Tahiti and the Society Islands

After enjoying the solitude and quiet of the Tuamotu, we set sail for Tahiti, the famous capital of French Polynesia, with all its glitter and gold. As expected, we arrived to find a McDonald's, lots of traffic, endless tourists and more things to our spend money on than we had money!

So we enjoyed the tropical sunshine anyway, and were not let down with lots of hot sunny days, more clear warm water and some choice surfing for Austen. A visit to Tchopou, famous for its big waves and annual Billabong surfing contest was enjoyed by all (except Tim, who installed a new 180 amp alternator). There's a shot on Picassa of a sad surfer carrying half his board into the beach. Much of our two weeks in Tahiti were spent enjoying the conveniences of the big city, a few nights out on the town, and lots of shared times with our friends aboard other yachts. A few days in Moorea saw us swimming with stingrays, horseback riding, and the same old gambit of watersports to keep us busy all day long.

Come July 19, Chris and Elizabeth flew off to Vancouver. The boat was very big suddenly, but we picked up some crew (Charlie, Helen and Anton) to fill the void and headed north to Raitia and Taha, for more surfing, snorkeling, swimming, etc. We also enjoyed a visit to a sea turtle recovery center for injured turtles, and a fire-dancing show on Taha.

Finally, a week or so beyond our visa expiration, we had to leave French Polynesia, and we set sail for Rarotonga in the Cook Islands...

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Not Bad Atoll

Our route to Tahiti took us through the Tuamotu, which is an island group between the Marquesas and the Societies. These islands are properly called called atolls, actually left behind from when there was an island there. They are very low-lying coral reefs, which formed around a big volcanic island that once towered above, but which has now sunken back into the sea - actually, it sunk back into itself, which is still a very tall volcanic spire that extends straight up off the ocean floor some 4000 feet below! The circular reef just above at sea level is not usually more than a few meters high, and the tallest palm tree, maybe 50 ft up, is the first thing to be seen from sea. These islands have claimed many boats, and were called the "Dangerous Archipelago" for many years. We approached cautiously.

To enter the lagoon, it is important to time your the entry through a pass (a break in the reef) at slack water, halfway between high and low tide. Even still, because the reefs are sometimes submerged on the windward side, the waves into the lagoon can cause huge outflow currents through the pass. At our first stop, Raroia, we encountered 4 to 6 foot standing waves and had to take a couple runs at the entrance to get through. It had been a difficult 3 day passage to get there and we were all glad to get in and drop the hook behind a large coral head, alone at anchor outside a virtually deserted village.

Coral heads are a major hazard when navigating within a lagoon, for obvious reasons - one of them can eat a fiberglass boat whole if it is hungry enough! So we navigated around the lagoons in the middle of the day when the sun was high. Sometimes we would go in a convoy, threading our way through the coral in line, taking turns being the lead boat. There, someone in the spreaders with polarized sunglasses can easily spot the colour changes in the water (in theory). But as we discovered, late in the day, overcast sky, rain and wind on the water, all can make it near impossible.

At another atoll, Makemo, we met with friends aboard "Sea Lance" and "Yamana" with kids around Chris' age. We spent a few days enjoying yet another idyllic paradise. We sailed with them to Tahanea and spent a few days norkelling, gathering coconuts, hanging out, swimming in warm crystal clear water, great weather, dinghy sailing, paddleboarding, beach combing, having potluck dinners on the sandy beach of a deserted motu with good friends, kids, and fantastic sunsets. :) :) :) We soaked up as much of it as possible, as we prepared to sail the boat to Tahiti, which turned out to be a whole different world in itself...

Enjoy the pictures of the Tuamotu. Only sorry there isn't more, but honestly, a camera is an inconvenience and not very robust in the marine environment. We tend to go through them at an alarming rate! The photos on Picassa are a compilation from all of the shots taken by all the crew, and the best shots were taken by Pete aboard "Yamana" [all rights reserved].

Click here to go to the Picasa Web Album for the Tuamotus
http://picasaweb.google.com/findingcandine/Tuomotu#

Click here to go to My Picasa Gallery, with a few shots from USA, Mexico, and the Marquesas Islands:
http://picasaweb.google.com/findingcandine
http://picasaweb.google.com/findingcandine

