S/V Rutea Sails Around the World: Go Figure!

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Go Figure!

Local Police

OK! You figure out where we are!

Most people arrive here by air as it is located in The Dangerous Middle! Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are observed on a Monday and taken as a Holiday! We are GMT minus eleven hours. The policemen wear lava lavas. There are over 18,000 Matai (Chiefs) in over 362 villages. Driving is done on the left side of the road. Robert Louis Stevenson is buried here. Home of the award winning Vailima Beer and home of traditional Fire Dancing. Host of the only marina west of Papeete and east of Figi, paid for in Tala.

Mai fea? Loe! You guessed it! The motu of Samoa where Fa’a Samoa (the Samoan Way) still continues to thrive! We have been welcomed to the heart of the south pacific where the pace of life is gentle and traditional social customs still preside. Considering that the western Missionaries have been the most powerful agent of social change here –ever- Samoa keeps a foot in both the traditional and modern worlds.

From our marina slip (the first one since Mexico) we can see the Beach Road of Apia along which are cell towers, malls, banks, hotels, Consulates, a clock tower and tourist bureau. We can also see the painted, long canoes practicing their paddling on the harbor to the beat of a drum! Just behind the new buildings are the old flea market, fish market and ramshackle shop after shop of Chinese goods packed so full that you can hardly squeeze down the aisles!

Aside from the National Park, all land outside of Apia is owned by extended family units whose head is a Matai. When visiting just about any beach or waterfall you need to ask permission of the local chief. Village protocol extends to only quiet activity on Sundays, no activity during prayer curfew (6-7 in the evening), when sitting in a fale (house) only sit cross legged- never point your feet at someone and of course, never wear skimpy clothing or your host may be fined!

The big city is a bit of a different story! The people here hustle! Aside from seeming to work hard, we are constantly approached to see if we are in need of or want something! I think Corie has received more requests for dates in the past 24 hours than she has in her cumulative dating life! Although city attire is fairly traditional we have still seen many bare knees and shoulders and the kids don’t hesitate to whip off their lava lavas (under which are shorts) to snap it at another kid! Everyone has a cell phone up to his ear but that doesn’t stop almost everyone we pass from saying “hello!”.

We are once again on a learning curve in a new country. We are trying to figure out what to do and see here, how best to travel around the island, where to shop, what to eat and how to read between the cultural lines when people offer their services (especially Corie!)! It’s fascinating and overwhelming all mixed up together like a hot, spiced, tropical stew! Fortunately for me, we have the luxury of thinking all this out within the comforts of home, surrounded by things familiar. Tomorrow being Sunday (when everything stops) we will get out the guide books and plan how best to enter this next tropical paradise and once again, go figure!

R of Rutea

Apia, Samoa

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About Rutea

Rutea was built in 1984 by Conyplex in Mendemblik, Holland. A small brass plaque says that she's hull Number 9 but on the Conyplex website www.contestyachts.com there's no mention of them building that many. She's designed by Dick Zaal, who designed most of Conyplex's earlier boats. The brochure says that she's 48' overall with a 14'6" beam and she draws 6'. Her cast iron bolted-on fin keel weighs 12,000 pounds and she is supposed to displace slightly over 37,000 pounds but she's never been one to watch her weight and, ahem, she's gained more than a few pounds since we bought her in 1996. Her ketch rig sports Profurl furlers for the jib/genoa and the staysail. The main has a very tall aspect as does the mizzen. All of her winches are made by Enkes although I did add a Harken self-tailing for the main halyard. She uses an unusual reel winch that's equipped with Spectra rope for furling the genoa. There's a running backstay on the mizzen mast and there are no forward lowers on the main mast. The head stay is Dyform.

