Kite Ship

Canoe tour

Take your time for a brief stint by canoe, towards a military camp in French Guyana.

Sometimes things just do not go as planned...

Beemies & Pumas

Last Sunday we visited a car show in Praça XV, in the center of Rio. In front of the old Governor's palace.
The blue BMW was my favorite.
But look at the nice pair of Pumas...

Easter Island decisions

The last day I decided for something different. I rented a quod, an agile 4 wheel bike. I pretended to explore the Rano Kau volcano and the Orongo, a holy place for the Rapa Nui. Orongo was built in ancient times as setting for the birdman rituals, which involved climbing down the steep and sharp slopes, swim over through shark infested waters to the small island Motu Iti, get a bird-egg, swim back and climb up again. Arrive with an unhurt egg, before your competitors do.

Driving the quod was great fun on the dirt roads and over the pastures. Most of Easter Island is open country, pastures, low bush and reforested higher vegetation. The trip was very much like the one on the video above. Except that quods in Easter Island seem capable of driving much faster.

I took the time to think about the situation on our boat. 2 crewmembers left due to "incompatibility". One more on the Captain's "black list": Laura. The matter had been discussed openly among the crew. Laura had had a dispute with the Captain, and was ready to leave. Katie was shaken but undecided.

As the more experienced sailor, I had a friendly relationship with the Captain. Despite the discipline and authority needed on such a ship's crew, for such a voyage, I didn't like the way of the Captain's attitudes, ways and many decisions. The crew noticed how he himself did not respect some of the "holy" rules of the boat; not smoking, not leaving the cockpit without an engaged harness,... and other minor. He thought we wouldn't notice him smoking, behind the genoa, resting in the pulpit, in the early morning, when he released the last night-watch.

I didn't like the idea of "abandoning ship". I felt I had a resposibility towards myself, to finish what I had started. And I also felt responsibility towards the rest of the crew. Since not much anchoring was possible between Easter island and Chile, I thought we might just as well get there safely. As for the social tension, I was confident to be able to take it.

After all, in the next leg we would take us into the roaring-forties. Which was one of the main reasons for my coming. I wanted to see the long pacific rollers and the soaring majestic albatrosses. Until now we didn't experience any challenges, as what regarded sailing. Minor gales had been battered without much fuss. Sure, I thought I had learned this and that about anchoring. A quick course, with many missing lessons still.

I had come to get a "Yachtmaster Offshore" certification and some serious offshore sailing. I had never dreamed myself into a paradise cruise, and knew that times would be hard. And I also thought there was still something in there for me. I would not be disappointed. Why duck?

So, "apesar dos pesares", "despite the despites", I decided to carry on with the South East Pacific Tour, on Columbia.

Ships' Log Book entry - 24th november 2003

Extract from the Ships' Log Book, as written by the Captain:



Anakena: anchored



07:00 Daybreak --> Ocean stand off

50 -70 m from Red anchor (on rocks)

Wind N --> NW / 8-10kts. Breaking surf subsiding. Time to unhook



08:30 Engine warm. Katie at control. Mike and Laura at anchor + lizardline

Surf breaking at 1,5 - 2,5m. 1st spring breaks. Left one. Under engine recovered whole tackle + sailed away.



09:30 Safe water at last. This was the most dangerous anchor situation Columbia has ever encoutered. 3 crew behaviour superb. Look forward to 40's. Secured dingi on deck for rough weather forecast.

Drift sailed + slept all p.m.



All night: sailed back to NW point of island.

N.T.R.

Rapa Nui

Easter Island impressions

We were invited to a traditional Rapa Nui celebration. Allthough, I doubt that the white long shirts were used by original polinesian inhabitants. That is a later addition. But it was as traditional as it gets.

This is the port of Hanga Roa. Notice the breaking waves in the backround? They are actually between 1 - 1,5 meters high. And they are between you and your boat.

Moais everywhere. They seem to grow in small groups. Many are depicted with arms and hands holding the belly. Did you notice?

Can you imagine that, living in this tiny island, in the middle of the vast Ocean, nothing around, nowhere to go,... tribal wars iniciated a deep cision in Easter Island population. The island was devided in two. They had a deep drench, filled with inflamable material, trees and bushes, in between them. Great part of the islands trees and bushes went into that. The other part was used during Moai production and transportation. Easter Island probabely had an ecological breakdown, that had catastrophic effect on it's already small population. Think about that.

Mermaid - Sereia

Ships' Log Book entry - Anakena, Easter Island

Extract from the ships Log Book, as written by the Captain:

Sunday, 23 november 2003

Anakena: achored
10:00 (Coastguard) Captain brings forecast. Front approaching 24 hrs.
DECISION: Stay + see.