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Highlights of the Marquesas

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MARQUESAS

- landfall on the lush island of Fatu Hiva after 25 days at sea
- a week of dumb-founded awe at the raw beauty of the lush tropical jungle virant colourful flowers, volcanic peaks and coconut palms,mango trees,
- explored waterfalls - some of us jumped off the rocks into the swimming hole some 30 feet down!
- the awe of the beauty never did wear off
- feasted in a local's home on traditionally cooked bananas, lobster, shrimp, mangos, coconut, fish and chicken
- we officially checked-in to French Polynesia at Atuona on Hiva Oa: struggles with officialdom, banks and phonecards and re-learned the virtue of patience, Marquesan style
- then sailed south to the island of Tahuata:
- amazingly beautiful sandy beaches, crystal clear water, and hours of fun in the surf
- wake-boarded behind the dinghy (in shark-infested waters!)
- haven't seen a shark yet since leaving Mexico (but we know they're there)
- we really discovered bananas!
- always a warm welcome by many locals
- feasted with more villagers in their homes, picking scrumptious fruit from their trees
- explored old restored ruins of centuries past when island life was very different than today
- reading and learning about the history of these islands, culturally, politically, and in literature and art has been fascinating
- amazed by the indigenous artwork, making of tapa, wood and stone carvings, tikis, etc.
- we collected a few samples
- learned to speak French (well a bit of French)
- sailed the north coast of Hiva Oa, then to Ua Huka, a very different place altogether
- Ua Huka is called the "wild west" of the Marquesas
- it's overrun by some 1500 wild horses and as many goats, roaming the barren hills (mostly eaten)
- its like a western desert, very windy and with difficult anchorages
- lots of fun on the beach there with fellow cruisers - learned to play botchy-ball
- spotted several dead horse carcasses on shore - it ain't quite the dream world that it sounds
- but it's close
- Taiohae Bay on Nuka Hiva was home to us for a week, with about 40 other cruising boats
- though it is the island group's administrative center, it's still a very small town
- population 2000
- went to the fair, and saw amazing art, fruit ,animals, dug out canoes in progress, and lots of arts and crafts
- Liz got two traditional tattoos- beautiful!
- we sailed around the island of Ua Pou, feasted in the homes of some more kind and friendly folk
- there are children everywhere - playing on the wharves and swimming in the water
- kids borrowed our kayak all day every day we were there
- went to the high school's open house, and a children's festival that weekend
- watched traditional dances, food and celebrations
- a religious procession: it started with drums on the beach at nightfall:
- two canoes, rafted between struts and lit up by flaming torches, carried a statue of Mary
- the procession wove between the cruising boats that lay at anchor
- a Marquesan woman sang from the wharf, very loudly, in Marquesan
- the shrine was carried down the beach where about 100 villagers chanted, following to the church
- another waterfall hike at Baie d'Hekahatau, and more trading of CDs, shoes, fishing line, etc. for still more fruit (loading up for the next leg)
- there we met another local family, the son of the hereditary Marquesan priest, enjoying a luxuriant life, growing plants, fruit, vegetables, hunting boar and goat, fishing from his canoe and living quite comfortably with little else
- the villagers seem very content with their simple live
- who wouldn't?

WHAT NOW?

We have arrived yesterday in the Tuomotu, the next island group southwest of the Marquesas, 420 miles (a 3 day passage) on a close reach into SE winds between 30 and 40 knots the whole way. The seas were steep and confused, and the going rough. We are glad to have discovered a desolate and small atoll, with no other cruising boats and a population of less than 50, though the anchorage inside the lagoon was exposed to the wind. We shared the anchorage with a Kiwi/British family aboard their boat, Yamana. A trip to the village replenished the baquette supply and an evening concert at the boarding school (for all the villages on many surrounding atolls) brought more traditional song, dance and play.

The Tuomotu are a group of "atolls" which are very different from the newer volcanic mountain islands of the Marquesas. After a coral reef forms around a volcanic island (like Tahiti and Bora Bora), the island recedes back into the ocean (this takes a really long time) and the fringing reef remains leaving a very large lagoon, many miles wide. Sometimes the reef is solid all around, but sometimes there is a pass to the inside, where coral heads rear ugly from nowhere, so its tricky navigation inside. Sometimes we have a man aloft in the rig with polaroid sunglasses to watch for the coral ahead. The atolls are quite barren, there is no fruit (other than coconut) and the threshold population is about 50. They sustain themselves (barely) on the copra and pearl industries. We'll be visiting a few atolls before sailing on to Tahiti, about 300 miles further west sometime in July.

When we get to Tahiti, we'll be able to update the blog and send more pictures (so please don't ask until then).

SPEAKING OF PICTURES!

Photos of our travels down the US and Mexican coast and the Marquesas are posted on the Picassa website. There aren't many (compared to what we took) but it took a long time to download these and you must appreciate we have had much more interesting things to do than wait for computers to process data.

Cut and paste this address into your internet browser:

http://picasaweb.google.com/findingcandine

The Picasa website is new to us, so if you experience any problems let us know so that we can make it work.

POSITION

Our position on the map and satellite image is still posted regularly on the Winlink website.
The address is the same but the website has changed. Goto:

www.winlink.org

And Click on Maps, scroll down to user positions, and type in our amateur radio call sign:

VE0TIM

That's all for now. Enjoy the photos.

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LANDFALL - Fatu Hiva

After some 25 days at sea, mostly uneventful, we awoke to the outline of Fatu Hiva, the southern most island in the Marquesas, bold and beautiful on the horizon. We sailed around the southern coast and marveled at the exquisite beauty, the lush green trees on red volcanic rock. We anchored in what the Polynesians properly call, Hanavave Bay. Early explorers named the place Baii de Verges (Bay of Penises); unmistakably so, after the tall, knobbby spires that surround the anchorage. The missionaries
disapproved and inserted an i - making it, ironically, Baii de Vierges, or the Bay of Virgins. This little island has no airstrip and no hotels, and so the village (with a population of all of 200) remains somewhat unspoiled. And the people, of course, are friendly. Chris, Dylan and Austen, with a soccer-ball, instantly made friends with a dozen or so locals, with whom they spent the first afternoon, swimming and playing on the shoreline. The next day's walk to one of the world's tallest waterfalls
was fuelled with an on-going collection of mangos along the way. The coconuts, papayas, bananas, breadfruit, limes, are like nothing we have ever tasted, and fall freely from the trees. Before leaving this little paradise, we enjoyed the hospitality of a local family, who cooked us a polynesian feast that couldn't be beat, complete with music, dancing and a lot of laughter and love.

We are now en route to Hiva Oa, where we will formally clear customs, and perhaps find an internet connection to upload some pictures...

Proclamations

As the Russell family's sole Shellback up until the point where the members of
Candine the sacred line of north and south did cross, I take it upon
myself, Peter (the Captain's bigger brother), to remotely and universally to
make official all proclamations as are needed to ensure the safe introduction
of all said members into the Domain of those who have crossed the sacred line...

