Sailing Papua New Guinea -- WEEK 14

Day 92 – January 22

After overstaying our visa for nearly 3 weeks we have officially checked out of Papua New Guinea!  I never thought this day would come.  In preparation for our departure we headed down to Kokopo in the back of Dave Flynn’s pickup to stock up on groceries.  First, we stopped by his house to pick up his family, all 10 of them, and while we were waiting we ran across a rusty old Japanese helmet and inside the helmet was a human skull with a bullet hole through the forehead.  Dave told us that he found them in one of the tunnels near his house.  A bit disturbing.

Day 93 – January 23

Since we have plans to depart Rabaul tomorrow and could be away from the internet and phones for a month I decided to head back into Kokopo to use that internet one last time.  While waiting at the bus station, a local woman began telling me that her daughter had just been accepted to a university in Canada and both she and her daughter were planning to take a trip over there in May.  It would be her first trip outside of Papua New Guinea and likely the first time she will experience what it feels like to be “cold”.  She was very excited about seeing the flowers come up (in the springtime) and the leave fall off the trees (in the autumn) but said she didn’t want to be there during the winter (too cold for her) or the summer (too hot, just like being in Papua New Guinea).  I quite enjoyed talking with her and seeing her excitement.

Day 94 – January 24

After spending the morning running a few last minute errands we finally set sail leaving Rabaul.  We had hoped to anchor at Escape Bay, on the other side of Mt. Tavurvur, but the winds were blowing from the NW creating huge volcanic ash clouds (what the locals call a dusty day in Rabaul) so we decided to scratch that idea and head for the Duke of York Islands, 3 hours away.  Once there we anchored in crystal clear water and were so happy with our decision to move away from the ash.

Day 95 – January 25

Calm clear waters in the morning meant time for a great snorkel.  The remainder of the day was spent working on boat projects (specifically varnishing).  A local woman named Joyce paddled over in her canoe and brought us a huge bunch of bananas and a few coconuts.  In exchange we gave her several items of secondhand clothing which made her day.

Day 96 – January 26

Today was pretty much the same as yesterday – a morning snorkel and afternoon boat projects.  We traded more secondhand clothing when Joyce’s brother paddled over with more coconuts.

Day 97 – January 27

For the last 2 months we have had a pretty major leak on the hull of the boat.  Bill had wanted to try and find the leak before heading 700 nautical miles across the Pacific Ocean to Micronesia.  Since the water in the Duke of York Islands was ideal for this task (crystal clear and no crocodiles) Bill put on his scuba gear and luckily found the leak which turned out to be more like a gash.  Using underwater epoxy (which is the best invention ever) he plugged the hole and we had a celebratory drink of Bundaburg Rum with orange juice.

Later that day we witnessed a funny sight - several local boys drifted by in the strong current, hanging onto coconuts and bamboo sticks for flotation.  We believe the boys had come from a very overloaded (to the point of sinking) banana boat that had motored past us earlier that morning.  The ocean conditions that afternoon were much more dangerous and they surely would have sunk the boat if they had tried to motor with as many people as had been in the boat that morning.

Day 98 – January 28

Overnight the rain came down so we tried our fresh water collection technique.  Basically we have a canvas sunshade with a hole in the middle.  When it rains we invert the sunshade and attach a hose to the end of the hole.  The other end of the hose goes directly into the water tanks under my bunk or Becky’s bunk.  Because the hatch needs to be open for the hose to come into our cabin that means the rain also comes in.  The hatch is mainly over my bunk so I got quite wet and have a very unpleasant night’s rest.  But we fully filled up our water tanks so I was happy to take one for the team.

As soon as the wind picked up we left the Duke of York Islands and headed south.  The current was strong – 2 knots – and was luckily in our favor.  We attempted to anchor at Put Put Harbor on the island of New Britain but because of strong thunderstorms it was not possible.  We sailed east across St. George’s Channel trying to reach the island of New Ireland before sunset but it was not meant to be and around 7pm we decided to hove to and drift aimlessly until early morning.

Sailing Papua New Guinea -- WEEK 13

Day 85 – January 15

Bill decided that we could only use 1 paint brush a day since we were getting low on brushes so while Becky varnished I took the dinghy into town to grab some produce at the market, pick up fish, and fill the gas tank with “zoom”, the local name for gasoline mixed with oil.

