Showing posts with label Islands. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Islands. Show all posts
Wednesday, 19 April 2017
A Solomon Islands Canoe at the Vatican
On a trip to Italy this month, we visited the Vatican Museums, eager to see masterpieces like the Laocoon group and the Apollo Belvedere. Upon entering, however, the first thing we saw was this plank-built canoe, an eye-catching introduction to an extensive temporary exhibit of boat models and paddles from around the world.
The Vatican's stated purpose for the exhibit is to represent of the diversity and interconnectedness of world cultures. The curators were far more interested in communicating that ecumenical message than in the details of the items on display, for we saw nothing to identify the boat or paddles on exhibit, and the models were accompanied by only scanty information. Nevertheless, we'll concentrate on the exhibit's sole full-size boat in this post, and move on to the paddles and models in subsequent posts.
We believe the canoe is from the Solomon Islands. Haddon and Hornell (in Canoes of Oceania, Vol. 2) identify four types of plank-built monohull canoes in the Solomons. Those with continuous washstrakes like the one here were called mon and were characteristic of the central Solomons, including Bougainville, New Georgia, and Choiseul.
In contrast, canoes called lisi, with discontinuous washstrakes both fore and aft, were characteristic of the southern part of the chain (including Guadalcanal, Malaita and San Cristoval) and of the tiny island of Buka, at the chain's northernmost end. With the exception of its discontinuous washstrakes, the following image of a Buka canoe observed in 1753 by Labillardiere is very much like the canoe in the Vatican. (See also our post on a Solomon Islands canoe at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, which we now recognize as a lisi.)
The exhibit canoe is built of long parallel planks with no keel. Each plank is gotten out with cleats left standing proud on its interior surface near the lower edges, one cleat per rib. These cleats are lashed to ribs with vegetable fiber and caulked with resin made from the "putty nut" (Parinarium laurinum).
Most of the ribs are roughly round in section and appear to be bent to shape, their top ends being carved with faces that are decorated with eyes of shell inlay. The two forward-most frames and accompanying thwarts are carved from single pieces of wood, and painted, carved decorative elements appear within that perimeter. Continuous thwart risers are lashed to the ribs and run nearly the whole length of the boat, supporting multiple seats for paddlers and passengers.
The most distinctive feature of the canoe is its tall, elaborately decorated prow and stern. The outboard surfaces of these features are inlaid with thousands of pieces of carved shell in circle and cross patterns, and the decks feature diamond-pattern shell inlays. A grotesque painted and carved animal head (a goat? a demon?) sits right at the waterline on the cutwater with its horns on either side of the stem. Cowry shells are lashed to the fronts of both the stem and sternpost high above the waterline. The stem is capped with a painted carving of two parrot-like birds facing one another over a bulb-topped post that might represent fruit on a tree. The sternpost also features a painted carving at the top of an obscure geometric design.
Sources:
Canoes of the Solomon Islands by R.J.A.W. Lever.
"Canoes of the Solomon Islands," from The Maori Canoe by Elsdon Best
Canoes of Oceania, Vol. II: The Canoes of Melanesia, Queensland, and New Guinea, by A.C. Haddon and James Hornell
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| Stern view of a Solomon Islands mon canoe at the Vatican. (Click any image to enlarge.) |
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| Bow of the Solomon Islands mon canoe at the Vatican. |
We believe the canoe is from the Solomon Islands. Haddon and Hornell (in Canoes of Oceania, Vol. 2) identify four types of plank-built monohull canoes in the Solomons. Those with continuous washstrakes like the one here were called mon and were characteristic of the central Solomons, including Bougainville, New Georgia, and Choiseul.
In contrast, canoes called lisi, with discontinuous washstrakes both fore and aft, were characteristic of the southern part of the chain (including Guadalcanal, Malaita and San Cristoval) and of the tiny island of Buka, at the chain's northernmost end. With the exception of its discontinuous washstrakes, the following image of a Buka canoe observed in 1753 by Labillardiere is very much like the canoe in the Vatican. (See also our post on a Solomon Islands canoe at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, which we now recognize as a lisi.)
