New rhythms
Barney on bow watch in Majuro
by Christine Kling
Life on board a cruising boat has entirely different rhythms than a land-based life. It’s difficult to believe that we have been back aboard the boat for a full month already. It sometimes feels as though we have been transported into a world where time operates differently. Here, we are moved more by the weather, the phases of the moon, the projects underway, and the quality of the local wifi.
So it was that the good ship Learnativity took off several days ago leaving the anchorage off the main town in Majuro and traveling the few miles to Eneko, a little island on another side of the lagoon, so we could exercise the engine and change our scenery for a bit. The engine performed flawlessly with the new water pump and new Marelon valve on the thru-hull, and the batteries got a good extra charge.
When we arrived and got the anchor down, we found they even had turned on the wifi at the little “resort” on shore. I use that term quite loosely as you have to port in your own food if you want to stay out there. It is the off-season here though. There are very few boats and few visitors in Majuro as the windless summer season winds down. The days are too hot for most visitors and everyone has started to talk about how nice it will be when the trade winds return and they bring with them new boats and new faces.
All was well in my world as I finally got fully moved into my little forward cabin office and I was humming along learning more about the Knights of Malta — until the clouds rolled in. It turns out the island only has enough power to run the wifi when the sun is out producing enough amps via their solar panels. No sunlight means no wifi. Suddenly, our idyllic island became a place where I couldn’t post my blog. So here I am late again.
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We are strongly considering staying here in the Marshall Islands for the next five months. The choice is to sail back down to Fiji which would require a 2-3 week passage and would mean spending the cyclone season in inside the cyclone belt. But the plus side is that I really want to see those Fijian islands again, and there is cellular wifi available almost everywhere in the islands. Or, we stay here in the Marshalls where we are outside the cyclone belt (except for the extremely odd case), but where we will not have Internet if we choose to leave the main island of Majuro.
The question becomes whether or not I can write my research-intensive book while off in another atoll cut off from the web. I’m starting to think it might be possible, but we haven’t decided one way or the other for certain yet. In the meantime, I keep looking at the chart of all the islands here in the Marshalls, and I’m itching to get out and do a little sailing.
So, if no blog by me appears at all one of these weeks, just chalk it up to the rhythm of boat life and the fact that the trade winds have returned.
Fair winds!
Christine
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