Aloha - I am writing from rainy Rarotonga.  We arrived early Friday morning, and I do mean early.  We actually sighted the island about 11 am on Thursday, after coming through a large squall.  We were lucky because the rain opened up just enough to see the island, and then it covered over again.  As we approached, the wind shifted, turning in our faces, and we tacked the rest of the day to try and get closer, but with no luck.  We, along with Gaualofa and Uto Ni Yalo finally came in on our motors in the early morning.  We got in about 4 am.  It is really nice to be here, because I have a lot of friends on this island, and it's almost like being home.  I am especially happy to be spending time with Barbara Hanchard, who sailed in 1995 with me, although she was on the canoe Takitumu and I was on Hokule'a.  She just moved back to Raro after 16 years in the Solomon Island, so she has lots of good information.

As the days go by, and we wander from paradise to paradise, it's hard to believe this is real life.  If you look at any of the voyagers' posts or Facebook pages, you'll see the abbreviation "LTD", which stands for "Living the Dream".  Different moments catch you as being perfect at different times...in the lagoon at Aitutaki, catching mahimahi, or watching the sunrise through a squall.  We've been to so many places in such a short time, and we have so far to go...

I am getting to know the crew on other wakas better.  Situations will see you moored next to different wakas, and you get to talk to different people.  I spent last night discussing navigation strategies with Mercy, an 18 yr old from Tonga.  He's very intelligent and outgoing, and is sort of the life of the party.  I am also getting to know my own crew a lot better.  Being on a waka is like being in social experiment.  Some days, you really enjoy the company of a particular person, and on another day, you might be irritated with something they say or do.  Yet, this is our island and our family, and in order to get through our journey, we need to let the little things go.  Not easy!  In the end, and in the years to come, however, it is the good that I'll remember.  Barbara is one of those good things.  Seventeen years later, and after seeing each other only a handful of times in between, we're still good friends.  Just to remember everything, though, I am keeping a journal and recording my thoughts about places and people as we go.

I am at Barbara's house on a rainy Sunday, and her internet is good, so I'll leave you with a few more pictures...

Ms. Fuller

Find Aitutaki

Aloha sixth graders!  I hope your final papers all turned out well, and that you're treating Mr. Perkins nicely! I hope you are making me proud and finishing the year off with good work and good behavior.  I wanted to share with you my own version of the Challenger mission.  This one was called "find Aitutaki".  Have Mr. Perkins show you where that is.  Basically, we were sailing from Borabora to Aitutaki.  My good friend Wati Forbes and I were doing the navigation as a team.  This was the first time I'd really done navigation in about 10 years, and the first time without one of MY teachers around to give me direction and answer questions.  The last few weeks before I left, you all probably didn't know it, but I was doing my own research into the stars and planets that would be visible to us throughout our journeys.  The difference between the Challenger mission and our sail, however, is that we had no time limit.  Yes, we had a schedule to try and keep, but the "mission" didn't end until the island was found. It was quite a challenge to stay up the first night, but it was important to get a sense of what stars were up at what times.  After that, it became surprisingly easier to stay up, and the last night, I was up for about 20 hours without sleep.  Wati and I have trained in slightly different ways, mine being a little more mathematical, his being a little more traditional, but we found that our styles complemented (vocab word!) each other nicely. We also had our share of "emergencies", such as thunder storms, nights where you could only see one star at a time and times of total cloud cover.  Between the two of us, we could usually figure out our course and stay on track.  The difference between our emergencies and yours is that we had no task cards to follow.  Solving the emergencies was entirely based on our prior knowledge and combined information.  One "emergency" arose when some of my research did not match the latitude measurement of the stars we were looking at.  I was convinced that we should stay on the course that we had plotted, but Wati was convinced that we had actually gone too far north, and that we should turn back to south.  Although I didn't like the idea, I trust Wati and we followed his course.  The hard part for me is that if we followed his course, it meant that I was wrong, and as you all know, being wrong is hard to swallow.  However, it is an important part of learning, because you have to figure out, as we did, what is right.  I have to thank our captain, Greg, for not bowing to time pressure and telling us where to go to get us in on time.  Instead, he let us work out the problem and figure out what the error was.  Wati was right, and the next day we saw Aitutaki.  It was very important to me to to make the mistake, because I learned.  Although I do know quite a bit about navigation, there is so much I don't know, and we should all realize that - no one knows everything.  Learning continues throughout your WHOLE life!  I am happy to have gotten this experience under my belt, and I am ready for the navigation to Rarotonga (we'll be teaching some of our other crew as it is a short sail) as well as Samoa beyond.  Although being wrong upset me at first, I realized the next day that the extra time we spent at sea correcting our course was extra time that I got to learn from Wati; it was something that I really needed and in the end I am grateful for the mistake I made.  I know that sounds odd to some of you, but I hope you will keep it in mind when YOU make mistakes...there are often good surprises hidden in them.  Keep working hard!

