Dive At the Pass

Dive at the Pass
The day after riding on the sailing canoes, there was a group of cruisers heading out for a dive at the pass. Linda asked if she could join the group and within a few minutes, she and her dive equipment were onboard SAUVAGE, a boat built in Brazil by a French couple. The boat is used for chartering all over the world. They are known especially for their charters in Alaska and around Cape Horn.
There were six of us diving and the plan was to anchor inside the pass behind a small island and take the dinghy through the pass at low tide and ride the incoming tide. It all worked out as planned and was a wonderful dive.













The visibility has to be well over 100 feet as you can see by some of the pictures. Dedea held the dinghy on a long painter and we drifted with the dinghy. There were lots of table coral from the surface to over 100 feet down and we could look up and see the dinghy on the surface. We were visited by a few black tipped sharks and saw some giant clams, a school of rainbow runners and some large and very colorful clown or anemone fish.

































After the dive, we went back onboard SAUVAGE for a wonderful lunch of salad, stir-fry and B-B-Q tuna cooked in champagne. Dedea and Sophie are great hosts and very entertaining. After our meal, we decided to jump into the ocean for a swim to cool off and to try Sophie’s paddleboard. She makes it look so easy! The women had better luck than the men but it is very much a balancing act that requires lots of concentration.
We returned to the anchorage sunburned, well fed and with smiles on our faces after a perfect day!

"Beer Can Races"

On November 15, 2009, the Mieco Beach Yacht Club kicked off the racing season with a "Beer Can Race". The actual boats were made out of beer or soda cans made by the nonprofit organization Waan Aelon in Majel (Canoes of the Marshall Islands). This organization consists of a group of young people, who for one reason or another, were not able to finish high school and are learning the art of building the traditional sailing canoes of the Marshall Islands. To make some money, they made up the can boats for us for $3 each and we, in turn, sold them for $5 for the event.

Linda's boat sank before completion of her heat. John managed to keep his afloat but didn't win his heat.

The boats were raced in four different heats with the final winner, Eugene, a 15 year old local boy. Eugene's prize was a $25 dinner at the resort.