Ironie's Pacific Adventures

After spending 2 weeks at Funa Futi lagoon in Tuvalu, it was time to move on.Tarawa atoll in the Kiribati Islands would be our next destination. we had watched as our friends on Creola,Rubicon and the Katey
Lee all left and we as usual were the stragglers .so we bade Tuvalu a fond farewell,weighed anchor and made our way to the northern pass of Funa Futi lagoon.
The wind was east as we found the free wind in the open ocean, blowing at a comfortable 15 knots.promising conditions for a
nxnw passage.we would be traveling from 8 degrees south at 179 east to 2 degrees north and 172 east crossing the equator enroute.
the passage started out typical with the occasional squall and we did notice the temperature climbing as we approached the equator.On about the 3 rd day at about
6 degrees S. the wind decided to switch into the northerly quadrant which put us on a tight reach to close hauled the rest of the trip.oh well,we were getting used to these conditions
now and the seas were flat enough to allow Ironie to make decent progress to the north.
the one thing I was concerned about were the currents we had heard about from the boats that had left before us.As we would get closer to Tarawa we were
told of currents setting West at up to 2 knots which is very substantial on a tight reach.you have to push the boat closer to the
wind in order to make up for getting set away from your destination,this makes the boat claw sideways .well,we would just have to
hope for the best and deal with what conditions we were to encounter.
on about day 3 out of Funa Futi started to come down with an unusual rash which first showed up on my back and within 12 hours
was covering my chest and arms.I had never had this kind of rash before and could'nt imagine where
it had come from.I asked medical advice from some of the other cruisers on the Marshall Islands,and Rag of the Air "nets" and the consensus was an allergic reaction of some kind.
i was taking amoxacillin for an infection i had in one of my teeth....maybe ,maybe not ...anyway,the rash was horrible.hot,itchy,bubbling, moving over my whole body.
It was uncomfortable to sit or lie in any position scratching it felt wonderful but made it worse and more irritated.the heat and the intense sunshine of being nearly on the equator
did'nt help much so i stayed below as much as possible during the day.
there was'nt much to do as we were 4 days out of Tuvalu and 4 days from tarawa.i'd just have to deal with it and hope it did'nt get too much worse.
i must say that we were lucky as the sailing was'nt too difficult and i was able to take it easy for the most part during the passage.also i would like to say that my crew member/friend
May was a pillar of patience and understanding during this time.i'm sure i was a pitiful sight.We tried to keep our sense of humor and played lots of games of the card game "Loka ".It's a
game May taught me and when I finally won my first "Loka" I made sure to write it in the Ironie Log!
as we made our way up the Kiribati islands chain and started to close on tarawa,I noticed the currents increasing just as had been predicted.on our
last night we were sailing between the islands of Maiana and Tarawa with a 15-20 knot NE wind and lots of squalls. We were sill pointing hard into the wind
as we were forced West by current with the squalls twisting the wind in circles all around us.
We steadily clawed our way towards the pass into Tarawa.At day break, we were about 5 miles west of the entrance.we motorsailed
the way in and started to follow the gps track we had gotten from our friends on Rubicon,which identified the sketchy
marks laid out that are the navigation aids to enter the lagoon.we made it to anchor on November 20th at 0900.we were very happy to drop the anchor amid
the giant hulking wrecks of the ship graveyard to our stern.the only other boats at anchor were Ruicon and a Japanese sailboat with a singlehander aboard.
as you can imagine,my first order of business would be to find some kind of doctor a.s.a.p. . the rash had steadily gotten worse and spread
first we had to check in with customs and immigration.we did the dinghy and set off to find the offices,first was customs which was right near the main wharf.
check in was easy.We were then given directions to immigration in Bairiki which was on the other side of the causeway from Betio, where we were anchored.
we hoped on a local bus/van thing and headed to Bairiki.We met 2 nice ladies on the bus and they helped us with finding immigration and told us where to find a doctor.we had
lunch with them and found out they were from the s.d.a.(Seventh Day Adventist church).they had a boat and would go about the kiribati islands bringing doctors and dentists to the outter islands.
I'm not big on all these missionary types being in these islands trying to foster their own beliefs on these people but I'll give them credit for doing what they're doing with the doctors.the outer islands
have very little in the way of medical facilities.
we finally made it to the "hospital" in Betio where we were told there was a very good Cuban doctor.When we got to the
"hospital" it was just as you would picture a really decreped third world hospital to be.The walls were very dirty,it was so hot,flies buzzing us constantly, there were lots of islanders waiting for one thing or another there were even dirty sore ridden dogs walking around....yuck!!
