Author: kerrizane

Dear F&F,

June 28, 2010

Aitutaki – Pass Entry

Scott & I made another depth test run of the channel via dinghy into the
harbor. We did not intend to make the passage today, just heading to shore
to check in with Customs & Immigration. But we could see it was a rising
tide & using a lead line (a piece of string, marked every foot, with a piece
of lead to make it hang down straight) for confirmation of the dinghy\’s
depth sounder, we felt we had an opportunity. The wind speed was 17-20
outside the reef, but once we entered the lagoon the wind decreased to only
11-14 knots. The sun was shining which really helps see bottom contour:
shallow sandy areas & coral heads vs. deeper, safe water. We seized the day,
zooming back to “Beach House”. Scott dropped me to help make her ready to up
anchor, while he went & picked up Dale who has been anchored outside the
reef in his monohull for 5 weeks. Dale volunteered to lead us in with our
dinghy since it has the depth sounder.

Jerome already had his anchor up & was on his way to the pass with his
dinghy trailing. Sadly we did not get our dinghy line cast off quick enough
(or move it to the side out of harm’s way), so the starboard propeller cut
the painter (name of the bow line we use to tie the dinghy to the big boat)..
This meant Scott had to strip & jump in quickly to make sure no piece of the
line was fouling our propeller. We were lucky, it was a clean cut. The
propellers were both clear. Using both engines makes maneuvering much, much
easier.

Jerome took the lead on \”Na Maka\”, followed by Dale in our dinghy, and Scott
drove “Beach House” perfectly along the half mile or so, tricky course. Once
inside, each catamaran anchored bow and stern because it is a small space &
no room for swinging on one anchor. I could easily swim to shore, although
the water is not pretty or appealing for swimming. But it is a super fast
dinghy ride to the cement wharf with a dry landing. It is SO MUCH CALMER in
here!!! I was \”on watch\” last night, not only because my sleep rhythm got
disrupted by our 2 day passage, but the strong wind & choppy sea state
outside the reef kept the boat lively & noisy at anchor. I will not have to
use seasick meds while we are in here – hurray!

Once secure, we went to the Customs & Immigration office & learned the fees
to stay here, quite reasonable. We did not connect with the Health Dept yet,
so are still flying our yellow \”Q\” flag, designating that we have not been
completely cleared. Some countries & islands are extremely officious about
this & for good reason. They do not want foreign vessels to introduce
non-native species. But we were told that here they are quite casual & it
was ok to come to ashore.

We know for certain they will not allow us to keep any fresh fruit or
vegetables. No problem, I don\’t have any! I do have onions & garlic, but
have already scoped out that they can be bought here at the little market,
so if Agricultural Control wants to confiscate those, they can. There is
some uncertainty about frozen meat. Consequently I put all meat in the guest
cabin freezer then disguised it with blankets, cushions, camera gear &
shopping bags. They would have to be quite thorough to catch it. Food is
very expensive here, similar or more expensive than Tahiti with a very
limited selection. The next cargo ship is not due for over a week.

The gas station is a short walk from where we tie up the dinghy & the
mini-mart attached has a nice supply of NZ wines. The main market, oddly,
only had Australian wines. The Cooks are administered by NZ, so we can only
imagine that they are sold out at the market of NZ wines. We had a taste
test between the Aussie & NZ sauvignon blancs & it was no contest: NZ tastes
better to us. Scott is returning to buy all the Giesen on the shelf & ask if
more is stocked.

There is a notice posted on a public bulletin board advertising a tour of a
farm with produce for sale. We got a local cell phone card & pre-paid
minutes. Local calls are about $1 USD per minute. We walked looking for a
lunch spot, but nothing is close to the wharf, so we returned & ate aboard.
Hope to scope out the veggie scene.

Generator Report: We spent ALL DAY yesterday running the diagnostic tests &
replacing parts we have. Scott reported the lack of results to the tech in
Florida & he is sending a new Digital Diesel Control to Mike who will ship
it onto Rarotonga for us. It is basically the electronic brain of the
generator.

The helpful gal, Pitonga at Air Rarotonga gave us an address where our parts
can be shipped for \”Beach House, Yacht in Transit\”. Mike in Redondo Beach
should have the parts tomorrow. He will send them DHL to Rarotonga which we
expect to take 7-10 days. We will decide once the parts get that far, if we
will have them flown on to here, or if we will fly to pick them up
ourselves. We have been considering flying to Rarotonga from here anyway. It
is not a great place to go by boat, but might be an interesting 2-3 day
excursion by island hop plane. The fares are high, about $500 round trip per
person. But we will probably never go there otherwise & it is supposed to be
beautiful.

