![A Firebird crew member holds a delicate coral inadvertently broken off by our anchor chain during our passage from Bali, Indonesia, to the Cocos [Keeling] Islands, January 1977. With today’s warmer, more acidic ocean waters in the South Seas, it’s been difficult to spot vibrant coral like this during the Double X journey.](https://drsamsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/5_13-rtc_small.jpg)
Category Archives: Today’s World
A Friendly Welcome on Raiatea
I wrote about the wonderful time Francesca and I had on Tahaa in my last post. Our next stop was Raiatea, a sister island to Tahaa. Both islands are enclosed by a single coral reef and, at one time, may have been one island. When we arrived, we were welcomed with open arms by Frendoo, the daughter of one my father’s friends, and her husband Roland. The last time I saw Frendoo she was 14 years old. On this visit, she was celebrating her 61st birthday, and Francesca and I were excited to be able to join in the celebration. Continue reading A Friendly Welcome on Raiatea
Bora Bora and Beyond
Our sailing itinerary has changed yet again thanks to weather that has gone from dicey to downright unsafe. We had to give up on venturing out to relatively uninhabited areas where I was looking forward to exploring the land and talking with the islanders about what was happening in their corner of the world. Weather conditions dictated that we stick to the beaten path, so we passed on visiting more isolated atolls in the Tuamotus and set a course for the Society Islands. Our first stop: Bora Bora. Continue reading Bora Bora and Beyond
Fishing the Sustainable Way
On August 22nd, we bid farewell to the Marquesas, setting a course from Fatu Hiva to Fakarava and then on to Rangiroa, the two largest atolls in the Tuamotus. It’s a three-day sail, about 600 miles, between the two island groups. Where the soaring volcanic mountains of the Marquesas rise to over 4,000 feet, the Tuamotu atolls are just above sea level. Yet these very different island groups are at the center of a singular global challenge: sustainable fishing. Continue reading Fishing the Sustainable Way
Marquesas Islands: Then & Now
The first time I visited the Marquesas Islands was 41 years ago on board the Firebird. I was a young man ready for adventure and, after reading Herman Melville’s Typee and Thor Heyerdahl’s Fatu-Hiva: Back to Nature, I was captivated by the islands I imagined, and I was eager to visit. When we arrived at Nuku Hiva, the first of the islands we visited, I was awe-struck by the land’s beauty. I couldn’t take enough photos. Continue reading Marquesas Islands: Then & Now