April 8, 2009

A Change of Seasons
Here in the Marshall Islands seasons are defined differently than in a temperate climate. There are only two, and depending on the focus of the moment the definition changes. Regarding the migration of the yachts, the defining factor is cyclone season. The tropical areas between about 12 degrees south latitude and 12 degrees north are pretty much safe from cyclonic storms all the time. Outside of that zone, hurricane or typhoon formation is mostly confined to the summers of each hemisphere. So, from about November to April only commercial shipping continues to move in the popular South Pacific islands cruising area. Yachts go either south, to the big, safe harbors of New Zealand and Australia, or north, out of the seasonal zone.
Karen and Cary Evarts on the yacht Seal have based themselves in Majuro for 10 years now, and by acting as guides and go-betweens for the boaters and the island community they have helped make this a popular place to sit out the storm season. Access to U.S. Postal Service, regular (if expensive) international flights, and more recently an imperfect but useable internet service means that more boats each year are arriving for Thanksgiving holidays and leaving around Easter. This schedule also coincides with the dry season, so while here, the yachties mostly encounter brilliant sunny days, made bearably cooler by brisk trade winds from the northeast. In fact, until the relatively recent advent of widely available reverse osmosis water makers for boats, lack of water was a limiting factor on how many visitors could stay in the atolls for this season. Now, with R.O. systems common on boats of all kinds, there's not much infrastructure strain on the islands.
I think I mentioned in my recent, brief messages about our jaunt to Ailuk that it had not rained there since we had visited in October, but they had a half day of light showers while we were there on Holokai. In Majuro (200 miles south of Ailuk) during that time, rain showers had been a bit scarce too, though still enough to keep the city reservoir from going dry. It appears now that the dry season is truly finished. Sunday we had the last yacht race of the season, and up to the hour of start time we had successive waves of showers. Then at noon, the skies cleared to mostly sunny, providing us with a spectacular day of moderate breezes and smooth water. We gathered after the race for a big season end party at the resort hotel, and were promptly chased under the roofed part of the patio by a deluge.....which then cleared off to provide a cool, brilliant evening. Even the weather has cooperated in what the whole yachting community here agrees has been a really extraordinary 6 month interlude. The preacher in Ailuk comes up on our radio net most evenings, and said the water tanks in the village are half full now, so their dry season is finished as well. Last week, when we got to Ailuk we found that our friend Tempo had just taken the copra ship from there back to Majuro for a medical check and to do some business. That was a disappointment, but when we arrived back here we found him, and he joined us on Sequester for the Sunday race. We also had the company of Kevin's parents, as well as our usual crew of teachers, so we had quite a party on the boat. With a ton of extra people on board, it was hard to keep Sequester competitive, and we finished at the back of the pack, but it was interesting and fun to have everyone circulating around the deck carrying on several conversations. We treated the crew and Tempo to dinner that night at the end of season party, and everyone was pleasantly surprised as a couple of speakers tallied up the accomplishments of the year. I think it was an eye opener for Tempo and some others to hear how yachts had transported people and packages, donated time and materials to projects both in Majuro and the outer islands, took part in education and helped run the veterinary clinic. And, as with all such events, there was a tinge of regret that this was the last time some of us would be together. Most of the fleet is preparing to head out, either to the south or west within the next week or two. Associations will come down to radio contacts and emails, as we each start the next chapter of our lives. Ted