In light of recent press coverage on the rescue of the Kaufmann family in the Pacific, I’d like to offer a very different (if less spectacular) story as a counterbalance.

My family has spent the past three years living aboard our 1981 Dufour 35, Namani, crossing the Pacific. Our son was seven when the trip started in Maine and is now ten as we wrap up our adventure in Australia. We also lived aboard previously for one year when he was three years old and we crossed the Atlantic.

The reward for a hike on Vanuatu: a waterfall swim for Hannes (age 5), Nicky (9) and Niclas (7)

Both trips have been a magical times that we wouldn’t trade for anything – not just for the travel and the sailing, but most of all for the family time we have enjoyed. Many cruising families we met along the way agree.

It’s too bad the countless happy stories don’t get the same kind of attention that the few negatives do.

So here I offer you an example of how easily a potentially serious child’s health issue was resolved by the cruising community in the Pacific. We were anchored off the island of Taveuni in Fiji along with friends on another boat who sailed from Europe with their two young sons, ages 4 and 7 at that time. One morning, their son Nicolas awoke with badly swollen tonsils. Although the family had a variety of medicines aboard, they were dismayed when they read the fine print of the children’s antibiotic their pediatrician gave them to take aboard. It listed swollen tonsils as one of the few ailments that antibiotic was not recommended for. Since they knew we also carry children’s medication, they called us on the VHF. Happily, our children’s antibiotic did cover tonsil infections, so all we had to do was to row it over to them. Easy.

Meanwhile, another boat in the same anchorage had listened in to our VHF conversation. They knew of a retired doctor aboard yet another vessel in an anchorage a few miles away. Although the doctor wasn’t listening to the VHF at that time, other boats nearby were. Within an hour, the doctor had been found and put in touch with the parents. She assured them that the antibiotic we provided was fine. The doctor also recommended that the family not set off for the remote Lau group as planned, in the small chance that the infection became acute. Thus the parents were able to treat their child and rest easy, not only in the knowledge that a doctor was nearby, but also that staying back was the right thing to do. In the end, they had a lovely time cruising islands they had all to themselves because the bulk of the fleet had gone on to the Lau group.

Not a very spectacular story, but it illustrates several important things.

• First, a well-stocked medical kit is a must, and attention must be paid to details such as an antibiotic’s spectrum of coverage.
• Second, there’s a vast pool of resources within the Pacific cruising community. There are a huge number of boats out there (we rarely had an anchorage to ourselves), and everybody gets to know just about everybody, if not directly then in the second degree.
  

  Eight kids from four families and four countries enjoying a play date in Bora Bora.

• Third, with communications systems like VHF and SSB radio, you’re never alone. (We believe an SSB is an absolute must despite the cost; with it we were able to have twice daily checks-in with other boats even on our passages. Had anything cropped up then, we could have easily talked to a doctor).
• Finally, it’s a fallacy that remote island communities in the Pacific lack medical facilities. In this day and age, many islands have some sort of regional clinic which sailors can tap in to as needed. You’d be surprised how much help is out there. Case in point: in the sparsely populated Yasawa group of Fiji, there’s a centrally located clinic that friends used when a stomach bug persisted for over a week (for mother and child). They hired a local skiff to take them there (twice the speed, plus local knowledge of the reefs) and saw a UK trained doctor within an hour. Again, easy. Much easier than you would have thought. In Suwarrow, an uninhabited Cook Island popular with cruisers, one man hurt his foot and promptly got stitches from the doctor aboard another boat anchored there. Easy.

The crew of NAMANI: the author, her husband Markus, and son Nicky on new Caledonia’s Ile Mato

I can add many more cruising success stories, but I’ll leave it at that for now.

In general, these last three years have been the healthiest and happiest of our lives. We’re been sick far less often than at home, where the germ breeding grounds of school keep us in constant contact with contagious illnesses. We’ve suffered very few injuries because we are careful. We know the potential for risk, and we act accordingly.

I’d say that far more injuries occur in your average neighborhood playground (not to mention the average highway) than out in the cruising grounds of the world, especially if you sail aboard a well-found vessel along prime cruising routes in favorable seasons.

Yes, there’s always a chance that something sometime might go wrong. But given good preparation and care, that chance is no greater than the chance of a freak mishap at home.

When I was in grade school, a childhood friend nearly died of a ruptured appendix because her parents didn’t take her  complaints seriously – they were too busy playing tennis! Luckily, all was well in the end. The point is, you don’t need to be in the middle of the Pacific for bad luck to strike. And you don’t have to hope for good luck – you can make your own luck by taking sensible precautions.

Every family must make their own decision about taking children cruising, but whatever you do, don’t let paranoia hold you back.

About Nadine Slavinski

Nadine Slavinski is a teacher, parent, and sailor, and the author of Lesson Plans Ahoy: Hands-On Learning for Sailing Children and Home Schooling Sailors.

She is currently in Australia, wrapping up a three year Pacific crossing aboard her 35 foot sloop, Namani, together with her husband and ten year old son. She’ll be heading back to work at an international school in Germany soon.

Her next projects include two more books: watch for Pacific Crossing Notes: A Sailor’s Guide to the Coconut Milk Run and The Silver Spider, a novel of sailing, adventure, and suspense.

