Offerings of the Solomons, good and bad

Stuart was nice enough to let Matt tag along on one of
his fishing trips. Blue fin trevally.

We have now been in the Solomon Islands for over seven months. For most of our stay, we have barely seen any other cruising boats except for the one (and sometimes two) we travelled with. As the season comes to an end, more boats have been popping up for short stays in the islands here but we are still mostly on our own. That's why yesterday was unusual.

Long tailed snapper. They live at about 900 feet below the
surface so if you reel them up too quickly, their eyes pop out.

Matt was out on an all-day fishing trip on Stuart's tricked out fishing boat. In the morning, I answered a distress call from a boat that had recently checked in. It was stuck on a reef a few miles from our anchorage. Since I was alone with the boys, I dinghied around to inform the other cruising boats and Joe, the owner at Zipolo Habu resort of the situation.  The 2 other boats in the anchorage went over to see if they could help, but there was nothing much they could do except lend some moral support and wait for Mother Nature to bring the tide back.  Luckily the lagoon was dead flat and there were no waves to bash the boat around.  The boat waited about nine hours for the tide to come up that evening and then were able to float themselves off.



The tips of black tip reef sharks feeding on the fish guts

Later that afternoon, another recent arrival to the Solomons (just the evening before) called to ask whether they were on the right track for coming into the anchorage. Unfortunately, a local (who probably only had experience with the shallow draft long boats in use here) had given them some bad directions.  They were in the middle of a very shallow area with shallow coral heads strewn about. Most boats take a longer route, skirting the shallows. Fortunately, they were able to pick their way through slowly and safely to the anchorage. And then, to prove all things come in threes, the following day, Matt got on the radio to warn another boat that was also getting into similar dangerous territory.

The resort that we've been anchored near (Zipolo Habu) is really a fishing lodge at heart, and it attracts anglers keen on catching both the inshore and pelagic species that abound in the area (but have mostly been eluding us).  One of the benefits of all the anglers is a good supply of fresh fish.  Matt made sushi for everyone at the resort with fish donated by Chris (another resort guest) and Stuart. It was definitely the most sushi he has ever made (more than 30 rolls) and every last piece was eaten.  Matt was also lucky enough to be invited to join Stuart on one of his marathon all day fishing trips.  He caught a couple of good sized fish, so we have a decent supply in our newly rewired freezer (which seems to be behaving for now).

A big orb weaver. I had no idea of the variety of these little guys
until Conrad started taking these pictures.

Of course, just because the freezer seems to be working, it doesn't mean the repair fun has stopped.  Right after we started to breathe easy about the freezer, the generator decided to start spewing sea water out of the coolant reservoir. Without getting too technical, we can assure you that this is A Bad Thing. Ultimately we figured out that the stainless steel mesh in the raw water strainer had corroded, allowing sea grass and other contaminants to plug up the heat exchanger. The plugged up heat exchanger blocked the flow of  sea water, which had to go somewhere, and ended up bypassing the hose clamps that would otherwise seal the sea water from the coolant system.  After flushing and refilling the coolant, Matt fashioned a new strainer using no-see-um netting and we have a new (non-metallic!) one on order to be added to the boat load of items that my parents are shipping to us.

Within the next couple days we will head back to Munda to provision up and pick up our frozen goods from Muzi Boko. Then we plan to head out to some good diving spots while we wait for our various packages.

And we're waiting, we're waiting...

Conrad and Mark surfing and boogie boarding

When we mailed our roller furler to Australia to get the seals and bearings replaced, the friendly and helpful Munda Post Office worker, Riko, couldn't find the receipt book. Apparently our package was the first one of the year sent from this branch (yes, it was almost June; yes, they operate on a calendar year). This gave us pause. We'll be on the edge of our seat waiting to see if/when the package gets there.