12:00 Landed with Peter & Etzke. Chickenwings at Gladis.
18:00 Change over crew arrives: Katie, Laura + Mike
FORECAST: Wind backing N-NE / 10-15kts.

01:50 Wind N / 15 - 20 kts.
Depth: 17m --> 11m --> 8m Stops.

Katie wakes Captain. Engine on. Radar on, reads 80m to rocks. We are inside line of breakers + backing 2 --> 3 m

03:00 1st. spring snaps. Engine on. Emergency spring rigged. Surf breaks non stop now. Hope it will hold until day break. Impossible to lift anchors in these conditions. If anchors unhook, time to estimated impact on rocks, 30 sec.

Easter Island exploring

We spent a day and resting eating. We had a quiet night. The late anchor watch was magnifiscent, under the incredible starry, but also clouded, night. And the moais on the beach looming in the feeble, changing moon light.

The next day we started exploring the beach's immediate surroundings. We had the probabely best chickenwings of the world, at Glady's little food and beverage stand. Anakena is one of the islands preferred turist destinations. It's Moais were the first to be reerrected by Thor Hayerdal, on his expedition with a Norwegian ship.

In the afternoon, the replacement crew arrived. Laura, Katie and Mike. Now it was Etzke's and my turn to see the island. The captain brought us to land. We had luggage, since we needed to wash clothes. On shore we met a small party of locals. They were frying freshly cought fish, had plenty, and invited us to join. The grilled, fresh fish with the cold beer and friendly people, looking over Anakena Beach in the afternoon, that was something to remember.

It turned out they were celebrating. Their family story had an interesting link with Hayerdahl's expedition. A curious family re-reunion. I met Jackeline, who was the mother of 3 children, and teacher of traditional Rapa Nui language in Hanga Roa school. We all had time to tell a little of our stories. Of course they were curious about us, as they had seen our landing with the dingi. After a couple of beers, in the late afternoon, we left. The family gave Etzke and me a ride to Hanga Roa on the back of their pickup truck.

They invided us to a last cup of tea, at home. After a short and cheerfull chat, in spanish, we agreed to visit the island together. They were making a tour for Carl, the Norwegian, and his doughter. We were invited to join the tour on the pickup truck. I was acting as some sort of translator between the spanish speaking Rapa Nuis and the english speaking Carl, and was facilitating conversations. I was therfore constantely talking to someone. After weeks of limited interaction I was enjoying it.

Happy, we excused ourselves ,and left to search for a place to stay. A posada, looking over Hanga Roa harbour, was cheep and adequate. They had a hot shower. That was the main prerequisite. We had lived weeks "washing" with one cup of sweet water per day... :-/ You get used to it after a while, I an assure you. As you get used to many things worse. Therefore a shower was now called for - urgently!

As night fell, the wind changed. Again, I was worried. Next morning, before we left to the tour, I went to the Coastguard to ask for news about the boat. They had gotten news per radio. Columbia had a critical situation during the night. They made for the sea at daybrake, and were heaving-to. Everything was ok. The on-shore crew should proceed, as planned, with the visit to the Island.

Easter Island landing

The wind abated from the gale, the sky cleared up, and we slowely put the boat moving again, and sailed towards Anakena beach. We anchored on a sand patch on rock, with coral heads, far outside, in 17 meters. In a changing wind we would be exposed on to a breaking beach.

There was one thing that worried me. During the anchor retrieval the day before, while bringing in more than 50meters of heavy chain, dangling under us, with two heavy archors, working with a feeble manual winch... I looked into the half empty chain locker and noticed that the end of the chain was welded to the boat.

This topic had been dicussed on board a few weeks before, during one of the Yachmaster instructions. The instruction books teached that anchor and chain should allways be sacrificial. That is, you have be able to let the hook go, if you must. A compleetely agreeable instruction, I thought. I had been through situations where it was best to strip a marker buoy to the cable or chain, let go, and pick it up again later.

Yet, he disagreed, and expressively warned us against that. I felt compelled to mention arguments that spoke for the instructions that were given in the book. He didn't like that, and, starting to put his experience into the game, he pointed towards the little bulkhead plate saying: "The Captain is allways right!". Accepting this clear argument, we settled it. The matter would come back to facts, eventually.

And, as allways, the sun came back, and suddenly the menacing rocks and volcanic slopes were illuminated with bright light from a blue sky. Palms, white sand and a cold jump into the Pacific water! This was Polinesian sand. Moais greeted ominously. Despite all, I was happy, and tired.

