Well it looks like things are improving and that we will leave tomorrow, Saturday morning, for Australia. We are seeing the sky through the rain clouds once in a while. But it is still pretty much raining non-stop.
Yesteray was a bust. The World Series games was cancelled due to rain in St. Louis. All the boaters here are getting itchy and wanting to leave. I spend most of the day working on Tom's computers getting the last bugs ironed out. He and Amy are totally stoked now. Their iPod now works and is full of new music. The computers now boot almost instantly and run much faster and smoother. I got their preferred chart system working... so Tom is thrilled to death.
Tom and Amy want to pimp me out to the other boats here. They keep asking me questions on how to get things working. Naw... I'm not here to work.
We have to go grocery shopping today to replace all the food stock we ate this week. Plus we need to do laundry, top off the tanks, scrub the dingy, and prepare the Sandpiper for sea. I probably won't be able to post again until Australia in a couple of weeks. But I will be posting daily noon reports to the Sandpiper's blog using the sideband shortwave email system. So please jump over there to keep up.
Friday, October 27, 2006
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Groundhog Day.... Vanuatu Style
Today is a repeat of yesterday, which is a repeat of the day before, and what tomorrow will be. Wake up at 6. Wander into town around 8 and take a cold shower at the yatch club guest showers. Then go down to Jill's for a breakfast buritto and a coffee. Wander back over to the Sandpiper and do some chores. Then back to town around noon and head to the bar for baseball and beer. Wander home drunk around dark and sleep off the buzz.
The cyclone has missed us. But the weather still sucks. So it looks like are might jump off on Saturday when the seas have calmed down a bit. We will see. There is another low developing that looks like it too will become a cyclone.
Not much to report. Just lots of rain, and lots of waiting, and lots of beer.
Last night we ended up at another pub that has a beautiful black cat with white paws named "Boots". Boots hangs out at the bar and jumps up on the bar top and rings a brass bell there. It is amazing to watch. Boots has no fear. The bar is named after him... "Boots Bar", and they even brew their own beer "Boots Brew" which features the cat on the label.
I will post again tomorrow. I'm off to the other other pub for World Series Games 4. The Poms here are giving us Yanks shit about the "World" series that only has one team from outside the US. We invited some Frenchies from another yatch to join us yesterday. But we heard that they didn't want to bother to learn anything about baseball in order to watch one game.
The cyclone has missed us. But the weather still sucks. So it looks like are might jump off on Saturday when the seas have calmed down a bit. We will see. There is another low developing that looks like it too will become a cyclone.
Not much to report. Just lots of rain, and lots of waiting, and lots of beer.
Last night we ended up at another pub that has a beautiful black cat with white paws named "Boots". Boots hangs out at the bar and jumps up on the bar top and rings a brass bell there. It is amazing to watch. Boots has no fear. The bar is named after him... "Boots Bar", and they even brew their own beer "Boots Brew" which features the cat on the label.
I will post again tomorrow. I'm off to the other other pub for World Series Games 4. The Poms here are giving us Yanks shit about the "World" series that only has one team from outside the US. We invited some Frenchies from another yatch to join us yesterday. But we heard that they didn't want to bother to learn anything about baseball in order to watch one game.
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Stuck in Vanuatu in a hurricane
Greetings all. It is Wednesday morning and I am sitting in a little Internet Cafe in Port Vila, Vanuatu, waiting for tropical cyclone Xavier to hit. Worse case senario, it is going to hit right here on Friday with 100mph winds. So we will see later today what the forcasts say.
It has been raining the last 24 hours, getting stronger and more steady. The winds have been fine. Some gusts. Nothing too bad. We are in a good anchorage. The only problem is that it is crowded. The locals have beached all the inter-island cargo ships on the beach behind us. They do this by running them straight into the island at high speed, and they go skidding up the beach and into a cliff. Then they tie them off to trees.
I really like Vanuatu. The people here are awesome. So friendly and nice. Sunday night I hooked up with some locals who took me to the real kava bars out in the jungles. I drank 3 large shells (cups) worth. I didn't loose sensation in my mouth, but I was really drunk. It works like a strong vodka, but taste like muddy water.
The kava bars are nothing but little grass shacks out in the jungle. There is a colored lamp out off the dirt road that lets you know where it is. Each bar has a designated color. We started at the green lamp kava bar, then went bar hopping to a bunch of other colors. The bar is nothinh but a plank of wood with a large garbage can of kava water behind it. They dip plastic bowls into the kava and serve it. The customers then take their bowl of kava and go off into he dark and sip it. There is no noise except the sound of men spitting, gurgleing, and clearing their throats. They wash the kava down with a swig of water that they spit out.
Nearby is a little food bar run by the local women. There they serve the local delicaies cheap and served on banana leaves. I had dinner there for about 40 US cents. The hygine leaves something to be desired... reminded me of the some of the local food servers in Haiti. Amy is too afraid to try them. The kava bars remind me of a backs woods moonshine distillery.
