Article published

Our exploits last weekend were actually published in a magazine article!

 

I wrote a story for a national popular science magazine called Miller McCune, describing our kayaking tribulations and the global climate day of action on a philosophical level.

 

Read it here:

 

http://www.miller-mccune.com/news/the-most-widespread-global-happening-ever-1574

Happy Climate Day

October 24th, Climate Action Day around the globe. I'm enroute on the
boat to help out the kayakers. Decided to make a quick pit stop to
enjoy the waves in Isla Vista.

At Bren

Arriving at the old stomping grounds, the "Bren Cove". My anchorage
during grad school at the Bren School of Environmental Science and
Management. I'll be anchoring and then straight to a reception!

Heading to Goleta

headin under sail with 10 knots wind to Goleta and UCSB for the
@350.org climate event!

Kiri and 350

A few dozen students kayaking 4 miles roundtrip to oil platforms to take photos with a huge 3-5-0 banner... what is going on??

It's this Saturday, October 24th, the Climate Day of Action, with over 4000 events scheduled in 170 countries. The goal is to raise awareness to the number "350", which is the concentration of CO2 in parts per million that scientists have stipulated as "safe" for Earth's atmosphere.  We are already at 387 ppm. Raising awareness about this threshold is important for the upcoming Copenhagen climate talks, in 6 weeks time.

That's where the kayakers come in. Several dozen students from EAB (the environmental affairs board, from UCSB) are doing the trek to the nearest oil platform, just 2 miles off the coast, to take a big group photo and contribute their voices to the global conversation. Their aim isn't to protest the oil platform; rather, they are just using it as a symbol for the changes we need to make as a society - one addicted to oil for fuel, packaging, fertilizers, and more.

The Kiri sailboat was recruited as the support vessel for the trip - we will be in the perimeter to make sure people have a safe haven to retreat to, if needed. We will be sailing there from Santa Barbara on Friday afternoon, anchoring at UCSB, and assisting the students starting at noon on Saturday.

Tune into the Kiri Twitterfeed which will be our main channel during these two next days.

Links:

• 350.org
• Other Climate Action events in your area.

Idea List: emerging

Folks onboard the Kiri have had some good ideas for the trip. Here are a few:

1. To illustrate how a boat can be a microcosm of a sustainable farm, have onboard composting and a small container, garden for fresh veggies and herbs.
2. Recycling program setups for removing plastic bottles and other trash from shorelines. Organized thru schools, sponsored by soda manufacturers, recycling funds go towards schools.
3. Solar panels on board - chart output - show kids (+parents) what it can do (exposed and then covered?)
4. Get a camera (or cameras) for kids to take photos!
5. Check with Prescott college for Baja info. Prescott has a research station on the Gulf Side. Could be a good educational contact. What do you think? We will compile the best ideas, and then put it up for a vote - we will try to incorporate the winners in our trip.

Feel free to comment on the ideas and suggest your own.

One dirty filter

Great things can happen on the way to/from the bathroom. Yesterday, ran into Alaskan commercial fisherman/ mechanic Jerry, who said, "sure I'll come by to check out your new boat".

Next thing you know, he was climbing in the engine compartment, just having a merry good time, "I used to have this exact engine in my boat in Alaska- run her slow and treat her well mate, she'll take you 30,000 miles. By the way, this fuel filter has to go right now."   Now?? 

Ok, so we pulled it off, and it was absolutely nasty.  Wow. The secondary filter wasn't too bad, but we got things back together in time for the evening sunset cruise, unbeknownst to our guests.  And the Isuzu engine was lovin' the clean calories, i am sure. 

Good lesson - don't wait for the supposed mechanic appointment next week, when things need to be done yesterday. Find your local friendly commercial fisherman and ask for help!

Hurricane Rick in Baja

The "hurricane season" is supposed to last until mid-October... but it was still surprising to see a Category 5 in the Eastern Pacific right now. At sea, it was measured as the second strongest on record (285 kph winds), but it is making landfall in a much weakened state, thankfully. It is expected to hit Cabo San Lucas as a major storm or minor hurricane Tuesday/Wednesday, according to the LA Times. I wonder if this strong storm activity is a factor of the warm water in the eastern Pacific driven by the El Nino phenomenon? Or longer term shifts in our climate?

Visitors to the Raft

They were just rocking back and forth with the swell for a whole hour... later I discovered they had left some presents in there for me. Poo!

Storm prep

Monday morning, before going to work - hustling to beef up the anchor
gear. Not the ideal timing!

Windy night, poor sleep due to water slapping the hulls. The trimaran
is stable at anchor, as expected, but it is noisy, as it keeps lifting
and plunging back down like a kid on a see-saw by the pool's edge.

All courtesy of the south wind driven by the coming storm, which is
the real concern - and the harbor is still full. Once the Coast Guard
issues a "small craft advisory", being a Public harbor they allow
everyone in- but no advisory had yet been called. So there I was,
Monday morning, not so quickly setting up a shackle on the 45lb CQR
anchor with some stainless wire and pliers.