I was hopeful the doctor would be a bit more encouraging than his surroundings.after waiting about a half hour shooing flies.we were let in to the doctors office where we were greeted by
a wave of air conditioning and a very clean Cuban doctor speaking perfect English...(oh happy day!!)
i told him my problem and showed him the rash.he did a quick exam and said it was an allergic reaction to something or other but what it was was'nt that important right now we would
treat the rash....I was given a shot in my butt of something to calm the rash and then i was given 2 prescriptions,one a steroid of some kind to bolster my immune system
and another for the itching.I was so happy to find someone here that seemed to know what was going on. I started my pills and really hoped it would get better.
The rest of the day we spent getting a look at this dusty little pacific outpost.we had been warned not to expect a anything close to a pristine environment so i was prepared
for the mounds of trash and the industrial feel of the place.tarawa is the "big city" for the Kiribati people. it was'nt as bad as i had thought it might be.the people were very friendly and everyone greets you with a hearty"maury"(hello).
There were lots of shops ,good ,cheap Chinese restaurants ,internet service and even a movie theater that showed 5 different movies in he same day!(may was very happy for this...lol) .
we had a nice stay in Tarawa even through is was dirty.(the dinghy dock smelled like poo!)we could'nt swim here either because of 2 different types of hepatitis in the water.the water looked
clean enough at the anchorage and we saw lots of locals swimming but we were warned to definitely not swim in it.
We saw lots of movies while we were here.we made friends with the girl who sold us ice cream and movie tickets named Targase. ,most of the films we saw were in the "2-6" rating on a 1 - 10 system...I really enjoyed one we saw called "Hellride" about a gang of bikers getting revenge on another gang for something that happened 30 years before(i'd give it a solid 8!!)....good stuff!!may was happy to see everything.
my rash was very happy to spend the wicked hot afternoons in the air conditioned movie there.the pills and the shot had really done some magic and on the 4th day i was well on my way to recovery!!!
during our days we would tour the island on the mini bus.see the sights...there is lots of world war 2 history here.something like 4000 people(Americans,Japanese,New Zealanders and of course the innocent I-Kiribati caught in the middle!!) died here
in one of the bloodiest battles fought in the Pacific during WW2.the famous"Red Beach"is right between our anchorage and the hospital where i was treated.there is a famous Sherman tank named Ceciela still stuck in the mud
and coral in view from the shore,the turret still above water.it is a sad history and we learned about many atrocities that occured here at that horrible time.the sad irony of the war is it should come to the most peaceful beautiful island in the whole world....
we spent thanksgiving in Tarawa.in our time here some other boats have come and some have gone.we now had "Imagica" from Australia,"rise and shine"from the states Rubicon and our buddies on the Katey Lee.(a sad note,the Japanese singlehander whom we met only briefly left abruptly after being boarded one night at anchorage by some drunks demanding money and cigarettes.he chased them off his boat but was very upset and left the next morning).....we had
an amazing thanksgiving dinner with all the boats bringing food and libations.Matt and Elizabeth from Rubicon outdid themselves with thier turkey and pies.Katey Lee with Larry's cornbread stuffing and Trinda's pecan pie
.here were tons of mashed potatoes and veggies.everything was very YUM!!!!it was Mays first thanksgiving as well and she ate like a true gluttonous American.we were all proud of her!!
so thanksgiving having past we made plans to start on our way north.we applied for permission to visit the island of butaritari(one of the outer islands were we would experience the "real" kiribati) on our way north to the Marshall Island.we were "allowed" a 3 day stop en route but were told
it was said to be easy to stay longer once we arrived.Rubicon and another boat "Hawkeye" were already up there and gave us the all important gps waypoints for the entrance as the c-map and paper charts were substantially in error it was a great help to have these way points....thanks again Matt!!
we left Tarawa in the morning of December 12th under a nice exse wind of 20 knots with about 110 nm to Butaritaris south pass.we had a great sailing breeze on a flat sea until around 0300 the next morning the wind went light and backed into the north.i had made some easting in case this should happen but the breeze was'nt even enough to sail
by without being shoved west by the current.i cranked up the ol' Ironie engine and made the pass in the morning.
coming into butaritari was such a pleasure after the "bright lights and big city" of tarawa.here we had a lovely pristine pacific atoll and a nice calm anchorage.bliss...
We pumped up our Stearns inflatable kayak and paddled to shore(our dinghy anchor was stolen in Tarawa,in the middle of the day,no less,and we needed one here...)we walked into the main village to present the local police officer with our permission letter to visit butaritari,and found a big feast and celebration
going on in the local meeting house(called a "maneaba")there was dancing and singing and lots of local foods.we were invited to sit and watch.it was so good to be back in an outback rural enviroment.after the dancing we found the local police officer and were told we could stay no longer than 2 weeks. great,that would give us time to find a proper weather
window to head to Marjuro and the Marshalls as this passage would entail crossing the inter tropical convergence zone,known as the I.T.C.Z.,which can be a big mess of squalls contrary winds and thunder storms that moves north and south at this latitude at this time of year,best to be avoided af at all possible...