This images was not taken by me. I copied it from the Easter Island home page. I didn't have an eletronic camera back then. I have digitalized only a few of mine. Some shown in the posts.

Easter Island stay

This image shows our boat, Columbia, a ft. 50 steel cutter, anchored off the port of Hanga Roa. "Port" is actually a little overstating. There are no ports on Easter Island. Just places where you can anchor, and place where you don't. The Chilean Coastguard keeps a watchfull eye on sailing vessels. The few that arrive there - not too many.

The first day, with half the crew onshore, we had problem with our anchor. The wind piped up, the chain wrapped on a coral head, and jammed the boat on a short leash. It was hard work to retrieve the anchor. Motoring in front off Hanga Roa, not having a reliable mooring available, we decided to head for open water, to wait for the wind to ease and the weather to improve. We hove-to under third reef and stay'sail, and drifted towards South.

Our problem was the dingi. We didn't have time to bring it up, and now we were towing the dingi, with the engine, in a 35kts gale. It was filling with water from the breakers. The dingi was also Columbia's lifeboat (!). It was usually kept inflated, on deck. So, we couldn't loose it. But bringing it on deck with all that water was not possible.

As soon as the wind abated slightly, we prepared everything to retrieve the dingi. With only the captain, the dutch girl and me on board, I was the only volunteer. I put on my wetsuit, a safety line, brought the lifeboat alongside, jumped in and bailed the dingi, until it was possible for us to heave it on deck. It was a strange sight, to see the boat from outside, huge Pacific rollers between us. I was happy to have the paddles. I took a picture so I could think about that later on.

Comming back on deck would be a nice challenge, I thouoght. But it proved not to hard. A well timed pull and leap was all it took. We only manged to bring the dingi partly in, on the lee deck, before the wind piped up again. We lashed it securely against the doghouse. After all,we managed to save the dingi before dark.

We waited out until the gale ceased. The wind had backed, as it had to, after the passing of a short front, and was now bringing us North again. Following the advice of the Chilean Coastguard, we now went for shelter in Anakena Beach. A lovely tropical beach, with a row of Moais. Perfect.

Protonema Gametofito

Lost world

Never mind the chopper.

I've prefered walking.

Canoa de Tolda

This boat is a testimony of dutch heritage on the São Francisco river, in Brazil. This type of boat was very common until not too long ago. And it's got a portuguese name: Luzitania. And she's got brazilian colours.

Tais a ver

Things seem to fall into place.

Hans Klaar's traditional tacking outrigger

This is Hans Klaars traditional Tacking Outrigger. A cool story. Seeing it sailing on the video is interesting but takes a while.

Follow this link for a fabulous video about has Klaar's voyage:

http://themorrisongroup.com/images_common/MilesMay.html

He build the 70ft. tacking outrigger from scratch. Literally. He bought a couple of logs.... He passed by Brasil too. But apparently he didn't come to Rio. At least I didn't see him, nor his boat. Guess he went the route from South Africa to Salvador or Recife.

Read his letter to James Wharram below:

"Hi James and Hanneke"

How are you all? Went on your web site and saw in the forum that the hunt was on for who has seen the whereabouts of my old boat Rapa Nui, funny that. Well I have been rather busy myself the last 9 months and gave birth, or so it seems, to a new voyaging canoe and the teething seems also to be over its worst, after sailing 2000 miles, most of it over open ocean."

So I can now say, yes in its extant it took me 4 years to dream up, 6 months to build (from 2 bare tree trunks 4 foot diameter and 27 feet long), 2 months for the rig, crab claw naturally, a very refined version, asymmetric hulls, built along the line of the Anaan, Tuamotuan canoes as seen by both Commodore Wilkes and Admiral Paris (approx. 1845)."

Here are the dimensions: starboard hull is 71 feet LOA, 8 feet beam, 6 feet deep; port hull is 57 feet LOA, 8 feet beam, 6 feet deep; draft over all is 2 feet. Deck platform 42 by 21 feet, beam over all 22 feet, 7000 kg plus/minus looking at the weight of the dried wood used."Tacks like a dream all one way, no hanging back at the last moment, and takes off once through the eye of wind almost at once, holds a good 50 degrees on the wind and leaves a nice straight wake aft. I can handle her totally on my own, self-steers very well. Something funny goes on with this one mast that seems to make it possible. One example is 400 miles in 40 hours, jib to tiller steering (controlled surfing if one can call it that) with fully reefed main in 28 knots of wind."

Will head out for the Pacific come January, are at the moment in Brazil on our way to Trinidad-Tobago. Hope you like the lines and that all is well in Devoran."

Greetings,

Hans Klaar"