Photo Gallery - February 2004
Pictures can be clicked to see a large
version of the image.
Christe
(Windrunner) and Kate with local woman on Airik at Maloelap Atoll.
A
meeting hourse on Airik island at Maloelap Atoll.
Some
very cute local girls at Airik Island.
A
woman at Airik frying breadfruit slices in a skillet.
Jonah
with some local boys and Christe from "Windrunner" on Airik.
Jonah
had a lot of fun on Airik skipping rope with the local kids. He had never done
it before and had a fun time learning how.
Kate
on Airik with some local kids (and stuffed dog she gave as a gift).
Christe
(Windrunner) and Kate mugging for the camera.
Jonah
loves cats. Here he is playing with cat in the village at Airik.
A
group of kids at Airik. The Marshallese children are all adorable and although
very shy at first warm up quickly.
A
house on Maloelap.
Jonah
and Tristan (Roxanne) playing together on Queen Jane. The next few shots shows
then diving off the bowsprit after which they would swim aft to the dinghy and
climb back into the boat.
Jonah
preparing to jump.
Jonah
in mid jump.
Jonah
and Tristan swimming aft along side the boat.
A
view of some of the beautiful motus (islets) which dot the lagoon at Maloelap
Atoll.
King
Jonah showing off a crown and Egyptian style arm bands he made with his mom in
art class.
The
skipper at work in the stbd. side cockpit locker. In this case he is working on
the water maker (desalinator) which stopped working while we were at Maloelap.
This can be a bad thing since there is no fresh water available on any of these
atolls so if we lose the ability to make our own we must leave and head back to
Majuro.
Another
shot showing the skipper in the locker. There really is lots of space in there,
but after several hours it can become gruelling.
One
of many beautiful sunsets seen from the cockpit of the Queen Jane. This one in
Maloelap.
This
remarkable photo almost looks fake the background is so incredible.
Another
shot of Jonah in the village of Airik with a little boy his age.
Jonah
and a bunch of local boys playing on the beach.
The
Queen Jane's dinghy at the beach on Airik island. This is the last photo you
will see of this dinghy. After returning to Majuro from Maloelap this rig was
sold to a local expat and replaced with a new Avon inflatable.
Well,
maybe one or two more photos. This is the starting line of the Backwards Dinghy
Race held in Majuro on Feb. 14th. The only rules are that dinghies must be run
stern first and pass each mark in order. A feature of the race is that each crew
is armed with buckets and water guns and attempts to detail the other crews by
filling their dinks with water.
This
shot actually was taken before the above photo and shows the pre-race "warmup"
activities. Basically crews are practiciing their water throwing
techniques.
The
starting gun has been fired and the dinghies are off. Jonah and Jordan
participated in the race. They came in dead last. Jordan choose to borrow a
3.5hp engine from Martin on "Windrunner" because this engine could be
swivelled 360 degrees and run in forward gear pointing backwards.
As
you may notice, Jordan and Jonah cannot be seen in this photo taken just after
the start. Unfortunately, due to unfamiliarity with the borrowed motor, Jordan
managed to fat finger the choke at the starting line and couldn't figure out why
the motor wouldn't produce any power.
Here
you can see them sitting in the middle of the course while Jordan curses at the
motor. By the time he realized what was wrong the race was almost over. He got
the motor going and finished the race in last place.
After
the race, at the Shoreline bar (right on the waterfront) the awards
"ceremony" was conducted. Prizes were mostly "jokes" and
were picked from a hat.
Another
shot of the awards party.
From
right, Ash (Karmaladen), Drew (Libby Lane) and an unknown friend of Ash's at the
dinghy race awards party.
Rixeene
of the yacht "Karmaladen" was the Master of Ceremonies (and
instigator) of the backwards dinghy race. Here she is (with whistle) on the
"committee boat" before the start of the race.
Kids
who participated received separate prizes consisting mostly of free ice creams
and passes to the local movie theatre.
Carey
and Karen of "Seal". Carey is American and Karen is Australian. They
have been living in Majuro aboard their Ingrid 38 for 2 years now. Karen works
at the local newspaper and Carey does boat repair for a local outfit.
One
of the fabulous sunsets seen in Majuro.
The
yacht "Windrunner" on race day (Feb 15th) moving towards the starting
line. The weather is less then perfect. Unfortunately due to the weather, very
few photos of the race exist. This is the only one we could find which was worth
showing. As you may also notice, there is very little (if any) wind. This was to
change within minutes of the start as the wind came up from 4k to 25k making for
an exciting race.
At
the post-race party and awards ceremony, each crew (which completed the race)
picks several prizes from a hat. In this shot we can see Jonah collecting a
prize for the Queen Jane after he picked from the hat (it is a folding beach
chair).
The
skipper had better luck and picked the best prize in the hat, a night at the
Outrigger Resort. The resort also hosts the races, which are held every 6 weeks
or so, and in this photo you can see Jordan posing with Grant the manager of the
resort. This photo also appeared in the local newspaper (thanks to Karen).
Ash
from "Karmaladen" showing of his prize. Ice cream for 2 at Spencers
Restaurant. Not all prizes are equal.
After
entering the lagoon at Ailook Atoll Kate mounts the mast pulpit to lookout for
coral heads which dot the lagoon.
One
of the coolest things about Ailuk is that the locals all get around (from one
islet to another within the lagoon) on sailing outrigger canoes. This one was
passing us as we were moving from one anchorage to another.
Here
he is picking up speed.
And
here is his with the outrigger out of the water! These babies really can move.
Some
of the smaller outriggers sailing around in front of the main islet at Ailuk.
Some
of the very beautiful islets at Ailuk Atoll.
Looking
North from an anchorage we can see little islets stretching along the Eastern
edge of the atoll.
Another
view from the Queen Jane at anchor in front of one of the lovely islets in the
Ailuk lagoon.
Our
parting shot this month showing mammoth breakers crashing onto the reef on the
windward side of the atoll between the little islets.
