EYE of the World: February 2010

Saturday, February 27, 2010

A Basket of Goods: Colón

Although the city itself is relatively dangerous and a mere glimmer of a much richer past, we have been astounded by the amount of goods available here. Since the city is a major shipping port, the main drag next to the commercial pier (a free trade zone) has almost anything you could want.

We made a trek several blocks to the city McDonald's to check on our local basket. There were pairs of police officers every two blocks, without which we would have felt much less safe. It proved to be a successful trip, and here are the local prices (the local currency is the US Dollar).

Big Mac: $1.55
Coke: $1
Haircut: $5

ABG

EYElympics: Haiku Results!

Thank you to everyone who sent in votes for their favorite haiku! Even though judging was open for only a short time, we had a tremendous response! The votes have been tallied, and here are the results:

Gold: Alan
17 votes
Poem #1
Cold, sweet, can't be beat
When our lips meet, you just melt
See you soon ice cream.

Silver: Trevor
11 votes
Poem #3
Dreams of ice cream cakes
Replaced by salty foulies
It's my turn for watch.

Bronze: Adam
8 votes
Poem #2
One, vast horizon
Songs and stars call young sailors
Landfall comes too soon.

Well done everyone!

EYElympics

The San Blas Islands are part of Panama, but since they're administered separately and are vastly different from anything else we've seen so far, they're getting their own top ten!

10) Coconuts are a staple of life - they are exported, cooked with, and even used as coals for cooking and smoking fish. Even their chickens are kept plump with shredded coconut meat.

9) Standard meals consist of rice and fish (often infused with coconut somehow). Sweet ketchup has been served with every rice dish.

8) The primary (and only) mode of transportation throughout the islands is by dugout canoe. Paddled, sailed, or powered by outboard motor - it's the best way to get around!

7) Older women wear traditional Kuna clothing. Skirt bottoms with 'Mola' blouse tops are the norm. Their shins and wrists are often adorned with colorful bracelets, while noses are often pierced with gold studs. Younger girls, however, dress just like girls in the US do.

6) Although they adhere to a traditional lifestyle, every Kuna we met had a cell phone. From older women to young children, everyone liked keeping in touch.

5) The Kuna culture is changing along with the times. Elliot (the 14 year old we met) grew up in a fishing family, but he has dreams to move to a big city and work with computers. A great opportunity for Elliot, but it would mean that his family would lose the right to stay on their piece of land.

4) The coconuts here are harvested only after they fall - no climbing trees to get the sweet juicy ones!

3) The Kuna are an autonomous group. They do not directly identify with either Colombia or Panama, but rather adhere to their own culture.

2) Every Kuna was at least bilingual. Everyone studies Spanish in school, and many know English as well. Courses in school are taught in Spanish from sixth grade onward. When speaking to each other and at home however, they speak their native language (also called 'Kuna').

1) The local currency is the US Dollar (or the Panamanian Balboa), however a strong barter economy exists as well. Coconuts, fish, and molas are all a medium of exchange.

Tekimalo!!!!!!!

One of the most distinctive things about the Kuna lifestyle is their dependence on boats, namely the dugout canoe. Considering that most of the land they live on is made up of small coastal islands, this makes a lot of sense. They are used for transportation as well as fishing, and the owners take great pride in maintaining them and keeping their bottoms painted with tar to prevent rot. The most popular design, the round-bottom dugout canoe (above left), is between 10 and 15 feet long - but we have seen some as long as 20 feet. Almost all are paddled with large traditional wooden paddles (above right), which are optimized for propulsion and steering from the stern like a rudder. We have also seen long poles used for getting around in the shallow water. Some of the larger canoes have been fitted with modern outboard motors but most of the smaller ones use paddles.

Almost every canoe we have seen (even some very big ones) has been impressively carved from one large log. "Canallete" wood, the wood of choice, is harvested on the mainland where it is split and hollowed. Initially the log half is hollowed by burning out the center, or heart wood. This process can take many days. Finally, the inside and outside of the hull are carved to the final shape using planes and carving tools. Some of the dugouts we have seen have been repaired with metal patches nailed over cracks to keep them from spreading and to stop leaks, but as with any small boat there is usually someone bailing water.

The sailing dugout canoe is another common sight and allows for faster and easier travel from island to island. Sailing canoes have mast steps for sailing rigs and removable amas (or pontoons) for additional stability. The rig (mast and sail) of choice is the simple yet effective "boomless sprit rig" with a small triangular headsail. There is even a large sailing canoe regatta held in Porvenir with "hundreds of boats," we are told.

