Searcher is headed South for New Zealand soon. Oct. 2nd - Irie II, Silhouette, and Sequoia checked out of Tonga, headed north for a 3 day sail to Samoa on a Saturday morning. Something about bad luck to leave on a Friday and Tonga so nice they give you 24 hrs after checking out of the country to leave the country. This way you can buy more stuff at the duty free store. It's always good to stock up on cheap booze. But there are limits to what you can bring into the next country. After Samoa I'm off To American Samoa where I can stock up with cheap booze and no limits. So why am I stocking up on wine when I don't drink the stuff? A chance to stock up on a once in a lifetime special vintage wine - Commemorating the Coronation of their Majesties King Toupou VI & Queen Nanasipau'u. I purchased my limit with all the red and white colors. Well since I don't drink it I can always give it away.
First day the winds are from the SE at 12kts. all day. I got a reef in the mainsail and Jib and Staysail all the way out, moving along at 6kts. Not bad. Then once the sun goes down the wind goes down with it. Out comes the reef in the mainsail. I'm trying to keep up with the faster boats. But best I could do was pass up a Westsail 32. Right after midnight the winds pick up to 15kts with gust to 20, not bad it's easy just roll up the staysail for less horse pwr. It also switch to the east. Bad. Now to get to the East tip of Upolo it's going to be a close haul, beating into those waves. Wet and Wild.
By morning the winds are down to less then 15 but still from the east. Just like the GRIB files said. What's a grib file? A computer put this out on the web and when you are out at sea you just download this image via HF radio. Or a satallite phone/device. No more free wi-fi. For better and worst - no more wifi and cell phones. And you haven't seen slow until you try to download something real big.
This was one of those days the gribs were right. But it's only a 300nm run and the forecast is more of the same. More wind that is. So before sunset on Sunday, reef back in the main, Jib to 2nd reef. no staysail. Speed still above 6kts. Shit at this speed I'll be there Monday night. Might have to slow down. Imagine that a sailboat slowing down, on purpose.
Monday morning after doing the HF radio check ins, I found out Silhouette and Sequoia pulled a fast on on me. They decided to head for the west end of Upolu. Why beat into those waves for another day when you can just change course and have a better ride. So first I heave -to for a shower and to cook then set the autopilot on a course of 345°T. It was a better ride. But as expected I didn't get there before dark on Monday like the fast boats. So I spent the night just hanging out offshore waiting for the sun.
Tue morning I'm calling Apia Harbor Control for permission to enter the harbor. He ask if I wanted a slip at the marina, sure I didn't feel like ferrying Customs/Imigration/Health etc by dingy out to the anchorage like the others did. They all came to the dock. Easy. Only extra cost was a bottle of vintage wine.
Nice little marina with a big ass surge. Dock lines only last a week without any added protection. But it's home for the next few weeks. Phil came in and tied up to the next slip. Sequoia too big for the available slip. Instead of the surge they have the ocean swell to deal with. Well we agree that we have been in worst places, but for sure not here in a storm.
While folding the main sail I notice a small tear. More inspection reveal a large tear. WTF. It's only 3 years old and tearing apart. The winds wasn't that high, I think. Oh well only thing to do is track somebody down with a sewing machine big enough to handle the job. Sign outside the marina say sail repairs call this number. I did and had the taxi driver go all over the place looking for it. Drop off the rotten sail with some sail repair material and hope I can find this place again.
So while waiting it's time to do the things we came here to see. First must see is the weekly performance at the Samoan Culture Center.
While folding the main sail I notice a small tear. More inspection reveal a large tear. WTF. It's only 3 years old and tearing apart. The winds wasn't that high, I think. Oh well only thing to do is track somebody down with a sewing machine big enough to handle the job. Sign outside the marina say sail repairs call this number. I did and had the taxi driver go all over the place looking for it. Drop off the rotten sail with some sail repair material and hope I can find this place again.
So while waiting it's time to do the things we came here to see. First must see is the weekly performance at the Samoan Culture Center.
