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.