*Ahem* (all rise)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Proclamation:
Whereas by our* Royal Consension, Our Trusty, Well Beloved Christopher
Yayahkeekoot has this day entered Our Domain. We do hereby declare to
all whom it may concern that it is Our Royal Will and Pleasure to
confer upon him the Freedom of the Seas without undue ceremony. Should
he fall overboard, We do command that all Sharks, Dolphins, Whales,
Mermaids and other dwellers in the Deep are to abstain from
maltreating his person. And we further direct all Sailors, Soldiers,
Airmen and others who have not crossed Our Royal Domain, to treat him
with the respect due to One of Us. Given under Our Hand at Our Court
on board** H.M.S. Candine on the Equator in Longitude 130° W on this
5th day of April in the year 2008.
(Signed)
His High (on the Hog)ness, Peter — High Clerk
And in name of His Royal Righteousness Neptune — Pompous Peter

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Ahem* (again)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Proclamation:
Whereas by our* Royal Consension, Our Trusty, Well Beloved Austen
Holland-Roy has this day entered Our Domain. We do hereby declare to
all whom it may concern that it is Our Royal Will and Pleasure to
confer upon him the Freedom of the Seas without undue ceremony. Should
he fall overboard, We do command that all Sharks, Dolphins, Whales,
Mermaids and other dwellers in the Deep are to abstain from
maltreating his person. And we further direct all Sailors, Soldiers,
Airmen and others who have not crossed Our Royal Domain, to treat him
with the respect due to One of Us. Given under Our Hand at Our Court
on board** H.M.S. Candine on the Equator in Longitude 130° W on this
5th day of April in the year 2008.
(Signed)
His Highness, Peter — High Clerk
And in name of His Royal Righteousness Neptune — Pompous Peter
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Ahem Ahem* (these ceremonies take time....)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Proclamation:
Whereas by our* Royal Consension, Our Trusty, Well Beloved Elizabeth
Holland has this day entered Our Domain. We do hereby declare to all
whom it may concern that it is Our Royal Will and Pleasure to confer
upon her the Freedom of the Seas without undue ceremony. Should she
fall overboard, We do command that all Sharks, Dolphins, Whales,
Mermaids and other dwellers in the Deep are to abstain from
maltreating her person. And we further direct all Sailors, Soldiers,
Airmen and others who have not crossed Our Royal Domain, to treat her
with the respect due to One of Us. Furthermore, she should be shown
unquiverring respect by her fellow Shipmates. (Just to set the record
straight). Given under Our Hand at Our Court on board* H.M.S. Candine
on the Equator in Longitude 130° W on this 5th day of April in the
year 2008.
(Signed)
His Highness, Peter — High Clerk
And in name of His Royal Righteousness Neptune — Pompous Peter
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aaaaand *Ahem*
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Proclamation:
Whereas by our* Royal Consension, Our Trusty, Well Beloved Huckleberry
has this day entered Our Domain. We do hereby declare to all whom it
may concern that it is Our Royal Will and Pleasure to confer upon this
Feline the Freedom of the Seas without undue ceremony. Should he/she
fall overboard, We do command that all Sharks, Dolphins, Whales,
Mermaids and other dwellers in the Deep are to abstain from
maltreating his/her person (and maybe to offer a small fish as
dinner). And we further direct all Sailors, Soldiers, Airmen and
others who have not crossed Our Royal Domain, to treat said Cat with
the respect due to One of Us. Given under Our Hand at Our Court on
board** H.M.S. Candine on the Equator in Longitude 130° W on this 5th
day of April in the year 2008.
(Signed)
His High (on the Hog)ness, Peter — High Clerk
And in name of His Royal Righteousness Neptune — Pompous Peter
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Ahem Ahem Ahem* (this is getting Tedious)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Proclamation:
Whereas by our* Royal Consension, Our Trusty, Well Beloved Lilliebelle
has this day entered Our Domain. We do hereby declare to all whom it
may concern that it is Our Royal Will and Pleasure to confer upon him
the Freedom of the Seas without undue ceremony. Should he/she fall
overboard, We do command that all Sharks, Dolphins, Whales, Mermaids
and other dwellers in the Deep are to abstain from maltreating his
person (and maybe to offer a small crayfish or Octopus as dinner). And
we further direct all Sailors, Soldiers, Airmen and others who have
not crossed Our Royal Domain, to treat said Cat with the respect due
to One of Us. Given under Our Hand at Our Court on board** H.M.S.
Candine on the Equator in Longitude 130° W on this 5th day of April in
the year 2008.
(Signed)
His Highness, Peter — High Clerk
And in name of His Royal Righteousness Neptune — Pompous Peter
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

and well, thanks for coming
OH - almost forgot

***AHEM*** (all stand to attention when I address the capitain!)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Proclamation:
Whereas by our* Royal Consension, Our Trusty, Well Beloved Timothy
Russell (also known simply as Tim) has this day entered Our Domain. We
do hereby declare to all whom it may concern that it is Our Royal Will
and Pleasure to confer upon him the Freedom of the Seas without undue
ceremony. Should he fall overboard, We do command that all Sharks,
Dolphins, Whales, Mermaids and other dwellers in the Deep are to
abstain from maltreating his person. And we further direct all
Sailors, Soldiers, Airmen and others who have not crossed Our Royal
Domain, to treat him with the respect due to One of Us. (But he
himself should show his own Brother a little more respect) Given under
Our Hand at Our Court on board** H.M.S. Candine on the Equator in
Longitude 130° W on this 5th day of April in the year 2008.
(Signed)
His High (on the Hog)ness, Peter — High Clerk and Bigger Brother
And in name of His Royal Righteousness Neptune — Pompous Peter

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You may all now call yourselves Shellbacks!