Cleaning the day's catch at Zipolo Habu Resort

On a positive note, Matt has gotten the freezer to start running again (knock on all available wood). Cruiser's Forum, which has an often-deserved reputation as a bastion for outspoken curmudgeons and armchair sailors, proved its value when you get the right people responding (including a guy who had the same symptoms with the same unit).  With detailed email assistance from Pete of OzeFridge, Matt removed the possibly air contaminated coolant from the system and re-added fresh coolant. The freezer has stopped drawing extremely high amps and the box is getting cooler. Matt is treating the system like an intensive care patient, taking its vitals every hour and speaking to it in soothing tones. He is going to rewire the freezer to go directly to the battery bank and maybe run the pump through the freshwater system to avoid getting sea critters stuck in the filter. If all goes well, we can avoid a couple thousand dollars for a new compressor and additional waiting time. And we won't have to have a mega-BBQ to eat all the meat that's still sitting in an on-shore freezer (thanks Jan!) waiting for the outcome of this saga.

The kids love the surf break around here and Conrad has been able to stand up on the board like a pro, proving that he doesn't get his balance from me. There are schools of mullets here that jump out of the water in unison by the hundreds probably being chased by the otherwise friendly black tip reef sharks that endlessly circle the small bay we're anchored in.

So we were all set to leave the Solomons...

Mark chilling at Lola with his pals Pepi and Culi

We went to Noro and Munda to get our final diesel and other provisions so that we could check out by June 1. Before we stocked up on frozen meat from the fabulous Muzi Boko (a store made up exclusively of shipping containers and packed with reasonably priced goodies shipped from Australia), we decided to defrost the nearly-empty freezer. The thing hadn't been defrosted since leaving New Zealand over a year ago and had built up a good coating of ice.

When we turned the freezer on again after a few days, it was drawing excessively high amps--enough to blow the fuse a couple of times. Eventually, it settled down a bit (to where we weren't worried about wires melting) but was still way too high to keep it running. Indel-Webasto in Australia told us it was a bad compressor and quoted us a stomach-churning number for a new compressor (and accessories) as well as a possible four-week wait for the parts from Italy. The entire freezer system has been a thorn in our side ever since we installed it a little over 4 years ago and this was just icing on the cake.

As it turns out, it may be a blessing in disguise. Our roller furling had been cranky lately and kept getting stuck (requiring some extra muscle to bring in and out). The bearings probably need replacement. Pro Furl really pushes hard to have the bearings replaced by an authorized technician because installing them requires some "mad skillz" (okay, perhaps not a direct quote). Of course, the nearest authorized tech is over a thousand miles away in Oz.  We were reluctant to wait around to ship the furling unit to Australia to be worked on. Matt injected a bunch of grease as a workaround until we could figure out where to deal with the issue properly. The freezer issue provided the perfect excuse to do the right thing.

We have extended our visas and are hanging out at Lola for the next month or so (less if we're lucky and longer if we're not). All things considered, it's a nice place to be stuck. Hopefully we can get in some surfing and snorkeling/diving in between the gusts signaling the end of the wet season and nudging us towards Papua New Guinea.

A Bug's Life

Close-up of a dragonfly.

Conrad has been a bit obsessed with bugs lately. His backup pet is a tarantula if he can't get a dog when we go back to living on land.

He has been getting some great shots of the many critters crawling around the Solomons. But as we struggle to keep creepy crawlies off the boat (flies, mosquitoes, and other flying pests, not to mention weevils in rice, pasta and flour that we buy), Conrad fights to keep every manner of creature that he encounters. He begs to bring aboard grasshoppers and crickets. We have an orb weaver spider on board that looks about ready to hatch a million eggs. We will have to liberate it onto land before the spider babies arrive.

Conrad is honing his macro skills.

We are getting ready to leave the Solomon Islands after nearly six months, which involves buying a bunch of fuel and food. We'll head to Papua New Guinea, where we plan to spend almost all our time in remote areas. This should be safer and nicer.