Competing Dive Operations: Bubbles Below never replied to our email, whereas
Neil Mitchell of Aitutaki Scuba did. But Onu (head of B.B.) answered our
radio call when we first arrived & gave us good info about the entry pass,
when we could not raise Neil. Today when getting the cell phone stuff, we
met Onu & he seemed like a perfectly nice chap & Dale on the monohull gave
him thumbs up (needed help getting his anchor unstuck from a rock). So we
decided we will start diving with Onu tomorrow. We will rip through a 10
tank dive package in about 2 1/2 days (2 tanks each x 2 people). If we don\’t
love our experience, we can try Neil next. We were up front with Onu that we
had already been in email contact with Neil. These small island politics are
kinda crazy, but you\’ve got to play the game the best you can.

Onu said they saw humpback whales at fairly close range just 2 days ago. It
is the beginning of the calving season, so we hope to have more & more whale
sightings. He was also honest that between the Crown of Thorn starfish &
hurricane Pat, the coral here is sadly quite dead or distressed. Sad. There
are some turtles & eagle rays, so we\’ll check it out. Have to bide our time
until we get our generator parts, so we may as well dive!

Finger Report: Great regret that I sanded my callous/scab. Now raw & sore
with white patch re-appearing. Drats! Will have to see how it tolerates the
compression of diving. Plan to cut off the index fingertip on that glove to
reduce the squeeze.

Weather: It is lovely with 10 knots of breeze and 80 degrees.

Cindy & Scott

Dear F&F,

June 24-26, 2010
Passage from Mopelia to Aitutaki

June 24
One year, three days in French Polynesia….Cook Islands, here we come!
Similar conditions to our Galapagos crossing: good conditions to fly spinnaker, but it is high maintenance. Full concentration steering, using long wire remote for the auto pilot. I can move around & not be glued to the helm seat. Click Left, click Right sometimes big turns, sometimes fine tuning. Barely able to glance at the sea or sky because of the focus required to keep the boat moving. Too far to motor. Too light a wind to use a smaller more self-managing sail, so we are stuck with the horrible video game. Scott does not mind it & is having a grand sail. I wish I found it more enjoyable, but I don\’t. I must take oral seasick medication on top of the scopalomine patch, so underlying bit of mal de mer no doubt coloring my mood.

Making yogurt now so we will have enough for the next 2 mornings. Already made enough oatmeal. I\’ll be going to sleep as soon as the yogurt temperature is right (cooled down to 110 F from 150 F) to put in the thermos for 7 hours. I am on watch next 10 p.m. – 2 a.m. Different than we\’ve done before, but should work out fine. Probably won\’t be writing much, boat lurching about.

June 25
I am sure glad we waited for the bigger seas to settle down a day. Sure looks & feels plenty big still! The wind has been 20-25 knots with a port aft quartering swell of 8-10 feet. The waves are close together, only about 7 seconds, so no chance for \”Beach House\” to surf them, just lurch amongst them. I have medicated myself adequately so NOT seasick which is a relief. I know things are rough when Scott takes phenergan which he asked for a couple hours ago. I also gave him a 4 hour sleeping pill so he can get some rest. I have been able to take cat naps between my 15 minute watch beeping.

One positive to the stronger wind is that we are not flying the spinnaker, so do not have to tediously hand steer the auto pilot control. I don\’t love being tossed about, but I prefer it to the aggravation of hand steering. Scott reminded me that on his \”To Do in NZ List\” is upgrade the auto pilot\’s ability to steer down wind according to the wind angles which is happy news. We have heard there is a gizmo that does this. You have to teach it, program it a few times, and then it learns your boat & how to adjust to the wind & swell conditions. I am all for the modern conveniences that help keep boating fun.

When we were still flying the spinnaker, one line that controls it broke, but we were able to get it down in a controlled fashion. We went straight to the genoa plus took 2 reefs in the main, so you get an idea we have \”boisterous\” conditions. I laugh to hear sailing described as \”harnessing the wind\”. In light wind I suppose it can feel that way. But in strong wind it feels much more like \”toss up a hankie & hold on for the ride!\” I keep mopping seawater that is trickling down the port bathroom ceiling hatch with each breaking wave. We are on port tack (boom & sails to the right, wind coming from the left beam/slightly astern). I think it is leaking because our Sunbrella fabric covers are on & sometimes a bit of the elastic or cloth interferes with the gasket getting a good seal when closed. Neither of us leaves the cockpit or interior without the other up & watching. So it will have to wait until Scott gets up to take off that cover & see if it will seal better.