For more information, visit her family’s sailing blog at www.namaniatsea.net or her author website at www.nslavinski.com.

More from this website

• Cruising families rally in support of sailing with children and of the ‘Rebel Heart’ family
• Nadine Slavinski answers 12 questions on sailing as a family aboard NAMANI
• Video: Kids speak their own minds about cruising, by Nadine Slavinski
• 6 Tips for home-schooling sailors, by Nadine Slavinski
• Cruising children speak: Cruising children tell us about their experiences growing up aboard

Predeparture worries (cont.)

Handling medical issues

• Jack and Marcia Spiess had owned their 44-foot cutter Tracen J for four years before they set sail. They had been cruising off and on since 1988, but this was their first foray across oceans.

“Handling medical issues, heart attack, fractures, and major injuries. That is what concerned me,” said Marcia. But Marcia and her crew, like all of those with whom we spoke, had not had any serious medical troubles.

None had heard of any other voyagers mentioning problems other than two cases of tropical infections caused by cuts that were not treated properly.

• Marilyn Middleton, who cruises with her husband, Glen, and son, Jaryd, on Tin Soldier, a 50-foot steel boat, said health problems at sea had been her worry, too.

Tin Soldier’s medical supplies were rarely used until they reached Neiafu in the Vava’u Islands of Tonga, where Glen decided to join friends on a racing boat for one of the Friday night races organized by a local restaurant owner.

During the race, the boat gybed and the traveler block, which runs on a track across the middle of the cockpit, hit Glen, throwing him against a winch. A broken nose, blackened eyes, and several stitches were much in evidence as we all discussed how much safer ocean voyaging seems to be than living on shore or racing under sail.

Seasickness

• Linda Levy, with her partner Michael Gilbert, left from Florida on board B’Sheret, a 37-foot Najad sloop they bought at the Annapolis Boat Show. Linda listed seasickness right after nasty weather and pirates as a worry that was now relegated to a more comfortable place in her mind. “I was lucky,” Linda said. “I heard all the horror stories but I never got further than anxiety nausea.”

• Interestingly, when I asked others about seasickness, about 60 percent of the interviewees had found they either felt fine or suffered only for a few hours during the first day or two of a passage. The other 40 percent (me included) had found ways to control or cope with seasickness.

Although we met several people in Apia and Tonga who were planning to end their cruises sooner than planned, not one of them said it was because of seasickness.

Running out of food

Market scene in Western Samoa

• The crew of both Tracen J and Argonaut listed “running out of food” as something they worried about before they set off.

• But when I look over the answers to the next question we asked, “What did you put on board that was not used?” I realize that this was an almost universal concern. Many lists included comments about carrying too much basic food.

Marcia Spiess stated, “I overprovisioned. All of it took up too much needed space and we ended up giving much of it away. We found that basics, such as flour, rice, etc., were usually available, even in the smallest island shops. Same with meats, fruits, and vegetables. Maybe they were not what we were used to, but it was fun to enjoy the local items.”

• On the other hand, two couples wished they had carried more “comfort foods”—things that would be easy to grab for a snack, specialty items to make real at-home-feeling meals, favorite cookies or dried fruits for nibbling on night watches. These definitely are hard to find or very expensive once you sail far from home.

• Linda Levy from B’Sheret said, “Yes, we overprovisioned, but even without a freezer we were able to eat quick meals from a can and have hot soup all the way to New Zealand. That made me happy when the seas were not happy and all I had to do was open a can, throw it in a pot, heat and eat.”

Most favored gear on board

• Eight out of 10 couples listed their windvane self-steering as the “most favored gear on board.”
• The other two listed their autopilots.
• Six listed their watermaker.

When there was any discussion between husband and wife as to whether the self-steering gear or the watermaker was most important, the answer seemed to split clearly along gender lines, with women strongly in favor of the watermaker.

Best memory

The most enjoyable part of each interview was asking, “What is your very best memory so far?” The answers proved to us that even though there are a lot more folks out here than when we set off 42 years ago, cruising is still a grand adventure.

• Tom Collins and Colleen Wilson, who sailed on 8-ton Mokisha, a handsome 1980s-style S&S 38 built by Catalina Yachts (see fig. 18.1), said, “Nothing compared with the awe of being out at sea, far from land, on a starry night.”

• Linda and Steve on Linda repeated this sentiment, adding, “Catching mahimahi! And we loved Penrhyn Island. It was just about a hundred miles off the normal route, yet we were the only cruisers there and we were shown a wonderful time by the island folks.”

• The Middleton family spoke of spending time at one of the isolated atolls of the Tuamotus and staying with a Polynesian family for a week “There were only two families on the atoll, yet there was a church. The three of us made the Sunday congregation 30 percent larger than normal.”

Marilyn and Glenn Middleton with their son Jared wanted to get to know more about the real Tonga. They invited a woman who befriended them at the market place to come out for a Sunday sail. Big Mary arrived with 8 children plus husband. (Marilyn and Jared are wearing the orange T shirts in this photo). This was the beginning of an amazing friendship.

• “The Pacific Arts Festival,” stated Jack and Marcia Spiess, “It was in American Samoa—only happens once every four years and 27 island nations sent their dancers and singers for 10 days of performances.”

