Getting wet...seriously wet

Yesterday was quite a day! It had all started well with an early start for our usual Saturday morning training paddle. As prep for the big Vaka Eiva comp in November, we decided it was time to practice in the big waves. We headed out of the lagoon, past the northern point of the island, offshore from the airport. Our stroke and timing was good, power was on and we were riding the waves well. At Number 1, in the front of the canoe, I could tell the crew were pulling well and everyone was feeling good. We had been going for about 90 minutes and had just about reached our mark when….Stephen yelled “watch the ama”. We went up the face of a big wave & came down the other side with a CRASH. The rear iako cracked (that’s arm holding the ama/outrigger), the outrigger popped off & we capsized.

We spent the next very intense 90 min pushing, pulling, kicking, paddling & treading water while Uncle Jnr Maoate used his 15hp boat to tow the fully submerged vaka away from the reef. We temporarily jury rigged the ama and then somehow the 15hp managed to tow the full canoe – which must have weighed around 800 – 900kg at this stage into calmer water. Our steerer Paul did an awesome job coping with the underwater vaka and the tow rope, and got the canoe successfully back around the point.

We stopped to lash the canoe to the support boat, have a muesli bar and a laugh about the morning’s adventure. I never felt in danger – despite the possible consequences of things going wrong. The guys in the crew have amazing local knowledge, skills and strength. We finally made it home safely, 3 hours late, missing shoes, bottles & Paul’s watch. Of course, this being the islands there was time for Junior to go spear fishing where he came up with a nice haul of parrot fish. As we came back through the Amuri Passage the sun was shining and the water was luminescent blue…even chaos is beautiful on Aitutaki. Co-incidentally last night was Stephen’s Birthday so we had the chance for a good laugh and a toast to celebrate the day’s excitement. I think Jen had a moment, about 1pm – when I was 3 hours overdue, where she seriously wondered how she’s come to re-live her Mother’s life!!!

A Weaving I Will Go

I have been interested in the local weaving for quite a while and decided to get my A-into-G and make some enquiries a few weeks back. I talked to my lovely friends at the laundry who pointed me to the Vainetini (womens group) and Auntie Josie. I told Auntie what I wanted to acheive and the conversation went like this:

ME: Auntie, I would like to weave a mat. Do you have any rau ara (pandanus leaves) available for sale?
JOSIE: (sideways look) Who is teaching you?
ME: I have no teacher, but I have been practicing on Nikau leaves (coconut).
JOSIE: Hmm... ... ... ... I have some tupe (rolls) here, but why don't you start on a placemat? Here is one, see if you can copy it.
ME: (reluctantly) OK, I can do that.
JOSIE: Then I will help get started on your mat.

So away I went and completed a few placemats, having learned about preparing the rau ara from Nanny Tav (soften it by running aver a sharp edge such as timber or a knife), and they went very well. The housekeeping girls were impressed! Meanwhile I had come across a book written in 1927 called "Material Culture of the Cook Islands (Aitutaki)" by Te Rangi Hiroa, a scholar from NZ, which had in amazing detail the traditonal methods of plaiting (weaving).

So with book 'in hand' (on line at NZ Electronic Text Center) I made a start, and then kept on going. The picture with me in it is the completed hatu rua, a starting edge with wefts running both ways. The second picture is part way throught the second row. The third picture shows the completed raurahanga (a length of mat body), with the start of the pae (decorative border).

I took my completed raurahanga (mat body part 1) to Auntie Josie to see during a session of the Vainetini. I sweated nervously as Auntie unrolled my mat in front of all the other aunties who where there working together on a Tivaevae (patchwork quilt). Then it was discussed and examined, while I sweated away.

Auntie Josie turned to me and nodded, "you have done well, very well. The ladies are saying that you have put thew to shame, that you have done this so well and they have not bothered to do any weaving." I was delighted, but somewhat awkward. But all was positive, and I returned the following day to start the border with Josie 1-on1. It was hard work! After 4 hours I returned home exhausted. It is hard to describe, but the pattern emerges on a diagonal, so you need to figure out which wefts to lift at each line to produce a pattern which doesn't appear for another 10 rows. Once you get going it is fine, but challenging.

So the next step is to complete the pae border for this section, then turn it around, split the thick butt pieces into wefts and add in new wefts of rau ara to complete a new raurahanga section which will end in the opposite border.

COOL!

Jill Of All Trades...

Well while the Southern Cousins have been freezing themselves in NZ & Australia, we have had a few nights where the blankets have come out and we have even had to shut the windows. Then here we are today and it is bikini weather again! The kids have been making excellent use of the swings that Michael has hung from a plank nailed between two coconut trees. It is great to have another option for them.