Now, if you will all pay your Crossing Fees by Paypal - that's $731,21
per person, $223,23 per Cat and a $25 fine for having such filthy
Bilgewater!

Court is adjourned!

Notes:
*Of course, I am speaking for all Shellbacks
** On Board was commanded in 1950 by King Neptune to also include all
Blogs, Radio Transmissions and Vanity web sites.... That King Neptune
is pretty far ahead of his time....

Last Proclamation

By the fires of Zeus, King Neptune has informed me, there be yet
another Polywog who hath crossed the line....

*Ahem* (by now deregeur)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Proclamation:
Whereas by our* Royal Consension, Our Trusty, Well Beloved Dylan Moore
has this day entered Our Domain. We do hereby declare to all whom it
may concern that it is Our Royal Will and Pleasure to confer upon him
the Freedom of the Seas without undue ceremony. Should he fall
overboard, We do command that all Sharks, Dolphins, Whales, Mermaids
and other dwellers in the Deep are to abstain from maltreating his
person. And we further direct all Sailors, Soldiers, Airmen and others
who have not crossed Our Royal Domain, to treat him with the respect
due to One of Us. Given under Our Hand at Our Court on board** H.M.S.
Candine on the Equator in Longitude 130° W on this 5th day of April in
the year 2008.
(Signed)
His Highness, Peter — High Clerk
And in name of His Royal Righteousness Neptune — Pompous Peter

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

sorry bout the omission - I have duly grovelled before King Neptune....

CROSSING THE LINE

CROSSING THE LINE
-----------------

April 5, 2008 19:42 GMT
Latitude Zero at the 130th meridean
An offering of Tequila to our King Neptune...
And a tribute to Correolis from Candine:

From Polywogs to Shellbacks we have made the transition,
our slime has turned trusty as we realize a vision.

Although wandering among squalls presented a quandary,
that blew us and drenched us and ruined our laundry,

and while sheets of white lightening lit up the sky,
we knew that we weren't really going to die,

for compared to the storms off Oregon's coast,
this was a walk in the park, at the most.

(Albeit a long walk, across a very big park...)

Now with the doldrums behind us awash in our wake,
we look to the south at the landfalls we'll make.

And though Polaris has vanished it isn't a loss,
for we gaze up ahead at the great southern cross.

At eighty-five degrees, the ocean's a jacuzzi,
the air is even hotter, sometimes its one-oh-twosie!

(conversion to Celsius is simple and dirty,
just divide by two after you take away thirty)

Now the brisk southern trades blow strong and steady,
and for the Marquesas we run, downwind and ready,

escorted by dolphins, and many others below,
who we can't quite see, but are there, so we know

we'll have a safe passage the rest of the way,
having made it this far, on this special day.

And while there wasn't a bump nor painted line on the sea
to tell us we'd done it, officially,

we all new the moment it happened today,
when the flush in the head went 'round the other way.

At Sea - Bound for the Marquesas

If we made a mile for every email request we've received to update the blog, we'd be there by now.

Truth is, our wireless connection has been too slow and cumbersome to upload photos, and we've been meaning to get to that, but always manana. Perhaps, Sterling, who spent almost a month with us between La Paz and PV will post some pics from our travels with him - to Isla Espiritu Santos, Isla Partida, Punta Everista, Mazatlan, San Blas, Pta. Mita and points in between. We've been busy, snorkeling, surfing, sailing, and visiting some very cool out of the way places along the Mexican coast, including
a jungle tour upriver to see wild crocs.

We are now back at sea, about three hundred miles off the Mexican coast, around 17 degrees north, 109 degrees west, sailing southwest, at between 4 and 6 knots (depending how much wind there is).

The wind is steady, the skies clear, and the seas calm (all more or less). Compared to the Oregon coast, this is a sleigh ride. It is a pleasure to sail in the tropical trades. :)

More later.

Feliz Nuevo Ano

A few days in Turtle Bay brought with it mixed events. On the unfortunate side, our beautiful Walker Bay sailing dinghy slipped its mooring in the night and is now somewhere between Baja and Hawaii. A couple of days of scouring the beaches around the bay turned up no luck, though we did manage to do a little fishing in the meantime and practice our Spanish with the local fishermen. Although a big bummer, its hard to feel too bad about much for long when your living in paradise! We do have two more
dinghies, both inflatable, and a kickin' 10 hp motor that gets us around the anchorage in record time. When Chris and Austen come back from Canada we'll try wake boarding behind it... it does leave a good wake!

More importantly, Turtle Bay was a place where cruisers hang out, and we finally got the opportunity to mingle amongst our brethren, so to speak. Grady, aboard "Mahollo", was particularly friendly, sharing stories, wine, and engine repairs. Though we shared only a few days together, we feel like we've struck another lifelong friendship.

On December 30th we set sail for Pta. Abrejos, about 100 miles south. The charts showed little there and the cruising guide spoke of only a small fishing village. Our expectations were low but our discovery was huge! The village is indeed tiny, but it is different than any we have seen thus far. It is so far off the beaten track that it is truly untouched by the ravages of American tourism. There was only one restaurant, a palapa on the beach, that never did open in the time we were there. All but
the front road is still made of dirt, but the town itself was superbly clean, tidy and well-maintained. The whole economy of the village centers around the co-op fishing community. Here you cannot buy a lobster from a panga (fishing boat) as you can anywhere else in Mexico. They will not even trade their catch for booze, for they are all so loyal to the cooperative, which sustains and takes care of them all well above the poverty line. In fact, there appeared to be no poverty at all in this town,
boasting new public utilities, a modern children's playground and a beautiful school. And almost every yard had at lest one surfboard!