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| "Buka Island Canoe (Solomon Islands)" from Labillardiere (1800), Atlas pour servir a la relation du voyage de la recherche de la Perouse. (Source: University of Cambridge) |
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| Bent (?) frames amidships, with decorative carving at the upper ends, are lashed to cleats on the planks' interior surface. Also in view is the seat riser. |
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| Carved frame/thwart units near the bow. |
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| Bow detail showing a carving of a horned beast (or demon?) at the waterline, extensive shell inlay, and cowry shells lashed to the forward surface of the stem well above the waterline. |
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| Carved stem-head decoration |
Sources:
Canoes of the Solomon Islands by R.J.A.W. Lever.
"Canoes of the Solomon Islands," from The Maori Canoe by Elsdon Best
Canoes of Oceania, Vol. II: The Canoes of Melanesia, Queensland, and New Guinea, by A.C. Haddon and James Hornell
Saturday, 8 April 2017
Sewn Canoes of the Society Islands
Capt. Henry Byam Martin, RN, was stationed in Tahiti in 1846-47, observing the French takeover of the island. Our most recent post looked at the dugout canoes of Tahiti that he observed, while the previous one examined a large sewn double canoe from the Tuamoto Islands that he saw in Tahiti This post will focus on native stitched boats that Martin illustrated in the Society Islands, of which Tahiti is one.
Capt. Martin relates the following tale concerning canoes and royalty on Raiatea:
Sources:
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| Titled "Cleopatra's barge: a free translation, Utaroa, 27th October, 1846." Utaroa is a community on Raiatea, one of the Societies, where Martin visited Pomare, the queen of Tahiti who had self-exiled herself while attempting to reestablish her position and authority in the face of the French takeover. Although Martin doesn't explicitly identify this image with Pomare, I believe the sketch's title is an ironic reference to her. The stout, seated, cigar-smoking figure in blue beneath the palm-leaf sunshade matches his description of her essential characteristics. (Click any image to enlarge.) |
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The previous image is from the cover of a published version of Martin's journal, while this one is from the book's interior. The color and detail are better here, but unfortunately the page gutter obscures the middle of the image. Between the two, one can make out the following:
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"Mr. Barff [a Christian missionary on the island] told me with reference to the ceremonies at Opoa point -- that formerly the Kings & Queens of Raiatea were inaugurated there. On those occasions the new sovereign landed from a canoe of state, which was hauled up the beach on the bodies of 6 victims -- one from each island. Hence it became a cant term to send for a roller -- which meant a mauvais sujet [lit: "bad subject," i.e., troublemaker] that the chief wished to dispose of."Although this sounds like a fantasy conjured by the prejudice of European cultural imperialism, many of the earliest European visitors to Tahiti -- those who visited before the onslaught of Christian missionaries -- observed and confirmed that human sacrifice was indeed practiced, and that those sacrificed for ritual purposes were typically -- and conveniently -- those very individuals who had made themselves inconvenient to the society.
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It is unclear at which of the Society Islands Martin observed this fascinating boat. It appears to be entirely of stitched planks: at least, the extreme rise of the stern would be difficult to form from a straight tree trunk, although carving it dugout-style from a curved tree is not out of the question. In any case, there are at least two courses of strakes, and the stitches appear to be continuous. The shield-shaped, square transom is unusual and eye-catching. Other features:
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Images and quotation from: The Polynesian Journal of Captain Henry Byam Martin, R.N. In command of H.M.S. Grampus -- 50 guns, at Hawaii and on station in Tahiti and the Society Islands, 1846-1847.
Also: Early Tahiti As The Explorers Saw It, 1767-1797, Edwin N. Ferdon
Monday, 13 March 2017
Puerto Rico to Brewers Bay St Thomas US Virgin Islands
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| A panorama of beautiful Brewer's Beach |
We're getting ready to move over to the US Virgin Islands in the next weather window. After a week of begging ("Welcome to the Caribbean"), I got a temporary mailbox set up. Let the internet shopping begin! New toys in our future. Stay tuned!