Bill and Michael worked at taking the head off the engine in order to see if it was a bad head gasket that had been giving us engine troubles.

Day 86 – January 16

More varnishing… true to our 1 brush a day, Becky and I took turns varnishing.

Day 87 – January 17

More varnishing…

Day 88 – January 18

More varnishing…

Day 89 – January 19

Today we committed the mortal sin.  We have 2 water tanks and when we last filled the tanks with water we left both water valves open so that the tanks would fill at the same time.  When the tanks were full we forgot to switch it so that we would use water from only 1 tank at a time.  Today when we ran out of water we assumed that it was only 1 tank that was empty.  Bill went to switch on the valve to the other tank and realized that we have been using water from both tanks and were now completely out of water.  Luckily we are still in Rabaul and can get fresh water from the dock but had we been sailing on our way to Micronesia we could have been in some serious trouble – especially since right now it seems that rain does not want to fall even though it is the rainy season.

Day 90 – January 20

Yahoo!!!  Today Becky and I applied our final coat of varnish on the boat.  There are still a few bits and pieces that will need varnish but our major project is done.  Oh how great it feels to be finished after working 20+ days non-stop to get this project completed.

To celebrate, Becky and I took Lorraine from Rod’s boat out to dinner for a fun girl’s night out.  We had dinner at the Rabaul Hotel and upon entering the dining room at the hotel Lorraine exclaimed, “It’s like Christmas!”  She had never been in a place so fancy and it was great fun watching her excitement.

Day 91 – January 21

After working nonstop on the varnish project for 20+ days, Becky and decided that we needed a day off and headed into Kokopo to use the internet and buy a few supplies that we just couldn’t get in Rabaul.  And in the evening headed over to Rabaul Yacht Club for what we hope will be our final Friday night dinner.  A great day!

Sailing Papua New Guinea -- WEEK 12

Day 78 – January 8

Bill and Michael left just after sunrise and spent the majority of the day on an adventure traveling over to Kavieng on New Ireland (a 7 hour journey via banana boat and PMV).  They needed to pick up some parts that we had a friend ship there from Australia.  Our original plan was to be in Kavieng for Christmas with the boat but unfortunately the ocean currents and winds would not allow us to make our way up there. 

I spent most of the day alone on the boat trying to keep busy with sanding, reading, and writing in my journal while Becky was off teaching her open water scuba class at Kabaira Dive Resort.

Day 79 – January 9

We’ve been anchored in Rabaul now for 18 days straight (40 days in all) and I’ve become bored with staying stationary in one spot for so long.  I’ve realized that when I reach this point I start to really miss my family, friends, home, and the comforts I once enjoyed.  I don’t like feeling like this but know it will go away once we start moving again.  I’m hoping it will be in the next week or two but it all depends on when we can get the engine in working order again.

Since Becky was heading back over to Kabaira Dive Resort to finish teaching her open water scuba class I decided to tag along, hoping that being in a new environment would help to alleviate my feelings of homesickness.  We spent the majority of the day at the resort and upon returning to the boat that evening I do admit that I did feel better.

Day 80 – January 10

It had been many weeks since we last headed into Kokopo to use the internet and purchase a few much needed supplies so Becky and I quickly varnished the boat in the morning and set out for Kokopo.  While walking down the ash covered road heading into the main center of Rabaul we luckily ran into a man driving an air-conditioned truck who just so happened to be heading into Kokopo as well – a trip that normally takes 45 minutes along a very dusty, bumpy, and hot road.

Since I was down to my last 5 Kina ($2 USD) I headed to the ATM but was sadly disappointed when the machine gave my card back saying that my bank was refusing to let me withdrawal cash.  I knew I had plenty of cash in my account and realized that I would have to phone my bank in the USA in order to get the card working again which here in Papua New Guinea is no easy feat.

Becky and I headed over to Kokopo Beach Bungalow to use their wireless internet and since we still had time left on our internet card from our last visit we planned to use that.  I started my computer up, entered the username and password from the internet card, and after 1 minute of being logged onto the internet, it logged me off saying that our time had run out.  Both Becky and I were disappointed since we didn’t have enough money between the two of us for a new internet card and the only reason we made the trip all the way into Kokopo was to use the internet.