Happy news is that the escape hatches are not leaking despite repeated slamming waves under the steps. We did replace those gaskets in Tahiti.

This morning I set down my cup of tea (with snap on lid) & left it unattended for just a moment & Wham! it douched the right side of the settee where I like to curl up for my cat naps. Drats. I mopped it up & used a bit of oxyclean & now have a 12 volt fan blowing it dry.

The temperature is a very pleasant 84 in & out, but I cannot really sit outside right now because of sea spray & splashes of the waves. It is a game to see if I can dash out to check our course, heading, boat speed, wind speed, look 360 degrees for traffic without getting too wet. In shorts & tank top. During the night watches I wore but lightweight long pants & sometimes put on my windbreaker.

Tonight we may get to see a partial lunar eclipse, hope it\’s not too overcast.

Generator Update: during satellite phone call & with multiple emails to FL, Scott learned more tests to do to help diagnose. It did finally start cranking but would stop abruptly at 10-15 secs. We think it may be a fuel starvation problem. Too rough to make any tests underway, it can wait until we get to Aitutaki, sometime before sunset Sat (hopefully a.m. to noonish). Scott already has parts on hold for the Florida rep to mail to Mike in Redondo who would DHL them to Rarotonga, which is the closest major shipping site to Aitutaki. Scott has been (by airplane) to Rarotonga before & does not think it is a good place to take the boat because the harbor is small & somewhat industrial. We had talked about an island hopper plane from Aitutaki (eye-two-talk-ee) to visit Rare-oh-tonga anyway, so all the more reason if we need to pick up parts. But we\’ve been in email contact with Neal the dive center guy & he said he could help make sure our package got mailed from Rarotonga to Aitutaki if we decide NOT to fly their ourselves.

Because Neal runs a dive center there, we may dive with him, so having the generator kaput is not the end of the world in the short run. We can charge everything else to run \”the house\” via engines. The scuba compressor is the one thing we absolutely need the generator for. So again we are lucky, that this happened in a place where it won\’t delay diving fun, and we still can get parts flown in.

Finger Report: Trying to use it a bit, to desensitize the tip which has a hard leathery, but not crusty kind of brown scab. Our sailing doc friend finally wrote & said the CoT does have venom in its spines & some people are highly reactive (moi), whereas other people it is no big deal (Scott). Still no word from Divers Alert Network, which is bad. What if we had a serious urgent question? I suppose we would get a faster response by satelite phone, but since it was already on the mend when Alberta reminded me to contact them, we just sent an email.

The #4 Ring finger is still a problem & overall I feel spaz as it can get sore easily doing sail changes, handling lines, etc. I always wear my sail gloves, but the fingertips are cut out for dexterity so no protection to the owie bits. Getting better day by day now.

Ok, don\’t want to push my luck on writing. Rather save myself to read your emails. PLEASE WRITE!!! Many thanks to those of you who do write often. Each email is a great gift, especially when we are at sea.

Love & Hugs,
Cindy & Scott on passage from Mopelia to Aitutaki (our first Cook Island)

Dear F&F,

June 20-21, 2010
Mopelia – Days #16-17
Sitting Out a Blow

A bit of cabin fever as we are onboard for Day #4. Not that easy/safe to lower, get in, get to shore (wet landing), then raise dingy with 15-20 knots of wind especially with my right hand not fully operational.

Last night Jerome visited us from about 5:30-7:30 p.m. I had only eaten 1/2 my dinner (lamb & green beans) but told him we were done, cleared the table, poured him red wine and we yacked. It was a lovely visit. He has all the endearing qualities of Alain Ades (our boat builder) & none of the b.s. Since he is the second owner of his Switch he did not have to endure Alain\’s antics, but heard all about him from the guy he bought the boat from. He loves to escape the mayhem on his own boat home with the 3 boys. We compared finger owies. His looks perfect, just a small scar, he went spear fishing again already. Scott burned him a CD of underwater photos of his dives with us & when son Leo snorkeled above. He was very happy.

Weather Report: Stronger winds so more boat motion. Taking seasick prevention meds all day, but also avoided reading/computer. Nice nap from 2-3 pm. Discussion about re-anchoring closer to shore at 3:00 p.m. I had a lot of concern because of negative past experience anchoring in strong winds. Good exchange of thoughts, feelings, concerns. My two biggest concerns are how difficult it is to communicate because we cannot hear each other in the wind. I cannot do the bow job because of my hand. Scott is not always patient with me at the helm, even though I believe I drive the boat nearly as well to him. Upshot: we stayed put.