We were gonna leave here on Sunday AM. Now it looks like we may not be able to leave until this weekend. I don't know if that will allow me to go with Tom and Amy. I will have to call my boss back in Perth and see if I can get another week off.
One boat did leave port, one day early. The Sandpiper UK is now about half way to Australia. They are getting pretty beat up by the waves generated by Xavier. But they are out of harms way because they are putting more and more distance between them and the cyclone.
Tom and Amy are thinking about renting a hotel room if the cycle hit here. There really is not much you can do in the middle of a hurricane. So there is no point to staying on board and risk getting killed. All you can do it battan down everything as much a possible and cross your fingers. I still want to stay on board to run any pumps should we get a leak. But I think Capt. Tom is going to order me off.
So in the meantime we wait for the weather to clear by going to the bar and getting drunk while watching the World Series and Monday Night Football on satellite TV. That was a treat. Today we are heading for a noon drinking feast for game 3 of the world series. I talked to Jill, of Jill's American Cafe here in Port Vila. She is going to deliver us a big box of nachos for the game. Cool!
BTW... Jill's makes good mexican food. I've had her breakfast burittos everyday since I got here. Yum!
Nothing else exciting to report. I've been working on the Sandpiper's computers, getting them all up to snuff. I've brought a shit-load of new music and podcasts and other media with me. So all the other yatchies are coming over with their computers to get a copy. Most of the have been stuck with the same small music collection for months now. So they are realy craving some new stuff.
We bought Nacho Libre on DVD yesterday and watched it on board. I love that movie. It is very funny in it's own subtle way. Life is good... yes indeed.
More later.. check the Sandpiper's blog for more updates.
It has been raining the last 24 hours, getting stronger and more steady. The winds have been fine. Some gusts. Nothing too bad. We are in a good anchorage. The only problem is that it is crowded. The locals have beached all the inter-island cargo ships on the beach behind us. They do this by running them straight into the island at high speed, and they go skidding up the beach and into a cliff. Then they tie them off to trees.
I really like Vanuatu. The people here are awesome. So friendly and nice. Sunday night I hooked up with some locals who took me to the real kava bars out in the jungles. I drank 3 large shells (cups) worth. I didn't loose sensation in my mouth, but I was really drunk. It works like a strong vodka, but taste like muddy water.
The kava bars are nothing but little grass shacks out in the jungle. There is a colored lamp out off the dirt road that lets you know where it is. Each bar has a designated color. We started at the green lamp kava bar, then went bar hopping to a bunch of other colors. The bar is nothinh but a plank of wood with a large garbage can of kava water behind it. They dip plastic bowls into the kava and serve it. The customers then take their bowl of kava and go off into he dark and sip it. There is no noise except the sound of men spitting, gurgleing, and clearing their throats. They wash the kava down with a swig of water that they spit out.
Nearby is a little food bar run by the local women. There they serve the local delicaies cheap and served on banana leaves. I had dinner there for about 40 US cents. The hygine leaves something to be desired... reminded me of the some of the local food servers in Haiti. Amy is too afraid to try them. The kava bars remind me of a backs woods moonshine distillery.
We were gonna leave here on Sunday AM. Now it looks like we may not be able to leave until this weekend. I don't know if that will allow me to go with Tom and Amy. I will have to call my boss back in Perth and see if I can get another week off.
One boat did leave port, one day early. The Sandpiper UK is now about half way to Australia. They are getting pretty beat up by the waves generated by Xavier. But they are out of harms way because they are putting more and more distance between them and the cyclone.
Tom and Amy are thinking about renting a hotel room if the cycle hit here. There really is not much you can do in the middle of a hurricane. So there is no point to staying on board and risk getting killed. All you can do it battan down everything as much a possible and cross your fingers. I still want to stay on board to run any pumps should we get a leak. But I think Capt. Tom is going to order me off.
So in the meantime we wait for the weather to clear by going to the bar and getting drunk while watching the World Series and Monday Night Football on satellite TV. That was a treat. Today we are heading for a noon drinking feast for game 3 of the world series. I talked to Jill, of Jill's American Cafe here in Port Vila. She is going to deliver us a big box of nachos for the game. Cool!
BTW... Jill's makes good mexican food. I've had her breakfast burittos everyday since I got here. Yum!
Nothing else exciting to report. I've been working on the Sandpiper's computers, getting them all up to snuff. I've brought a shit-load of new music and podcasts and other media with me. So all the other yatchies are coming over with their computers to get a copy. Most of the have been stuck with the same small music collection for months now. So they are realy craving some new stuff.
We bought Nacho Libre on DVD yesterday and watched it on board. I love that movie. It is very funny in it's own subtle way. Life is good... yes indeed.
More later.. check the Sandpiper's blog for more updates.
Friday, October 20, 2006
Women - Know your limits!