•  Several others said, “Beautiful anchorages,” mentioning places as diverse as Hiva Oa in the Marquesas, Niuatoputapu in Tonga, and the eastern side of Bora Bora. “Suwarrow Atoll,” said Michael Gilbert. “It was described as magical by everyone we’ve spoken with and we all believe that the most magic was due to the Cooks Island caretaker and his family who live there.”

The boats they chose to cruise

The boats in which these 10 interviewees chose to cruise ranged from 28 feet in length to 50 feet on deck. All but two had been bought secondhand; two were more than 30 years old. The purchase prices listed ranged from $35,000 to $400,000.

But in spite of their divergent boat choices and budgets, these folks all had one financial reality in common: The cost to upgrade and outfit the boat once they decided to go cruising ran an additional 25 to 35 percent of the purchase price of the boat.

Other advice for those waiting to set sail

What other advice did these cruisers add to their questionnaires for those dreaming of setting off across oceans? Here’s the list:

• Do it sooner rather than later.
• Quit talking and get out here!
• Know your boat, test your gear.
• Buy the best dinghy you can afford.
• Have confidence in your boat.
• Don’t overload your boat or you will feel cramped and uncomfortable.
• Weather will become your life; study and learn about it.
• Once you have prepared thoroughly, relax and enjoy it all.
• Keep a realistic perspective on being out here—far from family, far from easily available materials, equipment, and skilled labor.
• Be mentally prepared for being at sea a long time. “It was better than I thought it would be,” said one cruiser.
• Slow down!
• Learn a few words of the local language. Even saying hello, thank you, and good-bye can open new worlds to you.
• Be wary of the herd mentality. Remember that it’s your dream, your itinerary, and ultimately your decision.
• Get away from other yachties so you experience the local culture.

The last two suggestions are possibly the hardest ones to put into practice. As our three-week stay at the marina in Apia showed us once again, the cruisers you meet “out there” can be a fascinating group of people. Someone will always be coming up with an activity to add to the day’s entertainment—be it a potluck, a diving expedition, a night on the town, or an evening of sharing stories and singing shanties or old favorites. At many cruising crossroads, there are special places where cruisers gather. The Yacht Club restaurant at Vava’u was one. Unfortunately, it can be so easy to spend the majority of your time at places like this, that you have no time left to meet local folks. Over the years, Larry and I have often written, “Go small, go simple, but go now!”To that, we both would like to add: “Do anything necessary to split your shore time 50/50 between getting to know local people and enjoying the company of other cruisers.” No matter how fine your voyaging turns out to be, if you don’t occasionally break away from your newfound cruising friends, you could look back later and find that there was one thing you didn’t worry about that did actually happen. You could come to realize that the only Polynesian people with whom you had contact were customs and immigration officials and vendors at the local marketplace. Larry and I had been to Tonga 23 years previously. At that time we were adopted by a wonderful family. On our return we joined them for the village feast. Though we invited several of our new cruising friends to join us, almost all had made previous commitments among the fleet. They missed some great food, enjoyable people who were ready to welcome them into their lives and homes.

About Lin and Larry Pardey

Lin and Larry have voyaged more than 200,000 miles together on self-built engine-free wooden boats. Their voyages have taken them around the world, both east-about and west-about, including counter-to-the-prevailing-wind passages south of the great southern capes.

Their 11 books and four DVDs include narratives as well as highly useful information on voyaging, storm tactics, boatbuilding, and seamanship.

The Pardey’s have been credited with launching thousands of dreams by inspiring and empowering generations of sailors. Together and separately they have been honored with many awards for their contributions to cruising and sailing. Most recently, in 2010 the Pardey’s were awarded The Cruising Club of America’s prestigious Far Horizons Award.

Currently they have just returned from exploring the waters of New Zealands Hauraki Gulf and will be flying to the US to present seminars and introduce Lin’s newest book – Bull Canyon, A Boatbuilder, a writer and other Wildlife. Monthly newsletters and cruising tips can be found at www.landlpardey.com.

Capable Cruiser

This revised and expanded third edition of The Capable Cruiser includes 10 completely new chapters with such advice as: sixteen ways to encourage your lover (partner) to share your dream; strategies for turning sudden engine failure into a minor incident; choosing safety equipment; repairing rigging at sea. All of the original chapters have been updated to ensure that the information will be helpful for everyone who dreams of cruising—whether now or soon.

The Capable Cruiser is a logical extension of the Pardeys’ Self Sufficient Sailor, with more emphasis on seamanship underway, including careful analysis of extreme anchoring situations and solutions for mitigating them. Underlying each and every chapter is the warmth and encouragement that spurred Herb McCormick, former editor of Cruising World magazine, to label Lin and Larry Pardey “the enablers.”

Read also on this website

• First-time voyagers — What did they worry about that never happened? (Part 1), by Lin Pardey
• Join Lin and Larry Pardey at US West coast seminars as they introduce new book
• Seasickness (Admiral’s Angle column #18): The most asked-about issue of cruising! What are the realities and how can you combat it?

More information (external links)

• Capable Cruiser is available at Lin’s website: www.landlpardey.com and amazon.com

Arriving in Apia, Samoa

It felt wonderful, no concerns about a wind shift turning our anchorage into a lee shore, no rattle of anchor chain across coral heads, the boat lying still enough to use long-stemmed glasses instead of tumblers for our wine.