As we head into the so-called fall and winter in this area, the nights are a little cooler but the days are just as hot as ever. At least the wind is picking up, which means we're using the sails for the first time in months. We shook out a few swallow nests from our mainsail and had to grease our headsail roller furling. We'll have to order some new bearings for installation down the line. Boat equipment definitely benefits from use.

Send in the clowns

We are at a remote anchorage northeast of Gizo. It has a nice white sand beaches (digging never gets old). The diving and snorkeling are great--we have never seen so many clownfish. Even out here, our friend Samson has sailed/canoed out to offer us water coconuts and fresh produce from his garden.

The generator has gotten a lot of use due to the cloudiness and dive compressor. Matt has also been replacing a lot of pumps (refrigeration and bilge) lately. He loses about a quart of sweat every time he does one of these projects.

Easter in Gizo

When we were in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, there were so many white sand beaches that we really became really blasé about them. I felt I would be just fine if I never saw another white sand beach.

As we traveled further west, the white sand beaches dwindled. The Solomon Islands especially have had very few accessible beaches. So it was a treat to find this gem near Gizo. An island made entirely of sand. The dinghy had barely reached the shore when the boys were out running at full speed. Apparently, they have been a little cooped up.

Gizo is pretty typical for a good-sized Pacific island town. Just about every business along the main drag is a Chinese-owned shop holding various seemingly random items (many made in China, as you would expect). There is usually a Chinese person manning the cash register and a number of locals working in the shop. We have heard that the workers are paid very little and not treated very well. There is a palpable animosity between the Chinese shopkeepers and the local residents. Being Asian, I feel a distinctly different vibe towards me from some of the locals that live in these towns. It contrasts with the friendliness of locals in some of the smaller villages.

PT-109 hosts part of the darts competition.

The Easter tradition in this area is a four-day dart tournament at various venues. 20 teams compete for prizes.

We visited Kennedy island, where John F. Kennedy and his crew swam after PT-109 was destroyed. Speaking of Asians, Kennedy had to convince the locals that he and his crew were American and not Japanese. Apparently, one light-skinned man was the same as the next to the two local men. They couldn't tell the Americans and Japanese apart by looking at them.

A Taste of Civilization

The picture shows tiny Snake Island. At certain times of year, sea snakes go there to breed.

At Lola Island, the proprietors of the resort were kind enough to share their Internet with visiting yachts. This is the first 'unlimited' Internet we have enjoyed since arriving in the Solomons in November. Initially, it was a huge boon to be able to do the things we needed, such as banking and taxes. However, by the end of our weeklong stay, I was feeling vaguely discontent and somewhat anxious. A constant connection to the outside world brought me news (usually bad) and all the trivia of my favorite websites. Yet, being on the Internet sucked me in and I read fewer, played less guitar, and felt I was being pulled away from the real world. I saw the same effect on the kids as well, especially Conrad. He would rush through meals to email and e-chat with his friends. Both he and Mark were disproportionately excited about the arrive of (iPad) game day WITH INTERNET. I'm being overly dramatic but the experience gave me a glimpse of the challenges that going back to the U.S. might bring.

We are currently anchored at Malazeke Island, slowly making our way to Gizo. The village here is Seventh Day Adventist, so the villagers don't have teeth stained red and black by Betel nut. When we arrived, Billy came out to say hello, offer his many services (tour guide, boat bottom cleaner, carver), and see what we had to trade (angle grinder, generator, engine). He asked whether Matt was interested in going fishing and for help writing a thank you letter to the Australian High Commission for the water collection tanks that were sent.

Matt has continued his battle against the misbehaving freezer and refrigerator. Apparently, sealing the leaking pumps stopped the leak but made the water infiltrate the motor. Both pumps have been replaced (and new ones ordered). He has also cleaned the boat's bottom and propellers, which has given us an extra knot of speed.

The weather remains hot but we haven't seen much sun (for the Solomons) in the last week. Our water tanks are full but our solar performance has been dismal. Our generator is getting more use here than anywhere else in four years of cruising.