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Captain's Log 9: French Polynesia--
The Tuamotus
June 2008
The Tuamotus
June 2008
June 4 - June 8: The wild ride from the Marquesas to the Tuamotus
It's only 500 plus miles from the Marquesas Islands to the atolls of the Tuamotus, but what an exciting
ride we had. We started to leave Nuka Hiva and then stopped due to a bad weather forecast. We
waited a few days, and got a worse weather forecast and decided to leave anyway---NOW DOES
THAT MAKE SENSE OR WHAT!? The weather was what Jan would call "very, very interesting!" (How
many times have you heard that?) We were practicing being in the NOW--but found ourselves terrified
of the future (that next wave). Just kidding. The best part was that our wind speed indicator had the
good sense to stop working, so we didn't really know how high the winds were other than reports from
other cruisers having this fun with us. We think we had 20 to 35 knot winds (some cruisers reported
higher) with very steep 8 to 12--maybe 15 foot seas. Hard to tell when your boat seems to be on top
of Mt. Rainier with Jan yelling WHOA..A..A!!!! We slowed the boat down and were relatively
comfortable (and I mean relatively....) After 3-1/2 days, we ended our wild ride by beating against wind
and current through the northern pass of the Tuamotu atoll called Fakarava. With a sigh of relief (and
a couple congratulatory pats on the back), we dropped anchor next to our pals Sally and Brad on Pax
Vobiscum, gratefully accepting their invitation for "sundowners" and dinner.
It's only 500 plus miles from the Marquesas Islands to the atolls of the Tuamotus, but what an exciting
ride we had. We started to leave Nuka Hiva and then stopped due to a bad weather forecast. We
waited a few days, and got a worse weather forecast and decided to leave anyway---NOW DOES
THAT MAKE SENSE OR WHAT!? The weather was what Jan would call "very, very interesting!" (How
many times have you heard that?) We were practicing being in the NOW--but found ourselves terrified
of the future (that next wave). Just kidding. The best part was that our wind speed indicator had the
good sense to stop working, so we didn't really know how high the winds were other than reports from
other cruisers having this fun with us. We think we had 20 to 35 knot winds (some cruisers reported
higher) with very steep 8 to 12--maybe 15 foot seas. Hard to tell when your boat seems to be on top
of Mt. Rainier with Jan yelling WHOA..A..A!!!! We slowed the boat down and were relatively
comfortable (and I mean relatively....) After 3-1/2 days, we ended our wild ride by beating against wind
and current through the northern pass of the Tuamotu atoll called Fakarava. With a sigh of relief (and
a couple congratulatory pats on the back), we dropped anchor next to our pals Sally and Brad on Pax
Vobiscum, gratefully accepting their invitation for "sundowners" and dinner.
Getting involved with the Fakarava community
This cruising life is rough, you know--Iiving in shorts, swim
suits, and bare feet day after day, diving off the boat into
crystal clear, warm water, kayaking along white sandy
beaches, sailing to remote, undeveloped islands. Rough.
But sometimes we wonder--is there something more than
going from one beautiful anchorage to the next?
For us, yes. When we left on our cruise, one of our goals
was to connect with the people and communities we
visited. So when a couple opportunities arose for getting
involved in the community of Fakarava, we jumped at them.
Sally and Brad on Pax Vobiscum started it all. Before we
arrived, they became involved with some local teachers
and community leaders, discussing with them what we
have come to call the "CNED project."
In the Marquessas and Tuamotus, kids attend a school on
their own island until they are 10-12 years old. Then they
are shipped off to a boarding school on another island.
The schools are good, but often the housing is not
appropriate for such young children. The Fakarava kids
will find themselves in a dormitory with 100 other
children--and only one adult supervisor. The kids must
fend for themselves, coming home only one or two times a
year.
The people of Fakarava want to keep their kids home for
at least one or two more years, until they are older and
more capable of being on their own. The alternative to
boarding school is a French correspondence / home
schooling program called CNED.
To make the CNED program work on Fakarava, the
community needs a building for the class, one or two
teachers, CNED and other teaching materials, computers
and internet access, and so forth. The community can
provide most of this, but they don't have sufficient funds to
cover the costs. That's where we come in.
We spent three weeks, meeting with school authorities,
mayors, adjunct mayors, parents, and local leaders.
(French is the language here, so we were always
scrambling for translators--thank goodness so many
cruisers are from Europe and are multi-lingual.) We built
wonderful friendships with Chantal, the school
principal/head teacher, with Marie Claire, one of the
adjunct mayors, with parents and other local leaders. Jan
was in her element. "OF COURSE we can make this
happen," she kept repeating, even when the obstacles
looked insurmountable. And she was right. In three weeks'
time, everything came together to make CNED happen on
Fakarava. Now we just have to raise $20,000. ("A piece of
cake," says little Miss Optimist.) We need your support.