Even better, arriving in Apia, Samoa, meant we had woven our way past the hurricane belt between Hawaii and Mexico, through the doldrums and south of the equator. Now we’d completed the longest passages of our voyage from Ventura, California, through the Line Islands and back to our home base in New Zealand.

As Larry and I savored this latest landfall in our 42 years and 185,000 miles of wandering together, I mentioned my sense of relief at arriving here. “If you feel so good about it,” Larry commented, “can you imagine how pleased some of these first-time voyagers must feel?”

I already had some idea. In only a few hours alongside in the first marina we’d seen in several months, I’d met half a dozen of these newest voyagers and enjoyed their excitement at having made the break from life ashore and safely crossing a major ocean.

The idea for this story came after a fun dinner with seven cruising couples in Apia, Samoa.

“They all tell me about the things that worried them before they set sail.” I said to him.

“But they went anyway didn’t they?” Larry countered. “These folks are the crème de la crème, the ones who got organized enough to break free and then actually cut the ties and kept going beyond the first landfall. It has been a long time since we were in a place where there was a whole group of new voyagers fresh from their first long passages, their first time away from easy access to marina facilities.

Why don’t you ask some of them what they worried about that never actually happened? Might give you some interesting ideas to share.”

With his urging, I made a short list of questions, and 11 pairs of willing volunteers shared their thoughts on predeparture worries, the gear that worked, failures that occurred, and thoughts they wanted to share with those waiting to set sail.

Predeparture worries

Heavy weather

Close reaching in about 45 knots of wind

• “Really bad weather,” stated Linda and Steve Maggart, echoing a worry that was at or near the top of the list for almost everyone we questioned.

Among the first timers we interviewed were Linda and Steve Maggart on their Rhodes 40. Their biggest fear had been storm force winds.

Linda and Steve had spent about 30 separate nights at sea before they set off from Cabo San Lucas, Baja California, in March 2008.

This was to be their very first offshore passage on their vintage sloop Linda, a 40-foot Rhodes Bounty II. With five charters in the Caribbean, plus coastal cruises from Seattle through the Inside Passage to Juneau, Alaska, and south to Cabo San Lucas, their experience level was above average among the group of first-time voyagers we met at Apia.

They, like the majority of sailors along the Pacific routes this season, had encountered stronger-than-average winds, especially near the very active South Pacific Convergence Zone. The system seemed to linger for weeks between Bora Bora and Tonga, stretching as far north as the Penrhyn Atoll in the Northern Cooks, where we also sailed through its 35- and 40-knot gusts. This, plus the reinforced trade winds caused by a La Niña year, had not been what folks expected along the “milk run.”

But Linda and Steve both gave their boat full credit for handling these conditions comfortably and they felt they had done a good job of making sure they had ways of securing everything on board for such conditions.

•  John Boggs on Don Pedro, a 47-foot Beneteau sloop, had sailed from Victoria, Canada, through the Panama Canal in a smaller yacht 28 years earlier. This was to be his wife Linda’s first offshore voyage on the boat they had owned for six years.

In spite of his previous experience, he too worried most about extremely bad weather. When we asked, “What do you wish you had more of now that you are out here?” John answered, “More bad-weather experience.” This must be one of the hardest things for new cruisers to acquire. Very few potential voyagers are willing to—or have the time or opportunity to—head out into a gale just to see how it feels. They rarely get a chance to try reefing their sails and moving about on deck and below to learn how their gear really works when the sea gets snarly.

•  Two boats owned by interviewees had suffered full knockdowns while running between Bora Bora and Suwarrow Atoll.  One suffered serious mast damage, the other had damaged lifeline stanchions. Neither had excessive water get inside the boat and no one was injured, and once each of these crews was able to repair the damages and continue onward, they, like all of the other interviewees, felt they had been pretty well prepared for the heavier winds they encountered.

Interestingly, both of the men on the boats that suffered knockdowns expressed their concern that they had let down their female partners. One said candidly, “When the boat came upright and I saw the damage, then I looked at the fear on her face and felt so terrible. This is definitely not what I promised her cruising would be like.” Women, please take note: No matter how much we may feel we are equal partners in any sailing situation, men will always feel they are personally and ultimately to blame if something major goes wrong on board.

•  Two people mentioned that they wished they had spent a few days at sea not only in strong winds but also in moderate running or reaching winds. Had they experienced the constant motion of being at sea, each would have made changes to the cockpit and accommodations to create more comfortable seating and lounging positions.

One commented: “My ass was sore after a few days of running. The inch-thick cockpit seat cushions were too darned hard. I couldn’t find a decent place to wedge myself in and read in the cockpit or down below.”

Being becalmed

Interestingly, none of the sailors we interviewed had been concerned about light winds before they set off. But when we met several of these sailors after they’d voyaged further, they wanted to know more about the light wind sails we carry.

Interestingly, Liz Strash and Mike Scott on Argonaut, a well-maintained Cal 40, worried almost as much about being becalmed as they did about encountering heavy weather.

“The crewman who sailed with us really freaked out when we actually did get becalmed a week out of Cabo. He started counting our food supplies, figuring out how long we could survive out there if the wind never came back. We tried to reassure him, but he was like a caged tiger for a day and a half—until the winds filled in. After that, he never felt as excited about the voyage.” (Larry and I wondered whether he had just read Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner.)