Ms. Fuller

P.S.  I wore my 6F shirt the other night - I love it!

Borabora business

Aloha kakou!  I am writing to you from Haunui as we are tied up in Vaitape, Borabora. It is lush and green, with a beautiful azure lagoon.  Currently, the trade winds have returned, keeping a nice breeze blowing.  We have sailed through Huahine, Ra'iatea and finally to Borabora yesterday. After a rather disappointing reception at both Taputapuatea and Uturoa, we decided to forego a stop on Taha'a.  Instead, we anchored off of a small motu on the north end of Ra'iatea and sailed at sunset for Borabora.  It was a slow sail, with a lot of bobbing and drifting a the end.  Our patience was rewarded with a very interesting welcome: the people of the town put on a routine of group semaphore...spelling out their welcome.  Afterwards, we took a boat out to a motu for an afternoon of relaxation and swimming.  I felt just a tad bit guilty lazing about in the lagoon...

For this part of the voyage, we are at the mercy of schedules, and need to be in certain places at certain times.  In this case, we needed to be in the pass at dawn.  Stemming from our discussions at Fare Hape, It was decided to create an all women's crew to sail to Borabora.  That later changed to loading the women on the waka Hinemoana just outside the pass.  Somewhat anticlimactic.  The women of Haunui decided that we wanted to stay with our family on board Haunui, and so we did.  Some of the other crews are now saying the Haunui women are too macho for the all-wahine crew.  We had discussed the idea of balance on board the canoe previously, both young and old, male and female, and in our case, people from different island groups.  It takes a variety of talents to create a complete crew, and we have rapidly found ourselves to be just that.  Just like in a classroom, a team or a any group activity, we learn to respect each other's strengths and support each other's weaknesses.  The decision of the women to stay on board seemed to solidify the feeling of family.  It is a great opportunity to be on any of the wakas, and our captain, Greg, encourages us to take the chances when they are offered, however, we are quite happy where we are.  We are spending one more night in Borabora before we leave for Aitutaki, which should be a 3 day sail.  Wati (Manihera) and I are planning to share the navigational responsibilities on the way; he'll take the lead, but I'll be doing a lot of the work, too. 

Hanging out on Haunui

ancient fish traps in Huahine

leaving Huahine

Sailing to Rai'atea

Borabora motu

At every stop we are provisioning, finding the food we need and clean water.  We are receiving far more fruit than we need, and as much as we try to eat it, so much of it goes to waste because it rots quickly.  We making a point to try and eat local produce and to support what is grown organically. On Haunui, protecting the health of our reefs is our mission, and we realize that keeping our reefs healthy starts with keeping our land healthy.  It is a mission we plan to share with the next islands we visit.  I'll leave you with some photos...

CATCHING UP

Michelle Kapana-Baird, Kala Thomas (on Te Matau A Maui), Ikaika Vivas and I arrived in Tahiti a week ago, midnight.  Luckily our crew came to pick us up, and took us to a church hall in Arue to sleep.  We got there at one in the morning, and were informed that breakfast was going to be at six, and then at seven, we would be heading out to Fare Hape for three days.  It was a bit of a scramble to unpack my massive bag and repack what I needed for three days in a little one.  Fare Hape is a campground in the heart of the Papeno’o Valley,and is used by the Fa’afaite crew as a training ground.  Because the crew switches hadn’t been made yet, both old and new crews were in attendance.  There were about 150 people.  It was a good chance to greet old friends and make new ones, as well as to talk about the purpose that we are here for.  We were broken into groups to discuss various issues, actual and philosophical.  Afterwards, crew got together and met about how these issues affect each ones of us.  Our Haunui crew discussed being more responsible about using goods in bulk, as well being careful about our trash; making sure recyclables are taken care of.  We also discussed the role of  women on the canoe, and came to the conclusion that life on the canoe, just as at home or on any island, requires respect of all people equally.  Each of us has our strengths and weaknesses, which is why we are a crew, not individuals making this journey.   Our motto,