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| Flummoxed. No dew on the hatches this morning.."Do I hear a chicken?" |
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| STT, here we come! Hoping to wrastle up a light breeze... |
After two days of waiting for the water to lay down after the week of high winds, our feet are ITCHY! I nudge El Capitan along for a 8:00 am departure. It's only 20 miles but we like to be anchored in time for lunch and comfortable our anchor is set before dark (We're constantly amazed at the number of people that re-anchor just before sunset. Yikes). Our anchor is close to our friends on s/v Altona II so we back slowly out and swing around as a turtle pops his head up to say goodbye. That's a good start to the day.
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| Emergency big white flappy thing |
A 5 kt diurnal wind allows the genoa to be 1/3 unfurled, if nothing but for a sunshade. Our fishing line is set in 65-80 ft of water and and as we round the southeastern point, St. Thomas comes into sight along with lots of sails. Before the second red buoy, "FISH ON!" I was skeptical and as the line came in he looked tiny. However, as he came up out of the water, he was bigger than he originally looked. "Tuna, my favorite!" He's small but quickly on board. Amelia isn't interested (she prefers her tuna in a can) and it's stowed in the dinghy.
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| Fish on! Whoo hoo! Skipjack Tuna (thanks for the positive identification, Sandy) |
Sailing along, our anemometer shows 8 kts out of the north on the beam reach. It seems more like 15. We'll add that to the list of things that need work when we go up the mast.
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| We're saaaaaiilinngggggg! |
Halfway across the Virgin Passage. 10 miles to Brewer's beach. "Is that a whale? A dolphin? It's big but it's not moving?" {turtle pops his head up}. "Dude! He is huge!"
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| You aren't done anchoring in Brewer's until the resident pelican has "christened" your boat |
Arrived! Anchored in Brewers Bay, St Thomas, USVI--right next to the airport I used to fly into! (No airplanes on approach until we entered the anchorage. We thought we were lost!). This is our first pelican, who landed on the bow to assist with cleaning our fish. "Are you gonna eat that?" Mine!
Summary: Total time 4:06, total mileage 20.2, average speed 4.9 kts (1/3 motor sail, 2/3 motor)
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| Can you see the dolphins in this picture? |
We're privileged to spot the four dolphins that frequent the anchorage, according to a Professor at the University. It's two mama's and two babies. They swam through anchorage, along the beach with babies playing and doing spins. We get asked if we see a lot of dolphins and the answer is "not as many as we would like!" but other cruisers have had better luck.
For a girl from the midwest, today's snorkel was like swimming in the Springfield Bass Pro or Shedd Aquarium saltwater fish tank. A ray (unidentified because he was under the sandy bottom except for eyes & tail), lots of blue fish turning black near coral then turning white over sand (doctorfish?), bottom dwelling (orangespotted?) goby giving me the stink eye, pink big eye blackfin snapper (? Beautiful & my first. Also giving me the stinkeye), lots of speckled black smooth trunkfish, Angelfish, butterfly fish, blue tang, purple & yellow damselfish and one those floating twigs with eyeballs (he was friendly. We hung out for awhile). Couldn't find the resident turtle. We need an underwater camera!
Last year, we anchored downtown in Charlotte Amalie. It's time to learn a new side of the island. It's Monday, so we're up early and dinghy to the beach. Walk to Lindbergh Bay for reconnaissance of the anchorage then along the industrial bay of Krum, then on to Crown Bay Marina. We sign some paperwork at the Mailbox Stop ($30 for 30 days of mail), stop at the AT&T store ($60 for 30 days, 10 GB data, talk & text), swing through the chandlery, then stop at Tickle's restaurant overlooking the marina for a quick refreshment (10:00 am, still serving breakfast!). Grocery, Chinese restaurant for some wifi & shared a beef stir fry ($10 cheapest lunch yet. We'll be back). Safari back to the beach by 1:00 pm.