Liz and Mike continued on their own after reaching the Marquesas Islands.

Gear failures

•  They were delighted with their voyaging, eager for more, and able to laugh at all the concerns they’d had about breaking things. “We worried that the mast might come down, that the sails would get ripped up.”

But by the time they reached Apia, their gear failures turned out to be, according to Mike, “nothing we really couldn’t do without. Our head stopped working while we could still see Mexico, the refrigeration quit three days later. The watermaker seals leaked and had to be replaced and the block holding the gimbals on the stove broke.”

•  John and Nancy Powers, on their 48-foot sloop Meridian, worried about “through-hull fittings letting go, major engine problems, and someone falling overboard. Knock on wood, none of these happened,” John said. “In fact,” he added, “not much went wrong. But I am glad I had the spares I needed to keep things working. I’d tell new voyagers, if you need one, get two. There are no West Marine outposts here. So get the stuff now!”

•  Craig Compton, who made this voyage with his wife, Kay, on their 28-foot BCC, Little Wing, echoed Mike’s worries about “everything breaking.” In contrast, however, he feels he carried far too many spares. “I installed everything on the boat other than the engine by myself. I used new parts as I did the installation and kept the old parts as the spares. I didn’t need backup spares for the spares.”

The late Hal Roth first wrote about installing new parts and keeping the originals as a way to be sure the spare parts fit and the right tools were on board. It’s a practice we have always followed for vital equipment, such as bilge-pump diaphragms.

•  Although the group of sailors we interviewed was small, their list of gear failures does parallel what we have seen since 1968. Refrigeration was mentioned the most often, engine fresh-water pump impellers came a close second, and watermaker problems were third.

John on Don Pedro mentioned that his watermaker problem was caused by using tap water to flush his system. When he contacted the manufacturer, he learned that the chlorine in city water was responsible for ruining the membrane. John suggested that we remind people to use only distilled water for flushing. (Seven of 10 interviewees had watermakers.)

About Lin and Larry Pardey

Lin and Larry have voyaged more than 200,000 miles together on self-built engine-free wooden boats.  Their voyages have taken them around the world, both east-about and west-about, including counter-to-the-prevailing-wind passages south of the great southern capes.

Their 11 books and four DVDs include narratives as well as highly useful information on voyaging, storm tactics, boatbuilding, and seamanship.

The Pardey’s have been credited with launching thousands of dreams by inspiring and empowering generations of sailors. Together and separately they have been honored with many awards for their contributions to cruising and sailing. Most recently, in 2010 the Pardey’s were awarded The Cruising Club of America’s prestigious Far Horizons Award.

Currently they have just returned from exploring the waters of New Zealands Hauraki Gulf and will be flying to the US to present seminars and introduce Lin’s newest book – Bull Canyon, A Boatbuilder, a writer and other Wildlife. Monthly newsletters and cruising tips can be found at www.landlpardey.com.

Capable Cruiser

This revised and expanded third edition of The Capable Cruiser
includes 10 completely new chapters with such advice as: sixteen ways to encourage your lover (partner) to share your dream; strategies for turning sudden engine failure into a minor incident; choosing safety equipment; repairing rigging at sea. All of the original chapters have been updated to ensure that the information will be helpful for everyone who dreams of cruising—whether now or soon.

The Capable Cruiser is a logical extension of the Pardeys’ Self Sufficient Sailor, with more emphasis on seamanship underway, including careful analysis of extreme anchoring situations and solutions for mitigating them. Underlying each and every chapter is the warmth and encouragement that spurred Herb McCormick, former editor of Cruising World magazine, to label Lin and Larry Pardey “the enablers.”

Read also on this website

• First-time voyagers — What did they worry about that never happened? (Part 2)
• Join Lin and Larry Pardey at US West coast seminars as they introduce new book

More information (external links)

• Capable Cruiser is available at Lin’s website: www.landlpardey.com and amazon.com

Amanda and John Neal (s/v Mahina Tiare) were in the Samoan capital, Apia in September 2009 when a powerful tsunami generated by an undersea earthquake killed dozens and wiped out several villages in the Pacific islands of Samoa, American Samoa, and Tonga. Amanda described their experience in Earthquakes and Tsunamis – Part 1: Amanda Neal reports from Samoa (and Hawaii). Here, in Part 2, she reflects on the experience and offers suggestions for preparing for and responding to earthquake and tsunami alerts.

59% of tsunamis occur in the Pacific with 80% caused by earthquakes

As sailors we need to be aware of the ever present threat of a tsunami.

By establishing emergency procedures for your crew and vessel along with knowing what to expect and do in the event of a tsunami it will be far less likely that you and your crew will become casualties and that your vessel will sustain damage.

Samoa Tsunami travel times (from the NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center’s website)

Time is the essence.

In the event of an earthquake, time is the essence as there may only be four minutes from the time of the earthquake to the arrival of a tsunami.

Tsunamis travel at 300-600 mph in the deep and open ocean so waiting to see if civil defense alarms sound after an earthquake is not wise.