These boats are not for show. They are hardened workboats used everyday and allow the fisherman to catch fish to feed their families or to transport coconuts, bananas, and other fresh fruit to market.

TSS

Clearance into the San Blas Islands and Panama

Our arrival in the San Blas islands from Colombia was different than all of our previous landfalls in new countries; no bureaucrats were in sight.

It was a morning arrival after 40 hours of offshore sailing, and we first dropped anchor in a beautiful bay surrounded by the Cocos Banderas islands. Besides the other sailboats and two friendly Kuna in a canoe, there were no signs of civilization.

So how did we check in and formally enter Panama? We didn't- at least not right away. The San Blas Islands are part of the Republic of Panama, but have a long tradition of independence and self-administration. We were aware that it would be perfectly acceptable and legal to cruise the San Blas islands from East to West for a few days before clearing into Panama at a town called Porvenir.

So we did! We had an exciting and edifying time among the pristine home islands of the Kuna before arriving in Porvenir this morning to take care of customs and immigration.

We dropped anchor, called a friendly boater on VHF channel 68 to find out where the government offices were located, and rowed the dinghy to shore.

First was immigration clearance- a straightforward stamping of passports and payment of $30 USD. Next we visited the port authority office to purchase a 30-day Panamanian cruising permit ($29) and obtain a domestic Zarpe ($12.70), a document that would allow us to sail to our next stop of Colon.

We are now all set to make the overnight jump to Colon, where we will present our internal Zarpe and have our passports checked.

Colon also features the Caribbean entrance to the Panama canal, which we will be attempting to transit in the coming weeks. Stay tuned for posts on the interesting and unique process of transiting the Panama Canal in a sailboat!

SOG

Spotlight on Kuna City Life

On our final day in the San Blas Islands, we had the opportunity to wander through the 'streets' of the town of Porvenir. While some Kuna spend their time rotating amongst outlying islands, many also keep homes here in the 'city.'

The island of Porvenir is not much larger than any of the others, but what makes this an ideal site for a city is the available fresh ground water. On all the other islands, water is brought in by boat, but here in Porvenir, it is piped in from wells via underground PVC pipe. This vital necessity is what makes this landscape differ from most other islands.

The town itself is completely walkable. There are no cars or roads - only narrow paths that meander between blocks of houses. The structures themselves vary from dirt-floored bamboo huts to full two story cinder-block houses. Most did not have electricity, save for the occasional generator or solar panel. The two stores in town sold snacks and beverages kept cold by propane refrigerators.

On the island we also found a one room school and a medical clinic, both of which are funded by the Panamanian government. Some individual houses sported tv antennas, and one even had a laptop powered by a car battery (we were told a neighbor had a wireless internet router too).

Although some parts of the Kuna lifestyle seem idyllic, others give light to their impoverished condition. Sanitation facilities consist of outhouses suspended over the water (in which we saw some people bathing), the diet variety is very limited, and labor opportunities are restricted to fishing and tourism.

Aside from this, however, we found the level of education here to be high (most spoke impressive spanish, and some even knew english), the streets kept clean, and the culture to be extremely kind and respectful.

SWC

School's Out!

It's winter vacation. Two months at your parent's hut on a picturesque island in the San Blas Archipelago in Panama. You sleep in a hammock at night, help your dad hunt fish, lobster, and conch during the week, and sometimes take a boat over to the next island where he farms coconuts, bananas, mamey fruit, and avocados. Then you spend the rest of your time helping your mother cook fish with rice and playing with your puppy "Negra." Sound nice?

This was the life of Elliot, a fourteen-year old eighth grader who we met today. Elliot is a member of the Kuna tribe, a group of indigenous people who inhabit the San Blas islands. The Kuna are famous for having been able to preserve their lifestyle, culture, and language in the face of the changes of the 20th century. Elliot speaks Kuna at home with his parents, and during his winter vacation he lives on a secluded island much as his ancestors have lived for the past few centuries.

The 8th of March, however, is the beginning of a new ten month-long school year. Elliot will move back to Rio Diablo, another island where a small town and school are located. Elliot was looking forward to returning to town to catch up with his friends and continue his studies. In addition to mathematics and social sciences, he studies Spanish and English at school; he is well on his way to his goal of being trilingual. Elliot is also a proud computer science student and already has a Facebook profile!

After school, Elliot enjoys playing volleyball, soccer, and basketball with his friends and sometimes watches movies in English to practice his language skills. We had a very nice time meeting and sharing lunch with Elliot and his hospitable parents at their island home. We wish him the best of luck with his future studies. Teki malo!

SOT

Home is Where the Heart Is

The Kuna people on the San Blas Islands live a lifestyle full of tradition, but land ownership isn't one of them.

