April 14, 2008

Now for the fun part
With the distance to go and the reasonable motoring speed they can hold with Windswept, they won't arrive in Majuro until tonight, so we probably won't hear from them until morning. I'll try for a contact with Jerry at 7 tonight, just in case he thinks to come up on the radio. Meanwhile, here's some of the SCHEDULED events that we've managed to enjoy.
Last night we had Eric, the Worldteach volunteer for Aur Atoll, out to Sequester for snacks and a visit. He's 23 years old, and like the girls who race with us in Majuro, leaves us with some hope for the future of the USA. He wants to do some good, wants to learn about what's outside his own life experience, but is clear headed about how much can be done for people in a short time, and is willing to make his small contribution and then move on with no regrets. He has only about a month left on his contract, but is trying to "finish strong" and leave his classes with usable skills and a will to learn. Not sure what his next move will be, but we feel confident he'll always be a positive contributor to the human race.
Today we got to watch the villagers from here at Tabal challenge the villagers from Aur Island at everything from sprint races for the 6 year olds to a "coconut race " for the 12 year olds (the nut is held between the thighs or knees while racing for the finish line) to highly spirited softball games between teams of women. The men play tomorrow. Between games, the village carvers and weavers showed their wares, and Karen bought another basket. I have no idea where we can keep it on the boat, but I'll admit it's a thing of beauty, and would have been a bargain at 4 times the price. They fed us again, a feast including dishes we brought from the yachts. I have to say I can now understand why they eat sea turtles at all these islands, so it's hard to make the case that they need to seriously curtail hunting them. Fortunately, there are a couple of Marshallese conservation workers traveling the atolls with Moonbird, establishing teaching programs for sustainability and pollution control, so at least the local people are addressing the problems among their own population. We also met a young man from a corporation whose charter describes it as enabling sustainable business propositions to increase economic opportunity in the Marshalls. He's working on setting up sea cucumber aquaculture. He's a bit of a glad-hander salesman type, but if they make any inroads into their stated goals, it will be a good thing for these people.
There was a light cloud cover for a good part of the afternoon, which helped keep us from getting baked with all the outdoor activities, and we got to do a little talking with the few Tabal villagers who have fair English skills. Tomorrow, between or after ball games, Spike and I will have a look at the two outboard motors that have defied his repair skills. I'm not at all sure I'm any better mechanic than Spike is, but I might get lucky. We haven't set a date yet for return to Majuro, but we'll probably decide that tomorrow too. I must say I'm anxious to get back and see Richard and Chris, and see what happened and what can be done for them with Windswept. More tomorrow. Ted