Day 81 – January 11

We awoke this morning to see the sailboat “Vesper” motor past SEAWANHAKA.  Vesper was the boat Becky and I helped rescue from the reef several weeks ago with Rod.  In addition, the night before another sailboat “Scraatch” from England arrived and anchored next to us.  Now we don’t feel so lonely here in the harbor.

Day 82 – January 12

While varnishing in the morning we saw Vesper take off in a hurry.  Later on Rod told us that the owner of the boat, Pierre, was in serious trouble.  He was in love with a local woman who has 8 children and is married.  The community she comes from is very angry with him and put out a death wish on his life.  They want to capture him in order to bury him alive and suck out his blood with a spike.  Yikes!!!

That evening we headed over to Rod’s boat for a BBQ with all the great fish he had caught while out on his charter with the co-founder of Starbucks.

Day 83 – January 13

Today we began varnish work on the exterior of the boat which turned out to be much different than working on the inside.  We now had to deal with the hot sun and the dusty winds.

We’ve begun our dinner rotation again and tonight was my night to cook.  It turned out that we had 3 additional guests for dinner – Rod, his helper Lorraine, and Brian from the English sailboat “Scraatch”.  I served everyone something a little different by cooking fish tacos seasoned mexican style.

Day 84 – January 14

7 hours straight we sanded and varnished the exterior of the boat long with the mast.  It was a mega job and we were completely exhausted!  Dinner was once again at the Rabaul Yacht Club for their Friday night special.

Sailing Papua New Guinea -- WEEK 11

Day 71 – January 1

Becky and I returned home from the New Year’s Eve celebration on “Cocokai” at 2am!  This was the latest we had stayed up since being on SEAWANHAKA.  Since Bill had spent the night in Kokopo, Becky and I enjoyed a nice sleep in until 9am and then cooked up a great New Year’s Day breakfast.  Eleven year old Coco called us on the VHF radio asking if we were planning to go to the Rabaul Yacht Club to play Yahtzee and since we could tell she really wanted to hang out with us we picked her up in our dinghy and played a few rounds while drinking sodas.

Bill came back later in the evening and brought with him two Dutch boys whom he had met the night before.  We all had a great fish BBQ on the boat while sharing many travel tales.

Day 72 – January 2

Holy flies!  This morning we woke up to millions of flies everywhere and they stayed on the boat the entire day – buzzing all over us.  I have never seen them this bad!  Becky and I debated on whether or not to varnish since the flies were likely to get stuck in the wet varnish but opted to do it anyway.

Bill and the Dutch boys had gone for an early morning hike of the nearby extinct volcano and returned to the boat late afternoon.  Becky cooked up a great pasta dinner and we all said an early goodnight since the boys had to be up at 4am in order to catch their morning flight from Kokopo.

Day 73 – January 3

Bright and early we took the boat to the wharf to fill up with fresh water (since we were down to only 1/3 of our water carrying capacity).  While waiting for our water tanks to fill up (which can take hours depending on how slow the water comes out) we varnished the main cabin and used fresh water to do some of our laundry.  It was such a treat to be able to wash our clothes with fresh water and not the typical salt water.

In the afternoon we dropped Bill off at the wharf so he could head into Kokopo where he would stay the night and in the early morning meet Michael at the airport.

Since Becky and I had no plans for that evening we headed over to “Cocokai” to see what they were up to.  They invited us over for pizza and games and we had such a blast playing “Apples to Apples” and eating super tasty pizza.

Day 74 – January 4

After varnishing the main cabin in the morning, Becky and I headed into Rabaul Yacht Club for sodas and to wait for her “students”.  Since Becky was a dive instructor on the Great Barrier Reef she was asked by a local dive shop here in Rabaul to instruct a few students on Open Water Scuba Diving since there are no instructors in the area.  She was quite thrilled to be teaching again.

Michael, our new crew member from Germany was suppose to arrive today but we got word from him that his luggage was lost somewhere between Germany, China, and Papua New Guinea and he was planning to stay in the Papua New Guinean capital of Port Moresby for the night to see if his luggage arrived on a later flight.  We were all disappointed that his luggage was lost and that we would not be meeting him that night.