There are 365 islands that make up the San Blas, but there are few population centers. Rio Diablo and Porvenir are the major 'towns,' but the rest of the islands are sparsely populated. Most contain a handful of thatch huts and a few families, but not much more.

We learned that (with a few exceptions), these huts and islands are not the property of any one family, but rather are communally owned. A family will spend a month living in a set of huts on one island, and then move to another island the next month. Any coconuts and fish that are harvested during their time on an island belong to them, but the land they live on does not.

This rotation ensures that every family spends an equal amount of time at the more and less productive land in the San Blas. The concept of ownership does indeed exist - people have their own clothes, hammocks, and boats - but land and homes are shared.

We had an opportunity to spend a day with the Morris family. They are a unique exception to the land-sharing tradition. The land their home is on has been with their family for four generations. With every coming month, they get to stay in the same place, while new neighbors come and go. By staying in one place, they have cultivated fruit and other crops nearby.

Their neighbors change every month. Some are nice (like the ones they have now), but some are noisy. With the annoying ones, at least they don't hang around for too long!

Made in the San Blas: Coconuts!

From Florida throughout most of the Carribean, coconuts are fair game. Bahamians even seemed to be sick of eating them. The San Blas Islands, though, are a different story.

The Kuna Indians inhabit this archipelago of islands. Within sight of the Panamanian coast, these islands are separated by reefs and deep water, and are themselves packed thick with coconut palm trees. Helping ones self to the coconuts however, is not permitted here. These trees aren't simply planted here for ornamental sake (as in much of Florida and the Bahamas); these trees are natural and serve as one of the forms of local agriculture.

Aside from fishing, coconut export is one of the sources of livelihood for the Kuna. They collect the coconuts as they fall to the ground and once a month, boats from Colombia swing through and buy the nuts.

The Kuna sell the coconuts for 25 cents each, or trade them for necessities (rice, fuel, etc). Even while maintaining a very traditional lifestyle, the Kuna are keyed into the global economy.

MIN

While waiting for the haiku votes to finish coming in, we held our fifth EYElympics event: The Dinghy Row!

At most of the places we visit, we drop anchor in a harbor, lift our dinghy into the water, and then row to shore. Sometimes we just swim, other times we're lucky to get on a dock, but most of the time, we row.
For the competition, each participant would start in the dinghy next to the shrouds, row to shore, hop out and touch a designated tree, and then row back to the boat. It was an individual race against the clock, and the shortest overall time would win.

The competitors battled hot conditions, but thankfully, each was rewarded with a cool swim at the finish line. Here are the results:
Gold: Adam - 2:13.25
Silver: Alan - 2:17.52
Bronze: Trevor - 10:18.00

Well done to all!

EYElympics

EYElympics: Haiku Competition

During a crossing, there's plenty of time available to be creative. Thus, we took advantage of our trip from Cartagena to the San Blas Islands for our next EYElympics event: The Haiku Competition!

Much like figure skating, this event requires, grace, poise, and stamina - and it's also a judged event! Here are the rules:

Each crewmember is required to come up with a poem that fits the haiku format (5-7-5 syllables). They will be anonymously posted on the website, and then YOU, the followers of EYE of the World, need to vote for the best one.

Send an e-mail to crew@eyeotw.org with your vote (limit one vote per person). Judging will be open for three days, and the results will be announced on www.eyeotw.org.

Here are the poems:

1) Cold, sweet, can't be beat
When our lips meet, you just melt
See you soon ice cream.

2) One, vast horizon
Songs and stars call young sailors
Landfall comes too soon.

3) Dreams of ice cream cakes
Replaced by salty foulies
It's my turn for watch.

Send in your votes now!!!

EYElympics

Coming Event in Virginia: The EYE of the World Meet and Greet

Date: March 12, 2010
Time: 6:00 PM
Place: Virginia Air and Space Museum in Hampton, VA
For: Any Educators, Parents, Supporters, Fans, and Followers

Come learn more about the inner workings of EYE of the World. Meet participating teachers, board members, and even a current crew member!

Featuring:

Lisa Palmer, 5th Grade Teacher at Riverside Elementary
Lisa is going to give a recap of a presentation she prepared for a professional development seminar about distance learning opportunities and techniques (featuring EYE of the World!).

Adam Domanski, Educational Director and current crewmember aboard the WTP
Adam will be making a trip back from Panama and will give a brief presentation about the educational program, life on the boat, and next steps for the WTP.

Alan Witt, Chairman, Board of Directors
Alan will give an overview of the ground work that goes into making EYE of the World go round. He will discuss volunteer opportunities and ways for you to get involved.

