s/v Field Trip

I have had a cold for the last few days and I was in need of more medicine. We drove to the pharmacy and while mom was checking out, the lady at the cashier said that there would be a solar eclipse at 2:50pm! When we got back into the car, we told Michael, Dad, and Nana. They were all excited and Michael set an alarm on his watch for when it was supposed to happen. I felt so thrilled because the last time we tried to see a solar eclipse , we had missed it because we had the time wrong. I hoped that this time we would be accurate! To pass time, we all visited the museum in town. The main entrance fee was way too expensive, so we payed for the cheaper art gallery. I was disappointed because the museum was supposed to be well-made with lots of information. However, the art that an American woman did was beautiful. She made batik works depicting village and city life. I think Nana really enjoyed seeing the different paintings and their meanings. After browsing for 30 minutes, I ...

You have to ring that bell, Michael!   That’s what Elizabeth said to me a few minutes ago, before I approached the rock climbing wall at the Festival of Lights at Harvest Baptist Church in Guam.   The setup lady starts to tighten the straps on the harness encasing my legs, and I look up at the rock wall looming in front of me, trying to plot my path. When she is finished, I walk over to the base of the wall, where a guy hooks me onto the line and says, “You’re good to go!” Getting geared up I reach for the first plastic rock jutting out of the wall, then place my bare foot on another below me. I hoist myself up and start to ascend quickly.  Too quickly. My right foot slips out from under me about five feet off the ground, and the contraption slowly lowers me to the floor. I look around quickly, hoping the guy wouldn’t say that was it. Luckily, he had his back turned, so I start up again, more careful this time. About seven feet up, my...

...A look back at the family times together before all the quarantine and isolation (you know, when we chose all that together time?)... It is Christmas number eight since moving aboard way back in 2011, and we find ourselves enjoying a bit more of an American holiday than in years past.  After realizing we’d need to come all the way to Guam from Phuket, Thailand for our Volvo engine replacement (it had to be done in a US territory to qualify for the manufacturer’s recall), it was so good to finally arrive.  We traveled over 4,000 miles through 6 countries/territories, one tropical storm, pirate-infested seas, and some of the bumpiest waters we've ever encountered.  It’s time to celebrate. None of the ornaments or decorations could be put up until our passages were over.  Who wants to clean up a toppled Christmas tree while seasick??  Not me!  So in the first few days we arrive, decking the ‘hulls’ is at the top of our crew duties list.  Matt...

Sweet kids of MogMog MogMog Island, Ulithi Atoll “It’s turned into a tropical storm, but all the weather forecasts show it going well north of us.”  Famous.  Last.  Words.   On our way from Yap to Guam, we opted to stopover in the Ulithi Atoll, just to regroup and rest.  It wasn’t a planned stop, but we all needed a welcomed break from the seas.  Of course, because it wasn’t planned, we hadn’t told anyone in Ulithi we were coming.  When we dropped the anchor just off the beach of MogMog Island, we immediately got a call on our VHF radio with a polite voice asking why we were there, how many people were onboard, and what our intentions were.  We assured them we meant no harm and were simply stopping to give our family a rest.  Then we all piled in the dinghy with a small gift in hand for the chief (an LED flashlight) to say hello to our new neighborhood. Chief Stanley offers a warm welcome Chief Stanley greeted us on sh...

The Land of Stone Money, Jam Sessions, and Birthday Bashes  Traditional Meeting House and Stone Money “We have a weather window that might get us all the way to Guam,” Mark announced one morning at breakfast.  The typhoon season is supposed to be coming to an end, and the tradewinds are scheduled to fill in fiercely at anytime.  This trip up to Guam was going to be tricky.  Our choices of typhoons vs. head-on tradewinds left no easy option.  The best scenario would be to wait until a low weather system passes and brings with it uncommon winds from the south that would be pushing us the entire way, or a period of little to no wind in which we could motorsail most of the way.   The entire trip from Palau to Guam is about 700 miles, which would take us about 5 full days to complete.  Yap Island is about 250 miles from Palau, on the rhumb line to Guam, and offers a great stopping point if we need a breather.  Would we stop or continue on...