I was using a technique I had only read about, but hadn't ever tried -
connecting multiple anchors to one chain rode. I just read about it in
Moitessier's book, "A Sea Vagabond's World", so I figured it might
work for us too. I rowed away, always that uncertain feeling.

The rain did in fact dump, but the wind never came up bad- and a spot
opened up in the marina later in the day. So now we are cozy and front
row to the spectacle, next to the breakwater, with the waves crashing
on the other side.

Weekend Sunset Cruises at 4pm

The first Sunset Cruise was so fun, we may just have to do cruises twice a week.

Saturday and Sunday at 4pm, leaving from the Santa Barbara Harbor.

RSVP to confirm availability: captain@voyageofkiri.com

$15-$25 suggested donation, local wines available for tasting.





 

First Sunset Cruise

Red tide

The brightest phosphorescence I've EVER seen right now thanks to a Red Tide. During the day, the ocean has a somber magenta hue, with untold numbers of phytoplankton swimming outside the range of the visible eye. Dolphins are going nuts feeding on fish which are probably getting fat off the little critters.

The best part is that while rowing at night, wherever the oars touch the water, bright fluorescent green/turquoise sparkles and swirls like clouds dissipating. Motorboat coming towards us has a green "beard" in the bow wave. We jumped for a swim just to make the equivalent of snow angels in the water ..! 

We've been anchored for the week, saving money on slip fees - since the program is currently broke. Our nonprofit status has not yet become official, so we haven't been able to take on funds as planned. Meanwhile the boat is thirsty for repairs and the credit card is maxing out. Such is the way of a grassroots expedition I suppose. We are hoping things will get squared away in a month - fingers crossed.

Coincidences on the Dock

I swear, even when you isolate yourself on the end tie dock at the end of a harbor all weekend long, you can still run into funny coincidences -

Trout, a fellow docked next to me on a home-built one-of-a-kind catamaran, is heading to Kiribati of all places, inspiration for my trip name. He also wants to visit as it may be one of the first nations to fall off the map due to climate change and poor resource management.

Next to Trout is a gorgeous black ketch that turns out to be a home-built ship (also), from an Ingrid design. I recognized that name, and told the owner, "Funny, I saw an Ingrid ketch at the islands last weekend" That was the ketch with the couple we went hiking and tasted Prickly Pear cacti fruit together. 

The captain's response was quick: "That's our sister ship from Winchester Bay! How's Ken doin'?" Ha! They were cruising down the coast separately and planned to rendezvous for the Baja Ha-ha race coming up.

These little coincidences are fun!  Like life-affirming momentos of interconnection.  About being in the right place/right time?  

One thing is a fact.. this end tie has a beautiful view of sunrise, right on the edge of the breakwater, with the Wharf across the harbor mouth and the mountains in the distance..  awesome way to wake up every morning. 

SB Independent features Kiri!

Returning from our maiden trip to the Channel Islands, a reporter from the local weekly magazine "Santa Barbara Independent" came by to visit the Kiri.

The Voyage was featured on the homepage of the Independent (it will be up for a short while) and article is here:

http://www.independent.com/news/2009/oct/05/sailing-adventure-teach-climate-science/

The writer did a great job and the last line captured it: "Beadle hopes the KIRI's voyage will create a dialogue between students of different cultures who share this coastline."

Right on!

Video: Dolphins in SB Channel

Dolphins in SB Channel from Voyage of Kiri on Vimeo.
Returning from the Channel Islands, dolphins paid us a visit.

Tsunami hitting California..??

Photo of the damage in Samoa

It was 7:15pm when I showed up at a dinner party and was told a small tsunami might hit the harbor (where my boat was) at 9:11pm. What?! 

The Samoan 8.0 earthquake/tsunami that wiped out villages was just 1.5 meters. It hit Hawaii at about half that size and was enroute to California at an estimated 0.6 meters. The Harbor Patrol seem unconcerned on the phone but my boat lay uninsured right next to the breakwater. Damage to itself or other boats is not in my budget. Even though the threat was low, they say an ounce of prevention is best..

so I scrambled rudely away from the dinner party and had the engine going at 8:56pm.
we were out of the harbor at 9:05pm
and lay anchored in 35 feet of water at 9:12pm

Did the tsunami go through? Apparently their effects can last 1.5 hours. But nay... this was a false alarm. For a natural catastrophe "drill", this was pretty night with stars and altogether enjoyable... here anyway.

...hearts go out to the islanders in the Samoa and nearby who lost their lives and homes. May lots of aid go their way!

Kiri Maiden Voyage day 3

"You guys are the first under-50 year olds we've seen in days!"  Colin and Kristin are crew aboard the S/V Allymar, 38ft ketch from Oregon - they are also in their late 20s, and paddled over to visit us. Appears that young people are in shortage at sea. They are "hitchhiking" their way to South America on yachts.

Together we hike up the hill, and experiment eating the famed Prickly Pear cactus, which has micro thorns that stick to one's tongue, as Colin discovered...

 We depart the Coches anchorage around 2:30pm and set the autopilot east - this is a wonderful gadget, being able to set the course and carry out work around the boat.