It is nice to know you have a few feathers to your bow, but I hadn't realised that hair-dressing, teaching, weaving, writing sponsorship letters, desktop publishing, IT consultant and repairs, team uniform coordination and logo development were amongst them (at least not simultaneously).

Paddling has segued into steering for me, with a few tuition sessions from some of the 'uncles' and a heap of time on the water. Things have come pretty naturally and my crew have been complimentary. They aren't muttering about crooked courses or crashes anyway (except for one unfortunate incident in the lagoon during my first steering attempt in a sprint race, when I rode our canoe outrigger up the hull of another canoe!).

This culminated in a nerve-wracking session outside the reef, where

1. It was the first time I have paddled outside the reef
2. It was the first time I have navigated the Arutanga(main) passage, which is known for it's rather nasty temperament

While I made Uncle Jnr Moaote steer on the way out, when we were in the swells and paused to watch a large sea turtle, he jumped overboard and back I went to the number six seat. So off we went, concentrating VERY hard, trying to read the wind and swells, the safest but closest we could get to the reef, and all without slowing the canoe down too much.

At the turnaround we started to run with the swells, where nearly everything I had learned in the last 4km was thrown out the window, as the canoe behaves quite differently running with the waves. We had one minor gasp from the middle of the boat as we ran off one swell and started to pull away to the left it a sharp turn, but a quick correction meant the ama (outrigger) didn't leave the water, so quite safe after all. Jnr was keen to get me anticipating the swells to do some surfing, but that was really one bridge too far - next time maybe!

Once we got back to the reef, Uncle showed some tough love and made me steer back through the reef break. Stay left---not too far left---DON'T go right---here comes the wave---we need some POWER--- MORE POWER!!! Later they told me that the passage was pretty calm really, and it was pretty flat, but the currents are something else. I felt as much adrenaline as during Cyclone Pat, but I felt exultant to bring my crew safely home.

Michael has been doing a lot of training outside the reef, culminating last week in a 2.5 hour paddle south, past the end of the reef and towards Rarotonga! They saw some whales and turtles and by all reports it was a great paddle.

So on the rare night we aren't paddling, we are hiding out and recovering at home. I have been playing a bit more with my camera and lenses and my new tripod, and have the following to share from our lovely front yard, the Aitutaki Lagoon.

Birthdays, Visitors and Paddling

Well good grief, we are late bunnies this month. Too much paddling I'd say. When we are not on the water paddling (on alternate nights) we are establishing the Oe Vaka Aitutaki blog, editing and uploading regatta photos and compiling race results. The rest of the time is spent with correspondence school and work.

May/June has been a slow month for tourists on Aitutaki - due mainly to the misconception that the island has not recovered from the cyclone. The truth is that the place is looking great. The has been remarkable recovery in the vegetation and everywhere is looking green. Local fruit and veg is coming back and the weather has been superb for the last 2weeks - glorious sunshine, cloudless skies and perfect 25c - 28c most days. With the clear days the night time temperatures have dropped so the early morning scooter riding locals are now wearing overcoats, scarves and beanies!!

But while work has been quiet, the Shahs have not. Of course there was a birthday at the end of May (and the discovery of a few more grey hairs) and an impromptu visit by Nana Lorraine and cousin Harrison. They came for a week with a weeks notice, and it was lovely to have them. The kids especially enjoyed having Harrison to play with and went wild. Coincidentally there was a regatta on the day of Jen's birthday, so she was serenaded all day long. Michael organised a spread at the Fishing Club in the evening and we partied all night long. (Thanks to Nana the baby sitter)

The following weekend, after our visitors had left, the Vaka Maevatini regatta was held over two days. It was the first time this new, annual regatta had been held, and we were happy to be a part of the organising and the paddling too. Saturday saw the long distance races - 12km, 6km and 4km, as well as a traditional warriors welcome and canoe blessing which was awesome. Michael's Masters Men's team won their 12km race in 1:04:33, also being 2nd in the Open Men's category. After vowing not to do any distance races, Jenni ended up doing 2 x 4km races with the Masters Women (1st) and Mixed Masters (2nd). Prizegiving that night was one of the best nights we have had on the island, but the sore muscles and hangovers on Sunday (when Michael had to work) were just awful.

On Monday we had sprint races for the V6 (6 man canoe) and V1 plus some V1 distance races. Jenni spent most of the day doing timekeeping, while Michael's races ended up bunched together in the afternoon. None-the-less, Jen's crew won the Masters women in a tough race, and Michael took a 1 second win with the Masters men. There was another prizegiving, but we took off early with the kids.

