Carina

Tucked into Kolonia Harbor

SSCA & Friends

Kijro

John and Jean Ranahan live in Pohnpei and John is active in the SSCA, acting as the local Cruising Station.

The Swann Family

Learning Leggos from a Pro

Iconic Sokehs Rock

The Reef Tames the Raging Surf

Rotary Fundraiser

Manta, here Manta

No Mantas

Tomboy

No Mantas but Still Fun

MV Kumer to Nan Madol

Jeff ably helping Kumer

A Lone Mangrove Clings to Solid Ground

Island Getaway

The Fringes of Nan Madol

Dawas - The Famous Wall

of Nan Madol

It Looks Small Until You Get Up Close

Skinny Water

Daria of Downtime

Paolo and Philip Enjoying Nan Madol

No One Knows The Story...

But Kastom Dictates Someone Still Gets Paid

Yikes

COM-FSM

celebrates its 20th anniversary

Flag Bearers

carried flags from all countries around the Pacific. Leslie's student Benhurst is in the center.

Yapese Students

gather together in the chilly rain

Even Vehicles

provided by the college were given a face-lift

Pohnpeian Campus

girls waited in the rain for the parade to begin

The Princess and Prince

representing Pingelap and Mwokil were elegantly dressed and very patient

Little boys of the Sapwuafik clan

acted cool when we asked them for their photo

Math Science

adminstrator Mary Manuel dressed in her finest Pohnpeian hibiscus and looked lovely

The Pohnpeian Princess

was anxious to get ready and is using the van as a mirror as another student was spreading coconut oil on her back

The Students representing

Nukuoro and Kapingamarangi atolls formed a team

Those from Pingelap and Mwokil

also assembled at the ballfield at the Spanish Wall, a historic reminder of earlier European visitors

Triton Trumpet Horns

sounded and the parade got underway

Flag Bearers

kept up a brisk pace, though those carrying the banner were barefoot

The Chuukese

boys showed spirit and a wee bit of insouciance

Instructors

helped the teams...here the Chinese language instructor, adorned with a Yapese headpiece, snaps photos

The Chuukese

girls were pretty in white. Leslie's student Satleen is in the center of the group

The Sapwuafik

kids had trouble with a few low hanging wires as the sail of their canoe/float sailed down main street

Kosrean

students demonstrated traditional food preparation in their elaborate float

And, they

were having fun

Sapwuafik

students were colorful and gleeful even despite the rain. Leslie's student Macksy is third from left

Yapese

thought perhaps they could buy a win...with a personally signed piece of stone money

Pingelap

and Mwokil boys had by far the most imaginative headdresses

Yapese

girls show off hand woven skirts that are a common site on campus

Pohnpei Campus

students swished gracefully down the street in their skirts made from the inner bark of hibiscus

Sapwuafik

marchers followed their float closely

Pohnpeian

Mom, dressed in a popular everyday style of skirt, shoots photos as the parade winds by the botanical garden

And the gorgeous

shiny black hair swayed with the rhythm of the march

Yapese

student dancers costumes were the most dramatic against the grey backdrop of the rainy day

The Pohnpeian

prince and princess made a handsome and regal pair

At PICS

Pohnpei Island Central School, the parade ended and the dancing began. Even future students dressed up for the celebration

Spirits

were high as dignitaries made speeches and recognized the achievements of the college

At last the performances began

with the sweet singing of the Chuukese girls

Everyone patiently

waited and watched as the competing teams made their presentation before judges

The spirit

the Chuukese boys showed in their marching carried through to their dancing

Jacoline

is a smart young woman who's taking Leslie's class

Kosrean

students gave a warm and mellow performance of traditional song

Pohnpeian Campus

students pulled out all the stops for their traditional Pohnpeian dance set to the percussion of dokia sticks.

Bougainvillea

mwarmwars looked gorgeous against the cascading black hair of the Pohnpeian students

The Yapese

took the stage

And Began...

a series of lively dances, precisely timed and visually brilliant

Specific

dancers called movements that supplemented the calls by the students dance coach, seated nearby

And the performances

came to a spectacular denouement

Taki and Keizo

JH3QFL and JH3ACZ visited Pohnpei. They set up an impressive set of four amateur radio antennas on the lawn of the South Park Hotel. Friend Lance from Montana hoped to reach them here in Pohnpei.

Kassie

While in Pohnpei we bought a miniature Mazda Demio imported from Japan with starboard side drive. Leslie called her Kassie because her license read "Kaselehlie" (hello in Pohnpeian).

Boats from Afar...

Visit Pohnpei. This is the ship the Lady Emily hailing from Oz.

Summer

also brought us spectacular skies

And Fishing Tournaments

This one hosted by Kumer and Antonia's Blue Nile.

When Leslie wasn't Teaching

We were sewing. "Carina Canvas" helped us to make many improvements to our good ship including this roller furling staysail.