Day 75 – January 5

We are officially illegal in Papua New Guinea.  Our Papua New Guinea visas expired today and the customs office here in Rabaul seemed to be very unconcerned about that – so as long as we all leave the country aboard the boat we will hopefully have no problems with overstaying our 60 day visa.

Becky took off in the morning to teach her open water scuba class in Kokopo while Bill attempted to troubleshoot the engine and I continued to varnish the main cabin.  Around midday I dropped Bill off at the wharf so that he could catch a PMV into Kokopo to pick up Michael at the airport, whose luggage still had not arrived but he decided staying on the boat was much better than staying in dangerous Port Moresby.  While at the wharf I ran into the family of the sailboat “Cocokai” and they mentioned they were planning to depart Rabaul the following day. 

Once Becky returned we headed over to “Cocokai” to say goodbye, exchange books, get a few recipes from Jennifer (the mom), and of course play a final game of Yahtzee!  It was sad to say goodbye to such a great family.

Day 76 – January 6

Bill and Michael had stayed the night in Kokopo so in the morning Becky and I continued to varnish the inside of the main cabin and at 12pm I took her to shore in the dinghy so she could catch her ride to Kokopo for the open water scuba class she’s teaching.

In the afternoon Bill arrived with Michael and we welcomed him with beer and a tasty fish BBQ!  It was great to finally meet him and also to be back to having 2 guys and 2 girls on the boat.  Things always seem to be more in sync when there are even numbers.

Day 77 – January 7

Most of the day was spent on varnishing and boat projects.  In the evening we all headed over to the Rabaul Yacht Club for the famous Friday night dinner.  I’m beginning to feel like a local – I think we’ve been to at least 6 Friday night feasts at the yacht club!  And Barney, the owner of the Rabaul Yacht Club, has a tiny little kitten “Yacht” who we have watched grow up considerably in the last few weeks.  Before we know it he will be a full grown cat.  At that point, we know that we have been in Rabaul far too long.

Sailing Papua New Guinea -- WEEK 10

Day 64 – December 25

Christmas!!!   Becky and I decided that the best Christmas present would be to play in the volcanic ash.  We set out in the morning before it became too hot and found a great spot – out of view of any local villagers (who would think we were absolutely insane).  We covered ourselves (head to toe) in the gray ash and created ash clouds.  Becky entertained us by playing her ash song on the guitar while I captured the moment on film.  It was the perfect way to spend Christmas morning in Rabaul!

After cleaning ourselves up in the ocean, Bill, Becky and I headed over to Rabaul Hotel and enjoyed a delicious lunch of prawns, several bottles of tasty white wine, and a dip in their “cold” swimming pool.  We were baffled at how a pool could be so cold in such a hot place.

Day 65 – December 26

A few days ago we had asked Barney at the Rabaul Yacht Club to arrange a few guides to take us on a hike up the active volcano, Mt. Tavurvur.  Normally you’d imagine that the villagers would be lining up for this opportunity since we typically pay them quite well based on Papua New Guinea standards but just like every other time, when we turned up at 6am there was no guide to be found.  Since Bill and this Australian guy, Steve, were along for the climb we felt pretty safe attempting to navigate the volcano on our own.

Incredible views inside the steaming crater once we reached the top.  There were so many different colors of green from all the sulfur being emitted out of the volcano.  Three hours later we were back on the boat, drinking a cold beer and enjoying a delicious fish BBQ – all before 10am!

Day 66 – December 27

Since we plan to be in Rabaul for at least 12 more days we decided to do a little work on the boat and finish varnishing the entire inside.  When we left Australia we left in a rush and varnishing was one of the things that did not get finished – and boy is there a lot that needs to be varnished.  This should keep us busy for the next 12 days!

Day 67 – December 28

Varnishing in the morning and in the afternoon we were surprised to see another Schooner sailboat flying the American flag sail into Rabaul Harbor.  We radioed over to them and invited them over for drinks and appetizers later that day.  They turned out to be a family of 3 sailing around the world from Long Beach, California which they left 4 years ago!  Their daughter “Coco” was only 11 years old (7 when they began their journey) and already seemed so worldly.  What an amazing way to grow up!