Since then, it has been more of the same and more of the same.

Araura Oe Vaka & Bailey's Birthday

And now Bailey is 8! We had a nice family dinner, opened up some pressies (thank you very much), and enjoyed a slice of R2D2 cake before taking it to school the next day. I like May.

I have jumped in and created a blog for the Araura Oe Vaka Association (Araura is the traditional name for Aitutaki) which represents the three Aitutaki Oe Vaka Clubs. Check it out - Oe Vaka Aitutaki. It is just a small starter to help develop a web presence for the upcoming Queens Birthday Regatta, and for later in the year for a regatta to follow Vaka Eiva in Rarotonga in November.

For the record, in the weekend regatta just been, the Lipstick Brigade (my ladies V6 crew - pink pareau and big earings are compulsory) wiped the floor, defeating allcomers in both the 250m and 500m races. Then I filled a space with the Ranganui Retreat team and won two races there, paddling at number 5 (near the back).

Michael won in the Masters Men division and came second in the Open Men, as well as filling in with a few other crews. He paddles at number 1 (above). The kids paddled too but got blown around a bit - we had a king tide being pushed by a strong wind, so all the tamariki played at being swept away by the current. In the pictures below, Jamie, Michael and Bailey are paddling 1, 2 and 4, while Sienna and Quentin practice on the beach.

It was another good day on the water. I like May.

School Books for Aitutaki

We are delighted to report that the books and computer that were so generously donated by many old friends, family and new friends for the Teka'aroa SDA School in Aitutaki have been received by the school with many, many thanks.

The shipment, which had been put together by the Manns and Shakmanns in Warkworth, then delivered to East Tamaki, was finally landed on the last day of Term 1. As soon as school resumed, we delivered 12 boxes of library books and an Apple computer (from Milford Baptist Kindergarten) to the school in their temporary home, "The Shed".

The children were delighted to help open the boxes and look through the books, as 90 percent of their books were lost when the library and other buildings were flattened during Cyclone Pat in February. They are already checking books out of their library for home reading, which is delightful to see - their own toys and books having been largely destroyed.

We made a presentation to the school board, who were touched and greatful for everyones generosity. They are very thankful and quite delighted. The books are an incredible resource for our students, and the computer was in use the day after it was received!

We are particularly proud of the role that the children played in raising awareness and funds for Aitutaki. The SDA teachers are currently discussing the best use for the $530 that was raised by Sherwood Primary School after Chloe Mann (our neice) put a proposal to her principal for a mufti day and coin trail. Felix Tucker (Sienna's God-Cousin) at Red Beach Primary School also made an amazing contribution with books that he collected. It was delightful to see our old school Warkworth Primary being so generous with the books they had taken out of circulation from their library.

Thanks to the following for donations of books and assistance:
• The Shah Family
• The Tucker Family
• The Mann Family (Snr)
• The Mann Family (Jnr)
• The Shackleton-Mann Family
• Pacific Resort Aitutaki
• Warkworth Primary School
• Sherwood Primary School
• Milford Baptist Kindergarten
There were many others who donated books as well.

Meitaki Atupaki - Thank you very much
Kia Manuia - Good luck & live well

Fishing for Mothers Day

What a lovely adventurous weekend! While NZ mum’s snuggled in front of the fire, I went to sea in a tiny boat, soaked by rain squalls, rocked by 5m swells and harassed by sharks. Ah, such a flair for the dramatic, but not a word of exaggeration!

The first fishing competition of the Aitutaki Game Fishing Club since February’s hurricane was held on Saturday, delayed by a week due to the island running out of fuel again… The weather has been typical for April & May with 4 out of 7 days of heavy rain. Enough rain that the children and I have started building dams on the driveway to divert water runoff from the road and hillside from our front yard. However we paddled with our vaka crews on the lagoon in a beautiful sunset on Friday evening and the stars were bright that night – all good signs for a fine Saturday.

I had made arrangements with Willie Bond (brother-in-law of our head housekeeper) to join his crew Tautu wharf at 6am. The stars were still bright when I left home but there were silent lightening flashes far to the north. I met Joe and Etu with the boat (a solid aluminum open boat, 2m wide and 7m long) at the jetty and we took off with the first hint of daylight across the lagoon around the coral heads to the very small passage at Papau motu. As the tide receded there was quite a current at the passage, which incidentally is small enough not to feature as a passage on any maps I have seen. Having convinced myself that these guys had used the passage many times before, I held on tight and we gunned it though. Well, so far, so exciting! We had a good head-start on the fishing grounds of the Eastern side.