4pm we round the last headland in the island, and we are in the Santa Barbara Channel, sailing on a close haul at 5 knots, which is great upwind performance for a trimaran - which is typically sluggish into the breeze (I think it's because of an extended keel on this boat).

Dolphins cruise our bow, the boat is effortless and stable. I love it.  As the sun sets, we crank the motor and jam back to the harbor at 8.5 knots, pulling in a calm dark night at 8:30pm, for my first attempts at docking...

Kiri Maiden Voyage day 2

First Stop: Surfing, 2-3ft south swell.

One other guy in the water, John, who I had met at this same spot 4 years ago. He was spending the night on his 18ft inflatable boat so we invited him over to the "Hotel Trimaran".

Second stop: Coches Prietos anchorage.

John came by and tied his boat up behind ours..  remarked on the trimaran's carpentry ("whoever built this boat actually knew how to build boats!") and for his good company he got the aft cabin, some Zinfandel, pizza, and a movie. Nice time all around!

 Issues: Batteries

And finally-- we mustn't forget, this is after all a shakedown cruise...  figuring out what "falls when we shake 'er up a bit". And we find the batteries are indeed dead - without the motor they simmer away quickly.  The lights stay on for a few hours but the galley sink and main toilet flush are electric and take up too much juice. The engine starter battery is in a different circuit, so it stays fine. Some other minor issues popped up, but so far so good..

Kiri maiden voyage day 1

'twas the time for the shakedown cruise...

We worked like crazy bats and still managed to cast off the lines only at 4pm on the Saturday. Still, some basic questions remained:  Would the batteries work properly?  Would the inverter run the fridge?  heck, where was the GPS??

I bought extras of each at West Marine (just in case) and we zoomed out. Crew was Alyssum, nutricionist extra-ordinaire, who has spent several seasons in Alaska commercial fishing - a good person to have around.

We sailed upwind for a few hours but progress was slow. As evening closed in, and a fog bank rolled in, it got interesting. Particularly as the rowboat (that was being towed) suddenly plunged underwater and pretended to be a submarine. We hauled the confused vessel on deck with the help of the mast halyard. We motorsailed from then on at a brisk 8.5 knots.

With very poor visibilty, happiness is to have a radar. Even if we don't actually know how to use it (!) at least it provides psychological relief. We dropped anchor 2 hours after dark at Smuggler's Cove. Pulled out the lawn chairs and enjoyed from stars from the deck.

Success for the first day!

..and what about Southern California MPAs

closer to home...

You can support the version of the  SoCal MPA network (soon-to-be established) that you prefer by going to this link - just need your name and city.

The map shows an image of the Group 3 proposal, which has the most biodiversity conversation (although not nearly as much as the scientific panel recommended).

Still, it does retrict fishing livelihoods and lifestyle, and is controversial. But I suppose so did the National Parks 100 years ago, and now they are incredibly valuable.

Kiribati and Hawaiian MPAs join forces

The two largest marine protected areas (MPAs) in the world have now joined forces as "sister sites". They are the areas in Kiribati and the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, and together they make up 25% of the world's total MPAs.


The Kiribati (Kee-ree-bas) site, established in 2008, is called the Phoenix Islands Protected Area and is about the size of California.

The Hawaiian site is called Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument and is slightly smaller. They encompass about 300,000 square miles of ocean.

"Our sites provide ocean insurance for the Pacific against the depletion of marine life that has accelerated across the globe," said Tukabu Teroroko, director of the Phoenix Island Protected Area.

For more details see ENS.

Prop stress

I spent a good 45 minutes toiling with the propeller, cold and frustrated while free diving, trying to make it fit on the shaft while holding my breath (in many ways). The sun was going down. I was losing the battle.

This was one of the big gambles when buying the boat - the prop didn't fit the shaft from the get go. The Valley Prop folks did an honest good job refurbishing it to fit - but I still couldn't get the damn little "key" to fit, which aligns the prop and the shaft. This could be a problem.

I despaired. In my cold miserable state I retreated to a nap under the blankets, then in a half-conscious state the answer came to me. The voice said: "Do it backwards. Make the key small, insert it first, then slide the prop in."  Which is pretty weird, like putting a key in the doorway hole then installing the lock around it.

But the hacksaw came out. Cut the brass key, sanded it down a bit, dived back down and loved the fact that it worked. Great satisfaction.  The maiden voyage was on.

The big move

Getting things ready for the maiden voyage on the trimaran!

had to pile everything from the old boat into big plastic bags and load up the van, but that was the easy part...

The rowboat also had to get moved from Santa Barbara to Oxnard, where the trimaran was..

and turns out it had a delightful colony of algae and crustaceans living on the bottom - which I had limited success scrubbing away with just the paddles onhand...

The rowboat actually folds up, this is what it looks like without the benches... (it's called a Porte-bote)

<-- And fully folded up..  then just had to jam it in the van (which ended up smelling like seaweed, but hey, only for an hour or two..)

Enroute to the new mothership~