Teaching everyone how to weave palm fronds. Project - a lunch plate.
Then you wrap the fish up like this.
Then you put everything on the hot rocks cover with banana leaves and while you wait, enjoy the show.
Lunch was delicious, too bad I was too busy with my new plate to take a picture.
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Next on the list was to hire our favorite taxi driver for a 4 hour tour of the island. Stopped at the Robert Louis Stevenson museum for the quicky tour. Wish we had more time. Taken pictures wasn't allowed. The history museum was close. So off to see some waterfalls and old churches.
Collapse lava tube now swimming pool with a passage to the ocean.
Final resting place with a view. Old and new.
And Everywhere are all these "Open Houses" They are the center of life here.
For more info click this http://www.polynesia.com/polynesian_culture/samoa/samoan-houses.html#.V8VGB_l9600 It might be a good idea if every family had one of these.
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And yet another Show.
And fire dancers
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Remember the wedding that displaced me from getting a ride on the Samoan Vaka? Well quess who is getting married again - for real? Same couple from the s/v Free Spirit also in the same marina. I didn't get any pics of the wedding because I was running the video camera for them. The Cruisers finally had a chance to get all dress up and it wasn't a Sunday.
Oh the Vaka is here I just can't find a picture. Must be on my cell phone or in a cloud.
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One reason to be this far North from NZ this late in the season is to take advantage of the US Postal Service General Delivery - very reasonably priced and acceptable speed to deliver much needed boat parts and hard mail from the mainland. American Samoa is only 80 miles straight into the wind and it's been blowing hard lately but the Gribs say maybe next few days. Sil and Seq wanted to sea more of Samoa. They headed west, downwind to Savai'i for a few days. I stay put because the first weather window to go east I'm going. Well as luck would have it. They had a good time and all I did was wait on the weather. And when it did finally ease up Sequoia was back and ready to go. Phil said he don't need to go to A.S. for anything, but I can pick up his mail for him. With such a short distance we decided to make an overnight out of it. Sailed and tacked all day. Those 80 miles double. Sometime doing the night I decided to heave-to and take a nap while waiting on the sun. Sun came up and I still got to beat into the wind to get to Pago Pago. This time then officials had me tie up to the broken down wall, dock? To wait for them. Only took all day to check in. Had to walk to 3 different places to get stamps on passport and boat papers and then all the way to the bank to get money. Not the sweetest, check-in. Think being a Saturday had anything to do with it? Will have to complete the process on Mon.
After settling in to a new anchorage, time to go shopping, Take the bus to Cost You Less, the local version of Costco/Sams. Stacked up on all kinda goodies. But best of all they have things that run on 120 volts. Just what I need a new micro wave oven. It will fit the same spot as my old one I just gotta have it. But the old one still work, but being in this salty environment, I'm sure it'll fail soon just like all the other 120 volt gadgets.
The orginal plan was stay a week, when the mail arrive on Friday we leave soon after. Only the packages I'm expecting did not arrive on Friday like the tracking number said, neither did Seq's. Maybe on Tuesday's flight. Nothing. Maybe on Friday's flight. Well while waiting me, Carl, and Jan from Sequoia rent a car and take an island tour one day and go load up on provisioning and other gadgets we gotta have while we can get 'em. Like paint and glue and other stuff for the boat.
The home of Charlie the Tuna from the Starkist packing plant in the harbor.
2 weeks later. All the packages and mail has arrived - a new wind generator, a new engine water pump, a bunch of boat parts, my new CC and my new drivers license. Like I need that. We make the last run on the liquor store to booze up for the rest of the year.. Everything stored and when I go to pull up the anchor on the morning of 11th November, I'm hook to some big ass chain from a ship. Finally with Carl's help I'm off to Vanau'u to get my mainsail repaired. Sequoia is leaving for the Hapaii group in a couple of days. Phil is leaving Apia in the morning for Niuatoputapu and on to the Hapaii' group. Eventually we will all meet up in Tongatapu and wait for a good weather window to New Zealand. Paul on Searcher is headed for New Zealand by now.