In addition, you will get a chance to meet and mingle with other fans of the program, past crewmember Liz Newton, as well as two of our most active teachers, John Poole and Lamont Draft (both from Lindsay Middle School in Hampton, VA).

All are welcome (especially current students and parents)!

SEE YOU THERE!!

The Colombia Top Ten!

We had a short, yet very exciting time in Cartagena, Colombia. The walled city, the beach, papayas, and ceviche all kept us busy. Here are some of the things we learned:

10) There are a lot of entrepreneurial street vendors. From mobile coffee vendors to people sitting on stools renting out time on their cell phone, there were lots of people doing what they can to better themselves.

9) You can buy anything you want on the street. There are malls and grocery stores as well, but everything you need is available from a street vendor. Delicious food, shoes, and washing machines can by purchased from the commercial market square in the old town.

8) Walking around the city we felt very safe. In the harbor, unfortunately, cruisers are a target. Three locked dinghys were stolen in the week prior to our visit.

7) Although Cartagena is a metropolitan city, the countryside is poor. The Colombian government is in an ongoing conflict with a militant drug-financed guerrilla group known as the Farc. One church had photos posted of neighborhood police officers that had been kidnapped and are currently being held captive. All of them had been in custody for over 10 years.

6) Taxis have their license plates painted on their roofs so that they can be monitored/pursued by helicopters. Motorcycle taxi drivers have to wear vests with their license plate on them.

5) Cartagena was Spain's primary port in the western world. They spent massive amounts of resources fortifying and protecting the city, and much of South America's gold passed through its harbor on Spanish Galleons.

4) Colombia is one of the USA's closest military allies in South America.

3) Homemade ice cream that you can buy on the street (called paletas and costing approximately 600 pesos) is reason enough to visit Cartagena.

2) Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Colombian national and Nobel Literature Laureate) has a house in Cartagena.

1) Colombia es un lugar muy lindo, la gente es muy amable.

FTA

One of the most beautiful parts of Cartagena is known as the Walled City, or Amurallada en espanol. Today it is a historic district full of street vendors, bountiful marketplaces, residences, restaurants, shops, schools, museums, and picturesque parks. The nearly 7 miles of prominent stone walls that surround the city were completed in 1756 after 208 years of construction funded by Spain to protect the city from further attack and takeover. Today these walls still stand and offer great views of the ocean to the West. Walking along the wall around the city is very impressive. If only we could have traveled back to 1756 to see what it was like with cannons and guards at every watch tower; what a sight that would have been.

The streets are narrow and the buildings many different colors, some with elaborate entrances and flowering vines growing up the outer walls. Parks with fountains and beautiful landscaping as well as lively cobblestone squares can be found at every other corner. The architecture of the buildings has been very carefully preserved in this part of the city in order to maintain the old historic atmosphere.

Many people work within the walled city and many kids also go to school there. When the work day is over and school lets out the streets come alive. We were completely surrounded by friendly people walking around enjoying the afternoon breeze, buying food from street vendors, shopping, or just relaxing in one of the many parks. The walled city is definitely a must see in Cartagena.

WWI

On a trip back to the boat on Wednesday night, we thought we heard the exciting sounds of a soccer game being played nearby. We were a bit skeptical because we were in the densely-populated residential neighborhood of Manga in Cartagena. Where could they fit a soccer field?

It turned out that we were right- sort of. We came upon a small stadium complex with a concrete playing surface slightly bigger than a tennis court. On it were men playing a game similar to soccer that they call "Futbol de Salon" or "Futsal." The ball and goals were smaller than normal, each team fielded 6 players (including the goalie), and there was no offsides rule, but the principles were the same.

The footwear of choice appeared to be Converse High-Tops and the referee was handing out yellow cards fairly liberally to discourage rough play; a fall on concrete is no joke!

In addition to the Wednesday night league that we watched, the Club Deportivo Real Manga complex serves as a formative Futsal school for children, offering classes three times a week from 4:30 to 6:00 PM. We saw both boys and girls enjoying learning the game after school let out.

Colombia's national pastime is undeniably soccer (or Futbol as it is called here), but Futsal allows city dwellers like those in Cartagena to learn, watch, and play a slightly modified version of the beautiful game. iViva Futsal!

SOT

Customs and Immigration clearance is always an interesting process. Here in Colombia, it made us feel like detectives.

After a pitching, rolling, and rollicking five day crossing of the Caribbean, we dropped anchor in Cartagena outside of the Club Nautico. The first step when we reach any new country is to hoist the yellow quarantine ("Q") flag and follow whatever procedures are necessary to legally enter the country. Adam got the scoop on what to do from a boat anchored nearby and we headed off with passports in hand to find the customs agent, who allegedly hung out at a nearby grocery store.