 from Gandhi, has become “Be the change” (you want to see in the world).  We were discussing having that carved into the deck where people come on board.  If each of us acts responsibly to make one change, imagine what the result would be! Fare Hape is also rich in history, including a number of famous marae.  We spent about two hours at a large ceremony welcoming us, one hour of that in the rain.  On the last day, we also saw a rock called Opurei a Pere…yes, Pele.  According to tradition, she was raised in Fare Hape and fed fire by the hape (caterpillars) there.  It was only later that she began her travels through the Society Islands and to Hawai’i.  One of the marae also honoured Kamohoali’I, her brother.

The road into Fare Hape was an adventure itself, requiring 4-wheel drive and running for many miles into the heart of Tahiti Nui.  Because there had been a significant amount of rain, the river we had to drive over and through was in flood.  At one point, we had to drive over a reservoir spillway, which was about a foot deep in rushing water.  With the continued rain, we weren’t sure we’d get out in time to make our departure!  Preparation for departure was crazy – moving all our gear onto the waka (crew of 22), inventorying everything on board, buying and packing food and making sure everything was in place.  One complication was that we had gone for a short sail the night prior to departure, and experienced engine trouble.  We had to have some parts replaced the next day before we could leave.  We finally left about 6 pm, and headed out on a heading of 297 degrees for Huahine.

Our captain is Greg, who is new on the crew.  Kalei, who has been on since Fakarava last year is the sailmaster, and was the navigator from the Galapagos.  Wati (Manihera) is navigating until Rarotonga.  Huia, Hana-lee and Murray are watch captains.  The crew includes myself, Rere, Poi, Ikaika, Jef, Kainoa, Hotu, Gorohu and Michelle.  I think I’m forgetting someone…We are mostly from New Zealand and Hawaii, and Gorohu is from Papua New Guinea.  The crews as a whole represent almost the entire Pacific: a srong presence and a strong voice to represent our islands.

Wati was in charge of the navigation, but we had good time checking on each other’s memory of stars and declinations.  Both of us stayed up all night, which was not particularly difficult until about 3 am, when your mind goes blank or you fall asleep without knowing it.  I asked Wati something at one point, and I’m pretty sure he gave me an answer in his sleep.  As dawn broke, we saw Huahine on the horizon, a shadow beneath the clouds.  As the morning came on, Faafaite was obvious off our stern and closing in.  We spent much time re-setting sails and playing with the dagger boards to get some speed.  We ended up sailing into Huahine side by side.

Tomorrow before dawn we head off to Ra’iatea for a big ceremony at Taputapuatea. Having been thrown together into a very different lifestyle, we are quickly becoming a family, everyone trying at the outset to be kind and respectful of each other.  Of course, there are multiple personalities on board, and little irritations do occur, but to make this voyage a success, we need to work through those and move forward.  Already, we have our buzz words and little jokes, not just among our crew, but with the other crews as well.  It is pretty amazing to be here, sitting on a waka next to the pier in Fare, Huahine, and typing this so I can head over to the internet shop and send it out.  At times, both Michelle and I have been homesick, but I am reminding myself that his adventure is not to be missed, and I need to live in the moment and enjoy it. Home sweet Haunui!

Counting Down...