After celebrating New Year's over a fresh barbecued lobster dinner that couldn't be beat, we set sail for Magdalena Bay, which is now about 50 miles away. We are presently motoring through a calm flat sea under another killer sunrise, hoping to make landfall in daylight this afternoon. We finally commissioned the fishing gear we brought and within an hour of setting out the line we caught a 3 foot shark, which we carefully released. We reset the line and within 10 minutes caught a beautiful Bonita
Tuna. As we ran around getting the gear together to board the fish (I went to change my clothes for cleaning it), the thing got away! So we reset the line and within 3 minutes caught another, a little larger than the first, which we gutted, cleaned, cooked and ate, all within the hour! Not being a practiced fisherman, the whole exercise was a little bumbling and a lot bloody, but well worth it, for the succulence of taste, and the satisfaction of knowing exactly where dinner came from.

As I write, the wind has picked up, and I'm going back on deck to unfurl the genoa and try to get a little sailing in. And yes, we do have pictures, which we need internet access to upload to the blog, so stay tuned for the visuals, which may appear in the next week or so...

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM THEGOOD SHIP "CANDINE"

As I write, we slide along quietly under sail, passing south of Isla Cedros, a large island located at the hook in the Baja about half way up. You can check the position reporter at www.winlink.org to see exactly where we are. We will be in Bahia San Bartolome (also known as Bahia Tortuga) by daybreak, where Elizabeth and I will rest over Christmas together. Austen and Chris jumped ship at our last stop, Bahia San Quentin, where they caught a bus to Cabo San Lucas (21 hours) and a plane to Victoria
for Christmas. Their journey began with a 5 mile dinghy ride up into the Bay, where they befriended an American couple, Guy and Maggie, who helped to get them into town to the bus station. Our heartfelt thanks go out to this pair, for their kindness and generosity.

San Quentin touched us in another special way, as we also made friends with "Humpy" a large grey whale (about 35 feet, though we suspect still a juvenile). Humpy seemed to be alone in the bay, waiting for her friends, who never did show up. Either bored or lonely, she befriended Candine and paid us a number of visits during the three days we were there. We were first alerted to the sound of scraping on the hull and went on deck to discover this enormous leviathan rolling around against the boat,
pushing us about, and poking her head out of the water for a look-see (they call it spy-hopping). She seemed to be lining up the next blast of fish breath from her blow hole, straight up into our faces peering down over the rail in amazement. (She got each of us at least once.) This went on for an hour or so at a time, then she would leave us be and return after dinner for another interlude, or maybe just for another belly-scrubbing by Austen with the deck brush. (She did seem to enjoy this). Despite
her enormous strength and power, she was gentle and soft in her touch and was not the least bit aggressive. In fact, she seemed to bring a touch of magic, as the ongoing engine repairs, which had been plaguing us for 2 days, were suddenly effective right after her first visit. As much as I (Tim) would like to credit my own mechanical ingenuity, it was more likely that little spark of whale magic that did it.

Our adventures have improved considerably from the monotony of American fishing towns we had become accustomed to as we slogged down the coast. After a brief introduction to Mexico at Ensenada, we sailed south to Isla San Martin, an inactive and uninhabited volcano island, poking out of the water about 10 miles off the coast of Baja. Austen and Chris made a dinghy landing in the lagoon and explored the rugged landscape, until Austen was attacked by a cactus. The superficial flesh wound did not stop
him from taking the dare to be the first to plunge from Candine's spreaders (abut 20 feet) into the Mexican sea. We have experienced lots of marine life, including a pelican that landed on the foredeck on Chris' hatch for a short pit stop. There are porpoises everywhere, whose pods number in the hundreds (or even thousands?) around here, playfully darting about the boat, surfing the bow wave, squeaking to each other (and us?), and jumping and diving beside the boat (presumably to get a better look
at the strange mammals watching from above). As magical and wonderful as you can imagine, there is nothing so amazing as the sight of these creatures at night, in phosphorescent water, their sleek outlines glowing, leaving streaks and trails in their wake, as the swim about the boat under a moonlit sky.

Although it has taken us months to get here, Mexico has already shared many of her charms and wonders, though we know we have only just tasted it. We hope this blog entry finds of all our friends and family enjoying their own holidays, wherever that may be and we wish you all the best in the coming year.

Tim, Liz, Austen and Chris

Off to the land of sunshine

This update has been rather slow in coming, but, heh, we are the slow boat to Mexico!!The last few weeks have been productive and as usual positive and cheery onbard the good ship Candine. I,Elizabeth am writing the update,even though I was not on board for part of it, hope I can do it all justice.Chris and I jumped ship and went for a well deserved break to visit friends,( Wendy and Ken Jones) up in the high,desert of Hesperia,California.We spent lots of time reading, sleeping , showerng, bathing,talking on the phone, watching big sreeen t.v, and basically enjoying all of the landlubbers luxuries.We had a lovely time and Wendy and Ken were welcoming and generous hosts.

Well Chris and I were luxuriating as land lubbers, the ever hard working captain,Tim Russel and his ever faithful first mate Austen Holland-Roy, along with two competent and pleasant crew members, Matt nd Martin,journeyed south. Austen enjoyed hs 20th birthday on board and the ever hard working captan Tim,baked his faithful first mate brownies,for his bday,Yeah Tim.The sail to Oxnard was sunny and calm. Porpoises were seen by all. It was not that they were just seen, the animals put on a private performance for the good ship candine.leaping and jumping ,you could see them set up for the show under the water nd them Way they went, it was breath taking.Candie arrived in Oxnard , said good bye to Matt and Martin and welcomed John and Dorothy, who arrived to once again, help out with the boat... Trades people,engine tuned up ,rigging buffed up, water maker, almost installed, autopilot fine tuned,I would say we are in good,shape... tonight we will watch the parade of lights,with palm tress in the background and then first thing in the morning, Captan Tm and his wench and crew will continue on their journey south..in time to get Chris and Austen back to Victoria for Chismas....until next time ,take care...