We had lines in straight away and trolled to the FAD (fish aggregation device) that Etu explained would usually have flags to mark it, but that pesky lack of petrol had prevented boats from going out. Nothing was biting at the FAD but the flying fish were incredible to watch as the skated then flew across the glassy surface of the swells. The water surface was turned pink by the sun rising in a small patch of clear sky, surrounded by dark bands of cloud (absent the previous lightening flashes, I was relieved to see). We trolled south along the reef without a strike for half and hour before the rain started to fall. The surf was huge against the reef and it was quite beautiful to watch the smooth backs of the swells as they rose steeply revealing turquoise at the crest before collapsing into boiling mess of white. At this point we heard a single loud clap of thunder over the island, which we later found out, struck the sea directly off the resort where some of the other fishing boats were. We motored 10km down to the South-Eastern corner of the reef, off Motukitiu, also known as Shark Alley.

At last we had a triple strike, and in the now pouring rain, and rolling around in steep 4-5 meter swells from 3 directions, the guys hauled in while I kept the boat straight. It was too rough for me to hold my footing with a rod in hand so I was happy for the guys to go at it. From that strike we landed one 6kg yellow fin tuna and lost two more to the sharks, evidenced by a clean cut in the line and all sign of fish and trace gone. We patrolled the southern corner and again had a triple strike. By this time the rain was torrential and as we turned to the rods the reef and the motu (island) slipped from view. The squall got heavier and as my line was immediately severed by a shark I was able to wind it in while Willie peered through the gloom for the surf and Joe & Etu hauled in only to loose their fish too. There followed an anxious 5-10 minutes in the driving wind and rain motoring slowly along what we thought was the position of the reef, rolling over the heaving swells. Eight eyes strained to see either reef or land and eight ears were open for the sound of surf crashing. Because of the mixed up seas it was very disorienting (for me anyway), but low and behold eventually the motu appeared like a shadow safely off the port bow and we could set the rods again.

The rain let up a little for the next hour to a heavy drizzle. We got a single strike that Etu started to bring in. It was soon apparent that we would be there for a while as the line had gone straight to the bottom – at least 800m away. After 5 minutes on the rod, Joe took over and a harness came out. After 5 minutes of that Etu put on some gloves and started pulling the line in hand over hand while Joe reeled in. As I stood in the bow out of the way Willie jockeyed the boat forward and backward and even in a circle around the line. He looked to me. “Either a big tuna or a big shark” he commented. “Better to be a big tuna” he followed up with his ever present grin. After nearly 30 minutes of tossing and toil, there was a flash of big white belly. “Big shark” said Willie in disappointment.

It came to the surface thrashing about and revealed itself to be nearly 2.5m long. Etu took the long spike and delivered a stab between the eyes and the shark bashed the side of the boat with its tail. After several more blows they were able to put a rope around its tail, haul it a little over the side of the boat, and they proceeded to cut the tail off. Still hooked up, the shark bled out in the water and I waited for the rest of his friends to arrive in numbers. They didn’t, and it looked like it was a good way to make sure the shark was dead enough to bring on board. I have to say that I was in two minds at this point as to whether that was a good idea or not. My ego was pretty keen on rolling up to the weigh-in with such a prize winning beast in the truck (around 100kg), but the mechanics of getting the shark to the wharf were a bit more problematic. Even if we were strong enough to get the thing into the boat, in these seas it would be a dangerous proposition. That is assuming that it was dead enough not to want to take bite out of a leg while sharing our small amount of deck space.

So after retrieving the lure, the shark was set adrift, hopefully to feed his friends so they wouldn’t be so hungry for our fish.

The rain had become a relentless nuisance, and it was getting cold, so the skipper decided to start for home. On the troll back we landed a 7kg barracuda. We gunned it back through the passage and to the wharf. Sopping wet, we drove to town and weighed our two fish in. Most boats were still out and the day was finally clearing. Willie decided to go back out but I declined his invitation to join them in favour of a hot shower, lunch and a nap!

When we met that night for prize-giving, I was amazed to hear that they had gone out 7km from the island in the afternoon and caught another 55kg of fish, including the biggest tuna at 15kg. In the end we lost out by half a kilo on the aggregate catch weight, but everyone was impressed by the shark photos that I had printed out and taken with me. We should have bought the shark tail in – it might have been the extra 500gm we needed!

Mothers Day was lovely, with breakfast in bed and dinner and a movie with the family. Nice.