Day 68 – December 29

More varnishing in the morning.  In the afternoon the wind picked up and we experienced our first big dust storm – the kind where volcanic ash is flying everywhere, creating small dust tornados.  After the dust storm came rain which cooled things down a bit and made for an enjoyable sleep.  Typically it’s so hot and still at night that we wake up in pools of sweat.  Both Becky and I often dream about hiring a local village kid or two to fan us while we sleep. 

Day 69 – December 30

Still more varnishing in the morning.  Rod told us that he was leaving today for a 10 day boat charter with the guy who started Starbucks.  Becky and I rowed “Weewanhaka” over to his boat to say our final farewell – although at the rate we’re going we’ll likely still be in Rabaul when he returns. 

Again the late afternoon brought rain and cooler temperatures, meaning a good night’s sleep once again.  I can get use to this!

Day 70 – December 31

New Years Eve!  We were invited over to the American Schooner “Cocokai” for cocktails.  Since Bill had gone into Kokopo it was just Becky and I who ventured over to their boat.   After serving us “Buffalo Milk” cocktails (recipe comes from Catalina Island off the coast of Los Angeles) we all headed over to the Rabaul Yacht Club for their Friday night dinner. 

The word on the street was that the New Year’s Eve party was at the Rabaul Hotel and after dinner everyone at the Rabaul Yacht Club seemed to head over that way so we caught a ride in the back of a pickup.  And a party it was – complete with a DJ!  After an hour or so we decided that the best place to ring in the New Year was back on “Cocokai”.  We headed back to the boat and played dominos (Mexican Train) until 5 minutes before midnight.  Then Coco got out the noise makers and Greg was tempted to light off a flare but was a bit concerned that the harbor police might ticket him for that.  Seems like everyone else in the town of Rabaul had the same idea since at midnight there were at least 10 flares that had been sent high into the sky.  Both Becky and I agreed that it was the perfect way to ring in the New Year!

Sailing Papua New Guinea -- WEEK 9

Day 57 – December 18

Bill, Becky and I headed over to Kokopo on the PMV to pickup Bill’s computer (which had been in the shop due to a malfunction), use the internet, and buy loads of groceries.  We purchased 2 shopping carts worth of food and convinced the supermarket to give us a life in their van back to Rabaul (45 minutes by car).  When we tried to tip the driver for making our lives so much easier at first he didn’t want to accept the cash but once we told him “please take it”, he was so appreciative that he was grinning from ear to ear.

Day 58 – December 19

Finally after 1 month we are leaving Rabaul!  Our plan is to set sail for the town of Kavieng, the northern tip of the island of New Ireland which should be about 150 nautical miles.  We anchored the night at the Duke of York islands and I snorkeled with a huge school of over 100 hundred squid and was captivated by watching them catch their prey.  One squid was actually attacked by several larger fish and squirted them with black ink.  Pretty amazing to see that!

Day 59 – December 20

The wind was not in our favor at all today and after sailing part of the day we decided to give up and anchor just 10 nautical miles from where we were the night before.  This was our last chance at a great anchorage before setting out into the Bismarck Sea, heading up the coast of New Ireland.

Day 60 – December 21

After sailing most of the day we found a decent anchorage along the coast of New Ireland.  Two village kids paddled over on one canoe and several others paddled over on fallen logs.  Meanwhile all their friends stood on the shore waiting for their return.  We exchanged a book and a few shirts for some coconuts.  The kids were so excited by the book, looking at all the pictures before trying to give it back to us.  Thinking that obviously we had not meant to give such a valuable item to them.

We had been looking forward to tonight since it was a full moon, the solstice, and also a total lunar eclipse.  Unfortunately the mountainous island of New Ireland was blocking our view and by the time we saw the moon it was only partially eclipsed.

Day 61 – December 22

Bill woke us up at 3am saying “let’s go”!  The wind had picked up considerably and we found ourselves in 15 feet of water.  Sleepily, we prepared the boat for sailing.

Because of light winds and a constant current that was fighting us we motored most of the day which was a new experience for us.  Along the way we ran across a pod of what we believed to be pilot whales and saw several schools of yellow fin tuna jumping high out of the water while frigate birds plunged down into the water trying to catch the smaller fish.  Quite a show we had!

