On my first night, I decided to sleep on the sand just a little way from the ocean. I immediately fell into a deep slumber. The full moon was rising. I was basically happy to be here.
I was awakened by a burning in my side. I jumped up to find myself surrounded by scorpions. I had no intention of waiting for the next stinger to find flesh. I leapt over this deadly ring of assassins and made my way to the safety of the ocean. It was now two o'clock in the morning and sleep was out of the question. I sat looking at the stars trying to erase what had just happened to me.
I was awakened by a burning in my side. I jumped up to find myself surrounded by scorpions. I had no intention of waiting for the next stinger to find flesh. I leapt over this deadly ring of assassins and made my way to the safety of the ocean. It was now two o'clock in the morning and sleep was out of the question. I sat looking at the stars trying to erase what had just happened to me.
I heard the story of the guy bitten on the scrotum by the giant orange centipede. His ball sack grew as big as a basketball. It took weeks for the poison to be metabolized by the liver.
It seems there are Germans everywhere around the world. There was this couple living in the Kea'we thorn brush, completely and unabashedly, without a stitch of clothing between them. They appeared to be quite content having nothing but the need of zories to protect their feet from the Kea'we thorns. You quickly become accustomed to seeing nudity all around you in the wilderness of Hawaii the Big Isle.
It seems there are Germans everywhere around the world. There was this couple living in the Kea'we thorn brush, completely and unabashedly, without a stitch of clothing between them. They appeared to be quite content having nothing but the need of zories to protect their feet from the Kea'we thorns. You quickly become accustomed to seeing nudity all around you in the wilderness of Hawaii the Big Isle.
The stars in Hawaii are quite spectacular and easy to identify, if you know your way around the heavens. One can see the Southern Cross in the winter from Hawaii. It is low in the sky but still makes a grand appearance. One is basically looking at the southwest sky when at the Monument.
While with the Rainbow Family one need not wear clothes. One of the first things I did was disrobe. I certainly did not want anyone to think I was different. Somehow people are easier to meet when you are completely naked.
While with the Rainbow Family one need not wear clothes. One of the first things I did was disrobe. I certainly did not want anyone to think I was different. Somehow people are easier to meet when you are completely naked.
This was our mission. To meet yachts coming for the 200th year of Captain Cook's venture into the Pacific and his untimely death on this overgrown beach with the memorial tablet awash in the surf forever. This bronze plack marks the exact spot where the war club from a Hawaiian warrior dispatched him from this earth. I followed in Capt. Cook's wake around the Pacific over the years although, I flew in a jetliner much of the time. I made all the same landings he made and more. I read as much and as many books about the Cook Voyages as I could find in remote libraries of the Pacific.
I remember sitting in the open air courtyard of the Honolulu public library as I perused his journals and charts in preparation for my own South Sea voyage. I found the campus library willing to let us xerox some of their charts which proved incredibly helpful in planning the trip to Southern Climes. These were invaluable for the Palmyra Atoll landing.
There is a long approach to the quiet lagoon there. The range finders are still being used as a guide into the channel. As I said before, this landing held the vast treasure trove of fresh water that every yacht requires for a safe voyage. There were many yachts there for that reason alone.
Nowadays, the atoll has been incorporated into a protectorate by the State of Hawaii. This is a good thing for the State to be doing.
Barbara and I hit it off pretty well. She is a German girl who came to spend the winter in Hawaii with us at the Monument. She was in love with a skipper visiting there at the same time. Who am I to interrupt romance? We hung out everyday watching the sky and ocean discussing the astronomical wonders.
One of these days, we were visited by a squall that passed wide of our location. In its trail it left rainbows galore for us to admire. All this might seem planned and choreographed but I tried to explain this happens everyday in these latitudes. She still recorded every moment in a letter complete with raindrops to her Mother who had never seen such a thing.
One evening just at sunset, we all saw the alignment of the planets. This was my other reason to be in Hawaii at this moment in history.
As the sun set in its fiery glory, we could see the roundness of the planets as the sun's rays diminished. One could make out seven of those heavenly jewels which won't happen again until 2013. This is the reason I went to Panama then. One does not consciously plan these things. Events just happen while making other plans.
As the sun set in its fiery glory, we could see the roundness of the planets as the sun's rays diminished. One could make out seven of those heavenly jewels which won't happen again until 2013. This is the reason I went to Panama then. One does not consciously plan these things. Events just happen while making other plans.
Once you rent an apt. you must sign a lease. This means you must put away your traveling shoes and become a householder. Sometimes it is God's will for you to travel. In my case it was unruly roommates who forced my hand. When you are with pickles make relish. I hit the road South.
After I got my first cast, I put up a note at the local supermarket. I was looking for a situation where I could rest and work without too much strain on my hand. Lee answered my note with our contact point being General Delivery of the US Post Office in Captain Cook.