After checking in and a short stroll in the main village where we ran into Matt and Elizabeth from Rubicon and john and Linda from Hawkeye,who had just gotten back from a motorbike tour of the island ,we headed back to the boat for our first swim in what seemed like ages....nice clean pacific waters.ahhhh...
the next day saw Rubicon and Hawkeye leaving on their way north to marjuro as the weather window was open.we stayed to relax for awhile and do our own motorbike tour the next day.as we were relaxing on the boat we noticed another yacht coming in the lagoon.it was "samba"with Ceilia and Franz aboard from Germany ad Austria respectively.
we had met them briefly in Tarawa and knew they were on their way here sometime after we left but were surprised to see them as the night before was very rainy and squally with 40 knot squalls.they said it took them 2days and 2 nights to go the 110 nm with contrary winds and big sloppy seas.....oh well ya take what ya gets...
so we were very happy for the company at anchor here.
we rented a motorbike from a local woman here and took a ride around the atoll.i was keen to ride the motorbike after being jazzed by the movie i saw in Tarawa"Hellride" and fantasized about myself as a tough biker
with a hot babe on the back of my ride...yea right Stevo said May...lol anyway,we rode though many villages saying "maury"to all we passed along the way.lovely,little clean villages with native houses.everyone seemed very happy.
We went all the way to (both) ends of the one road.we had a beach picnic and then on the way back were invited to come visit with a local village.we got off our bike and where welcomed into a fale with men playing cards
and women working in the cooking shed and lots of kids milling around checking us out.We met
the local catholic priest named Fr. Benemanken.he spoke very good English and asked us some questions about our travels and answered some of our questions about the local culture.we had the local coconut toddy some rice ,taro,tea and fish.everyone seemed impressed that may ate 4 fish...
It was a very nice visit on our way back we were shown a local " tobacco shrine"where you make a prayer and leave a cigarette may left a cigarette but we had our suspicions our guide might have smoked our offering...
we returned to the main village,brought back the bike and went back to the boat for a well deserved swim...ahhh....another day in paradise!
the more time we spent on butaritari the more we liked the place and the people.we were invited to a birthday party for a one
year old little girl and were honored guests just because we were visitors.it was a big party with almost everyone from the main village center in attendance.there was food,food and more food.lots of local stuff we'd never tried before.
There are lots of dishes here in Kiribati that I'd never seen in the pacific.after eating there was a bit of dancing by a couple of local girls and then they opened it up to "disco" after moving the tables away.
all eyes were on the"hematongs"(foreigners).i was a little nervous but made a decent showing for a white guy.there is also an interesting
custom of spraying perfume on each other as well as powdering each other with baby powder.a woman walked around powdering and spraying all the guests,still have'nt figured this one out yet.i think it has to do with good luck,who knows...
after the party we "hematongs"along with berkenamen,the priest and some guests from the birthday party went over to the local kava bar where we drank copious amounts of kava and listened to the local men sing song after song
while the kavaswam in our brains...a very nice day indeed...
we also spent christmas and new year on butaritari.we had a nice dinner on christmas eve aborad "samba"franz and celia had cooked a couple of local" yardbirds"and ironie supplied stuffing corn,gravy and our famous "wackycake" for desert(recipie courtesy of "katey lee").there was a big celebration in the maneaba near the catholic church on christmas day.there were people from every village camping out in the maneaba for the whole holiday week.kind of like a Kiribati Woodstock.
the Christmas mass was held in the maneaaba instead of the church because there were so many people.I'd estimate 1000 folks all tolled.the service was good and brief after which we had lunch with the priest,and then the rest of the day was given over to
dancing and singing and celebration Kiribati style!we were honored guests for the dancing,sitting right next to the village elders and the priest.It was an amazing show that lasted
for hours(we left after hour 6 or 7).first,each village had a kind of "sing off".Each village group sang a couple of songs with
a very animated conductor leading them.after the singing there was dancing .each village taking a turn.every one was decked out in the local dancing costumes and properly perfumed and powdered.really amazing music
and dance performances.the people here get so overwhelmed by the spirit of the music/dance,sometimes they cry of faint,(which we witnessed).sometimes the women will get so excited watching the men dance they will flash their breasts!!
we witnessed this too in front of the priest no less!!The name for the flashing translated is"fire in the kitchen"....good stuff!!
Our Christmas in Kiribati will be a memorable one for sure.
new years was passed on board Ironie.Just May and I ringing in the new year together.we planed to leave the next day on the 350 mile passage to Majuro,Marshall Islands.I wish every one happy holidays and a healthy and happy new yearLots of pacific love from May and Steve on ironie!!!