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Tools and Toys for Asumboa and the refit of Lapita Anuta

Getting ready for the new trip...

We promised last year the people from Anuta, Tikopia and Asumboa that we will come back.

Thankfully we received in the last few month some donations from readers of our Blog, friends and family. 500 Euro. sounds like not much but a good start for us to buy the most of the needs for this small communities out there.

We go hunting in second hand shops, visit doctors and sail maker. Soap, hand tools, sail material and a special skin cream is needed.

The departure is coming closer, Wakataitea gets ready....new anti fouling, new auto pilot, new anchor, and... new dodger! We will try all these new "add on" tomorrow, drinking a cup of tea, well sheltered from the cold New Zealand winter's wind, under the dodger...

It is already July 2011 in New Zealand. Getting cold here...

The new canvas dodger. made by Isabelle.

our diesel heater

On the way again. We sail straight from New Zealand to Anuta Island. 1500Nm non-stop.

Anuta Island... first stop after 14 days beautiful sailing.

not a comfortable anchorage...

nice to see our friends again

and a new canoe is getting build on Anuta

Isabelle visit the school, to hand over some photograph we made last year from the every school kids. last year...after giving them paper and pencil, everyone wanted to give as a drawing on the way home.

last year...

this year...

please look at the boy on the left. he has a skin disease called bakua. the skin reacts with the "cheap" nylon closing that the kids wear some times. the demand on the island for soap to wash clothes and body is supporting the disease to spread fast under the kids.

we looked at Lapita Anuta on the beach. the boat gets used a lot and is getting out of shape slowly.

Chief Jakob asked us if we can help to fix it up. we make the plan to sail together to Asumboa ( Santa Cruz Islands) and refit the boat there. stop over in Tikopia.

more pictures from Anuta

on the way again. with us the priest, a spokes man and villagers. there is a church meeting in Santa Cruz. these guys need a lift.

Tikopia Island

Lapita Anuta on it's way...

the anchorage in Tikopia is much better than in Anuta. Lapita Anuta having a rest...

Lapita Tikopia is resting since a (too) long time on the beach. never get used..

now a playground for the kids. the boat needs work too but the 4 chiefs in Tikopia can not come together to get a team ready to sail the boat to Santa Cruz for refit. Island politics... why should they be different here than everywhere else on the world...?

Chief "riki" Tafoua in Tikopia needs time to think but we get some more people on board and have to go. with 8 in total on board we leave for Santa Cruz.

more pictures from our visit in Tikopia (Last year)

the Asumboa village people see our sail from far and get the canoes ready to welcome us...

after some ceremonial performance. we present our gifts.

hand tools as planner, hand drills, chisels, hammer, files and sharpening stones, complete set of wood drills. bushman saw, clams, measurement tools etc...

and we bring for the new Kindergarden toys...

....toys for small and tall men..

and 50m sail material for the canoes. it will be shared between all canoe owner.

"thank you so much, to all of you..."say the village people from Asumboa

our small friends

the arrival of Lapita Anuta is delayed.

The new school in Asumboa village. named after me (my nickname) Schelmi School. they built it with the tools and material we brought last year after receiving donations.

a very beauty full building, made out of local materials.. no concret, no iron roof etc.. build in the traditional techniques and style.

some of the seamen ask me about teaching them how to read charts, Compass and the route planing of a offshore voyage. no problem, a class of 8 people is coming together. Next day we start a Navigation Training in the new school building.

using a football, i explain the longitude and latitude system around globe,

teach to plot positions and explain Magnetic and geographic north.

they really loved it... great students.

of course, there was a final exam at the end of the 10 day classes.

Isabelle is making her way through the village, visiting the women and kids.

Lapita arrives from Tikopia with a broken rudder fitting, lost one steering paddle and broke a hole in the deck. we beach the boat in front of Asumboa village and start working.

the damage on deck.

we discover a crack in the strip planked hull.

temporary fixed steering fitting.

New steering paddle has to be made, fixing all this cracks, some sail repair and much more.

this doesn't happen often, people from different islands and villages are working together... the people from Asumboa supply food, shelter, wood and tools to help the boy's from Anuta to fix their boat.

we told the people from Anuta that they have to come with us to Asumboa. i wanted them to get friends and learn from each other. the Anutan's are very experienced in offshore sailing. the deal was, after rebuilding the boat in Asumboa, they would take and teach seamen from Asumboa on their Lapita canoe. They would start a trading relation ship with betel nut, tobacco, matt's (handicrafts) and wood.

the precut timber for the rudders.

what are we doing next???? the young men are very willing to learn. everybody brings his tools to join the fun.

the new bushmen saw is the favourite tool for everyone. they never used a saw like this one. there is a chainsaw in the village but the boy's like to cut by hand.

fine tuning with the axe. their only tools they use for canoe building...

i am teaching to adjust and work with a hand planner.

the crossbeams have to be lashed again. i explain the knot technic's form hanneke boom.

we teach although the use of epoxy to fix the damage on the hull.

Time goes by fast. the repairs are mostly finished. the two islands started a real friendship and will continue on there own. it is time for us, the Cyclone season is soon. we have to move north.

a great farewell party and many presents do not make it easy for us to leave.