Sunday in Puluwat and other stuff

Today is Sunday and it is very quiet in our Puluwat anchorage. Like most places in Micronesia, Sunday is a day for going to church and not a lot else. Since we are not big church goers we have been spending a quiet day on board. Jim has been doing a variety of jobs, including getting out the sewing machine for some repairs and also to make a new cover for the beanbag which has gone in several places and now spills polystyrene beans when used. The new one is a bit smaller, which will be more convenient but Jim says it will be less comfortable for him to sleep in on watch! I have been helping, as well as making bread and ginger beer. Puluwat is a lovely sheltered anchorage; several islands around a small atoll, with a shallow lagoon just around the corner from where we are. A beached fishing boat in the lagoon indicates that maybe it is not always so calm. The weather alternates between sunshine and passing rain showers- good for filling the water tanks and doing the laundry.

Yesterday was a much more active day, both for us and the islanders. We went across to an uninhabited island and went for a good walk along the beach - very nice change to be able to do this- and a bit of an explore. There is an old 1930 Japanese lighthouse, which is still standing and still accessible. We climbed to the top and enjoyed the view. The structure is in good condition but has bullet holes, complete with bullets in them, from the war. The buildings around it are grown into the forest and quite amazing. The site was also an air base during the war which the Americans bombed then left alone till the end of the war. Alongside these buildings (and about a mile from the villages) is the newer school. Built in 1980 and abandoned. Books, copy machines and filing cabinets are strewn about. The condition of the building is poor which says a bit about its construction compared to the Japanese lighthouse. That evening we enjoyed a beer (Jim's home brew), while sitting in the cockpit watching the big (40 foot) sailing outriggers return from the day's fishing. These very traditional craft are shunted rather than tacked (ie the bow becomes stern and the rig is rotated). They can be used to travel up to 400 miles to some of the other islands. As well as these impressive craft, at least 10 smaller, paddled outriggers had been out fishing. On arrival here, Jim had gone ashore to see the Chief and ask permission to be here. It is usual to give a gift but more often villages are now asking for a fee (US$30 in this case). Jim also was asked if he could fix some of the fibreglass boats. He patched up one, but another really required a serious repair using heavy duty mat, which we don't have on board.

Puluwat is in Chuuk state, one of the 4 states of the Federated States of Micronesia. We had to apply for an entry permit into the FSM, but other than that, the States appear quite independent and yachts have to clear in and out of each state. If you want to stop at islands between the ports of entry, officially you need to get permission from that state before arrival. This almost impossible if the island belongs to a state in which you haven't visited the main centre yet. We had permission to visit Oruluk (part of Pohnpei) but not for Losap (part of Chuuk). When we arrived at Weno in Chuuk to clear in, they knew we had stopped in Losap, but while they told us this wasn't allowed, they didn't seem too worried. We had mixed feelings about our arrival in Weno, as Chuuk has a very bad reputation for corruption, violence, crime and general squalour. Most yachts give it a wide berth. However, it is also world famous for diving and we did not feel we could be in this part of the world and pass up the opportunity to dive here. In the end, we enjoyed our brief stay in Weno (the Chuuk capital). The only damage was to the bank balance. We paid US$230 to various officials for the privilege of being here for a week (compared to $25 for a possible month in Kosrae). Not all of these fees were explained or broken down e.g. a random $100 for immigration and customs, for which no receipt was forthcoming. We also knew we would have to pay for our diving, as you are not allowed to go on your own (plus we would never have found most of the wrecks, as not all are buoyed and most of those have the buoy about 2m underwater and some sites the boat just anchored on the wreck -which can't be good). As soon as we satisfied the officials, we headed slightly out of town and anchored off the Blue Lagoon resort. We spent a week here, diving with the resort and hanging out there, feeding the many stray cats and socializing with other divers, and we had a great time. The diving was very good. For those of you who don't know, Chuuk lagoon was a major sea base for the Japanese in WWII, the US staged a major attack 'Operation Hailstorm' and as a result over 60 wrecks litter the lagoon. The event took place in February and while we were there, a large group of Japanese, including veterans, were there, one of several expected over the month to commemorate the anniversary. Two people diving with us had cameras and have kindly either given or promised some photos, so our next photo update should include some underwater shots of Chuuk diving. The wrecks are interesting, not only due to the artifacts that you can see (tanks, torpedoes, spare planes, depth charges etc) but also for the marine life. Several of the wrecks were covered with colourful soft corals and we also saw turtles, rays and sharks. One dive, I was surrounded by a circling school of several hundred golden trevalli.

We are not sure yet what our plans are for the next month or so, its looking like we will probably head very slowly direct towards Guam, rather than going to Palau and then bashing back against the NE trades to get to Guam. We are a bit worried about heading much further north as we are starting to feel the cold if the temperature drops below about 28 degrees!