Crescent City (BLOG)

Crescent City

There have been some pretty fun times here at Crescent city and I’d like to share it with you…

 

There is an Ocean World here; it was pretty cool I learned about sharks, sea lions, fish, rays and mantas. Did you know that a single manta can grow up to 40ft from wingtip to wingtip! That’s almost the length of our boat! I also got to pet a Shark and a Sea lion! It was sweet!

 

There is a cool redwood forest thing called The Trees of Mystery, it’s about the weirdest trees in the world…and it’s all natural. There is the lightning tree that is shaped like a lightning bolt! It actually grows up and left then up, (about three times) it’s pretty cool. There was a gondola that took us to the lookout platform! There also was a tree called the Brotherhood Tree and it was 19ft in diameter, that’s huge, it was also very tall. There was the Family tree that had at least 10 other trees growing out of it!

 

Austen and I went skim boarding twice and Austen went (or tried to) Kite board. It was really fun. Although the water was cold, you kind of got used to it after a while. Austen did get up on the skim board once but only for a split second but overall we had lots of fun!

 

Austen and I went to the local movie theater and saw The Bee movie. It was pretty funny, it started out dorky and then it got more interesting...The bee named Barry starts to talk to the…O.K I won’t tell the story but it was good and I would recommend it to those who are interested in a family movie.

 

There are these wave breakers called Tetrapods and they’re pretty cool. They are like 25-ton Jacks and, like I said before, they break the waves…well they actually dissipate the strength of the wave or currents by like 80%! I thought that was pretty cool.

 

So we tried to sail down to Eureka on Tuesday November 11 but were hit by a storm  and had to turn around and come all the way back to Crescent City…that sort of bugged the heck out of me, We were 2/3 of the way there! but the good part is that I got a cool lord of the rings game that looks very fun and I can’t wait to try it out!    TTFN (Ta Ta For Now) Chris Y.

The Fun Never Stops (or Another Oregonian Adventure)

See Chris' post below for the short story. This is the long story, from Tim's perspective: We left Newport, OR with a dream forecast: 30 knot NW winds and 8 to 10 foot seas for the next five days. But you can count on the weather to be something other than what was predicted. Planning a five day run to San Francisco, we were some 60 miles offshore, intending to give Cape Mendecino a wide berth, given the reputation of that particular piece of coastline. I celebrated our passage of the 42nd parallel, marking the border of California. Then, the wind picked up to 40, then 50 knots sustained, gusting to 65, the seas grew rapidly, and we decided to turn in. Due east of us was Crescent City, CA which looked like the only navigable entrance as the bar at Eureka was impassable, and there would be nothing else until around the Cape, which we really didn't want to be close to in that weather. The crew was weary and seasick. As wind and sea built we began forereaching (hove to, crawling only a little to windward but across the seas). With a deeply reefed mainsail alone and 2000 rpm from the engine it looked like we would just make Crescent City in 20 hours or so. The waves were now breaking, crashing over the boat, which was taking a beating. The rig rattled like I've never heard. The wind generator disintegrated (5 out of 6 blades). The dodger sides had been ripped away by the onslaught of water. The hatch could not be opened without a wave dowsing us below. The entire boat was soaked. The radar reflector was blown off its mast fittings. That's ok, I thought, we'll still make it as long as the engine doesn't... - it did. Frequent forays on deck to make regular checks every 15 minutes paid off, as we caught the overheat before any real damage occurred (like another blown out muffler). But we could not run the engine until the cause of the overheat was fixed. A few minutes lurching about in the engine room diagnosing the problem determined it was probably the impeller - that was a simple repair and I had the spares on board. As I removed the cap to the pump, I discovered the screws last used (probably by me) were not stainless or brass and were so rusted out and corroded that two of the heads just crumbled under the screw driver. This was no longer a simple repair. But without the engine we would be in this storm for days, blown south past the Cape until it all blew over and we could crawl into shore safely. I crawled in the bunk for a one hour catnap, while Austen did 15 minute deck checks. I could not think of any reliable way to jury rig an alternate raw water pump. The boat now disabled, I decided to call the Coast Guard. I emphasized there was no distress at that point but inquired of the possibility of a tow. They immediately dispatched a lifeboat. I wondered if the call was premature and I was of course feeling a twinge of guilt and incompetence that I couldn't handle a little storm. But in light of what then unfolded, the call was fortuitous. While the lifeboat was en route the the main halyard parted, then the third reefline parted, and the mainsail pulled out from most of it's mast slides, luffing and flapping in the raging wind. We had two storm sails aboard, both safely stowed under the dinghy - but I did not dare unlash it from the foredeck in those seas, as the boat heaved up and down by twenty feet every 10 seconds. Much less did I dare climb the mast the 15 feet needed to retrieve the wrapped and tangled mainsail. But as long as the rig stayed up, I thought, we'd be ok... then a clang and a rattle... looking out the port I saw a shroud (stay cable for the mast) with its turnbuckle attached, swinging in the wind on the leeward side. The risk of dismasting was now live and ominous. When the Coast Guard arrived, I braved the foredeck, jury rigged the shroud, and lashed the sail as best I could, hanging on for my life as wave after wave crashed over me with the force of a freight train. The Coast Guard Lifeboat made several approaches to throw me a heaving line, coming perilously close, literally flying off waves and falling off the next. Upwind and above me I watched the 80 foot steel cutter come crashing down each wave, then blasting its engines to avoid crashing into us! On the third attempt I finally got hold of the heaving line and wrestled the heavy tow line in, bracing myself against each breaking wave over the deck, pulling some more, bracing, pulling, bracing, fighting against the weight of the tow line in the water between the boats. Finally I got the bridle secured to the bow cleats and made my way aft and back below decks. Each of us then braced in a bunk for a 9 hour violent lurching tow into Brookings, Oregon. Our work is now cut out for us here with lots to do. On one hand I am envigorated and rewarded by the experience - it is nice to know I still have it in me. On the other hand I am getting way to old for this shit! More to the point are the many lessons learned, of seamanship, judgement and reverance for the sea - all of which I thought I had - and each of which I will never stop acquiring. I am not just "glad to be alive", but feeling very alive and living life to its fullest! For some aboard, it was an ordeal - for me, an adventure! The difference may be all one of attitude. If I have to stay up all night doing something, I'd rather be doing this than preparing closing submissions to a jury. Austen wants to join the Coast Guard. Perhaps I should have done so a long time ago - they were extraordinary and my hat is off to them. "Candine" performed better than I could ever expect, and I am almost as proud of her as I am of the crew that braved the experience with me - all of them, Liz, Chris and Austen, hung in like troopers. Having said all of that, there is much to be said for terra firma, which we are now appreciating like never before. As Chris lamented below, we were towed back to Oregon from California, but then, who can complain. Perhaps another week in Brookings, and we will all be ready to go again, on our sothward voyage of discovery.

