Subsistence farmers and provisioning in the Pacific Island Groups of Micronesia and Melanesia* “Isn’t trying the local foods what it’s all about?” Jamie (aka Groot) off the USNS Mercy Hospital Ship in Micronesia, on leave for 36 hours and keen to try banana soup in Weno, Chuuk, Micronesia. My lifestyle challenges me regularly. In the past six months, I have spoken to a mom who was concerned her child would die due to malnutrition. I have seen a man kick a live pig in a sack. I have watched a man dive off a 100′ tower, not knowing if he was motivated by tribal tradition or my family’s touris ..read more

landards to R. Escher landards A noun, invented by Karen, to describe people who live on land. For example, “Why do landards shower every day?” life jackets Depending on the context, the term “life jackets” refers to any of the 4 different types of life jackets that we use and own. My kids agreed to model each type of life jacket. SV Aphrodite kids modeling 4 types of life jackets: a self-inflating life jacket (Karen), dinghy (Henry), kayak (Betty), and Stearns offshore (Paul) life jackets. lizard chicken A terrible and memorable chicken dinner that I made in Saint-Pierre, Martinique usin ..read more

diamond cutters to knitter diamond cutters Refers to diagonal cutters. Our family has interchanged the term diamond for diagonal for so long I didn’t realize that the term “diamond cutters” was unique to our family until I wrote this blog post. Diamond cutters diaper cream When I swim, kayak, or sail, I protect my face from the sun with Boudreaux’s Butt Paste Maximum Strength Diaper Rash Cream. It has 40% zinc content. Diaper cream is a cheap and effective alternative to regular sunscreen. I do not need to reapply the cream throughout the day. In fact, I have to use a facecloth and shampoo ..read more

a-lot-a-knot to cruise ship passenger a-lot-a-knot A line tied in a haphazard way. Alex Escher A stray kitten we found in the PowerBoats boatyard in Chaguaramas, Trinidad in 2019. He was bumping into things and appeared to be blind and very hungry. We named him Alex and took him to a vet in Port of Spain. Alex weighed 275 grams. He was treated for an eye infection and worms. Alex was boarded at the vet for several weeks before he was adopted. Click for another picture of Alex.Alex Escher Alex Escher at the North West Veterinary Clinic, St. James, Port of Spain. Aphrodite Refers to our boat ..read more

My inner lexicographer called – I am just a few days away from publishing a 4-Part blog series that describes the terms we use on SV Aphrodite as a family. From Alex Escher to the Yellow Lady, this series explains all the terms that are meaningful to our family who has sailed and lived afloat for the past 9 years. If you want an email sent when this series begins, please click on the Subscribe button. Thanks! – Lorraine ..read more

We invented a new verb: weeviling.  Inspecting every strand of pasta for a spaghetti dinner was every bit of fun as having a games night. We were looking for weevils, and evidence thereof. Here is a video that captures the lively atmosphere of removing bugs from pasta. Video: removing weevils from pasta, strand by strand. In the tropics, there is no escaping weevils. But, here are some steps I take to avoid them. Carefully examine packages before purchase: At the store, shake packages and examine the contents. Short white cylinders of equal size are bug eggs. Sometimes, the weevils lite ..read more

Towards shore, I could see an orange float and two dark shapes surfacing and dipping below the water. A snorkel and fins hinted at something interesting. Chuuk is known as a Mecca for World War 2 relics. Hours later, the swimmers had moved but they were still in the water. Curious, Karen and I swam over to the action. My dive mask offers a window into an alien landscape. I always see something different. Pillars of hard coral look like fantasy castles. The water is alive with a popping noise of sand. My snorkel squeaks between my teeth, sounding every bit like a dolphin. In Papua New Guinea, d ..read more

Mentioning “police” and “diesel filling” in the same headline? It’s not clickbait. As I’ll explain later, it really happened to us in the Solomons Islands. Lately, it seems we need to buy diesel in every country we visit and the process is never easy. Micronesia is no exception. This time we extended the long arm of parenting and our children learned about con artists. Fortunately, SV Aphrodite provides safe haven. Rick’s filtration and fuel pump system simplifies the onerous task of putting diesel into our sailboat. In some areas, diesel is contaminated or watered down. We don’t want to put i ..read more

I took my stethoscope away from Paul’s chest. A rough noise was coming from his right lung, but there was silence on the left side. I listened again. I could hear nothing on the left, and noise on the right. The Kavieng Hospital in Papua New Guinea was 10 minutes away. The weather was rough, and the dinghy bounced heavily creating a spray. That is when the full story came spilling out. He came up and was flailing about. His lips were blue… My twins had already told me part of the story. “He came up and was flailing about. His lips were blue,” said Karen. “His head was kind of under the water a ..read more

This PDF file describes SV Aphrodite in detail. It began as a bit of fun and then it became an obsession. Am I detailed oriented? It would seem so. This 18-page document is available to download below. SV Aphrodite Equipment List St Francis 50Download ..read more