Here's a rough translation of the interaction:
Friendly Supermarket Delicatessen Senorita: "Good morning, what would you like?"
Trevor: "Yes, good morning, we just arrived on a boat you see, and we were told to come to this supermarket to look for a large German man named Manfred, who works with customs, and with whom we need to speak about stamping our passports."
FSDS: (Blank stare, pause).
Trevor: "We were told he hangs around here during the day."
FSDS: "Hmmm. Well, there is another, larger supermarket a few blocks away, you may want to check there."

So we kept walking, found the larger store, and had a very similar interaction with another unsuspecting delicatessen employee. At that point we approached an American-looking (white socks and tennis shoes) couple who appeared to belong to a boat (they were sporting croakies and sunglasses tans). They confirmed that Manfred indeed existed and was probably sitting in the internet cafe on the other side of the store. Eureka!

Manfred was an interesting customs agent who collected a portion of the 150,000 peso immigration fee in return for processing our passports and paperwork. It was the first time that we have not had any interaction with a government official during the clearance process. It turned out to be a fairly simple routine- we showed Manfred the boat paperwork and left our passports with him. The only challenge was tracking him down again two days later. When he returned our passports we found a page with the Colombian entrance and exit stamps, complete with an official's note handwritten in pen- "William T. Piquette." All at once, we were in and out!

SOG

A Basket of Goods: Cartagena, Colombia

We missed our basket back in Jamaica. Cokes and haircuts were abundant, but apparently there isn't a McDonald's on the island! There are Burger Kings and KFCs in Kingston, but certainly nothing of the sort existed up in quiet Port Antonio.

We're picking back up here in Colombia. In Cartagena, Cokes are easy to find at any grocery store, places to get a haircut are about as common as in the US, but the only McDonald's in the area is a cab ride away in the Boca Grande area. Here are the prices (remember that they use the Colombian Peso here):

Big Mac: 7200 pesos
Haircut: 12000 pesos
Coke: 2000 pesos

ABG

EYElympics: The Price Haggle!

Since leaving the US, almost every price has been negotiable. From meals, taxi rides, fruit, and even postcards, every transaction begins with some haggling before a final price is reached. The person selling the good or service is trying to guess the highest price the buyer would be willing to pay, while the consumer is attempting to guess the lowest price that the seller is willing to accept for the good.

Price Haggling is the second event of the EYElympics. The rules were clear: each participant was to go out into the city and buy a papaya for the lowest price possible. The papayas would then be weighed, and the medals would be awarded in order of lowest price per kilogram.

The crew set off, and within 20 minutes, each had a large, beautiful papaya to show for their efforts. Trevor used his language skills and bearded charm to his best advantage with a street vendor; Adam's wild gesticulatory nature proved useful with another street vendor; while Alan utilized his engineering mindset and proceeded directly to a grocery store.

The results are as follows:

Gold: Trevor - 1365 pesos/kg
Silver: Adam - 1630 pesos/kg
Bronze: Alan - 3240 pesos/kg

Well done everyone!

EYElympics

EYElympics!

As the Winter Olympics begin in Vancouver, here on the WTP, we are participating in our own, circumnavigation- themed version: The EYElympics! There are numerous events that our crew members participate in, each hoping to leave the games with the highest medal count.

The opening ceremonies were a sight to be seen, as the participants paraded around the deck while leaving Jamaican waters. They soon settled into their first event:

Blue Water Sailing.
As the WTP crossed from Jamaica to Colombia, the crew rotated through their watch schedule as usual. However, they now kept track of miles covered during a watch period. The miles were tallied up in Cartagena, and the medals were awarded as follows:

1) Most Miles (over 17 hours)
Gold: Trevor, with 100 miles
Silver: Adam, with 99 miles
Bronze: Alan, with 89 miles

2) Fastest Pace (avg over one watch)
Gold: Trevor (6.75 kts)
Silver: TIE - Alan & Adam (6.33 kts)
Bronze: -

Look for the results from many more events as the days go on, including Chess Tournament, Dinghy Row, Price Haggling, Best Haiku, and many more (ideas welcome)!

EYElympics

The Full Spectrum

Our most recent crossing from Jamaica to Colombia was largely uneventful, although we did end up getting quite a workout - courtesy of the easterly winter trades.

After beating up and around the eastern tip of Jamaica (around Point Morant), we found ourselves becalmed in relatively quiet seas with barely a breeze. After frustratingly watching our track turn north (courtesy of the caribbean current), we cut the engine on. From that point forward the winds slowly filled in and began to build. Here's a timeline of the sail changes we made:

Motoring, mainsail only.