Both of us are edgy. I think Scott is a bit seasick but does not recognize it. He refuses meds when I suggest them. Yet he is not on the computer working on photos or doing anything he would normally do. Honestly it is hard to say what we did all day. I made breakfast, lunch, dinner & snacks.

Dinner: Kalami (French Polynesian local here) appeared in his boat about 4:00 p.m. and gave us a gift of 1/2 a tuna. Voila-dinner. Scott bravely filleted it. I cooked white rice, chopped onion, thinly sliced cuke, had wasabi in a tube to mix with soy sauce. He is squeamish about fish overall, but likes fresh sashimi. This was delicious. I will have it again tomorrow. We were glad to have a photo print of the deep wreck anchor to give him in appreciation. Not lobster, but I am happy.

Mon 6/21
Slept well, the wind shifted N a little so more protection from the atoll, just as well we did not re-anchor.

Scott edited and posted my last 6 Ships Logs plus added his own about the \”Seeadler\” shipwreck.
Jerome came to visit by dinghy. We said we were going to shore for a walk across to see the swell height. He said he would like to join us, ok.

We pick up not only Jerome, but Leo (10) & Artur (4) hop in the dinghy also. Natalie stays onboard with the twin 4 your old who has had a fever for 2 days. Poor baby.

The local boy (8) joins the parade. We say hello to Kalami\’s wife, Sophie. This small \”L\” shaped atoll, a 4 miles strip of sand & palm trees is our only protection from the raging sea. We walk 15 minutes from the protected side where all 4 boats are anchored to the windy side. The seas are angry, the wind very strong on your body. A little rain. There are breaking waves. Jerome says that under \”normal\” weather it is a nice place where he swims with the kids & snorkels & can spear fish. Now it is all whitecaps & whipped up.

What information this \”on the ground\” weather report gave us is that it will be a MINIMUM of 2 more days before we can leave. And more likely 3-4. The wind creates the waves and the waves are what makes sailing uncomfortable. Swell if behind us, spaced far apart is ok. Our boat is designed to surf down waves like that. But breaking waves from the side is horrible, no reason so rush out in that. So we sit. The wind needs to calm down for at least 1-2 days to help the sea lie down. The weather reports we get via sailmail say 3-4 METERS swell height. Too big for these fair weather sailors. So we will wait.

Onshore we saw a Mama pig with two 4 day old piglets. So adorable. But the stench of the pigpen just about knocked us out. Seems the method is to let the Mamas roam & keep the males penned up. To say they live in squalor is possibly an understatement. Jerome explained that who owns what part of the island is not settled yet so no permanent structures can be built. No real house. Only a couple wall-less shacks. Yikes. I expect we will see more & more people living like this as we get further off the grid. The return to civilization in NZ, then CA will be much appreciated by December.

We were invited to Jerome & Natalie\’s boat for pizza. We enjoy them, but sometimes find the kids exhausting. We will take the rest of the fresh tuna, as we already ate it for appetizer. I had a good nap, and 1/2 bottle of Yellow Tail Pinot Grigio so am sufficiently prepared to engage 3 children! We don\’t know how couples can cope with small children on a boat in the middle of the ocean. Patience of the Saints comes to mind.

LATER: The mayhem with kids only lasted about 45 minutes, then Natalie in her infinite wisdom got them glued to a DVD inside so we 4 adults got to enjoy dining al fresca. It is a lucky, special thing that all four of us get along very well. Jerome lived several summers in the US during his 20s and did biz with American software companies, so is a bit an American-phile. A most unusual Frenchman. We learned that Natalie only agreed to marry him just before they left cruising for the 2nd time. First time on a monohull with just Leo, oldest boy. When the twins came along they set sail again when they were only 2 yrs old. We are amazed at how seemingly casual they are about the dangers on the boat. She says: They fall down & then they quickly learn to be more careful. She is petite, I think a bit shorter & skinnier than me (with no evidence of having borne 3 kids) and said she didn\’t want to become the property of a man which can sometimes be the feeling with marriage. Jerome respects her a lot. She was a sailor long before him and besides doing most of the galley & kid duties, is very involved with weather & route planning, navigation, etc. Hats Off – a braver woman than I.

The moon is about three quarters. If we get to sail away from here soon (still looks like 2-3 days) it will be lovely to have a lot of moonshine for company on the night watches. It will be good company on the night watches. It will be about 48 hours journey to Aitutaki.