Email us if you are willing to donate to this wonderful
project. We are creating a nonprofit foundation called
"Keep the Kids at Home" to accept donations so they can
be tax deductible. The money would then be transferred to
Fakarava. Thanks in advance for your support. Brad and
Sally Bagshaw, on Pax Vobiscum, have written an article
about the CNED program. The draft copy is below. The
article should appear in the sailing magazine "Latitude 38"
some time in September.
During our time there, we also taught English to about 22
kids. What fun that was, and within a few days, the kids
were greeting the cruisers and tourists on the street with
"Hello how are you, I am fine thank you and you...." On the
last day of school, all the students performed dances and
skits for the parents. We had our kids come forward and
recite in English a little description of themselves, and then
we handed them graduation certificates.
Below is the article written by Brad and Sally about the
CNED program (still draft form) .
This cruising life is rough, you know--Iiving in shorts, swim
suits, and bare feet day after day, diving off the boat into
crystal clear, warm water, kayaking along white sandy
beaches, sailing to remote, undeveloped islands. Rough.
But sometimes we wonder--is there something more than
going from one beautiful anchorage to the next?
For us, yes. When we left on our cruise, one of our goals
was to connect with the people and communities we
visited. So when a couple opportunities arose for getting
involved in the community of Fakarava, we jumped at them.
Sally and Brad on Pax Vobiscum started it all. Before we
arrived, they became involved with some local teachers
and community leaders, discussing with them what we
have come to call the "CNED project."
In the Marquessas and Tuamotus, kids attend a school on
their own island until they are 10-12 years old. Then they
are shipped off to a boarding school on another island.
The schools are good, but often the housing is not
appropriate for such young children. The Fakarava kids
will find themselves in a dormitory with 100 other
children--and only one adult supervisor. The kids must
fend for themselves, coming home only one or two times a
year.
The people of Fakarava want to keep their kids home for
at least one or two more years, until they are older and
more capable of being on their own. The alternative to
boarding school is a French correspondence / home
schooling program called CNED.
To make the CNED program work on Fakarava, the
community needs a building for the class, one or two
teachers, CNED and other teaching materials, computers
and internet access, and so forth. The community can
provide most of this, but they don't have sufficient funds to
cover the costs. That's where we come in.
We spent three weeks, meeting with school authorities,
mayors, adjunct mayors, parents, and local leaders.
(French is the language here, so we were always
scrambling for translators--thank goodness so many
cruisers are from Europe and are multi-lingual.) We built
wonderful friendships with Chantal, the school
principal/head teacher, with Marie Claire, one of the
adjunct mayors, with parents and other local leaders. Jan
was in her element. "OF COURSE we can make this
happen," she kept repeating, even when the obstacles
looked insurmountable. And she was right. In three weeks'
time, everything came together to make CNED happen on
Fakarava. Now we just have to raise $20,000. ("A piece of
cake," says little Miss Optimist.) We need your support.
Email us if you are willing to donate to this wonderful
project. We are creating a nonprofit foundation called
"Keep the Kids at Home" to accept donations so they can
be tax deductible. The money would then be transferred to
Fakarava. Thanks in advance for your support. Brad and
Sally Bagshaw, on Pax Vobiscum, have written an article
about the CNED program. The draft copy is below. The
article should appear in the sailing magazine "Latitude 38"
some time in September.
During our time there, we also taught English to about 22
kids. What fun that was, and within a few days, the kids
were greeting the cruisers and tourists on the street with
"Hello how are you, I am fine thank you and you...." On the
last day of school, all the students performed dances and
skits for the parents. We had our kids come forward and
recite in English a little description of themselves, and then
we handed them graduation certificates.
Below is the article written by Brad and Sally about the
CNED program (still draft form) .
June 9 - July 6, 2008: Life in a coral atoll
We've all seen these enticing images in magazines and on
travel posters: placid turquoise waters dotted with patches of
coral, brilliantly white beaches, swaying palms, and water
clear as glass. Well, guess what? It actually looks like that--in
fact, the real thing is more beautiful than any photo.
There are nearly 80 atolls in the archipelago of the
Tuamotus, some of them 30 or more miles in diameter, with
small pensions, dive shops, black pearl farms, towns, and
roads, others so small they can support only one family--or
just a few palm trees. The low, narrow rings of coral enclose
lovely lagoons, the water the most intense shades of
turquoise imaginable and so clear you can see the ripples in
the sand 30 feet below your boat. The land is so low that
from a distance it looks as though palm trees are growing out
of the ocean itself. Plants and humans cling to the scattered
"motus" (islets), where the main source of income is
cultivating black pearls.