Day 62 – December 23

Since we were unable to find a suitable anchorage last night our only option was to head a few miles out to sea and bob around all night.  Because of the strong current overnight we drifted 9 miles in the wrong direction.  After a crew discussion we decided that Kavieng was too difficult to reach and agreed that the best thing was to head back to Rabaul and stay there until our new crew member, Michael, arrives on January 4^th.

On our way back we came upon hundreds of dolphins jumping out of the water.  It was such an amazing sight to see and some of them stuck around and swam at the bow of the boat for at least 15 minutes.

Day 63 – December 24

Back in Rabaul we were the only boat in the harbor and it was a little sad.  Even though it was Christmas Eve the Rabaul Yacht Club was still having their Friday night dinner which turned out to be our excitement for the evening.

Sailing Papua New Guinea -- WEEK 8

Day 50 – December 11

After being the only sailboat in Rabaul for many days we were excited to see a sailboat with a Danish flag arrive.  On board were 6 young Danes (2 guys and 4 girls).  Since it was Monica’s last night in Rabaul we had been planning a BBQ on SEAWANHAKA but to accommodate the new arrivals we moved the party to the wharf and had an excellent time with great food and unlimited wine – a contribution from the Danes.

Day 51 – December 12

With a crew of 6 guys and Becky and myself, Rod headed back to the WWII Japanese Zero fighter plane wreck and we began the never-ending task of dredging.  We were on a rotation where teams of 2 people would dive down to the wreck and hose off the silt from the plane with a hose similar to what firefighters use.  Talk about horrible visibility - we were not even able to see our hands in front of our face.  Each team spent about 40 minutes doing this before the next team of 2 would dive down to take over.  We each completed 4 dives and decided to call it quits for the day (an 8 hour day).  Even though we were exhausted and only managed to uncover a small portion of the plane we had such an amazing time.

Day 52 – December 13

Becky and I took the PMV into Kokopo to do some email and to buy a fish and some wine for another BBQ with the Danes tomorrow -  which just so happens to be my 34^th birthday!  While sitting at the “classy” Kokopo Beach Bungalow Resort using the internet, a woman working at the resort made a point to come up to us in order to tell us that at first she thought we were men because of my muscles and Becky’s “sprinter-like” physique but then realized that we were in fact women.   We weren’t quite sure how to respond to that comment.

Day 53 – December 14

I was woken up in the morning with a handmade birthday card from Becky.  Inside was a cutout girl with big bicep muscles, covered in gray ash.  It totally made me laugh!

We had another great BBQ on the wharf (with more shooting stars than I could count) and the Danes sang me their traditional birthday song and presented me with a birthday gift -  a traditional Papua New Guinea “penis gourd”  Again, not quite sure how to respond.

Day 54 – December 15

After filling the boat with water in preparation for our departure from Rabaul, we headed into Rabaul town to get cash from the ATM in order to fill us our propane tanks.  There was a brown out in all of Rabaul which meant Bill had to head into Kokopo to use the banks there.

Since we had no propane on the boat, Becky and I brought food over to Rod’s boat and told him we would cook for him if he let us use his kitchen.  Since he grew up having maids look after him and had no idea how to even make coffee, he was happy to have us in his kitchen.

Day 55 – December 16

We joined Rod again for breakfast and afterwards Becky and I spent most of the day catching up on journal writing and washing our clothes in salt water – waiting for Bill to return from Kokopo.  Midday the catamaran “Baguette” sailed into the bay and the South African captain stopped over to say hello.  When we arrived to Rabaul there was only us for so long and now there are 5 sailboats anchored in the bay.  That’s more boats than we’ve seen in total since arriving to Papua New Guinea 7 weeks ago.

Day 56 – December 17

In the sailing world it is bad luck to begin a voyage on a Friday so we decided to stay in Rabaul one more night with plans to leave early Saturday morning.  This gave us more time to provision the boat in Rabaul so we spent most of the day transferring over 150 liters of diesel and bag after bag of fresh produce from the market to the boat via the dinghy.

