ADVENTURE
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Bret and Chad Van Roden's voyage of the broken compassPublished: December 01, 2010
November 2010 blog from the Broken Compass
We have developed a reputation for cruising the Pacific under sail without assistance, and Pago Pago (below) was hopefully our final challenge. Our entrance into the harbor went textbook perfect. The lee shore anchorage had 25 knots of breeze, intermittent squalls and poor anchor holding. We rounded a moored fishing trawler, gracefully maneuvering the boat upwind to deploy the anchor. With the anchor down and sails under control, we drifted back to set the it beautifully on the bottom. There was only one catch (or, to put it literally, lack thereof): the boat kept drifting.
We re-engaged the jib, sailing on a backwards drift and tactfully dodged three other boats. About 230 feet of chain on anchor No. 1 and 180 feet of chain/1-inch nylon rode on anchor No. 2 finally settled us into 20 feet of water as the hook caught an unmarked mooring line. We ended up dragging three-quarters of the way across the anchorage. All of the other sailors are still unsure of whether the Broken Compass is crewed by luck or skill. (Sometimes we are not quite sure ourselves.) Whichever the case, they presented us with a coconut award for surviving yet again. The boat is now berthed safely in the Pago Pago marina as shown:
Pago Pago harbor is in American Samoa, which is in U.S. territory. What this means is they have the same government set up and congressional representation. The government here is extremely corrupt. Its members receive over $300 million annually in subsidies from the U.S. government, which is disappears amongst various organizations.
The island is far from paradise. Besides offshore tuna, a reef and the occasional friendly turtle, American Samoa traded clear water and marine life for industry and plastic. Trash and pollution are just a way of life.
The NFL linebacker breeding ground reputation has been confirmed: they are HUGE! The people here have coined a phrase, "Eat like a Samoan." McDonalds even packs on extra beef patties to the double quarter pounder because supersizing is not enough. Corruption, pollution and size aside; Samoans are generally a carefree and welcoming people.
The 11-mile island offers mountainous terrain surrounded by coral reefs. There are a few good hikes that we explored in the first two weeks. Makai particularly enjoys chasing mice, geckos and the invasive king toads on the shaded paths. Since the majority of the land is privately held by villages, exploration of the island islimited. We were deterred from one path by two men with shotguns, who not-so-politely informed us that we were trespassing.
We have spent a lot of time mingling and saying farewell to friends whom we have made throughout the Pacific. Our main project here is to fix the Broken Compass’ engine, which hasn't worked for eight months now. Bret is flying to Mexico for a cousin's wedding. He will continue to Pennsylvania to visit family and friends. I (Chad) will work on the boat with Makai to overhaul our rusted diesel engine. Wish me luck!.
| Bret and Chad Van Roden's voyage of the broken compassPublished: December 01, 2010 |
November 2010 blog from the Broken Compass
The island is far from paradise. Besides offshore tuna, a reef and the occasional friendly turtle, American Samoa traded clear water and marine life for industry and plastic. Trash and pollution are just a way of life.
The 11-mile island offers mountainous terrain surrounded by coral reefs. There are a few good hikes that we explored in the first two weeks. Makai particularly enjoys chasing mice, geckos and the invasive king toads on the shaded paths. Since the majority of the land is privately held by villages, exploration of the island islimited. We were deterred from one path by two men with shotguns, who not-so-politely informed us that we were trespassing.