Cindy & Scott

Dear F&F,

June 15-18, 2010
Southeast Winds &
Revenge of the Crown of Thorns

June 15
After 6 days of wonderful diving in a row, we are not diving today. For one thing the place I got pricked by the Crown of Thorns seems to be having an allergic reaction and hurts like heck. Just when finger #4 is so much better! I am taking Benadryl plus Aleve and intermittent hot water soaks then ice packs. Such a pain, literally! But I am getting a bit less spastic typing with thumb, middle and pinky on the right hand. Doing dishes, etc I forget sometimes and bump it accidentally which makes me yelp like a dog run over.

We have seen LOTS of bump head wrasse, so I am laying off killing the crown of thorns anymore. risky business. We hardly ever see them here, because the big wrasse plus the Triton Trumpet cone shell (beautiful, large) are keeping the population down by eating them before they can wreck the reef. Hurrah for Mopelia, nature seems to be in balance.

June 16
Index finger pain tolerable so went for a dive. Scott took his macro lens and got some great shots.
I felt ok for 30 minutes, then the finger pain escalated over 10 minutes to unbearable. I removed glove on that hand. Seam of glove pressing into sore area. Did safety stop & surfaced. Pain quickly reduced to bearable.

White patch on fingertip seems to be growing with more defined margins. Treat with hot water soaks
Benadryl & Aleve. Pain pill at night.

The wind shifted south & got stronger, where we were anchored was far from the protection of the atoll & fetch was building. We moved \”Beach House\” back down to where Jerome & family are. There are two other boats plus us, so 4 total. Spaced out nicely. With this wind, probably no diving for a several days. Hope to get in at least 1 more day of diving before we sail on. Weather permitting; we will leave here for Aitutaki (Cook Islands) in 4-8 days.

June 17
Wind 10-20 knots, rain intermittent, some rocking of the boat due to wind shop making me feel seasick at anchor. I hate to take medication when we aren\’t underway, but feeling a little bit seasick is NOT ACCEPTABLE. Sort of like being a little bit pregnant. I seem to need a sledge hammer of medicine, to be effective. I need a smack upside the head to remind me to not just endure the miserable feeling of headache, unable to read, cranky, overall edgy. The good news is that the sledge hammer works & I was then able to read & write.

Finger looks yucky and making me nervous, besides being painful. Dr. Scott orders me to begin antibiotics. I had been reluctant since I have needed them for recurrent ear infections. But, knock wood, I think I have finally found an effective prevention regime for those. For the finger we chose Clindamycin 300 mg, 4x/day. We still don\’t think I currently have an infection, but a patch of tissue is looking necrotic (dead) and antibiotics should help prevent infection while my body is trying to heal this thing.

Two boats joined the family ashore for a potluck. I was keen to get off the boat, but the wind & rain deterred us. Later I found out they had LOTS of lobster and I was jealous. Oh well, another time perhaps. Scott spent most of the day in his \”digital darkroom\”. Results are awesome. You will have to wait to see the Mopelia Galleries because as we have no internet here, we\’re unable to upload photos to the website. The posts we can, but the photos are just too big.

June 18
Natalie visited by dinghy with the twin 4 year olds. It was like having raccoons in your tent! We three adults could not keep up with the two of them, getting into everything in every direction. We were exhausted and she graciously took her leave after a short time. I don\’t know how she does it! We commended each other on our wise decision to NOT have more children. Skye was our limit. We are so glad we have her. And so glad that she is 25!

Scott was the primary \”warm up\” operator on the Pacific Seafarers Maritime ham radio Net last night. I was just starting to listen to songs on my Ipod and have my sunset yoga session, when a dinghy pulled up to our stern. It was pretty windy and getting dark, so of course I invited him onboard. It was Bernard, French sailor alone on a little monohull. One of the two others holed up here besides us and sister ship \”Na Maka\”. He came to thank Scott for giving him information and guidance through the pass the day he arrived (a week ago maybe?). I asked him if he was at the beach potluck last night and he said no, he had dinner with the other couple that lives here. We knew there were two groups on this atoll: one couple alone Monique and Frankie, who we have not met. And the other family, who we have met 7 of them.

Get this: The two parties do not get along! They apparently feud and make accusations about each other. Ridiculous on a four mile strip of sand and palm trees, but classic. Talk about \”small town politics\”! Anyway, besides hearing that bit of gossip, it was great to chat with Bernard and take my mind off my owie finger.