I replaced the original Volvo MD40A six-cylinder diesel with a Beta Marine 90 and I've been very happy with it although it puts out nowhere near 90 HP - probably 70 is more like it. Regardless, it's adequate and very economical on fuel. I also replaced the original Westerbeke 6kw genset with a single-cylinder Kubota diesel that drives a 150-amp alternator. Since we switched over to 12-volt refrigeration, we no longer have any 110-volt appliances on board, other than the water heater. Since the new Beta Marine engine has two big alternators (one is 100 amps and the other 175), we have our Victron inverter/charger power the water heater when we're under power (we don't have engine coolant circulate through the water heater).

Rutea's layout down below is different from many boats of her size. Aft of her water-tight forward bulkhead is a 'wet' head, complete with two sinks. Aft of that are two cabins, both with bunk beds on either side of the boat and each has a door to the forward head. This was perfect when we cruised with our family as our 3 children had their own quarters. The main saloon occupies the area aft of the forward cabins and her dinette and settees are large enough to seat 10 people (we've had many a memorable meal here!). Under the cabin sole are two 90-gallon stainless steel fuel tanks. Under the settee seats on either side is a 120-gallon water tank, also made of stainless steel. On the starboard side, aft of the dinette is the foward-facing nav station and on the port side is the galley where we have a 7 cubic foot refrigerator and a 5 cubic foot freezer. Aft of the nav station, on the starboard side is my work shop. This was originally designed to be another stateroom but the original owner had Conyplex convert it into a work shop, complete with a heavy-duty work bench and a massive 6" vise. I sometimes spend days at a time in there. Many a visiting cruiser has eyed with envy, drooled with desire and blatantly coveted my work shop! I have access to the engines from there. On the port side, aft of the galley, is another 'wet' head. Aft of that is the aft cabin, which has a settee as well as a full double-size berth. Aft of the aft cabin or 'owner's stateroom' as it's called on many boats, is her spacious lazarette, which is where the water heater and diesel-fired boiler are located. Bolted to the back of the aft deck and overhanging the transom are her Simpson davits (I sometimes tell people that the boat was built around those davits - they're very substantial with a capacity of 250 Kgs). Resting on top of the davits are Ruthie's roto-molded kayak and above that are two 215-watt solar panels. Hanging off the davits is our Aqua Pro dinghy and it's 15-horsepower Honda outboard.

On deck, starting at the bow, is Rutea's primary anchor, a Bruce 30 kilogram that's connected to the 350' of 3/8" Hi-Test chain with a Wasi Powerball. The anchor and chain are deployed and retrieved by a Lofrans Progress II windlass. In the anchor locker lives another Bruce 20kg anchor that's connected to 50' of 3/8" Hi-Test chain and 150' of 1" MegaBraid rope. Also in the anchor locker, amongst many other things, is the 18' Para-Tech sea anchor with it's dedicated 100' of 1" single-braid rope. Moving aft is Rutea's main mast, which has double spreaders, four Enkes winches and one Harken self-tailing winch. The mast is made by Selden as are the two heavy spinnaker poles. The tracks for the staysail and the genoa are stainless steel. In the cockpit are five more Enke winches and a Harken mechanical backstay adjuster. The mizzen mast is also quite substantial and has three Enkes winches on it. The turning blocks are stainless steel. The steering system on Rutea is the Whitlock Mamba system using a torque tube and a push-pull rod. The compass in the binnacle is made by Sestrel.

Even though we try to keep up on Rutea's appearance, she's still starting to show her age. I replaced her portlights (all twelve of them) and Ruthie has taken over the job of varnishing her brightwork. In 2000 we removed her teak decks and replaced it with painted fiberglass. Much less maintenance! She's what I call a 200-foot boat: She looks great from 200 feet!

Regardless, the best part of Rutea is the way she handles. While she's not the fastest filly in the fleet, she can cover a respectable amount of distance in a day. Her sail plan allows her to be easily balanced to the point where the autopilot has very little correcting to do. Her sails are all made by North except her spinnakers are Dutch-made.

Rutea’s electronics package includes radar, chartplotter, AIS, sounder and sailing instruments - all made by Garmin. Her radios are all old but they work well. Her Icom M802 SSB has been modified to use ham frequencies.