my freaky worrying over protective ways they have become fearless adventurous young people. I am so thankful for this.

Once the whales moved off and they climbed back on board. They describe how beautiful it was to watch the whales from under the water. There was no blasting of the wind....just peaceful calm. Alex said that it he loved that he could check out the spots on the whales and their eyes. They said it was a mama whale and a baby. Amelia was so excited. I am sure you can all imagine her excitedly loud fast talking about all she had seen.

Moments like these fill me up. I didn't manage to get any photos but I can tell you that these images will never be forgotten. Man I love these kids.