Bernard stayed long enough for Scott to finish the net. We showed him some photos of the shipwreck here & our \”Fins\” video. They exchanged weather information & route plans. Bernard may return to try giving Scott some charts for a software we own (MaxSea) but he hasn\’t used a lot. Not sure if charts are transferable but they may try.

Weather is keeping us here, looks like the 22nd to 24th before we leave for Aitutaki in the Cook Islands, 350 miles to the Southwest.

Cindy and Scott

Dear F&F,
June 9, 2010
Wreck of the \”Seeadler\” Found (Posted via HF Radio Email from Mopelia Atoll)

Scott took his video camera and we found some parts of the shipwreck, more or less in the area where Kalami outlined to Scott via stick drawing on the sand. We spent 85 minutes below. It is so shallow our air lasts a long time.

After a shower, we fired up the generator in order to refill our scuba tanks and we heard a sickening noise upon start up of the scuba compressor. An unmistakable noise: fan belt failure. To investigate and install our spare, we use a block & tackle attached to a harness to carefully hoist the 100 pound unit out of its tight locker (which is also bench seating in the cockpit). Scott muscles the line, I control its tendency to swing into the salon window. We have done this periodically for routine service. It is a hassle, but we know that changing the fan belt is no big deal and we should be back in action within an hour – max. Scott is very diligent to make sure we have spares of just about everything that can break. Because on a boat, it is just a matter of time before everything does break. Often repeatedly!

Our Can-Do optimistic spirit took a downward spiral when we discovered the spare was the WRONG SIZE! Shame on Shawn at Compressed Air Specialties! He sold us a SPZ-950. What we needed was the original SPZ-887. Grrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Although there are slots to slide the motor for tension adjustment, the new belt was three inches too long. Impossible to make it fit in the normal way.

After we gave some air time to our feelings of frustration and anger, we got down to the more useful business of: How the heck are we going to make this work?

It was quite a challenge with creative adaptations to make the new longer belt fit. We had to drill a 2 inch hole in the frame where the motor shaft goes through it, using a hole saw to allow the motor to line up far enough away from the compressor. The metal frame is not very thick, but it took a lot of pressure for Scott to get the holes drilled. Thank God he\’s a dentist! It took my whole body weight leaning in, opposing his force, to stabilize the unit. My right arm felt like I did a hundred pushups the next day.

Next he had to re-drill holes in the bottom of the frame to allow the adjustment for the slotted foot plate on the motor base to slide far enough away from the compressor to tighten the belt! Scott was very pleased when I came up with the idea of shimming the motor up 3/8\” to allow for the electric box holes (which perfectly lined up) to slide under the motor foot plate. This meant he did not have to re-drill its holes which also kept the motor plate above the frames \”rubber mount\” (with allen nut) so he didn\’t have to re-drill that hole! I know this reads like a lot of blah blah blah to many of you. But I know a few of you subscribe to Popular Mechanics and may see a potential article: Creative Ways to Repair Your Scuba Compressor in the Field.

I am happy to report that our efforts were successful and after a short test that night, we were able to fill our tanks the next morning, with the new fan belt behaving. Scott wrote (what I thought was a restrained & polite email) to the supplier who gave us the WRONG spare part. He ordered 3 more, of the CORRECT size to be shipped to our land-based support friend Mike. If we need another one, at least he will have it handy to ship to us wherever DHL delivers. We have always known that keeping the scuba compressor running is the #1 priority to happy diving in remote locations. Scott was so diligent in learning how to service it. If we\’d had the correct sized fan belt the job would have been no big deal. Instead it took 5 1/2 hours of hard work.

June 10 – Mopelia Atoll Day #6
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SKYE!!!!!!!!!!!!

There was wind and rain in the morning but we were eager to find more parts of the 100 year old \”Seeadler\” shipwreck, so geared up to dive. Jerome on sister ship \”Na Maka\” is anchored about 4 miles away. We are close to the pass and all dive sites outside the reef. He is close to the family living here and has more protection from the prevailing wind at that end of the atoll. He arrived via dinghy with 10 year old son Leo. Conditions were too rough for Natalie to bring the twin 4 year olds.

We took both dinghies outside the pass, anchored in 20 feet of water immediately south. Jerome tied his dinghy to ours. Leo is an avid snorkeler and can hold his breath to dive down several feet. Scott took the wide angle lens on the still camera. I patiently posed with just about every hunk of metal we found. It has been well documented. Jerome was a fine model too and Scott got some cute shots of Leo hamming for the camera. Trenches have been worn from years of wave action, in the strip of land down into deeper water over the coral reef. In about 5 of these parallel trenches we found significant chunks of the ships remains: a large classic shaped anchor, 105 mm gun, gun shells, crank shaft, bow windlass and other unidentifiable disintegrating, rusty parts. Two pieces of chain were found deeper, not attached to the anchor. No identifiable hull remnants were found.