While other cruisers hopped from one atoll to another, we
spent a month in Fakarava, getting involved with the
community of Rotovoa (see below). Toward the end of the
month, we moved to the southern part of the atoll, where we
spent a couple days "drift snorkeling" through the pass. It
was like being in the movie "Finding Nemo"--the most dense,
varied, and colorful coral we've ever seen, nearly 100-foot
visibility, a whole array of colorful tropical fish, plus 4-foot
black-tipped reef sharks. A magical world.
We've all seen these enticing images in magazines and on
travel posters: placid turquoise waters dotted with patches of
coral, brilliantly white beaches, swaying palms, and water
clear as glass. Well, guess what? It actually looks like that--in
fact, the real thing is more beautiful than any photo.
There are nearly 80 atolls in the archipelago of the
Tuamotus, some of them 30 or more miles in diameter, with
small pensions, dive shops, black pearl farms, towns, and
roads, others so small they can support only one family--or
just a few palm trees. The low, narrow rings of coral enclose
lovely lagoons, the water the most intense shades of
turquoise imaginable and so clear you can see the ripples in
the sand 30 feet below your boat. The land is so low that
from a distance it looks as though palm trees are growing out
of the ocean itself. Plants and humans cling to the scattered
"motus" (islets), where the main source of income is
cultivating black pearls.
While other cruisers hopped from one atoll to another, we
spent a month in Fakarava, getting involved with the
community of Rotovoa (see below). Toward the end of the
month, we moved to the southern part of the atoll, where we
spent a couple days "drift snorkeling" through the pass. It
was like being in the movie "Finding Nemo"--the most dense,
varied, and colorful coral we've ever seen, nearly 100-foot
visibility, a whole array of colorful tropical fish, plus 4-foot
black-tipped reef sharks. A magical world.
Jan with Chantal, the
school principal, and
Marie Claire, adjunct
mayor--key players in the
CNED project
school principal, and
Marie Claire, adjunct
mayor--key players in the
CNED project
Fao and one of her
daughters. Fao will be one
of the CNED teachers.
daughters. Fao will be one
of the CNED teachers.
Jan as English teacher. (Scary.)
Nellie, adjunct
mayor, and
Tutu, head
mayor.
Below, Joan
with Marie
Claire and her
friend Sirena.
They took us
on a tour of
the island.
mayor, and
Tutu, head
mayor.
Below, Joan
with Marie
Claire and her
friend Sirena.
They took us
on a tour of
the island.
The crew of Casteele,
plus a fishy friend.
plus a fishy friend.
| Help Keep the Kids at Home The Fakarava Home-Schooling Project Imagine you are the proud parent of an 11-year-old girl in the small village of Rotoava at the northeast corner of Fakarava atoll in the Tuamotus, about 16 degrees south of the equator. You have lived here all your life, as have your parents and their parents before them. While you did not get far in school yourself, you are proud that your oldest daughter is interested in learning, and that she already knows something about computers and the Internet, subjects that are so foreign to you. You are pleased that it looks like she will have more opportunities in this life than you ever had. But tragedy looms. After ages 10 to 12 (roughly fifth grade), the only schooling available to your daughter and her classmates is off island, a long way away in Rangiroa, the largest island in the Tuamotus. There, she will be billeted in a dormitory with nearly a hundred other kids and only one adult supervisor. At her young age, she will have to learn to fend for herself, in a strange environment with little supervision or assistance. You will see her only a couple times a year when she is sent home for holidays and vacations. Your family will never be the same. You are torn between wanting her to stay in school and wanting to protect and nurture her while she is still only a child. She will cry when she goes away, you probably will, too. But, if an energetic elementary school principal, the head of the parent-teacher association, a few dedicated local officials, and a handful of visionary parents have their way, you will have an alternative that lets your daughter get her education at home for at least another year, perhaps more, until she is older and more mature. It may be the difference that allows her to see it through to the end of her schooling, to realize the opportunities you hope she will have. But, you need some help, because there is just not enough money available locally to make this dream come true. The blue water cruisers who visit your beautiful island every May and June have become your best hope. Fakarava is on a line between the Marquesas and Tahiti. As many cruisers have discovered, its south pass offers some of the best snorkeling and diving in the world, and Rotoava offers convenient reprovisioning, bike rentals, and other activities, all of which have made Fakarava a popular spot for the North American and European cruisers who make the annual trek from Mexico or Panama to the South Pacific. The crew of s/v Pax Vobiscum and s/v Casteele got involved with education in Fakarava due to the efforts of Chantal Fauura, the elementary school principal. It is her oldest pupils who would be shipped off to Rangiora soon. Pax had come to French Polynesia as part of the 2008 Pacific Puddle Jump from Mexico and one day in May we, its crew, were on shore in Rotoava doing laundry by hand in a shack attached to a local pension. Our arms were elbow deep in the wash bucket when up walked Chantal, full of friendly energy. Soon in her halting English and in our impossibly childish French, we were discussing her school, her kids, and her dream to keep her 5th graders out of that