Photo Gallery - March 2004
Pictures can be clicked to see a large
version of the image.
One
of the dozens of little motus (islets) dotting the Eastern edge of the lagoon at
Ailuk Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
Another
shot of one of the little motus taken from a neighboring motu. The channels in
between the motus are often deep and wide and on the flood tide are filled with
fast moving clear ocean water.
A
group of kids who came aboard to look around while we were anchored at Enjallet
island in the Ailuk lagoon. Kate brought these kids back from the island when
she went to visit with Jonah.
All
the kids are back in the dinghy now for the ride back to shore.
There
goes the ferry.
Jonah
on an outrigger sailing canoe which came alongside to visit with us. Jonah just
jumped in the water and scampered up onto the canoe.
Two
of a group of three young girls, about 12 years old, who came to visit us two or
three times. Each time they brought beautiful shells like cowries and Kate
traded with them things like magiv markers, paper, lollipops and crayons.
The
three girls in their canoe heading back to shore.
Jonah
diving off the bow of the boat.
The
captain doing a cannonball dive.
Kate
looking beautiful while the sun sets behind her at Ailuk Atoll.
Every
couple of weeks while we are out at a remote island we have to burn garbage
(there is no place to dispose of it and after you get two or three bags piling
up it can be offensive onboard). In this photo the captain is spreading the
trash over a bed of leaves and sticks which he will then light.
Jonah
picks up a lobster off the cockpit floor to place it back in the bucket. The
lobsters were caught by David, a Marshallese who lives ashore. He collects them
at night on the outer reef and in the morning we trade with him things like
sugar, coffee, rice, etc. On this day we got six lobsters for a pound of rice, a
jelly jar filled with sugar, a 6oz jar of instant coffee (which we carry for
trading) and a 2oz packet of curry powder. On another day we traded rice, sugar
and a pack of cigarettes (which we also keep aboard for trade).
Jonah
examining the bucket of lobsters.
A
channel which separates two little motus (islets) in the lagoon. We took this on
the captains birthday at a beach where we played Petanque (boules).
Jim
from "Dancer" with Jeanette in the background. Jim is holding his
balls.
Jonah
makes a throw.
Measuring
the distance between each ball and the target ball determines who scores.
Cocktails
in the cockpit of the Queen Jane on March 15th, the skipper's birthday. From
left, James, Jim and Nina.
In
attendance are James and Pam from "Rainbow Chaser", Nina and Jerry
from "Arctracer" and Jim and Jeanette from "Dancer". In this
photo Jeanette and Kate are seen.
We
had a wonderful seafood chowder prepared by Jim, a fabulous Asian cabbage salad
by Nina and rice by Pam. Lobsters were cooked by the birthday boy with help from
Jim on the messy job of removing the meat.
The
Skipper gets a birthday hug from the Admiral.
The
reef out back. We anchored off a nice little islet about a third of the way down
from the top end of the atoll and right off our stern was this lovely reef. We
snorkeled here two or three times and saw some nice fish and healthy
coral.
An
outrigger sailing canoe passes us at anchor.
A
closer look at one of the wonderful sailing canoes of Ailuk Atoll.
A
typical scene at Ailuk Atoll with a lovely little islet (motu) with white sandy
beaches and a traditional sailing canoe in the foreground.
Chess
time on the Queen Jane. The skipper first taught Jonah to play chess almost 2
years ago. They have been playing once or twice a week since then and Jonah is
really starting to think strategically and show some promise. It won't be long
before he can beat Jordan.
The
first in a series of photos depicting the Coconut Cup Race and festivities. We
returned to Majuro from Ailuk in time to participate and the day of the race we
finally rounded up a seirious crew. Topping our list is Dr. Robin McIntyre whom
we first met in Fiji 2 years ago. Dr. Robin (as we like to call her) normally
serves as helmsperson on "Seal" who did not race this day, so we were
lucky to snag her with an 11th hour appeal. Robin originally arrived in Majuro
on her own yacht and has years of sailing experience.
The
talented and lovely Rebecca and Biana were assigned to sheet trimming with
Rebecca on the main sheet and Bianca on the mizzen sheet. Both girls teach on
Majuro at the Co-Op school and did a wonderful job during the race.
Crossing
the starting line before us, "C'est la Vie" (sailed by Keith and
Susan) ended up in 4th place in the race.
The
tri-maran "Windswept" which took 2nd place overall passes us just
after we cross the starting line. This sleek 65ft boat weighs next to nothing
and is said to go as fast as 25k in the right conditions. She is sailed by
Richard and Christine.