After I got my first cast, I put up a note at the local supermarket. I was looking for a situation where I could rest and work without too much strain on my hand. Lee answered my note with our contact point being General Delivery of the US Post Office in Captain Cook.
Lee is a tall, swarthy Hawaiian with some Portuguse blood. What is called hapa hoele is Lee Masaris. He was trying to raise a family on this tiny plot of land.
He needed me as much as I needed him. For the cast to work, I had to stay perfectly still. This was not to be. In exchange for a roof, I needed to work a certain amount of hours each day doing hard chores that required a total commitment. I was constantly digging holes to transplant banana corms.
The jobs we did were odd jobs such as jack hammering blue lava which is by far, the hardest of lava rock. We washed windows in Kailua at some jewelry store. We would go fishing in the evenings. Lee was an expert in throwing the cast net. I would flap my arms to herd the fish towards Lee.
My right arm kept getting weaker as I favored my left side now. We also took contracts for traditional luau pig roasts. We would hunt wild pigs up in the Ohia forests with his dogs. He carried a big old .44 pistol to dispatch the beasts. The boar's teeth were given to me for a remembrance. We set up the spit and gathered the ingredients for the Luau because we were entertaining the American Consul for the Philippines.
It was not but a year went by when I heard his plane had crashed. At least he might have had some good memories before his untimely death. We all meet the same fate whether we plan for it or not. Death is always in the shadows waiting to greet us. I soon caught a plane back to the Pacific Northwest where I finally got the first of three surgeries the hand required. These were super hard days for me.
When I first arrived in Hawaii in 1976 I was trying to get to Captain Cook by thumb. I was standing at an intersection when a car turned on to the highway. The guy in the backseat pushed his weapon out of the window showing me the muzzle with a flash suppressor. He hesitated to let one go at me. I figured he knew there were witnesses which probably saved my life. Hawaii is not a safe place for white people. In fact, even Hawaiians are afraid to get caught in situations with other Hawaiians who are threatening.
When I first arrived in Hawaii in 1976 I was trying to get to Captain Cook by thumb. I was standing at an intersection when a car turned on to the highway. The guy in the backseat pushed his weapon out of the window showing me the muzzle with a flash suppressor. He hesitated to let one go at me. I figured he knew there were witnesses which probably saved my life. Hawaii is not a safe place for white people. In fact, even Hawaiians are afraid to get caught in situations with other Hawaiians who are threatening.
I had a lot to learn in this new place. Opening coconuts was one of my first lessons. No one eats for free. You need to learn about zori's. Never rely on those rubber shower thongs. Always look for a slippa with proper webbing. The rubber will only cause infections in the worst place which is between your toes.
I developed staph infections all over my legs and feet. There is no way to get rid of it except with antibiotics. It is the curse of the tropics. Always carry penicillin if you can. If you don't use it you will meet someone who can use it. I get mine in Mexico. You have to ask for it in the drug stores.You should not be sold something that has additives you don't need. Tis the best medicine for what ails you.
To lose the blues, I would walk over to the other beach where the surf breaks heavily on the rocks. I forget the name but Napa'poo is close enough. These episodes were the absolute best. I used the waterproof cast as a skimmer to get the jump on the waves. I got so good with body surfing I'd surf very close to the rocks ducking out of the wave at the last possible second to land on my feet on the rocks.
I developed staph infections all over my legs and feet. There is no way to get rid of it except with antibiotics. It is the curse of the tropics. Always carry penicillin if you can. If you don't use it you will meet someone who can use it. I get mine in Mexico. You have to ask for it in the drug stores.You should not be sold something that has additives you don't need. Tis the best medicine for what ails you.
To lose the blues, I would walk over to the other beach where the surf breaks heavily on the rocks. I forget the name but Napa'poo is close enough. These episodes were the absolute best. I used the waterproof cast as a skimmer to get the jump on the waves. I got so good with body surfing I'd surf very close to the rocks ducking out of the wave at the last possible second to land on my feet on the rocks.
Crazy days of youthful splendor when nothing could be better than living as fully as I could. People would come to see the white boy do up the waves. I would hum a bass line for some music I was working on. Some of these people were so desperate they would memorize the lines I was singing to sell to the music companies. Did I care?
Music is so unique that developing any new sound that is innovative and not copyrighted is worth its weight in gold and diamonds. When you think about that though, you realize thoughts and music weigh essentially nothing so weighing against gold and diamonds is ludicrous. Just pointing out language barriers. Music is the best language there is.
As you walk down the road to Napa'poo there are Macadamia orchards to the right as well as the intense smell of the plumeria. The orchards have been poisoned because of the mongoose which has replaced rats as the Hawaiian version of vermin. Their beady eyes are all you will see of them at night. The retinas reflect red. It is sort of disconcerting until you figure out you are basically safe.
