Category Archives: Locations

Places around the world

Enemonit Amusement

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We had a month to amuse ourselves before heading back to the States for a visit.  We would have preferred to be in the outer atolls during this time.  However, the weather dictated a hasty retreat to the main atoll.  We spent most of our “waiting time” at Enemonit Island which is far prettier than the Majuro anchorage.

In between boat projects we find different ways to amuse ourselves.  Matt practices his “winging.”  It is an ordeal for him.  It takes about 45 minutes to get all of the gear out and set up.  He has to have 12-15kts of wind with no swell and little boat traffic.  He is just figuring it all out and adverse conditions make it difficult.

I keep an eye on him as he needs a ride once he gets too far downwind.  He has not mastered winging upwind yet.  So, Matt preps the dinghy for me to be able to jump in, start our 25hp outboard, and zoom to him.

He does better than he did before, which is always good.  He is goofy footed so it is easier to go one direction than the other.  Right now he is just trying to balance on the board while using the wing for forward motion.  However, the wind kicks up and occasionally forces him up on the foil.

Snorkeling and Free Diving

We do lots of snorkeling on the multiple wrecks (DC3, 2-Huey Helicopters, and a double decker ferry).  Matt sits in the DC3 pilot seat which was ejected before the boat was scuttled.

Matt free dives, I snorkel, the many bommies and coral patches around Enemonit and Eneko.

Dinner with Sweet Ruca

Matt and I caught (2) Yellow Fin tuna while we were sailing in the outer atolls.  We invited Curtis and Kate from sv Sweet Ruca to come over for some tasty tuna sliders!

We had some stellar sunsets, sunrises and rainbows.  Enemonit is truly a beautiful spot in a not so beautiful atoll.

Our blog posts run 5-6 weeks behind actual live events.  Activities at Enemonit took place in late February.  Did you explore the Alele Museum with us in our last blog post?

A Day at the Museum

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The Alele Museum is small but impactful.  It is located in Majuro and showcases artifacts, traditional tools, fishing gear, an outrigger canoe, navigation guides, and historical photographs packed into this museum.

I visit the museum with my friend Kate on sv Sweet Ruca. The museum is free but they do accept donations to help maintain it.

Visitors can view historical photos along the hallway walls.  

They can also learn about the destruction of the atomic bombs and the significant milestones of each atoll.

The museum displayed a beautiful female chief with traditional tattoos and an intricately woven skirt. 

Next to this display were clothing articles from the early 1900’s.

Tools of the Trade

The Marshallese women learn how to weave at an early age using the pandanus leaves. The women weave purses, bags,  fans, crafts, mats, and jewelry.  

The Marshallese traditional basket is called the Alele basket (lower left photo). 

The basket holds the family’s most valuable possessions. The eldest female in the family is responsible for the basket.  

Officials named the Alele Museum after this basket.

The locals made their fishing hooks and tools using shells and sticks. 

Tattooing

The Polynesians across the Pacific used the same traditional method to do tattoos . 

Men and women endured this extremely painful process to get tattoos.  We call it “tattoo-ow!” or “tap tap ow!”

Locals used bamboo to make the handle ( “ni” or “tooth”), which was 25-30cm long.  This handle had a small tattooing chisel with 3-5 fine points (teeth) attached to the top.  The chisel created the fine lines and dots. 

The artist would use the central rib of a coconut palm frond to make the mallet (jub or kade), which was 20-30cm long.  The artist used the mallet to hit the handle to pound the teeth into the flesh.

They used a coconut half shell to hold the pigment.

Artists made pigment (mamoj) from charred coconut fibers and water.  Later, they made the pigment from the pure black carbon soot that came from the lantern chimneys. 

Sailing and Navigating

Marshallese used traditional canoes with outriggers and hand woven sails to travel.

Unlike modern sailing vessels, these boats do not have a bow (front) or stern (back).  The captain simply turns around in his seat and adjusts the sail in the opposite direction.  Pretty nifty!