When we experienced the earthquake in Apia, Samoa in 2009 the alarm sounded approximately 12 minutes later. Already the water was rapidly receding from Apia Marina where we were moored. At the instant the sirens went off, the tsunami was already coming ashore on the South side of the island in a series of waves that would claim over 130 lives. The quake was centered approximately 120 miles south of Samoa and about 100 miles West of American Samoa.

The NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center is located at Ewa Beach, Hawaii. They have seafloor and coastal sensors located around and across the Pacific but after an earthquake it takes them at least 12-15 minutes to analyze data to determine if there is the potential for a tsunami.

It is important to note that there can be as much as 300-400 miles between tsunami crests, so after the initial series of tsunami waves hit, the next set of waves may occur up to one hour later. There may be as many as nine consecutive wave sets.

This was the case in the 1960 tsunami that devastated Hilo, Hawaii, which had 35’ waves and claimed 61 lives.

Tsunamis can also wrap around islands.

Earthquake and Tsunami Awareness

Mid Ocean

As mid-ocean tsunami wave height is generally less than 3’, tsunamis are frequently unnoticed by mariners. However, here is an earthquake account from Brian Taylor aboard Kyogle.

I was approximately 100-150 miles from the September 29th [Samoan] earthquake center on and the effect on Kyogle was a bit scary.

She started shaking as if you were driving a car with all the wheels about to fall off.

I assumed that I had major trouble with my transmission system so stopped the engine and stopped the prop shaft from turning…..still shaking…checked the sails to see if they were flapping madly….

No problems there. The shaking stops and then restarts for a short while longer.

I was talking on my SSB radio a few minutes later and was then advised that a tsunami warning was in force.

When Ashore in a Coastal Location

Receeding and swirling water along the waterfront from the marina in Apia, Samoa

Tsunami damage on the south coast of Upolu Island, Samoa – (Photo: Jill Josselyn)

In any coastal location always note the tidal range and times.

If you ever see the sea level rising higher or receding lower than normal realize that this is the natural warning sign of an approaching tsunami.

If ashore, do not go out on the exposed reef or shore to collect fish, as locals frequently do. You must immediately run inland to high ground or get above the third floor of a sturdy building, if available.

Tsunamis have traveled .7 mile or further inland if the terrain is flat, so the option of going to the highest floor of a sturdy building may be safer than attempting to run inland.

In the Samoan tsunami the ground floors of many buildings were washed clean of everything and it would not have been possible to survive due to backwash of debris and swift currents, while above the third floor many buildings were relatively undamaged.

When Aboard

If you are docked and experience an earthquake or rapidly receding water, immediately start your engine, cut your docklines and motor at full speed to water deeper than 150’.

If the event occurs at night and/or it isn’t possible to safely leave the harbor, quickly leave your boat running for the hills or to a tall, substantial building.

At Anchor

If you are at anchor and experience an earthquake or rapidly receding water, immediately start your engine, raise your anchor and get to deeper water.

In the 2009 tsunami that hit Niuatoputapu, Tonga, friends aboard a 39’ sloop tried to raise anchor immediately after the earthquake but found their chain wrapped around a coral head, so they let out all of their chain.

When they saw the 13’ high surge come over the reef they kept the bow pointing into the wave while maintaining full forward throttle. They managed to survive the series of waves and swirling current with only stretched chain and a damaged windlass.

When leaving the boat, here are some priorities to quickly grab:

John putting on his running shoes as we leave the marina (Apia, Samoa)

1. Passports, cash and credit cards
2. Iridium satellite phone
3. Cell phone
4. VHF handheld radio
   (this proved very helpful in Samoa)
5. Flashlights
6. Knapsack
7. Water bottle
8. Granola bars or similar
9. Necessary prescription medicines
10. Running shoes
11. Jacket

About Amanda Swan Neal

John and Amanda Neal

With over 237,000 miles, including Sydney-Hobart Races and numerous Cape Horn roundings, Amanda Swan Neal’s offshore sailing started before she was a teen with a family cruise through the South Pacific and on to Seattle.

Upon returning to New Zealand she became a sailmaker and rigger, completing the 1990 Whitbread Around the World Race aboard Maiden.

s/v MAHINA TIARE

In 1994 she fell in love with John Neal or perhaps Mahina Tiare II‘s passage to Antarctica.

Together they run Mahina Expeditions annually conducting 8 intensive offshore sail-training expeditions aboard their Hallberg-Rassy 46 Mahina Tiare III, presentations at major boat shows, and several Offshore Cruising Seminars.

Mahina Tiare‘s 2010 expedition circuit in will be in the South Pacific from New Zealand to Tahiti then weaving through the South Sea Isles to New Caledonia before returning to New Zealand.

Author of The Essential Galley Companion, Amanda writes the monthly “Galley Essentials” article for 48 North magazine and has contributed to Blue Water Sailing, Cruising World, Latitude 38 and Sail Magazine.

When not enlightening others with the joys of sailing Amanda can be heard Celtic step dancing or seen out paddling.

Related articles (on this website)

• Earthquakes and Tsunamis – Part 1: Amanda Neal reports from Samoa (and Hawaii)
• Amanda Neal’s April Seminars on Offshore Cruising
• Read what Amanda Swan Neal had to say in our Galley Advice from 18 Cruising Women article.