As you walk down the road to Napa'poo there are Macadamia orchards to the right as well as the intense smell of the plumeria. The orchards have been poisoned because of the mongoose which has replaced rats as the Hawaiian version of vermin. Their beady eyes are all you will see of them at night. The retinas reflect red. It is sort of disconcerting until you figure out you are basically safe.
They were introduced by the Europeans about 1830 to kill snakes? There are no snakes in Hawaii so it must have worked, right? The Brits from India used Hawaii as a stopping place to replenish and rape a few native girls before carrying on. They also spread diseases such as the common cold which kill thousands in a single season. The Hawaiians had no immunity whatsoever. Read James Mitchner's Hawaii for a genuine look at the vast history of the Hawaiian Islands. The other wonderful read is: The Fatal Impact. You will be astounded.
One of these splendid days the trimasted Brazilian training vessel dropped her anchor just outside the little bay of Napa'poo. One of the divers all dressed out in wet suit wanted to swim out to her and take a closer look. I'm game for this so I tagged along. The waters are so deep I kept imagining myself as a little rappala lure attracting the denizens of the deep. That Jaws movie haunted me for a long time while I was in the Pacific.
The crew must have been unruly on the crossing. They immediately began refitting the ship at the command of the officers. No shore leave for this rowdy bunch. Nevertheless, they seemed happy enough but the bosuns mate carried a cat o nines as he prowled the deck. We circled the ship smiling and being native-like.
One of these splendid days the trimasted Brazilian training vessel dropped her anchor just outside the little bay of Napa'poo. One of the divers all dressed out in wet suit wanted to swim out to her and take a closer look. I'm game for this so I tagged along. The waters are so deep I kept imagining myself as a little rappala lure attracting the denizens of the deep. That Jaws movie haunted me for a long time while I was in the Pacific.
The crew must have been unruly on the crossing. They immediately began refitting the ship at the command of the officers. No shore leave for this rowdy bunch. Nevertheless, they seemed happy enough but the bosuns mate carried a cat o nines as he prowled the deck. We circled the ship smiling and being native-like.
On another glorious day the Mistress made landfall near us. This is FDR's old ship that was bought by some NJ consortium of mafioso types. Nonetheless, she is still beautiful. We met up with the purser/cook who was dressed in white linen and had long hair. He invited us aboard in exchange for information about our location and logistically important details. We thought we would be offered a drink or a snack. Instead we were given Brasso and a rag to polish the portholes and shine her up. We left her beautiful again. Try and get information about what you will be doing on board before ever setting foot aboard a strange yacht. This was a slave ship.
The skipper was a true asshole. He managed to buy a truck with no windshield. He had a huge body and a tiny head that told everyone he was to be avoided. After getting my passport in order which was a challenge since the feds made it so difficult to obtain this valuable ID, I flew to Oahu to join up with NSA people. It was my very first passport. Now I could travel.
Nicherin Dishonin Association is a new age Buddhist group out of Japan. I knew them through Steve and Shirley on Orcas and they set me up with contacts on Oahu. I was offered a job as a cleaner in Haliewa on the North shore of Oahu. This job was cleaning barracks at the army base. Military people are trashers.
The skipper was a true asshole. He managed to buy a truck with no windshield. He had a huge body and a tiny head that told everyone he was to be avoided. After getting my passport in order which was a challenge since the feds made it so difficult to obtain this valuable ID, I flew to Oahu to join up with NSA people. It was my very first passport. Now I could travel.
Nicherin Dishonin Association is a new age Buddhist group out of Japan. I knew them through Steve and Shirley on Orcas and they set me up with contacts on Oahu. I was offered a job as a cleaner in Haliewa on the North shore of Oahu. This job was cleaning barracks at the army base. Military people are trashers.
Every cleaning was monumental. It had to pass the white glove test. One small speck and the job had to be done over. The owner had a crippled sister who need a wheel chair ramp built. I signed up for that since the cleaner job was effectively killing me. Since I had a place to sleep now, I started to bus to Ala Wai Yacht Harbor to look for yacht work.
The Viveka is a grand old twelve meter yacht that was being restored by this old salt of a skipper. He hired me but didn't pay me anything even though I did a lot of work for her. He gave me a giant, comical sanding block to fair the hull from the dingy. I helped him in the shop to mill up expensive blocks of wood like mahogany and ironwood.
After days of this, I asked for my money. He turned a deaf ear. That was that. So long. Never again. These skippers turn into angry old men in a flash. I suggest you take your time to ask questions and don't be afraid to leave at an instant. They never come looking for you. Some of these guys are better off by themselves. That's why they became sailors. So they can drink themselves to oblivion. Sailing is a love/hate kind of thing. Ahoy Mate ARRR Pirates all....
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