Light air, shut off motor, keep mainsail, raise mizzen, #1 headsail, #4 on inner staysail, mizzen staysail.

Drop mizzen staysail.

Drop #4 on inner staysail.

Drop mizzen.

Swap #1 headsail with #3 headsail.

Put one reef in the mainsail.

Put second reef in the mainsail.

Swap #3 headsail with storm jib, raise mizzen with single reef.

Drop mainsail (flying 'jib and jigger').

Drop mizzen.

At this point, the winds were blowing about 25 kts with 7-10 ft seas coming onto the port beam. We spent the night of the 15th flying nothing but the storm jib. The rocking and rolling made belowdecks look like a snowglobe.

On our last day the winds lightened up a tad. We cruised into Cartagena with our storm jib and double reefed mainsail.

Largely uneventful, but a workout nonetheless.

TSS

Jamaican Top Ten

Jamaican me CRAZY mon! We were well surprised and learned many new tings bout Jamaica ... mon.

10. The water in Jamaica is potable!

9. The best jerk food comes served in tinfoil without utensils.

8. Rastafarianism is a religion, although not everyone in Jamaica is a rastafarian with dreadlocks.

7. Cricket is very popular. Jamaicans participate as the West Indies team, along with Barbados and Antigua.

6. Crime and corruption is rampant in Kingston and at the highest levels of government. The US has actually recalled its ambassador to Jamaica over its reluctance to extradite a known drug lord.

5. The cheapest juice comes in bags. Bag Juice!

4. Jamaica produces and exports bananas to Europe. You can see vast banana plantations, each with a plastic bag around the banana bunch to protect the fruit. Any bananas that have marks on the skin get made into banana chips instead.

3. Jamaica is the largest English speaking country in the Caribbean - although patois is terribly difficult to understand.

2. Jamaicans use the pronouns 'I' and 'me' backwards. 'Do you understand what me saying?'

1. Jamaica was originally a Spanish territory. The British Navy was planning on attacking and capturing Hispaniola (the DR). Finding it too well defended, they went and attacked Jamaica instead. The Spanish fled, and the island came under British rule.

FTA

Pirates: A Real Concern

We get a lot of questions about pirates from students. What about pirates? Do you carry guns? What will you do? Are you scared?

Our next port is Cartagena, Colombia, and there has been a recent pirate attack in this area. We have been learning as much as we can about how to be safe and what we can do to make ourselves less of a target. We were fortunate to have met the crew of the ketch Karaka (pictured above) in Port Antonio and had the chance to learn from their pirate experience in Cartagena just two months ago.

In summary, they were attacked by pirates at sundown very close to the city in the main harbor of Cartagena. They were motoring towards the city when a small dugout canoe with four men came alongside asking for water. When the skipper’s back was turned, the men were onboard in a flash and took the boat over at gunpoint. They scoured the boat for anything valuable (computers, cellphones, and cash) but did not hesitate to steal random bags of gear as well. Fortunately for the crew of Karaka, they spotted a suspicious group of boats earlier that day and had presence of mind to hide their most valuable possessions deep in the boat. This was the best thing they could have done since it made it very difficult for the robbers. Although the crew was tied up and pushed around, no one was seriously injured. Like Eye of the World, the crew of Karaka does not carry weapons and has decided that a gun would not help you in a situation like this. In fact, it might get you seriously hurt or killed. Most pirates want your stuff, not your life.

Their report also generated an alert for other cruisers like us on www.noonsight.com, a website with a wealth of information for cruisers that keeps track of pirate reports. Our plan of defense when entering Cartagena will be to enter the harbor in full daylight, not at sunset. Entering at sunset means that if someone attacks your boat they will soon have the advantage of darkness, and other boats will probably not be able to recognize that you need help or that your boat doesn’t look quite right. We will also hide all of our valuables deep in the boat well in advance of getting to port, just in case. We will have our radios close at hand and keep an eye out for anything suspicious. Luckily, Colombia has a very swift and effective Coast Guard and alerting them quickly will help keep us safe.

Karaka’s full report on the incident can be found at their website.

Bauxite! What is That?

Jamaica’s leading foreign exchange industries are tourism and mining. During our trip to Discovery Bay on the north coast of Jamaica we caught a glimpse of Jamaica’s Bauxite mining industry first hand. The beautiful Discovery Bay is interrupted by a hard to miss shipping pier with a large conveyer belt delivering Bauxite from a large mine adjacent to the bay. Bauxite (pronounced box-ite) is the raw material used in the production of Aluminum and Jamaica is the second largest exporter of this mineral (Australia being the largest). A majority of the processed Bauxite is exported to none other than the United States. The Aluminum foil you might have at home may very well have started out in a Jamaican Bauxite mine!