Almost to California

WOW What a trip, long story short... we go out and get disabled (meaning that our engine over heated, our halyard parted and we were all very exhausted and tired)so we have to call the coastguard as we drift southerly. They get here and tow us up to brookings instead of crescent city (which, by the way is in california)and brooking is in Oregon! So they took us back to Oregon instead of california, which is were we were heading,and that sort of bummed us out but the coastgaurds were pretty awesome...they were like a team out there! meanwhile Liz and me are down below keeping from hurling and huckle can't get to the bathroom so he urinates on Tim and Liz's bed and then on Austen's. So we have a lot of laundry a messy boat and 18 miles before California, that's a lot of work, but luckily there was a best western in front of the small marina and we got a room for two nights.

P.S. Lizabeth is in "love" with the Coastgaurds

CHRIS Y.

One stop in Oregon

About 8 hours after the last post (remember "Blue Skies"?), we watched the barometer plummet. We were about 60 miles offshore and the weather information we were getting over the radio was changing as fast as the air pressure around us. The three or so days of anticipated clear weather was no more. We plotted a course for the closest port in the anticipated storm: Yaquina Bay, Oregon, 75 miles away. At 5 or 6 knots, we would arrive the next morning. As would the weather. Sure enough, we found ourselves reefed down (one very small sail) motoring into winds of 50 knots, gusting to 65, barely making 2 knots over the bottom! The entrance to the harbour involved crossing a river bar through a very narrow and shallow channel in big steep seas, flanked by pounding surf 100 yards on either side. This was among the the more exhilirating moments of offshore sailing. But "Candine" is a big old heavy seaboat - and she was in her element. The crew performed admirably and, needless to say, we made a safe landfall just upriver at Newport, Oregon. During the following week, we watched the bouy reports top out at 23 foot swells, while we basked in the hot tub at the Embarcadero Resort and Marina. (http://www.embarcaderoresort.com)

Newport, OR - another beautiful American town, another step up from our last stop in terms of population and attractions, and again, a friendly populace. Weatherbound for another week, we did the Ripley's Believe It or Not museum and the Marine Science Center, while Chris filled his days in between with crabbing off the dock and enjoying the internet access. Some of us even braved a hike over the big bridge, a hundred and thirty feet up in high winds and speeding traffic! But like every other stop, a week is enough, and we are all glad to be underway again tomorrow. There is, knock on wood, a good week of decent weather anticipated, and we're hoping to make more than a couple hundred miles on this next passage (did someone say "the slow-boat to Mexico"?). But alas, the truth be told, we have no real schedule, and our pace is driven by the weather and our own comfort level. If we were in a hurry, we would have flown.

As usual, watch the position reporter for updates on our progress while at sea:

http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/winlink.cgi?call=VE0TIM

Blue Skies At Sea

The weather finally opened up for us and we are once again back at sea, southbound under clear and sunny skies, a light 10 knot breeze, a long low swell from the west, and a good forecast for the next couple days, anyway. Like Neah Bay, Gray's Harbour was a wonderful place to visit with a friendly population and lots of its own character that none of us will ever forget. We had a surprise visit from Dr. Deanna (Tim's sister) and Laeeque (who were in the neighborhood for a medical conference). They brought medical supplies (freebies from the conference), took us to dinner, drove us to the store for provisions, and helped with the installation of the autopilot. (These are the kind of visitors we really like!)

Our departure had been mostly delayed by the weather, and we considered taking on additional crew for this leg of the voyage, as we all dreaded the thought of hand steering through potentially foul weather and high seas. But as the days rolled by, Tim kept busy installing the autopilot and enlisted the help of Geoff Wilson, an engineer who flew up from California to assist with the final and most complicated part of the project. Geoff was a great help, and in just two days, had the system up and running. We have named this new crew-member "Loretta", and she is steering the boat right now, tirelessly and more accurately then any of us ever could. Because she is a fully redundant system, with two of everything, she is actually two autopilots, and so her other name is "Jojo". Despite her identity crisis, she (or he?) doesn't get sick no matter how rough it gets, never complains about the food, and doesn't care what CD is playing (though we think the Beatles are his (or her?) favorite).