     Here I am, a day and a half from departure, and I'm swamped in laundry.  I ran most of my errands yesterday, and only need to find a few small things today, and then I should be set.  I'm still figuring out what exactly I need to take in terms of clothing, especially for the New Zealand part of the trip.  The rest of the journey is tropical and warm, although most likely rainy.  Sixth graders - if you had to make a list of everything you wore or used for three months, and then had to pack it, how would you do?  How many bags would you take?  I need to cut everything down to fit into two and a backpack.  My cats are trying to "help" me.  They are trying to get into my bags, roll in my clothes, and one apparently went sliding across the floor on a pillow I bought. 
     The most common question I've gotten over the last month or so is, "aren't you excited?"  Well...yes and no.  Leaving for three months is a daunting prospect.  There's a lot to be done in order to be able to disconnect from life here: make sure bills are paid, house and cats taken care of, school responsibilities are wrapped up, canoe club responsibilities are passed on, house is clean, car is clean (relatives are coming and will probably be using it).  Once that's all done, I'll have time and space in my head to be excited.  Of course, I watch the trailer for the documentary, or read the Facebook posts about what the fleet is currently doing in Pape'ete and I do get excited.   As with any adventure, I don't what exactly will happen or how, and that leads to some anxiety.  I do know it WILL happen, and once I'm there and in it, it will be grand.  I'm glad I'll be starting out in familiar territory...Tahiti and then the Cook Islands.  I have good friends in both places and look forward to seeing them soon.  I'm also very grateful to have my friend Michelle coming along with me. 
     Once I'm on the waka, life will change.  Privacy becomes a rare commodity.  I'll be on a watch, meaning that I'll work three hours, have six hours to rest, and will be back to work.  Some of those hours will be very late (or early, depending on how you look at it), some will be cold and rainy, but some...some will be clear and filled with stars.  Sleep, as you can imagine, is precious.  Life on the waka is team-oriented.  We all need to work together to get to our destination.  We'll need to put up, adjust and bring down sails and steer the waka.  We'll need to clean it and repair it as needed.  When we get to land, we will be participating in welcoming ceremonies, and then opening our waka "house" to the public to share it.  It will be a culture shock to come home and re-acquaint myself with the other "normal"!

     This is Fiona "helping"...

A Brief Tour of the Waka

     Let me introduce you to the wakas (canoes).  There are seven all together: Haunui, Te Matau A Maui, Hinemoana, Marumaru Atua, Uto Ni Yalo, Gaualofa and Faafaite.  All were built in New Zealand, based on the design of a Cook Islands waka, Te Au O Tonga, that was built for the 1995 voyage to Raiatea and the Marquesas.  The wakas are 72' long and double-hulled.  In the last photo, you can see the hatches that open into the hulls.  Each hull contains "shelving" along both sides: the top shelves are bunks with mattresses, and the bottom shelves are for food, supplies and gear storage (I didn't take any interior pictures before, so none to post).  This is different from Hokule'a in that we sleep on top of our hulls (under a canvas cover, though).  The hulls of these waka are deep enough that I can stand upright in them.  By the way, the picture of the full waka is Haunui, the one I will be on, and the rest of the pictures are from other waka.  They're all set up the same, though.  The hale on the deck contains two important areas.  On the bow (forward) side is the bathroom (the door in the wide shot of the hale).  Yes, there IS a toilet, although it requires the user to get a bucket of water to flush it.  The back side (see photo) is the captain's area as well as the galley (kitchen).  There's a small table with benches, as well as the electronics center of the waka.  The galley has a full stove with an oven!  Now that's a real luxury compared to the propane stoves I'm used to on Hokule'a. 
     One aspect of these waka that is unique is their solar-powered engines.  They are on brackets under the deck that unfold into the water for use, and fold back up for storage.  You can see the propellers in the picture of the stern (rear) of the waka.  I believe the capacity of the solar battery allows the engines to run for 5 hours at 5 knots without recharging.  However, the purpose of a waka is to be SAILED, and so each waka has two masts, for two sails.  They carry two different sets of sails as well; one, as you see in the picture, is decorated and is for ceremonial purposes, although they definitely work well!  These waka are very fast, and can average 9-10 knots an hour in good wind (a knot is a nautical mile and is equal to 1.1 miles over land).  The TOP speed recorded (going down a swell in very strong winds was something like 25 knots.  Like any waka, however, if there is NO wind, your choices are to run the engines or drift with the tides.
     Because each waka is affiliated with a Polynesian island group, the main parts of the wakas have names given to them that represent their culture.  On Hokule'a, for example, the mast steps and sweeps (steering paddles) are given the names of people who were foundational to her success.  I look forward to learning more about Haunui and sharing her names with you.  What I know now is that the waka was names for John Haunui who was instrumental in supporting this project in New Zealand.  You can read more about that on the Pacific Voyagers website. 
     What's exciting to me about the upcoming part of this voyage is that I will see each waka in its home, and see each crew come home to much deserved recognition and celebration in their islands.  having known some of the crew from years past, and gotten to know much more of the crew over the last year, it will be extra special!