Jonah
on the windward deck during the race with Jane, one of the crew we picked up at
the pre-race meeting.
In
this photo you can see in the foreground Bruce (Jane's husband) and Jane again
on the port sidedeck and then Julie, a local nurse who also crewed with us.
The
littlest racer, the 8ft sailing dinghy "Turtle" skippered by Karen of
the yacht "Seal". As the only boat in the under 20' class Karen easily
won first prize.
At
the end of a great race, the skipper takes the helm from Dr. Robin for the final
leg. The Queen Jane crossed the finish line 7th out of 12 boats. Of those 12,
the first 3 finishers are all super go-fast machines like "Windswept"
shown above. Taking first place was "Roxanne", second place went to
"Windswept" and third to "Capricorn Cat", another
speed-demon catermeran.
On
our way back to the anchorage, Bruce (who lives and works on Kwajalein with his
family and owns a J-30) takes the helm while the rest of the crew furls sails.
Post-race
cocktails with the crew. Bruce and Jane are shown here. Bruce was absolutely
instrumental in our race performance. Bruce handled the jib sheets while the
skipper handled the jib furling line (which has to be hauled in for each tack to
clear the staysail stay).
Half
of our crack-a-jack crew enjoying a rest after the race. From left we have
Rebecca, Julie, Dr. Robin and Bianca. They not only did a great job but enjoyed
the race immesely.
Sarah,
a friend of Bruce and Jane's rounded out our crew. Sarah along with Jane and
Julie handled the jib on the foredeck during tacking. All three women did a
fabulous job doing perhaps the most demanding and dangerous task on board,
hauling the jib over between the jib stay and the staysail stay while tacking.
The Queen Jane has never sailed to efficiently and cleanly as she did that day.
The
highlite of the evening's festivities was the awarding of prizes. Since prizers
are awarded randomly, placing high in the standings does not mean getting a good
prize. Jonah picked number '6' from the hat and we won a whole heap of prizes.
Here is the crew with the emcee accepting our prizes. From left are Dr. Robin
McIntyre, Bianca, Rebecca, Julie, Bruce, Kate and Jonah (Sarah and Jane are
unfortunately not visible standing behind Julie and Kate). The cute little girl
in the front is "Miss. Coconut Cup" who posed with each crew.
The
winner of the outrigger canoe division (whose name escapes me now).
William
of the sailing vessel "Piet Hyne" took the honor of last place. But to
give him the proper credit he deserves, it should be noted that William is a
single-hander and raced with no crew at all (the fact that he is 75 years old
should not be counted in his favor however).
Debbie
and Jeff of "Sailor's Run" took 11th place.
Our
good friends Martin and Christe of "Windrunner" stand to collect their
prizes with their crewmember.
Our
arch-rivals "Karmaladen" stand in their coordinated costumes.
Karmaladen (skippered by Dr. Rixeene Ayers) beat us by less then one minute.
Standing
for 5th place are the owners and crew of "Kaimana". Ron Douglas on the
far right and his partner Liz to his right are residents of Majuro and have been
here almost 2 years now.
The
crew of "Windswept" which took second place should have also won the
distinction of having both the largest boat and the most crew. With 18 people on
board for the race she was well manned but still had plenty of space for all.
The
crew of the winning boat "Roxanne" a custom Wiley designed 65ft sloop.
Tom and Lynne and Jack and Tristan (ages 11 and 7) normally sail as a family,
but in the race had plenty of extra help as seen here.
As
part of the night's entertainment, a Marshallese Stick Dance was performed by a
group of young men.
The
next few photos show the Queen Jane in action as taken by crew on several other
boats. In this photo taken just after the starts you can see 'Roxanne"
passing us close by on the port side. "Windswept" is just to the aft
and upwind of "Roxanne" and will also pass us very soon after the
start. We managed to get an excellent starting position which helped us to do
well
In
this shot, taken just after the one above, the boat "C'est la Vie" has
already passed us (on the lee side) and "Windswept" can be seen
passing them. The Queen Jane is the Ketch at left with the blue stripe on the
jib.
Taken
from an upwind boat, this shot shows the Queen Jane racing ahead on a good
reaching tack.
This
closeup shows the Queen Jane right at the start of the race with "C'est la
Vie" just to leeward of us (their mast can be seen between the main and
mizzen).
Close
reaching on the final leg, the Queen Jane is looking good and running with
"a bone in her teeth" as they say. Conditions on race day were good
with light winds at the start of the race. In this photo, on the final leg, we
had about 16-18k of wind from the ENE. Of course, the lagoon is very calm giving
us near-perfect conditions .