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| Another beautiful sunset from Brewer's Bay |
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| The Captain patiently waiting while I take pictures |
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| Raven the Dinghy with the anchorage in the background |
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| Dinghy parking with the University dock in the background |
SW wind? WTF?! It's amazing how quickly The Captain can get a swell bridle on in the middle of the night.
#unprotectedanchorage
Sailing tip: Even the most experienced cruisers forget the ocean swell can arrive the night before the forecast wind shift (ie not just us!)
Today, just for fun, we rode the full route on an open-air $1 safari bus the locals use. I loved it. The Captain wasn't a fan. Although the consensus is the locals are some of the best & most courteous drivers in the Caribbean--even though they drive on the wrong side of the road.
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| iRocker SUP in a handy backpack |
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| Unrolled & ready to inflate |
Hey, look what showed up in the mail today! My iRocker SUP! A huge thank you to our friend Wendy on sv Altona II for introducing us to iRocker and to Dale at the Dinghy Dock for buying my kayak.
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| A little bit of a workout to inflate... |
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| The new addition to our crew |
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| Trip #1, getting started |
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| Getting better |
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| Crazy yacht with a slide (note the tender pulling three jet skis) |
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| Getting to know our neighbors. Can you find us? |
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| Beautiful sunset ahead of the squalls |
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| More neighbors |
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| It's a pic of the cat at sunset inspecting the SUP and the new wind generator mount all in one! |
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| Add caption |
As previously mentioned my gadgets have all switched themselves to Espanol (including recently, YouTube ads). Yesterday, The Captain's texts switched themselves to French. Communication is getting interesting! (Did he call me a tard?!)
Mother Nature. She's running the show. The winds have been weird this last week. Trade winds should be out of the east. It's been several days since the cold front clocked through south and west. The forecast was for NE winds this week. However, we're still bobbing around between SE and N! I suspected the wind coming over the island mountain affected the winds in our anchorage/bay along with some current, which other cruisers concurred. However, today, we dinghied around to the south side of the airport to Lindbergh Bay, hoping to relocate. We were surprised (but not totally surprised) that there is a south swell still rolling in, despite the forecast of NE winds. There was only one monohull anchored (bobbing like a cork) & a cat departing! I guess the boat is really swinging to the SE wind!
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| View from the UVI Marine Science dock |
Some days as cruisers, we arrive and happen upon an amazing experience. Other times, we have to stay somewhere long enough to experience something amazing! After deciding not to relocate this morning, we headed into town for some grocery shopping. On the return, as we hopped on the safari, a woman behind us, said "Hurry! Hurry! I have to get to the beach! Are you going to beach? Do you have your snorkel gear?" It turns out she was volunteering with a group from the university to count turtles! When we arrived, she grabbed a bag of groceries and lead us around to the UVI Marine Science dock and introduced us to Steve and John who work at the university! We talked turtles (they've counted 17 in one day!), dolphins (we saw the 4 in the bay yesterday!), rays (yep! Seen em), buoys (They also collect data. Maintenance is contracted out--the one below was getting it's chain scrubbed!), wildlife in the tiny bay behind their dock (all kinds of birds & tarpon), no wake zones (jet skiis are banned. Yeah!) and whether or not you should use a powered sup in the swim zone (NO). They added us to their contact list! (Odin is in the top right)
After getting a better understanding of the operations at the UVI Marine Science dock, we headed out for a snorkel to find some turtles. I saw three and a pufferfish (so well disguised on the bottom, The Captain couldn't see him). We also found a nice sandy spot if we wanted to relocate and confirmed there is a cable coming off the beach per the charts (and also a pipe. Give those buoys a little room!). We returned to the boat all wrinkly. THEN I grabbed the SUP and did a short paddle standing up! I had hope to make it to the swim area but came up a little short. The winds were pretty strong, so I kneeled and floated back home.
Stand by for Part 2, underwater camera pics of Brewer's Bay!
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