Want and Need

     The idea of going on a three-month journey is still so surreal, even though it is mere days away.  Tuesday was my last teaching day, and it was a quite a struggle to get all papers graded, mid-quarters in, and to feel like the kids were left in capable hands (which they are).  Mahalo nui loa to Mrs. Stepien, Mr. Teramae, Dr. Iwashita and the sixth grade teachers as well as the rest of the Lower School faculty for supporting my adventure.  It would not be possible without you.  A big thank you, also, to 6F, 6G and 6Ko for being excited for me...I'll miss you all!  I look forward to hearing how wonderful you all were in the last month of school,  so make me proud!
     This morning, it is time to focus on getting ready.  The hardest part is narrowing down the items I really will be bringing.  Space on board is somewhat limited, so I need to think very carefully about the things I "need" vs. "want."  The funny thing is that now, I am so used to having everything that is in my closet/house available, that I see the "want" more.  I guarantee that when I return, my mindset will be focused on the "need." 
     So what do I NEED to bring? First of all, clothes.  The clothing considerations break down along two lines: what you wear when you might get wet and what you wear when you'll be dry.  Although we'll be visiting land frequently, so fresh water washing should be available, clothes most likely will be laundered in salt water, and need to dry quickly.  I'll need clothes for sailing (surfshorts, swim suits, drifit/capilene shirts), clothes for land (regular shirts/shorts/jeans), and foul weather gear (heavy rain jacket and pants).
     In addition, I will need accessories (hat, sunglasses, etc.), shoes, sunscreen (lots of it!),  camping towels, sea soap (soap that works in salt water), a basic first aid kit (Neosporin, Advil, Benadryl, band aids, etc), basic toiletries, a sleeping bag and a pillow. 
     Another issue for the "need" category is that the end of the trip will be a sail from tropical waters and warm weather to a New Zealand winter.  Therefore, I need to pack a second set of sailing clothes and land clothes that will keep me warm!  This includes waterproof boots, ski socks and windproof gloves.  I'm thinking of bringing a LOT of towel wipes, because I'm not sure how bathing in winter conditions is going to work (rinsing with buckets of salt water in an open area on the canoe).
     A third "need" consideration, one that I'm working out with my friend Michelle Kapana-Baird, a teacher at Kaiser High School, who is sailing with me, is gifts for the people we know and the people we meet.  We both have friends on the canoes, as well as friends in Tahiti that we would like to bring gifts for.  I also have close friends in Rarotonga...and who knows who we will meet along the way?
     The items on my "want" list that I am debating right now are my laptop and my hard drive.  I want to bring more clothes than I need, so I'm getting out the "wants" and will start narrowing down.  Some things that I "want" and I have chosen to bring are a journal, my camera (including picture cards, underwater case), entertainment (books, iPod, cards, cribbage board), navigation information, one credit card, an ATM card (it's pretty cool to use an ATM to get foreign cash!), spending money (I picked up some Tahitian francs and some New Zealand dollars, which can be used in the Cook Islands, too), and of course, chargers for everything. The canoe's electrical system was wired in New Zealand, so I need to bring the correct adapters to use on board, as well as for the islands we'll be visiting. 
     One more "need" that I will add before wrapping up this installment is knowledge of the places I am going.  Knowing how to act respectfully in each island group goes a long way towards making positive connections.  How do people dress?  What behaviors are considered inappropriate?  What will people expect from us?  A lot to learn!  Sixth graders - I'm trying to avoid a real life "Heelotia" situation (I hope you all remember that)!
     If you think about it, living on a canoe is like living on an island.  What do we "want" to have on our islands?  What do we really "need"?