Adventures of Orcinius

11 September 2015 | HOME - Vancouver WA
24 August 2015 | 46 11.4'N:123 51.4'W, Port of Astoria Marina
22 August 2015 | 46 42.0'N:132 09,4'W, 330 West of CR Bouy, Astoria
21 August 2015 | 46 41.8'N:136 13.8'W, 500 West of Astoria
20 August 2015 | 46 22.82'N:140 28.00'W, East end of High
20 August 2015 | 46 22.80'N:140 28.32'W, Middle of High Same as Fish
20 August 2015 | 46 22.79'N:140 28.57'W, Middle of High
20 August 2015 | 46 22.7'N:140 30.2'W, 675 Miles West of CR
20 August 2015 | 45 57.6'N:144 54.0'W, East End of the High
18 August 2015 | 44 38.2'N:147 57.0'W, 1000 NM to Astoria
18 August 2015 | 43 31.0'N:150 28.0'W, 1126 NM to Astoria
17 August 2015 | 41 40.1'N:153 00.1'W, 1200 miles West of Astoria
16 August 2015 | 39 30.1'N:154 53.1'W, West end of the North Pacific High
15 August 2015 | 37 34.5'N:156 00.0'W, 1011 North of Oahu
15 August 2015 | 37 04.5'N:156 23.0'W, 983 North of Oahu
14 August 2015 | 34 12.3'N:157 26.1'W, 800 North of Oahu
13 August 2015 | 31 50.0'N:158 06.5'W, 650 North of Oahu
12 August 2015 | 29 02.0'N:158 51.0'W, 330 North of Oahu
11 August 2015 | 26 32.0'N:158 59.0'W, 330 North of Oahu
09 August 2015 | 23 44.1'N:158 49.4'W, 140 N of Oahu

Palmerston Cultural

26 August 2012 | 18 02.0'S:163 11.6'W, Palmerston Island
Lisa
We arrived in Palmerston on Tuesday morning. It is now Friday night and throughout the week, everyone on the island has gone out of their way to make us feel welcome - especially our host Tere Marsters. Since his wife and daughter are currently in transit to New Zealand, Tere has taken on the entire task of hosting John and I. And we both agree he has done a most excellent job! Tere has been very generous with his time - ferrying us back and forth from our boat to the island, giving us a tour of the island, cooking us a great dinner the first night we arrived (his wife isn't suppose to know that he's a pretty good cook!), and just hanging out with us in the afternoon's and explaining island life to us. It is their tradition that each yachtie that arrives is taken in by a host family. That family will ferry them back and forth from the island, cook them dinner each day, give them a tour and introduce them to other locals, and offer assistance in anything we might need. In othe r words - we are getting very spoiled! We have also learned allot about the history of Palmerston, and how the island is operated today. It has been a very interesting week!

I will begin with the beauty of the "Home Island" as they call it - of the motu on which everyone lives. The first day we arrived, Tere picked us up in his boat and we came ashore on the beach directly in front of his home. His house and surrounding land were beautiful. The house had just been built a couple of years ago. It is a two-story home, with living space on the second floor and storage and freezer space occupying the open ground floor. From the wraparound porch on the second story, there is a beautiful view of the lagoon and palm trees in the sandy open yard. Tere and his wife had cleared the land themselves with just a machete and blade - it is a gorgeous setting. Their home and amenities are very modern - with TVs, computers, cooking appliances, motor scooters, etc. And lots of freezers for storing both frozen goods and just for storing dry goods to keep the critters out. For lunch Tere cooked us fresh wahoo that had just been caught that morning. After our nice lu nch he took us for a walk to show us the rest of the island. Tere's house is situated on the south side of the island, and is a bit away from most of the rest of the homes. The interior sandy paths were shaded by palm trees on the fringe of the island, and then by huge mahogany trees on the interior of the island. Along the paths were a few street lamps (too cute!), and little log benches for sitting along the side. All the paths are raked and cleared of leaves and debris each week - a task assigned to all the kids on the island. We made our way to the one school on the island. They have about 33 students, and they use the ACE home schooling program to teach the children - so each child can learn each subject at their own pace. It has proven quite successful. New Zealand now recognizes their high school degree as accredited, so kids that do well can go directly on to University in New Zealand if they so choose.

From the school we made our way to other points of interest around the island. William Marsters, who arrived here in 1862, had three Penrhyn Island wives - so hence the island has been divided into three sections - one for each of the three families. Coconut trees all planted in a row from North to South, designate the dividing line between the three families. From there, each family has their own burial ground, but share a common church and community building as well as a few other facilities. Some of the buildings are over 100 years old - made from the remains of shipwrecks along their reefs. The telecom station gives them cell phone and internet access (as well as the token phone booth!). Tere heads up the Island Administration, so we also saw where he worked. The building is an old container that was once divided up among the three families and used to store and process copra. Now he has his office there, with a small conference room, and a section that stores various too ls and machinery that the islanders can sign out and use. (John actually "signed out" the welder for our little unexpected boat project)! Tere's office has a large door that he can swing open, and overlooks a swath of palm trees with chickens and roosters clucking and strutting on the path. Each family also has their own "plantation" on the island - basically a very large garden where taro and other vegetables are grown. Back in the day, when the island's population was more than twice what it is now, each islander actually branded their own coconut trees by carving their initials into the side of the tree - as coconuts were a scarce food source with so many people on the island. It's not quite so stringent now - but you can still see the initials carved into many of the coconut trees that were done when life was not so easy.

Fishing is still a big part of island life and is a major export and source of income for many of the families. Palmerston is known for it's parrot fish - and we have had some excellent meals featuring this most tasty fish! Our meal on Wednesday featured smoked parrot fish - which was delicious! Tere gave us all the left overĀ's - which included about 3 full filets. So the next day I took all the fish off the bone and mixed it in with a mayo/sour cream mixture along with some hot curry seasoning and salt. I took it in along with some crackers to share at our meal on Thursday and it was a big hit with everyone. I have to admit - it was pretty darn good!

So other than some boat projects (which John is writing about), we have been filling our days with fine meals, exciting boat rides through the passage, walks along the beach, and meeting friendly islanders along the way. We were treated to some special music today (Friday) after lunch. It is interesting that their church music is sung in Maori (almost exclusively), but outside of that, the spoken and written language is English. So the ladies started out singing a church hymn, with the eldest mama belting out the song as loud as she could - she really got into it. Then the men would join in with a lower chant that answered the ladies back. They sing entirely accapella (sp?), they choose not to have any instruments accompany them. It was fun to listen to and watch. I'll explain more about the uniqueness of this island community in subsequent blogs - all for now!

Lisa
Comments
Vessel Name: ORCINIUS
Vessel Make/Model: Lagoon 440
Hailing Port: Vancouver, Washington
Crew: John LeDoux & Lisa Danger
About:
Sailing since the mid 90's. Prior to this trip, 4 sailing adventures from Vancouver WA to the San Juan and Gulf Islands in the Straits of Juan de Fuca. Bought ORCINIUS in West Palm Beach Fl in April 2010. Sailed her South through the Panama Canal and back up the West coast to home port. [...]
Extra: Lisa is the real captain. I have never been at the helm when docking or anchoring, she has a great touch to docking.
Home Page: www.orcinius.com

Who: John LeDoux & Lisa Danger
Port: Vancouver, Washington