Because Jamaica is economically dependent on mining Bauxite, the environmental effects of the operation have sometimes been overlooked. Due to the concentration of the Bauxite found in Jamaica, approximately 1 ton of sodium rich and slightly acidic red mud waste is produced for every ton of Bauxite that is processed. Methods for dealing with the waste have included pumping it back into mining cavities and building sealed red mud ponds to prevent it from reaching the ground water. Unfortunately, there is yet to be a very effective solution for this problem on the island of Jamaica where land is at a premium. Mining operations are required to remove topsoil and replace it when done but often the land is too de-mineralized for effective farming. Sodium rich waste reaching the ground water can affect drinking water supply, especially that of people living in rural areas near the mines.

Don’t forget that Bauxite is a non-renewable resource like fossil fuels (such as oil or coal) and once it is all mined out that’s it, no more new aluminum.

MIN

The Sports Rundown

Just like in the United States, high school students in Jamaica play sports against other schools in competitive organized matches. The big sports here are cricket, track, and football. Each has its own season.

Cricket is a team sport that originated in England and spread across the British Empire in the 19^th century. Players use a bat and ball, and the sport is somewhat similar to baseball in the United States. However, the rules are fairly complicated and the pace of play is slow- some matches last 5 days! Interestingly, Jamaica plays some of its international matches as a part of the “West Indies” team: a group 15 of English-speaking countries and oversees dependencies in the Caribbean that includes Grenada, Barbados, and Saint Lucia. According to locals, cricket reinforces the strong cultural ties that these countries share.

Jamaica is also famous for producing world class sprinters. Track is a popular sport for many reasons; one of them is that it requires very little equipment to enjoy. Jamaican Usain Bolt has become an icon here, and for good reason. He currently holds the world record for the 100 and 200 meter dashes, and holds the world record along with teammates for the 4 x 100 meter relay. He won gold medals in all three events at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. His current record for the 100 meter dash is 9.58 seconds, a truly amazing feat! Bolt is featured on television commercials here as a proud son of this island nation. Many young Jamaican boys and girls hope to follow in his footsteps.

Soccer (football as it is called here), is a widely-enjoyed spectator sport at both the high school and professional level. The Jamaican premier league is well established and a handful of Jamaican players are currently playing in Europe. Famous reggae artist Bob Marley (whose birthday was February 6^th) was known to be an avid and very talented soccer player. There is a bit of a buzz about an international friendly match between Jamaica and Argentina scheduled for this evening. We hope to be able to catch the match on a television tonight and will be rooting for the “Reggae Boyz.”

SOT

Customs Clearance in Jamaica

A new island, a new country, a new horizon, and different customs and immigration clearance procedures.

Our landfall in Jamaica was at a private marina, and the marina staff notified the government officials of our arrival. We flew the yellow "quarantine" flag from our starboard spreader, and for the first time this trip we were actually confined to the boat until after being inspected and interviewed by the quarantine officer. He looked below deck asked us some standard questions (if we carried weapons), as well as if we had come into contact with anyone who had the H1N1 virus.

We were given cards to fill out with our personal information and told to wait for the immigration personnel who would be arriving later in the morning. We then switched the quarantine flag for the Jamaican courtesy flag.

Later that morning turned into later that afternoon, which turned into the next day. In the meantime we were free to grab some lunch, but were instructed not to wander too far in case the officials showed up. Adam spent some time filling in duplicate forms for the officials and the marina.

Finally, at around 10:30 AM the next day, we were visited by two gentlemen who took our immigration cards and glanced at (but did not stamp) our passports. We were in!

We are planning on leaving Jamaica from Port Antonio, and will clear out of the country from here at the marina. We will be visited by customs and immigration agents and will turn in our immigration cards then.

One notable fact was that the total cost of clearing in was zero Jamaican dollars ($0 US)! Irie!

SOG

The Patois Dialect in Jamaica

"Welcome to Jamaica, Mon" was how we were greeted by one of the dock hands as we pulled up to the Errol Flynn Marina in Port Antonio. We knew that the official language of Jamaica was English and that they spoke it with a noticeable accent, but we were not expecting the language barrier that awaited us.

In addition to English, the Patois dialect is widely spoken on the island. The linguistic history of Jamaica has been very interesting to study and can be partially traced to a historical accident.