Hey.. I'm gotta run off to catch my flight to Vanuatu. I'll be posting updates on the Sandpiper's Blog. In the meantime, I think you will really enjoy this public service film called "Women - Know Your Limits!".
And oh yea... for Chris. I feel fine. I'm super confident all will be fine. I will know for sure in later November when I go back in for follow up tests. Ya'll have a happy Holloween.
Ron
And oh yea... for Chris. I feel fine. I'm super confident all will be fine. I will know for sure in later November when I go back in for follow up tests. Ya'll have a happy Holloween.
Ron
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Mid October Update
Greetings...
Sorry for the long absense. I haven't updated since mid August, for multiple reasons. And, I won't be able to post again until the middle of November.
Since mid August, I've been away on a couple of trips. I went home to Santa Barbara to help out on the Santa Barbara Triathlons. I also took a road trip out the Kalgoorlie in the Western Australia Gold Fields for the Kalgoorlie Cup, a horse race out there.
Right now I am getting ready to leave to join my brother on his sailboat, the S/V Sandpiper, in Vanuatu in the South Pacific. I am going to crew with him and his wife on a voyage across the Coral Sea to Queensland Australia. So, I won't be around any Internet access for a few weeks.
Before I left for California, I broke down and bought myself something that I've wanted for years and year. A good camera. I've never taken a lot of photos in the past because I do not like the images produces with your average point-n-shoot camera. I've been lusting over the new generation of Digital SLR's from Canon and Nikon since they first hit the market in the late 1990's.
So I bought myself a Canon 30D... a semi-professional 8MP Digital SLR. What a sweet camera. It takes amazing pictures. So I have been spending a lot of my free time learning how to use it. I created an online photo gallery at Fotki. Click here to go to my new photo gallery. I'm really happy with this purchase. I know that it will last me for years and allow me to take good photos for the rest of my life.
I also had a cancer scare. I was very sick in September and was diagnosed with a strong possiblity of prostate cancer. I've been getting treatment for the last few weeks with some powerful meds, which have left me very tired. So I have not had a lot of energy at the end of the day. The good news that the it looks like it won't be cancer, but instead a serious infection of the urinary tract system. Same symptoms. I will know for sure when I get back after the boat trip and get some more tests done. But after three weeks of treatments I feel a lot better, stopped bleeding, and the pain has dropped significantly.
I've also been super busy getting ready for this sailing trip, trying to get some work projects put to bed. I've been collecting, organizing, and burning hundreds of gigabytyes digital media for Tom and Amy to enjoy while on the boat. That has taken more time than I anticipated. It should keep them entertained for a good six months at sea!
So until I get back from my voyage, please check out my photo gallaries. I posted photos from the trip to Santa Barbara, the trip out to Kalgoorlie, my trip out to Uluru earlier this year, and some other misc. albums.
Sorry for the long absense. I haven't updated since mid August, for multiple reasons. And, I won't be able to post again until the middle of November.
Since mid August, I've been away on a couple of trips. I went home to Santa Barbara to help out on the Santa Barbara Triathlons. I also took a road trip out the Kalgoorlie in the Western Australia Gold Fields for the Kalgoorlie Cup, a horse race out there.
Right now I am getting ready to leave to join my brother on his sailboat, the S/V Sandpiper, in Vanuatu in the South Pacific. I am going to crew with him and his wife on a voyage across the Coral Sea to Queensland Australia. So, I won't be around any Internet access for a few weeks.
Before I left for California, I broke down and bought myself something that I've wanted for years and year. A good camera. I've never taken a lot of photos in the past because I do not like the images produces with your average point-n-shoot camera. I've been lusting over the new generation of Digital SLR's from Canon and Nikon since they first hit the market in the late 1990's.
So I bought myself a Canon 30D... a semi-professional 8MP Digital SLR. What a sweet camera. It takes amazing pictures. So I have been spending a lot of my free time learning how to use it. I created an online photo gallery at Fotki. Click here to go to my new photo gallery. I'm really happy with this purchase. I know that it will last me for years and allow me to take good photos for the rest of my life.
I also had a cancer scare. I was very sick in September and was diagnosed with a strong possiblity of prostate cancer. I've been getting treatment for the last few weeks with some powerful meds, which have left me very tired. So I have not had a lot of energy at the end of the day. The good news that the it looks like it won't be cancer, but instead a serious infection of the urinary tract system. Same symptoms. I will know for sure when I get back after the boat trip and get some more tests done. But after three weeks of treatments I feel a lot better, stopped bleeding, and the pain has dropped significantly.
I've also been super busy getting ready for this sailing trip, trying to get some work projects put to bed. I've been collecting, organizing, and burning hundreds of gigabytyes digital media for Tom and Amy to enjoy while on the boat. That has taken more time than I anticipated. It should keep them entertained for a good six months at sea!
So until I get back from my voyage, please check out my photo gallaries. I posted photos from the trip to Santa Barbara, the trip out to Kalgoorlie, my trip out to Uluru earlier this year, and some other misc. albums.
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