More info

• NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center
• Mahina Expeditions website: www.mahina.com

MAHINA TIARE in Apia Marina – Samoa	Samoan tsunami (Credit NOAA / PMEL / Center for Tsunami Research )

Samoa

“Earthquake?!” we said to each other.

“Not a bad one” John commented as the ground continued to roll and shake.

“Hum” I thought as I wondered how crew are faring back aboard Mahina Tiare in Apia Marina.

The previous day, Monday 29th September we’d cleared into Samoa with our expedition crew of six after completing the 180 mile passage from Niuatoputapu, Tonga.

That night we’d all gone to bed rather pooped so when John and I left on a dawn run to reacquaint ourselves with downtown Apia I was surprised to see most of our crew awake and heading for the showers.

As John and I left Farmer Joes supermarket with an armload of hot bread, the street started shaking.

I looked around thinking a truck was passing by but saw no heavy equipment. I was a little behind John, I’d been peering in a shop window, so I ran to catch him up for he was now standing in the middle of the street.

“Quick, we’d best leg it back to the boat!” I said.

Location of the earthquake (Map from the website news.bbc.co.uk)

We quickly made the ten minute run back to Mahina Tiare, keeping clear of all tall buildings and power lines. My eyes were fixated on the harbourfront watching for any signs of receding water.

In 1977 I’d experienced a 7.7 earthquake while in the small boat basin in Nukulofala, Tonga, aboard our family cruising yacht Swanhaven. It occurred at 2am and all the cruisers had stood on deck in the dark discussing the possibility of a tsunami. One did not eventuate but I was now wondering the same as we ran back to the marina.

We arrived back at Mahina Tiare to find our crew in good spirits.

I chatted with Elaine who said as the quake struck she had awoken to a strange jiggling. After going to the cockpit she looked about as other cruisers appeared on deck. As the quick jiggling motion continued for several minutes everyone then assumed it was an earthquake. After chatting with Elaine and our crew for a few moments I went aft to gather my shower kit.

It was a tsunami alert.

Suddenly loud civil defense sirens sounded. It only took a minute to register what it meant, then only a few seconds to realize it was a tsunami alert.

“Grab your passports and run” I told our crew.

I set about shutting ports and hatches while John gathered boat papers and our passports. Marina staff was now yelling urgently for everyone to run for the hills and fire truck sirens were also joining in with the civil defense warning. We had to make a quick decision.

“Do we run or put to sea?” asked John and I to each other.

We noticed the water in the marina had started to move about and had quickly dropped four feet. Sea water was surging up and down, dropping only slightly lower after each surge.

We watched across the dock as Ernie and Charlene on Lauren Grace, a Knysna 440 catamaran, took off slewing sideways out the marina with the powerful current sweeping them out. One of the Pago Pago car ferries also cast lines and departed.

Lauren Grace leaving the marina	Note the receeding water on the marina breakwater

When we were entering the marina we’d discovered that the marina entrance is very shallow; we only had a depth of 1.7 feet under the keel in places, and numerous large unmarked coral heads dot the marina basin and even some slips.

Would we now have enough depth to leave, and what if we got stuck on a coral head?

We decide to run.

This meant running along the waterfront for three blocks to reach the first road going inland. The smart yachties headed for Aggie Grey’s hotel in the middle of the waterfront bay, where hotel staff welcomed them and sent them to the top floors of the five storied building. Here they had a great view of the harbor going dry for several hundred yards out.

John and I soon joined a mass of people, cars and trucks all heading up the hills.

Joining the evacuation heading up the hill	Heading up the hill. Note ferry and yacht in the distance putting to sea

Although the fire department kept directing everyone further inland we decided there was no way a tsunami would go further than where we were so we took shelter in the courtyard of a church.

An 18’ tsunami hit the entire South side of the island.

Tsunami damage on the South coast of Upolu Island, Samoa (Photos: Jill Josselyn)

After half an hour we stopped a passing taxi heading back to the harbour to see if he had any news.

He mentioned that the radio said a tsunami had struck the Eastern end of the island and that a school had collapsed with at least three children dead and more were trapped in the wreckage.

Little did we know that as the sirens went off an 18’ tsunami hit the entire South side of the island causing 130+ deaths and massive destruction.

John and I quickly assumed that a tsunami can’t hit both sides of an island and went back to Mahina Tiare. We’ve since learned that tsunamis in fact can wrap around islands.

Back to Mahina Tiare

Our crew, Jill, Molly and Roy volunteer at Red Cross

Our crew had been offered rides inland and were not able to return until around noon due to police road blocks and no final all-clear given over the radio or sirens system.

Relieved to be safe we then spent a few hours calming our nerves while completing medical class, sewing and splicing. Molly, Jill and Roy decided to volunteer at Red Cross and headed off in their rental truck while the rest of us choose to stay put.

Second alert

John putting on his running shoes as we leave the marina

When the tsunami sirens went off again around 6 pm, the police and fire trucks came roaring down the harbour front yelling that everyone must leave immediately.

This time three yachts headed out to sea while we headed to Aggie Gray’s Hotel where the staff welcomed us and asked us to hurry up the stairs to one of the top floors. We met a nice couple from Auckland who let us stay on their balcony which had an excellent view of the marina and harbor.

When we switched on the TV to view the news we found the local coverage of the tsunami quite amateurish and disturbing. It was rather indiscriminant with images of distraught families and deceased bodies in piles so we turned it off.