Since most of the wreck is in very shallow water, only about 15 feet, our tanks of air lasted forever. We stayed down one hour and 40 minutes! I think that is a record for our longest single scuba dive. When we decided it was enough for one day, I still had plenty of air, but Scott was very tired from dragging his \”two year old\” around (affectionate name for his camera). Jerome knew his wife might start to worry since we were out so long.

Beside the interesting shipwreck, the reef has gorgeous corals, an abundance and large variety of tropical fish. We saw a few distant sharks, one eagle ray and one turtle. I did not see any of the evil starfish today, fine with me. It is really fantastic here. Desolate, rugged but beautiful. One dive of that length was plenty for today. Tomorrow we may motor further down and tow the dinghy along topside, doing a drift dive to explore a larger area of the reef.

We enjoyed the chilled fresh coconuts that Jerome brought us. By tapping a couple of holes I could pour out the nearly clear liquid that is sweet and refreshing. Chiseling the husk open, I dug into the soft white flesh with a spoon – what a treat! I don\’t recall that I\’ve ever enjoyed a young coconut like that. Absolutely delicious, thank you \”Na Maka\”!!

If you read & enjoy my reports, please write back telling us about your life. Even a short hello if you are too busy to write in detail, a short note is much appreciated. Thank you for your ears. Thank you even more for your messages. We LOVE to get mail.

Cindy and Scott

Dear F&F,
June 8th, 2010

Wreck of the \”Seeadler\” part 1 (Posted via HF Radio from Mopelia Atoll)

While in our last island Maupiti, we had a nice dinner with friends from \”Na Maka\” and a lovely American couple from Guadalajara, David and Eileen.
The owner of the \”Pension\” (family style hotel), Gerrad; told us about a World War 1 German Shipwreck, \”Seeadler\” right outside Mopelia Pass.

This of course got us quite excited. A shipwreck we\’d never heard of, diveable in French Polynesia?

History: Count Captain Lt. Von Luckner, an aristocrat of French and German ancestry was to captain a captured American 3 masted sailing ship of 1500 gross tons and 275 feet. Formerly, \”Pass of Balhama\”, the ship was captured by a German U Boat and re-christend, \”Seeadler\” (Sea Eagle) and began \”raiding operations\” to harass allied shipping in WW1. Captain Von Luckner was both lucky and nimble and outfoxed several traps set for him at the tip of South America. His hallmark was that of the gentleman aristocrat adventurer/warrior. He prided himself on never taking a life in battle!

However, when \”firing a shot\” across a British merchant ship, the shot fell short, exploding a boiler and killing a young British sailor. Captain Von Luckner was distraught! He held a very formal burial at sea ceremony and apparently was disturbed by the event most of the rest of his life.

His classic style was to \”fire a shot across the enemies bow\”, have them see the hopelessness of the situation, surrender and promptly take the crew aboard, invite the Captain and officers to dine with him, then sink their ship. He had done this at least 16 times. He treated the captured crews so well, they often joined in his crew and he offered rewards to anyone who spotted enemy cargo ships for the taking.

Eventually, his luck ran out. He brought his \”Seeadler\” to this atoll, Mopelia in far western French Polynesia to avoid detection by the Australian and more specifically, New Zealand Navies. They were indeed hunting him. In a sudden westerly shift of the winds, \”Seeadler\” was at one moment on a protected shore and then next aground hard on the reef outside the pass. Realizing the vessel was lost, he ordered it burned to try and avoid enemy detection. Eventually, he took a small boat and sailed to Samoa where he was \”bluffed\” by a suspicious local policeman into surrendering. The police officers gun was apparently not loaded!

Captain Von Luckner and his small crew were interned on a New Zealand P.O.W. camp and despite this, managed to escape in a small boat. He was in search of another vessel and finally captured again where he spent the rest of the war in New Zealand. The fate of his remaining crew on Mopelia was another story.

They commandered a French vessel and sailed to Easter Island where they ran aground on an uncharted reef and were captured and interned by the Chilean Navy in Valpariso until the end of WW1.