In the afternoon Becky and I walked to the local museum at the New Guinea Club along the dusty, ash-covered road that use to be Main Street before the volcano erupted in 1994.  We took a tour of Admiral Yamamoto’s “bomb proof” bunker which had maps drawn on the ceilings of his plant o take over the South Pacific.  Pretty interesting.

Sailing Papua New Guinea -- WEEK 7

Day 43 – December 4

We anchored at Makata Harbor and at night watched a magnificent lightening storm.  Funny how without the distraction of television nature becomes our form of entertainment.  Watching lightening and counting shooting stars while eating popcorn… what could be better!

Day 44 – December 5

As we motored our way into the very shallow Mioko Harbor we were greeted by spinner dolphins!  They put on such an exciting show for us, spinning high into air and then crashing into the water creating a huge splash.  Amazing!

Day 45 – December 6

In the morning I went to grab my bikini from the lifeline where I left it to dry and realized that overnight it had been stolen along with a few towels and shirts.  That’s the first time anyone has been brave enough to steal from us while we were all on the boat.

In the evening the village chief stopped by to say hello and we mentioned the theft to him and told him that if word gets out that their village is full of thieves, the boats will stop coming there.  He said he’d have the village police keep an eye out for our things but I’m not getting my hopes up.

Day 46 – December 7

Mioko Village had invited us to their 8^th grade graduation which was planned for today at 8am.  They tell us that 8^th grade is the end of their schooling unless they head into the bigger cities to continue their education.  We arrived promptly at 8am and it was dead…  a few people milling about, setting up, but far from being ready for the graduation ceremony.  That’s Papua New Guinea time for you!

We moved anchorages to a place called Kerawara Island where supposedly they have dugongs (similar to manatees) in the surrounding mangroves.  After asking local villagers if they see dugongs “yes” and crocodiles “no” we were told that the island was a secret place for men/boys and that girls were not allowed on land but they did say that us girls could swim in the water – no problem.  A traditional custom in the Duke of York Islands we’re told.

Day 47 – December 8

Becky and I went for an early morning snorkel near the mangroves in search of the dugong and once again were told by a local villager in his harsh voice “this island is for boys only NOT girls!”  Point taken. 

We swam back to the boat and sailed over to Kabakon Reef and anchored right at the edge of this massive reef.  As I was snorkeling in the shallow water I had a very close encounter with a 5ft black-tip reef shark.  I think we both scared each other equally.

Day 48 – December 9

Before sailing back to Rabaul we did a dive off the boat at Kabakon Reef and spent the remaining part of the day sailing 25 nautical miles back to Rabaul.  Most sailboats we’ve seen around tend to motor into Rabaul and put the anchor down – not us!  We tacked our way into Rabaul, taking over 2 hours to cover what would take us 10 minutes with the engine on.  As Bill says, “we are a sailboat and so we sail”.  I enjoy that we rarely use the engine and I’m beginning to see that there are not many sailboats out there with that mindset.

Day 49 – December 10

With the side scanner sonar on his boat, Rod found a new wreck in the bay.  It looked just like an airplane.  In the morning, Rod anchored his boat right over the plane and with our dive gear on we followed the anchor chain down to the sandy bottom at 60ft.  There we encountered a perfectly intact WWII Japanese Zero fighter plane.  You could even see the bullet holes scattered along the underside of the plane but since it had landed upside down we were not able to determine if the pilot was still inside the cockpit at the time the plane went down.  The plan (at a later date) was to dredge all the silty sand off the plane and try to make our way into the cockpit to see if the pilot was still there (or rather a pile of bones).

After the excitement of finding a “never before seen” WWII plane, we arranged for a PMV to drive us around town for the afternoon.  We stopped for a quick bite to eat at Ling’s Freezer and we headed off to the Vulconology Observatory high on the hillside.  After getting our fill of amazing views of all of Rabaul and her volcanoes, we headed over to the submarine base for some great snorkeling.  A few feet off the shore there’s an impressive vertical wall that drops down to 200ft.  During WWII the Japanese submarines would pull up to this wall to load supplies and also the let the soldiers walk across the shallow reef onto shore.

We finished off the evening at the happening Friday night spot – the Rabaul Yacht Club.  Since they only serve dinner on Friday night everyone seems to come us for this event – and by everyone I mean about 10 expatriates.