Pictures of the Yacht Race

When I wrote about our yacht race, I didn't yet have any pictures available. So enjoy!


On Learn to Sail Day, everybody got a chance to steer the Amulet and learn how to winch the sail sheets and halyards.





The following week we raced. You can see us in front of a charging stampede of sail boats, having just rounded the first marker.

Early on, despite some intense winching, we were able to frolic with one of our neighbours. It was nice to listen to live fiddle music while we raced by this boat.

Some advantage was to be had by holding out the jib sail. The task was shared by Nancy and I. Somebody said something funny and I stuck my tongue out.

The eventual winner of the race, the catamaran to our right, was unbeatable with its professional crew and lighter frame.

Here you see me winching furiously with Ali tailing the line behind me. The faster we winch, the more quickly we can tack the sail and re-gain speed.

Here's our race crew that evening at the Marshall Islands Resort for the after-race party. From left to right: Ali, me, Valerie, Darren, Nancy and Chris (skipper).

The Big Race

“Pull pull pull! Come on!!” came the almost angry yell from the wheel. In spite of borrowed gloves, my hands were raw and my arms exhausted. I heaved on the sheet line once more and wrapped it. Time was of the essence, we were losing wind power. I clamped on the handle and started cranking. Much slower than pulling by hand, the jib sail slowly unfurled and we began to gain speed.

The boat was tilted to the left so I was having trouble balancing and winching at the same time. I wedged my bare foot on a hard place to regain my balance and resumed winching as hard as I could.

After tacking our sails we had a moment to rest and strategize the next move. The race was going well. Only a catamaran with a professional crew was ahead. But in sailing, as in golf, there’s a handicap applied to you depending on your boat. So we’d need to beat certain of the boats trailing us by a significant margin (one by as much as 7 minutes) to hold 2nd place.

But by the time it was clear that no one else would catch us, I was handed the tiller. I now had rudimentary understanding about keeping the main sail most efficiently in the wind. It was sunny and breezy; perfect weather! I was incredibly focused. The boat needed constant course corrections to stay on target, but I still took moments to just look around and feel the sun.

The skipper eventually wanted the tiller back and we had to make two more tacks. We were exhausted but the finishing line was minutes away. Pulling hard, this time I furled the jib sail so that it could be shifted. When it was three-quarters furled, a crew mate began to furiously unfurl on the other side of the boat, so that it could get back into the wind. We managed to do it and then back again right at the end (and just in time to avoid hitting a Chinese fishing boat).

We ended up finishing 2nd. Hurray!

A rum drink was never quite so appreciated as after we moored the Amulet. It was a gruelling 2 hour long 11 mile course to one end of the lagoon and back. It was a fantastic day.

The Wacky Election List

This election (and its aftermath) gets wackier and wackier all the time. Here are some of my favourite moments:

1. On voting day, folks that voted had their finger dipped in a super-enduring black ink in order to prevent people from voting at more than one location. A good idea in principle, but the ink remained on people’s fingers in spite of washing for four more days.

2. Confusion at the Majuro Airport voting station led officials to require people to write their names on ballots, assuring a fair and anonymous vote.

3. Merely days after the vote, the AKA Party changed its name to UPP. (Presumably this would indicate a change in platform of some kind, as some senators switched parties in the process, but since there are no platforms, the purpose of the name change appears to be aesthetic.)

4. Mr. Tomeing, Speaker of the House, switched parties (to the opposition) and declared a One China policy (contradicting his own former government’s policy to recognize Taiwan). In so doing, he failed to remember to return the expensive solar panel equipment Taiwan donated in order to electrify his home atoll of Wotje.

5. The Constitution indicates that voting will be held on Monday. However, because voting booths started late and were so incompetently run, some people waited in line for up to 12 hours, forcing them to vote in the early hours of Tuesday. Some are advocating that these votes be discarded because they occurred in an illegal manner.

If I waited in line for 12 hours and then my vote didn’t count, I would have words with the person responsible for that.

Skipper at the Tiller

On Sunday morning a bedraggled bunch made their way into a meeting hall near the Shoreline Dock. The MIECO Yacht Club, of which Ali and I are members, was holding Learn to Sail Day, an opportunity for land-lubbers to learn how a sail boat ticks. The morning was like a class: handouts to study, chalkboard diagrams of the parts of a sail boat and even a test – can you tack a sail sheet?

One thing that is now clear is that there is no rope on a sail boat. What? There seem to be hundreds of ropes: to hoist and tack the sail, moor the boat, drop the anchor, etc. But no, there are no ropes on a sail boat. It’s called a rope when you buy it in the store, but the name magically changes to the likes of halyard or sheet… or line. Call it a rope and risk being laughed at, or worse, thrown overboard for your idiocy.

After lunch we left the classroom and got to actually sail boats. The sailboat owners, many of whom live on their boats, invited us on to take a ride. It was with great satisfaction that six of us volunteers climbed out of a dingy and onto the deck of The Amulet. We removed our flip flops – barefoot only! – and were given a little tour.

Our hosts were a really nice American couple that quit their engineering jobs in 1998 to sail around the world. They’ve been to 42 countries so far, including most of Europe, the Caribbean and the Pacific islands. They’re both hands-on, so they can repair the engine themselves and are pretty close to self-sufficient.

As we got underway I helped raise the main sail and unfurl the jib sails (smaller ones at the front). It was hard work. Everything was manual. Tightening could be done with a crank (which, like everything, had a special name, but I forget). Otherwise it’s about muscle power. Speaking of the ‘crank’, we were informed of the 2-splash rule. There are two of them and they each cost $100. If the skipper hears one splash, because the crank was dropped, he better hear another splash – to signify the sailor retrieving it.

We sailed around half of the atoll and turned around to return to port. Each of us got to steer the tiller. It wasn’t my first time steering a boat by any means, but manning a boat powered by wind is different! A sandbar was approaching and our GPS said we had to sail at more than 121 degrees from the shoreline to avoid it. (Ok, so some technology is useful!) I altered course and successfully avoided crashing the boat.

After we moored we shared some drinks and continued to get to know each other. We ended the evening with plans for next weekend. This Sunday there’ll be a big yacht race. So on Saturday we’ll be practicing tacking and jibing manoeuvres to get ready.

Extracurricular in Particular

Outside of work and snorkelling, I’m involved in a bunch of activities. Every Monday and Wednesday I play soccer or go to an aerobics class. Every so often some of the guys get together for Man Night, at which drinking, belching and poker go hand in hand. But the following activities are things I could only do here in Majuro.

Tutoring at WAM

WAM is a fantastic NGO that takes troubled older youth off the street and puts them through a 6 month carpentry course in which they work together to build the traditional outrigger canoes. On Thursdays at 4pm some of the World Teach volunteers and I tutor them in English. It’s a great chance for me to get out of the Ministry of Education to actually educate.

Scuba Diving Lessons

I’m reading a manual right now, but I’ll soon wet my feet with a scuba tank on my back. I’m excited to get going on this because once I’m certified I’ll be able to dive anywhere in the world. And what could possibly beat a coral atoll to scuba dive?

The Majuro Writers Guild

We don’t smoke pipes or wear tweed jackets, but once a month some friends, Ali and I exchange writing and read to each other. It’s a fun chance to get an audience for what I’m writing and also get valuable criticism. Wine and cheese are mandatory.

The Yacht Club

Starting next Sunday, Ali and I will be learning to sail. I’m really excited. The Majuro Yacht Club consists of a bunch of sailboat owners and locals like us that team up to race the yachts once a month. I’ll write more about that later since we’re just about to start next weekend.