Thankfully after an hour of nothing much going on along the deserted waterfront word of the “All Clear” filtered up to us.

As we returned to the marina Ernie from Laura Grace said that he’d just overheard a conversation on the VHF from the RNZ Air Force P-3 Orion aircraft that had been searching for bodies. They said another tsunami was expected in 20 minutes.

We quickly returned to Mahina Tiare to grab some more things including the handheld VHF. As we switched it on we overhear the NZAF pilot on the VHF asking Apia Port Control for an update on the now imminent tsunami. Port Control said that the last warning was for high waves on the village on the South side of the island that has been devastated and the alarm should not have been sounded again for this side.

Whew! That night we slept with our knapsacks and running shoes in the cockpit ready to sprint back to Aggie Grey’s Room 313 where our Kiwi friends have invited us to return if necessary.

The days after

Wednesday and Thursday in Apia seemed rather normal but fairly quiet as no government offices were open.

Other than the small local morning paper and radio news rebroadcast from Radio New Zealand once a day, getting local news was difficult. It was certainly hard to know what is happening if one didn’t speak Samoan so we found it best to search the internet for updates.

The airport and flights were running nearly to schedule so our crew managed to fly home. There weren’t any shortages of supplies and outside aid continually arrived on military flights. The Samoan prime mister returned from overseas and the New Zealand prime minister arrived aboard a RNAF 757 containing a portable desalinization plant, Samoan-speaking medical personnel, emergency supplies and rescue sniffer dogs.

Kalalau, a sloop from Seattle, left Thursday loaded to the gunnels with supplies for Niuatoputapu,Tonga, and several other yachts planned on making the 180 mile passage there once news was received of the required supplies. The Tongan government patrol boat with medical personnel arrived a few days after the tsunami followed by French naval ship from Noumea.

In the meantime two yachts in the anchorage were a vital communications link to a government-chartered plane that was sent to survey the damage in Niuatoputapu. It could not land as debris had covered the airport runway and telecommunications services were badly affected.

Happy and thankfully safe in Apia Marina

In need of a break John and I are chose an anchorage in small bay to the East of Apia for a few quiet days to work on Mahina Tiare. We listened in on the morning SSB cruisers net to see how everyone fared especially the yachts in Pago Pago and Niuatoputapu and talked a lot together about Tuesday’s events.

We know we made the right decision to run but realized we now needed to so some more research on earthquake and tsunami response.

What we did learn from Lauren Grace is that you need to go to sea to a depth of 100-150’ to be safe but after hearing of the yachts in Pago Pago that got tragically hit by the tsunami you’d best be quick.

Hawaii

27th February 2010: Hawaii is under tsunami warning following a massive earthquake in Chile. Amanda and John are there!

Last Saturday morning at 6am tsunami warning sirens roused John and I from our sleep in oceanfront condo in Hilo, Hawaii. We instantly leap out of bed and proceeded to grab important documents, including our computers, and switch ourselves into evacuation mode.

In checking with our neighbors we were informed we had a leisurely four hours to evacuate before the expected tsunami from a devastating Chilean earthquake was to arrive.

Phew, not like Samoa though even without crew or a vessel to be responsible for it was still a little nerve wracking. We had friends in the Galapagos and knew they would also be affected.

So this week in order to become better educated on earthquake and tsunamis John and I began doing some research. In reviewing our actions in Samoa there was a lot we didn’t know and now wish we had.

In order for others to be better educated we’ve written the following earthquake/tsunami procedures…

March 13, 2010

Amanda Swan Neal

About Amanda Swan Neal

John and Amanda Neal

With over 237,000 miles, including Sydney-Hobart Races and numerous Cape Horn roundings, Amanda Swan Neal’s offshore sailing started before she was a teen with a family cruise through the South Pacific and on to Seattle.

Upon returning to New Zealand she became a sailmaker and rigger, completing the 1990 Whitbread Around the World Race aboard Maiden.

s/v MAHINA TIARE

In 1994 she fell in love with John Neal or perhaps Mahina Tiare II‘s passage to Antarctica.

Together they run Mahina Expeditions annually conducting 8 intensive offshore sail-training expeditions aboard their Hallberg-Rassy 46 Mahina Tiare III, presentations at major boat shows, and several Offshore Cruising Seminars.

Mahina Tiare‘s 2010 expedition circuit in will be in the South Pacific from New Zealand to Tahiti then weaving through the South Sea Isles to New Caledonia before returning to New Zealand.

Author of The Essential Galley Companion, Amanda writes the monthly “Galley Essentials” article for 48 North magazine and has contributed to Blue Water Sailing, Cruising World, Latitude 38 and Sail Magazine.

When not enlightening others with the joys of sailing Amanda can be heard Celtic step dancing or seen out paddling.

Related articles

• Earthquakes & tsunamis – Part 2: lessons learned in Samoa
• Read what Amanda Swan Neal had to say in our Galley Advice from 18 Cruising Women article.

More info

• Mahina Expeditions website: www.mahina.com
• Amanda will be giving seminars at the Strictly Sail Pacific Boat Show April 15 – 18, 2010 in Oakland CA. We will be publishing details here on our blog soon. View the complete Seminar Schedule.