Jayde Leota

Saturday 25th February 2012

Current Position:
N 11°50.717
W 096°55.043

One Day until Lole’s Birthday
Four Days until my Birthday!

So my blog entry was due yesterday, but due to excessive procrastination and a new found love of trying to learn everything I can about celestial navigation (possibly because I was supposed to be writing the blog?) I am a day late. But this we must move on from. So here goes, my first blog for the Samoan Voyaging Society.

Topic of my blog…
My ‘Bests’ of the voyage so far!

1) FAVOURITE SHIFT TIME

1800 – 2100 (6-9pm)
The sunsets we experience on board are breathtaking, and this shift means that we get to be with the sun the whole way down. Soon after the sun tucks away for the day, the stars grace us with their presence. Shapes and signs that show us how to get home, forming all sorts of pictures of which I want to learn as many as possible while we are out here on the water.

...Not to mention, this shift, starts off with dinner!!

2) FAVOURITE MEAL

With Lole’s amazing cooking it’s very hard to pick just one meal as my favourite. Each meal seems to outdo the previous. Every mealtime I look forward to tasting what Lole has whipped up for us. He can take the simplest ingredients and turn them into a meal that’s finger licking good.

With that said, for me, nothing can beat ‘Mango Day’. Once the mango supply that we acquired from Mexico came up on deck it was mangos all round. Yellow sticky fingers and mouths all round. Juice running down our hands to our elbows. We ate them dreaming of Samoa in November, when the Flame tree leaves turn their brilliant red and the roadside is flooded with juicy sweet mango stands underneath the very trees that bare its fruit.

3) MOST MEMORABLE ‘MARINE LIFE’ MOMENT

The ‘jumping’ out of the water by the Bat Manta Rays at Cabo Pulmo, Mexico. A sight I have never ever heard of. I have seen singular Eagle Rays jumping out of the water every now and then (on a lucky day) in Samoa, but this was much more. At one stage, I swear we were watching a continuous ‘popping’ of Mantas out of the water for two to three minutes. It felt like during this time there must have thirty to fifty Mantas jumping out of the water only to slap and splash back down on the water. A purely entertaining sight!

4) FAVOURITE SAIL TO USE

To me, this is my favourite sail to use, but it is also the one I dislike the most. If I come upstairs to see that this sail is up, my gut churns a little, I get nervous and anxious to when it will be my turn on the foe. When this sail is up, it can catch a lot of wind to drive our va’a forward, but a wrong move by the steerer and she will come crashing down. In strong winds, you can feel the whole va’a shake from her force as you try and correct your wrong. This sail has been mentioned in other blogs, I guess showing her significance not to just myself, but also my fellow voyagers. The culprit!? THE GENNEKER

A beautifully intimidating white sail that flies high at the bow of our canoe. There is no faking; there is no flying under the radar with this sail. You can either use the sail and feel where the wind is supposed to be, or you can’t. There is no hiding. Once she’s down, she’s down.
My favourite sail, but my most despised, all at once.

5) FAVOURITE SONG TO LISTEN TO WHEN I WANT TO GET AWAY

Song: Charlie Darwin
Artist: The Low Anthem

A beautiful song that I find myself listening to or humming along to in my head, as I stare out into the blue or up at the twinkling night sky, contemplating what I want to get out of this journey. As we head to the Galapagos Islands, it also seems fitting that my favourite song at the moment is titled ‘Charlie Darwin’. It’s one of those songs though, that the instant I hear it I am relaxed and dreaming along the lyrics, trying to find meaning.

6) BEST ‘WARM-FUZZIE’ FEELING

The love and support we have behind us, not only from home, but also from the new family we made in San Diego and at every port we have stopped at is what helps keep our spirits high. This journey seems to touch so many people. A simple voyage that means so much to us all!
The thing I love about the journey so far is my appreciation of how much I love being a Samoan. The overwhelming sense of family and pride we have. No matter where you live, what family you are from, when it comes down to it, we are Samoans. We laugh at ourselves, we laugh more at each other. We love our food, usually its quantity over quality. Family is family, Samoan is Samoan, the blood runs thick.

7) FAVOURITE QUOTE

To finish this, I want to share a quote that I came upon this morning. With thirty minutes to spare before my shift, I picked up my book to squeeze in a few more chapters. Towards the end of the last chapter that I read was a famous quote:

“You must be the change you want to see in the world” -Ghandi

What a fitting quote to come up as we sail along on this journey.
So as I continue to travel on this very unique experience I will keep this quote in my mind. Taking in every experience as it comes, the good and the bad. To learn and observe as much as I can soak up!

Opps its dinner time, mmm I can see a fruit pie in the makings!!

Thanks for your time!

Alofa atu,
Jayde Leota and the Gaualofa Crew