Satellite images of each RMI atoll were posted on the walls in this room.  Along with a small version of the traditional outrigger canoe.

Marshallese have are known for their navigational skills. Captains memorized the routes and did not bring or use any navigational tools.

However, “stick charts” were originally created as teaching aids to preserve the navigational knowledge.  They use shells to indicate the general direction of the atoll.  Captains memorized the routes and did not bring stick charts on passages.

The charts depict the wave and current pattern around the atolls.  The Marshallese traveled the ocean, maintained courses, and determined positions of the islands by using of the stick charts.

The Nuclear Bombs

The museum had an entire wall dedicated to the nuclear bombing and its effects on the population. 

The photo on the right shows the migration path the victims had to endure while finding a new home.

Our blog posts run 4-6 weeks behind actual live events. 

We visited the Alele Museum around mid-February.  Check out our last blog post as we snorkel a pinnacle at Eneko.

Drama on the high seas

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First and foremost everything is fine on board, we are continuing on toward Fiji as planned still with a stop in Tuvalu.

We left Majuro bound for Fiji with 2 stops along the way, Kiribati and Tuvalu.  Its the end of cyclone season, Yippie, except for the one that just popped up between Vanuatu and is heading toward New Zealand.  We are heading to “Bula” country, home of friendly people and kava ceremonies. 

When we left the Marshall Islands we had 2 steering helms, 2 rudders, 1 auto pilot and 2 souls capable of steering the boat with any of those.  And we have an emergency tiller too, in case everything goes pear shaped.  Let me say, we have had some “challenges” on this passage south. 

First arriving Kiribati, one of the steering boxes on the starboard side decided 24 years was enough, and demanded attention.   One its bearings on the inside the steering gears rusted through and burst into pieces.  One steering station down. Now we can no longer steer the boat from the starboard helm, and that is also where the gas pedal is.   So picture a clown car with the clowns carrying around the steering wheel, yet the car won’t turn. Turn as you might the steering wheel, helm, just spins indefinitely.   To actually turn, you have to run to the other side of the drivers end clown car to steer and run back to give it gas or slow down.  What can go wrong?  🙂  The clowns always make it work, right?   I actually removed the steering gear (red below) where the bearings disintegrated, so that the pieces and wobbly gear wouldn’t lock up the steering completely.  So whew,  order bearings to repair and head off to Tuvalu.  Not ideal but we have 2 of everything, part of being a catamaran.

Left Kiribati bound for Tuvalu.

The sail started out as champagne sailing doing great speeds and making short work of 700 miles we were making toward Tuvalu. It devolved a bit into prosecco sailing when the speeds dropped a bit, but still great fun.   Day 3 the squalls of the ITCZ (convergence zone between north and south hemispheres), quick wind shifts and gusts made for some exciting times.  Nothing out of the normal for this part of the pacific crossing the equator and the convergence zones.   When the wind went too light and on the nose, it was time to check the engine fluids before starting and to spot any potential issues.  I found the port rudder “control arm” broke at some point, probably during one of those pesky 30kt squalls.  The ones that steel your perfect wind and force you off course.  Thinking back, the broken bit might explain why it took longer than normal to turn downwind to run in the storm.  So the port rudder is down till we find a stainless welder.  Its lashed to the central position now, its just not wobbling too and fro willy nilly, and getting a free ride.

So for those keeping count, we have 1 working steering helm station (port), 1 working rudder (starboard), 1 auto pilot(starboard), and 2 less than pleased souls on board.   And of course the emergency tiller when all else fails.    So now we still use the gas pedal on the starboard side, run to port side to steer, the steering rudder is actually on the starboard side.   Got it?  A bit complicated but we are still trucking along, albeit a bit more conservatively till we arrive Fiji and work on getting cold beer to tackle fixing the steering project.

Is it Fiji that doesn’t like our steering?  2 years ago, one of our rudders vanished on the way to Fiji.  This year, other steering components are making their voices heard. 

275nm to Tuvalu, then another 500ish to Fiji.. we will get there!