This is NOT where the story ends however……

Captain Von Luckner returned to Germany where he was a folk hero. Hitler, tried to co-opt him for propaganda into the Nazi party. Von Luckner hated Hitler and everything he stood for. Von Luckner was a Mason, and the Nazis hated the Masons. This was the final straw for Hitler & the Nazis. Von Luckner\’s speaking tours in the U.S., Australia and New Zealand had packed audiences listening to his WW1 tales. His battle flag today hangs in the Auckland, New Zealand Maritime Museum.

While on these tours, instead of hailing the virtues of the \”Third Reich\”, Von Luckner went out of his way to tell the Western World of the dangers of Adolph Hitler and the Nazi party. Enraged, Hitler wanted Von Luckner killed and if it were not for his immense public popularity in Germany, he certainly would have been murdered. Kept throughout WW2, as a civilian, under house arrest in Halle, Germany.

Halle had been spared the carpet bombing by the Allied Air Forces, mostly because it was a huge POW camp with tens of thousands of American and other Allied prisoners of war. Seeing the futility of the German side, Von Luckner drove across Allied lines in a car, met with reporters and was taken to American Commander General Terry Allen where he told the General he could negotiate with the German High Command to bring a peaceful surrender of Halle thus saving needless casualties on both sides. Count Von Luckner delivered: Halle fell without a fight.

After the war, the Russians said that the Americans were \”never there\” and interned Von Luckner. Due to his services to the US, General George S. Patton personally had he and his wife released from Russian custody and escorted to Sweden where they lived with the Countess\’s family.

And now you know the rest of the story!

There was a book, recently published (2005), \”Voyage of the Seeadler\” (Sea Eagle may replace \”Seeadler\” on an Amazon search.
This book details the life of Count Captain Lt. Von Luckner.

The parallels are far too strong, and I believe he was the inspiration for the WW2 movie, \”Sea Wolf\” starring John Wayne as the German Captain.
I believe it was the only movie John Wayne played a German Officer?…..You IMBD hounds can confirm this.

Keep In Touch, lots of \”Seeadler\” photos to be posted when we get internet.

Scott and Cindy

Dear F&F,
June 7, 2010
Meeting the Locals (Posted from Mopelia Atoll via HF Radio Email)

It was grey and rainy all day. In the morning we caught up on rest and correspondence. In the afternoon we went to visit sister ship, \”Na Maka\” our French friends with 3 boys. Scott and Jerome talked weather, radio, computers. Natalie and I talked yogurt making, trash management and window coverings.

Later, Natalie offered to introduce us to the family living here. It was an easy wet landing in the dinghy which we tied to the local wood boat which was secured to the shore. One boy is 8 years old so he and 10 year old Leo play well together. In fact, Leo will be sleeping over on the island instead of his boat home. We saw two shelters, one for cooking and one for sleeping, very primitive. Wood supports with corrugated aluminum roof, no real walls, certainly no windows. Plenty of flies! They have about 5 dogs, 2 were chained up. About 8 free ranging pigs, many chickens & chicks. A small fenced garden (to keep out the pigs). They had some kind of video game box that the 2 older boys played. The twin French 4 year olds fought over the one bike with training wheels. We brought gifts of new T-shirts and hats that had been given to us, but we never really used. From the big outrigger canoe race. We also took two containers of dry Gatorade powder and Natalie translated how to mix it with water for a drink. There was a younger couple, possibly in their 20s, and a naked toddler with whom I played the international game of \”peek-a-boo\”. The 8 year old boy brought Natalie and I each a flower – very sweet. We signed their guest book and recognized a few boat names who previously visited.

Scott and the head of the family, Kalami had a stick in the sand discussion about where the few remains of the 1917 shipwreck (Seeadler) is located outside the reef and an anchor located deeper IN the pass. It will be fun to see if we can find any of it at our next opportunity to explore, hopefully tomorrow.

We had a rainbow on the way to shore and a gorgeous sunset on the ride back to \”Beach House\”. Scott is doing a late check in with the Pacific Seafarer\’s ham radio Net, where he is often a relay operator. He has made good friends on the radio via this network. It is fun for him and we look forward to meeting some of the other operators when we get to New Zealand and Australia.

The news of our \”Fins\” video has been spreading like wildfire amongst sailing and diving friends, both active & armchair. Scott received 10 new requests to subscribe to our website per day! The owner of one of the online sailing magazines, who has used Scott\’s photos before, requested permission to post a link to our video. So we anticipate the interest will continue for a while. It is really fun, especially for Scott, since he puts so much time and care into the editing. We have not had this much hubbub since \”Cindy\’s Manta Magic\”.

Weather depending, we will anchor the big boat closer to the reef pass where all the diving is. Hope to be blowing bubbles tomorrow.

Cindy and Scott