impersonal dormitory in Rangiroa. “Our kids are not prepared to leave home when they are only ten or twelve years old,” Chantal explained. “It’ s too young. They cry and cry when they leave, and feel so sad and alone. Most of the parents cry too. They want them to stay in Fakarava.” Chantal added, “The children need to study here at home. They need to know how they can care for their own island and its waters. It’s theirs to save or destroy.” Chantal showed us the island’s “Biosphere Center”, a clapboard shack near the school where they displayed materials about local fish, and ways to keep their water and marine life healthy. The livelihood of most Fakarava families depends on the resources from the lagoon and the sea. They catch the fish, seed the pearl oysters, and make jewelry and utensils from the black pearls and shells. The Biosphere’s materials were printed in the local language, as well as in French for the few incoming tourists. “Teaching this generation how to care for their island is so very important,” Chantal said echoing words we have heard so often about Puget Sound and San Francisco Bay. Chantal invited us to meet with local teachers and parents and key island leaders, including the adjunct mayors and Guy Lai, president of the parent-teacher association. Over the following weeks, we, the crew from s/v Casteele, and cruisers from several other boats attended numerous meetings with these people, working to get this project underway. The Fakarava adults were touched by the interest cruisers were showing in them and their community. “Most cruisers just pass through,” Chantal said, “never trying to get to know us.” And keeping their young children on the island is so important to the Fakarava people. As one parent told us, “We want our kids to learn, but this is like going to prison they are too young to go so far away. They learn bad things. Many of them don’t finish school, and they don’t come home.” By the end of the process the community had a plan. A French home-schooling curriculum called CNED, acceptable to the French Polynesian government as an alternative to boarding school, is available for Fakarava students. CNED is a challenging correspondence program similar to what many cruising boats use to home school their own children. With CNED, the young children of Fakarava could stay home until they are 15 or 16. But they would need a teacher, because many of the parents are ill-equipped to help home school their children. They would also need a computer, a building, supplies, and transportation. If the program worked here, it could be expanded to the other islands. If it becomes a proven success, there is a good chance it could be paid for next year out of local government funds. Guy Lai and the parents association have assumed the leadership role for this pilot project; they will manage it with milestones and measurable goals. Three local parents will be the CNED teachers/supervisors, monitoring the students and program and communicating with the CNED center in France. The seven mayors of the Fakarava community support this alternative program and the local adjunct mayors are providing a space for the pilot class at reduced rent and with free electricity, free transportation, and free connection to the otherwise prohibitively-expensive internet. Many families on Fakarava want to be part of this alternative program but the full cost is too much for most. They could pay for part of it, but not all. That’s where the cruising community comes in, and why we have stepped up to help. The community needs $20,000 more than they have right now, to help pay the teachers, rent the space for the classroom, obtain the CNED curriculum, and add their own special curriculum focusing on the health of their atoll and its marine life. We are in the process of setting up a 501(c) (3) account (called “Keep the Kids Home”) to accept tax-deductible contributions and distribute money so long as the program is working as intended. Two boats have already said they would match contributions up to $5000, so we only have $15,000 more to raise. Supporting this project is an opportunity for those of us who cruise to and through these islands to get to know the people and to support them from the inside out. This is their project for their kids, but it is our chance to leave this part of the world a little better place than we found it. Listed below are the names of cruising boats who have joined us in helping to support this project. We hope other 2008 Pacific Ocean cruisiers will become involved as well. And if you plan to sail to the South Pacific in 2009, consider adding your name. Then, when you reach the Tuamotus next year, stop by and see your dollars at work. We all have a standing invitation to come by and see Fakarava’s 10- to 12- year-olds happily studying on their own island, where they can go home to mom and dad every night and remain part of the family. More information is available from ________________; checks can be sent to ______________. s/v Casteele s/v Pax Vobiscum Others to be added! |
Pictured here are some of the kids we hope will
be able to stay at home next year, instead of
being shipped off to boarding school on another
island. These are also the kids who were in our
English class. Don't you love their faces?
be able to stay at home next year, instead of
being shipped off to boarding school on another
island. These are also the kids who were in our
English class. Don't you love their faces?
Chantal, the school principal, with
one of her younger students.
one of her younger students.
Guy Lai, community leader and
president of the parents'
association. Guy has assumed the
leadership of the CNED program.
president of the parents'
association. Guy has assumed the
leadership of the CNED program.
Beautiful faces of Polynesia