Simain Mix's

market was a daily haunt. Simain, eager to expand his product line, happily took Seeds Worth Sewing we acquired from the USA. Leaf taro followed thanks to

The Flip Brothers

Kelly (shown) and his crew Glen departed Pohnpei during typhoon season, confident the fate of Kelly's last boat wouldn't haunt them. Instead a typhoon caught them at Woleai and they were shipwrecked.

MV Micronesia

readying for departure from Pohnpei with supplies purchased for Backbeat, holed at Woleai

These Supplies

helped refloat Backbeat but the story doesn't end there...

With fall..

new boats began arriving. These boats were all headed towards Japan - Giebateau (from Holland), Latitude Attitude (from Korea) and Gaku (from Japan). While in Pohnpei, we took a trip to Manta Road.

Latitude Attitude's Crew

were Henry (Bong's nephew) and Daniel (Bong's son). Nice young men who made everyone around them smile.

We Threw a Party

to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary (2013) Food and beverages were abundant and we stayed up well past cruiser's midnight visiting.

Cruisers Always Share

resources and expertise. Here Gaku and Giebateau work through the generation of Google Earth .kap chartlets.

The US Thanksgiving

celebration brought together almost 25 people including Ben and Joshua aboard Maria, Glenda and Eddy of Helena, and colleagues from COM-FSM including Yen-ti and her husband Ray.

Sokeh's Harbor..

became almost crowded at Christmastime 2013.

The First Annual SSCA Gam

coincided with the holidays.

The SSCA Gam

included a fabulous workshop on first aid and CPR, a rigging roundtable, a BBQ and party and then a Google Earth chartlet workshop. Excursions were planned for the following week.

The Pingelap People

whose 'burb is the east side of Sokehs Island, had been training for canoe races for months. Here their neighbors from the Kapingamarangi 'burb watch the races while tied off to Carina's stern.

Racing Canoes and Teams

were colored coded. Pohnpei's commercial wharf, a mile away, forms the backdrop.

One Excursion

we made was the so-called "Six Waterfalls" hike. The trailhead was difficult to find and to drive to. Phililp was elected to drive. (Lorelei Photo)

Crews from

Sharkface, On Verra and Lorelei joined us that day.

The Hike

took all day on unmarked trails that were sometimes very slippery. (Lorelei Photo)

This is Waterfall #2

awesome...but this isn't the best picture...

This IS

the best picture of waterfall #2 (Lorelei Photo)

Waterfall #2

was a fun place to take a dip.

All the Waterfalls

fell into the same river. (Lorelei Photo)

The Sixth Waterfall

was only accessed by swimming up a deep and narrow ravine and into a secret valley. (Lorelei Photo)

Everyone Survived

smiling and with no broken bones (Lorelei Photo)

Philip's Shoes

were our only casualty. They were pronounced DOA.

Mix Farm

in Palikir is reached by crossing a river on a styrofoam float. It is a lovely spot with views of Pohnpei's tallest mountain.

Saimon Mix and Leslie

collaborated with Ray Grogan, a Hawaii -based taro enthusiast to import and cultivate corms from a new variety of taro for Pohnpei.

The Tiny Taro Flourished

This variety's leaves are sold in grocery stores in Hawaii. Taro leaf is highly nutritious. Simain is hoping to sell this in his farmstand in Kolonia and we are hoping to promote health through greater acceptance of delicious island foods.

Free Gas

Saimon built this methane plant from old 55 gallon drums. A bucketful of pig poo will produce enough methane (in one day) to fuel the cookstove shown. Add water, stir and let the bugs ferment. Voila.

Another Excursion

we took, at long last, was a hike up Sokehs Ridge. Here there are WWII guns and bunkers in excellent condition. Philip and Evan Dill of SV Java inspect one of the larger guns.

Imagine the

range of such guns which were set here to protect Pohnpei from an allied invasion.

This Tomb

of an unknown soldier from that era has a sign written in English, Pohnpeian and Japanse

An Environmental Disaster

in the making, the Ping Da 7 ran up onto Pohnpei's outer reef on Dec 30, 2013. A week later her AIS transponder was still putting out a signal indicating she was "steaming". We heard the crew abandoned ship and immediately left town.

At Last it Came

the sad time to leave Pohnpei. But leave we must. Our last evening ashore was spent with many friends at Mangrove Bay. We will miss Pohnpei, particularly the good Kumer and Antonia.

Leaving Pohnpei

was difficult but thankfully our first stop was close-by. Ant Atoll.

And What Boat

should arrive there? Is it Dr. Hook? It is Dr. Hook with Kumer and Antonia aboard.

Ant Atoll's

Pasa Island (motu) is the site of a small tourist cabin, infrequently occupied. We were anchored about a mile south.

Our Spot

was idyllic and we spent many hours just soaking up the fresh air and relaxing after weeks of frenzied activity.

The Water

at Ant is crystal clear and an amazing color. It's pass offers world class diving.

The Water is

so clear it was difficult to tell exactly how deep it was.

Ant is

also in Pohnpei's rainshadow, so we had lovely days and even lovelier nights of dry tradewind chilled weather