In 1655, an English military expedition set out to capture the island of Hispaniola (present day Haiti and the Dominican Republic) from the Spanish. Finding the colony too well defended, they instead set their sights on the less inhabited island of Jamaica. The English landed, the Spanish forces fled, and the African slaves who were working in the sugar plantations escaped into the mountain forests. This group of escaped slaves became known as the "Maroons," and their experience shaped the foundation of Jamaican traditional culture.

The English took control of the island and later brought more slaves from Africa before abolishing the slave trade in 1807. The Creole dialect of Patois developed as a means for the slaves to communicate with each other as well as with the European population on the island.

Some terms in Patois are derived from African languages, such as "bammy" (bread made from yuca roots), and "ackee," a fruit plant brought from Africa and now considered Jamaica's national fruit. The majority of Patois comes from modified English phrases, words, pronunciations, and sentence structures. Although attempts have been proposed to standardize a system of written Patois, it remains primarily an oral language.

Here are some attempts at translating a few phrases we have heard (the Patios is written phonetically):

-"What mi gwan du?"

-"What am I going to do?"

-"Nottn nay-gwan"

-"Nothing is going on"

-"Dat uman en gat son niem Jo"

-"That woman had a son named Joe"

Overall, we have been surprised by how different Patois is- sometimes we can listen to entire conversations and not even be able to recognize a single word as being derived from English. However, we are trying to learn and have made some progress over the past few days. We try to practice understanding when travel around and even took a trip to the Portland Parish Library to read up on the subject. We recommend this book for those interested in further reading: (Christie, Pauline. "Language in Jamaica." Kingston: Arawak Publications, 2003).

Aiyo!

SWC

A Visit from the US Coast Guard!

Although we are far from US waters, the US Coast Guard is still hard at work. About 25 miles off the coast of Haiti, we were approached by the US Coast Guard Cutter Forward. Stationed out of Portsmouth, Virginia, this large cutter (complete with a crew of about 100 including helicopter and boarding teams) is on patrol protecting US interests and assisting with the response in Haiti.

The Coast Guard makes routine boardings of vessels under US jurisdiction to check for safety and compliance with US regulations. After the captain of the cutter made initial contact, we provided information about our vessel, crew, and voyage. This is the next radio exchange that took place:

USCGC: Captain, we will be sending a boarding party over and were wondering if you would accommodate them.

WTP: Certainly, and we had an additional request. We run a website and were wondering if we could take photos of the boarding process.

USCGC: We've already checked out your website, and we encourage it.

The cutter launched a RIB (boat app. 20 ft long) with six Coast Guardsmen on board. Three climbed onto the WTP while three stayed in the RIB.

The first thing the boarding party did was perform an initial safety inspection. The crewmember doing the assessment announced "The boat is safe, although they desperately need to do dishes." Following this, ship's papers were checked and the boat was inspected for pfds, proper flares, fire extinguishers, etc.

The entire boarding party was exceptionally professional, friendly, and courteous. The captain had come down and told them about EYE of the World, so they were well informed (and we were quite flattered). Additionally, we were able to maintain our course the entire time, and the visit was a welcome distraction from an otherwise windless day.

We on the crew are incredibly grateful to all the hard work and service of the men and women of the United States Coast Guard. Their presence on the water is quite comforting.

FTA

The Dominican Republic Top Ten

We had a wonderful time in the DR. Meeting great people, eating terrific food, and traveling inland were some of our biggest highlights. As we depart, here's our top ten list for the DR.

10) The streets are very noisy. People like using their horns almost as much as they like blaring loud music.

9) Public transportation (gwah-gwahs) doesn't travel on a schedule. A driver will leave when the car is full (and 'full' means 'VERY FULL' - usually seven people in a five passenger car).

8) The staple Dominican dish includes chicken, rice, and fried plantains. Delicious and cheap. You can eat a filling dinner for about $3.

7) Most taxis are actually motorcycles. Here they call them 'motoconchos' and they will take you anywhere you'd like.

6) The largest immigrant community is Haitian.

5) Fruit and fish production is very supply-chain oriented. We saw a boat unloading frozen snapper into a truck, and farmers stacking their harvest along the side of the road to prepare it for pickup.

4) The weather patterns here during the dry season are very predictable: trade winds during the day, quiet windless nights, and occasional fronts.

3) It is easy to get around, even with a fairly rudimentary understanding of Spanish.

2) Luperon has a very strong, passionate, and opinionated cruising community.

1) The Dominican people are incredibly helpful and friendly!

FTA

ABOUT

Learn More

Interactive Classroom Projects

Spotlight Series

Crew Bios and Journals

Support the Mission

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Friday, February 19, 2010

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Friday, February 12, 2010

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Latest Twitter Update:

Twitter Updates

Where Are They Now?

Archive