Watch the position reporter on the Winlink website to follow our progress down the coast. We have not been on the internet for a couple weeks and have not had much (any) email forwarded to us lately, so if you sent a message and were awaiting a reply, well, keep waiting. We will try to catch up over the next few days while at sea, but we probably won't get much out until we reach California. It is nice to be underway again, and even nicer to see the mighty Pacific earning her name (for now).

Grey Skies in Gray's Harbour

Posted by radio from where there is no internet... About 100 miles south of Cape Flattery is a lovely little town called Westport, where we sit, weather bound, watching the winter storms roll by. We endured a rough 24 hours on our first offshore passage and the cats showed the least discretion of us all, at both ends. The cabin became unbearable, and the first port in the storm was here, Gray's Harbour, Washington, just north of the Columbia River. While seven loads of laundry churned, we indulged
in the best onion rings any of us have ever tasted. So it seems our timing was not so bad, as we find ourselves waiting out an intense low pressure system bringing storm force winds to this oft-ravaged coast. Another weather window should open next week, and we WILL make it to the land of sun and fun, come hell or high water - so to speak.

Paused at the Pacific

This blog-post comes the night before departure for our southward run - we have been in Neah Bay for a week and a half. After the muffler was repaired we took a day to breath and prepare for sea. We all awoke with the anticipation of heading offshore, suited up and stoked, turn the key, push the start button... and the engine wouldn't turn over. Ugh. With a conspicuously smoking starter motor, we all looked at each other, let out that laugh we reserve for those times when we might rather cry, and back down into the bilge goes Tim. Jump ahead two more days to locate a starter, and another two for rush delivery and installation, and there we were, right smack in the middle of the winter's first storm, charging up the west coast. We have been waiting on the weather for the past three days. It is now time to go.

The weather forecast is telling: summer is over, and the 10-15 foot seas will likely not subside much until next spring. But the weather window has opened up now, and there is a decent break in the upcoming progression of cold fronts that barrell up the NW coast all winter long. We have a good four or five days of tame west-north westerly wind - 10-20 knots on average - so we're making a run for as far south as we can comfortably get - perhaps as far as San Francisco - but we are obviously not really in any hurry. Few people can say (or would) that they spent 10 days in Neah Bay, WA on vacation. Not that there is nothing to do...

Austen put in a couple days surfing the local beaches, a few miles to either side of the harbour. There was a museum trip to the Makah museum on which Chris wrote up a report for his Self-Design home-schooling program. He and Austen also spent a day kayaking around the harbour, exploring a recently sunken ship and an island beach at the mouth of the harbour. We made daily visits to the local Washburn's General Store, which seems to be the center of activity around here. As I'm sure we will continue to discover in most of the small coastal communities we visit, the locals have been very friendly with us, and the fishermen generous and helpful. In fact, we received daily offerrings of halibut - more than we could possibly eat - and we will set sail tomorrow with a fridge full of it. We have also made friends with fellow cruisers with whom we will be travelling down the coast, each of course with their own story, a different boat, a different crew (some very different) but all of us together on the same piece of ocean. Our radios keep us connected.

Stay tuned, as there has been alot of talk lately about adding a few pictures to the blog - but alas more patience is required, as the technology can be daunting sometimes. (We have alot of cords... where's that one for the camera-to-the-computer?) it appears to have become another "California project".

We will try to put out regular position reports, so check the tracker to follow our progress:

http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/winlink.cgi?call=VE0TIM

We might even get out a blog-update by email at sea. Don't be alarmed if we don't, though, as we may rather spend our time fishing, or maybe just feeding the fish...

Neah Bay - Poised for the Pacific

Light daysails took us from Nanaimo to Narvaez Bay on Saturna Island, then to Friday Harbor the next day for an uneventful border crossing into the US - no guns, no dogs, no problems, other than the confiscation of a few contraband oranges. The next day we sailed to Port Angeles, where we picked up a new oven door, having shatterred the glass on the old one the day before leaving Nanaimo. An overnight sail to Neah Bay was the first real passage for this crew, with a watch schedule and a real ocean swell building with every mile closer to the Pacific. About 20 miles out of Neah Bay, in light and variable wind, we decided to motor for the last stretch when out of nowhere... BANG! We blew a hole in the side of our muffler! After several hours of cursing (and dropping the same wrench in the bilge three times), we managed to jury rig a makeshift repair, which got us safely into Neah Bay. A few hours on the phone finally tracked down a replacement (we ordered two, so now we have a spare) and here we sit, awaiting delivery. This is not such a bad thing afterall, as the weather offshore had kicked up a bit, so the wait was inevitable, as we watch the weather charts and plan for a Monday morning departure into the Pacific. New friends found in a fellow southbound cruising family, and Sunday was a surfing day for Austen.

About Candine

"Candine" is a 1969 Spencer 44 ketch, She is hull 7 of a couple dozen of her kind, built of solid fibreglass back in the day when they did not know how thin they could go with fibreglass (a new technology then), so they hand laid it up "as thick as wood", and in some places like the keelson,,even thicker! Many a surveyor has described her as "heavily built". She is a typical Brandlmayr design - a strong and stable sea-boat for offshore cruising. Her modified full keel is six and a half feet deep (the draft), with 9,000 lbs of lead ballast bolted to the bottom . On paper she displaces 24,000 lbs. (her design weight in the water), but with all of our cruising gear, equipment and stores, fuel and water, she is probably closer to 30,000. She will not win alot of races (we plan for an average speed of 5 knots), but she will get us where we point her, through anything!

The website for the Spencer Yacht Owner's Group tells you everything you would to know about Spencer's Yachts: http://www.spenceryachts.net/