Another delay and looks like we're off on Friday morning, end of August. Still fixing water tanks and selling stuff to get enough money for fuel. "Aliisa" is loaded with 7kg of fetticcine, 6kg of macaroni, 25kg of potatoes, 12kg of rice, 50 tins of food, 18kg of sugar, 12kg of flour, 2.5kg of coffee, 12 packets of Ryvita crisp bread, 15kg of onions, 210 mozzie coils and 6kg of milk powder. Oh yes, and fishing gear. I've said my goodbyes to all I know in Cairns and still being here feels strange. I feel lonely and scared and at the same time I can't wait to get out of here. Stay put. I will write while out there and post updates when I find a computer. Thank you David for the champagne. We shall drink it after clearing in at Misima, PNG.
All the best! Lauri (I discovered a leak in the stbd tank on the day our farewell party was happening. We
were pouring copious amounts of epoxy resin mixed with glue powder over the tank,
hoping we would hit the crack) This page: 29/8 - 30/8 - 31/8 - 5/9 - 7/9 - Top - New page: On to PNG
30 August 2001
I am a week late from departing and two months late from the date I set for myself 2
years ago. The leak in my water tank, which was a major drama last tuesday is now the
least of my troubles. Phil, my crew is down to his last AUD $10 and I only have $600,
with fresh stores yet to be purchased. The departure hangs on Phil getting his car sold.
The vehicle is in Sydney, 2500km from here and for the last month selling the car has
been what we have relied on for a cruising kitty.
This morning I got some news from Phil and things are not looking good. I have a knot
and twist in my stomach and it won't go away. In the next 12 hours I know what is going
to happen. One of the following may be the case:
Phil's car gets finally sold and we get some money ($1000) and head out to PNG.
Phil's car sells for so little or not at all, that Phil is not able to join me at all!
This leaves me in a very uncomfortable situation. (The knot in my stomach tightens when I
think about it.) I am almost teary today, trying to keep my head together.
SO WHAT NEXT?
I will definitely go! But with what? Will I go alone? I'd rather not. Will I find another
crew? And VISA for the new crew? Will the new crew be able to help me or is it going to
be someone I have to look after? Will I have to find a job for a month and then try again?
The knot tightens again...
I refuse to worry about losing face. Those who laugh at me and ask "why don't you just
go?" or "what the hell are you still doing here?" don't know my reality. This situation is all part of the adventure. It is teaching me a lot. Now I have to untie that knot in my
stomach and get on with reality. It's like I am just reaching the peak of a mountain when
one rope came undone and now I'm hanging there halfway up. Time to grit my teeth and
push back up.
I need to have your spirits of adventure with me now. Keep in touch. I will update very
soon.
Lauri This page: 29/8 - 30/8 - 31/8 - 5/9 - 7/9 - Top - New page: On to PNG
31 August 2001, In Finish
Kiitos kaikille teille (Krisu, Jaakko, Sirpa, Jukka, Putte, Juha, Teemu, Mario, Backlund ja
muut jotka vaivaiduitte vieraskirjaan. Koska kaikki vierailijat ovat tahan asti Merivuokon
sivujen kautta, rupesi mua vahan nolottamaan toi englanniksi kirjoittelu. Laitan siis aika
ajoin vahan suomeksikin, kansainvalista ystavapiiria unohtamatta.
Teen parhaani sivujen yllapitamiseksi. Kuviakin on jo albumissa, joskin itse kotisivu on
jostain syysta viela alkutekijoissa. Lahto on taas viivastynyt. Rahaa on viela jaljella
n.1300mk. Phil ei saa autoaan myytya ja meinaa lainata rahaa omiin nimiinsa matkalle
lahtiakseen. Lainarahoja odotellessa purjehdimme viikoksi Holmesin Riutalle, 240km
Cairnsista itaan, stressilomalle. Toinen vaihtoehto on etta lahden yksin vahine rahoineni,
mutta sen teen vasta jos on pakko. Aliisa ei ole kovin hyvin yksinpurjehdukseen viritetty
eika $1300mk ole kovin paljon. Toisaalta, jos ei muu auta niin sitten mennaan silla mita
on.
Neuvoja satelee joka suunnalta ja vaikka olisin ihan hyvin voinut lahtea jo viikkoja sitten
viis veisaten veneen puutteista, niin mun on kuitenkin tehtava oma paatokseni siita
milloin varusteet edes jollain lailla korvaavat kokemuksen puutteen. Riskiahan matkaan
liittyy aina, varsinkin kun kartat ovat jotkut yli 40 vuotta vanhoja ja kaikki valokopioita.
Yksin menemisen riskit kai kaikki ymmarratte. Niinpa pidan miehistostani kiinni ja
katsotaan lahtoa taas ensi viikolla.
Hurrikaani kausi alkaa taalla marraskuussa ja sen suhteen ei viela ole kauheata kiiretta.
Matkasuunnitelma: Cairns (Australia) - Misima (Papua)- 2kk Lousiades saaristossa
Papuan itapuolella - Giza (Solomon Saaret) - Mikronesia - Guam - Caroline saaret - -
Marshall saaret - Kiribati - Tuvalu - Tonga - Uusi Seelanti? Kuka tietaa????? Lahto on
tarkea. Paamaara on tuntematon, ja kai jollainlailla yhdentekeva.
At 6pm we still don't know if Phil is going to raise enough money to join the cruise. I am
committed to go, alone, if I have to. But only if I have to. Aliisa is not well set up for
single handing and I can't say that I'm mega experienced. All gets solved in the next
couple of days. The knot is still in my stomach. In my mind I'm gone, yet I'm sitting in
Cairns City surrounded by the small city life. The interent cafe is the only place for
writing these updates. When you haven't had an update for a week, you know I'm gone.
When you haven't had one for three months, you know I'm gone forever. All the best to
all of you. Log off and go and live your dreams!!!!!
Lauri
I'm sitting in the saloon with wet eyes. Music always makes me emotional and this time
it's Dido. We are sailing back to Cairns from a 5 day shake down cruise. All is well with
the boat - apart from anothher leak in the water tank. The weather is beautiful and I can
barely feel the boat moving while typing in my old lap top down below. I'm coming alive
again. I've only ever been alive when being out in the world with an uncertain future, no
real plans and very little money. Now Life is pouring on me again. It feels good to be
doing this. I am still very scared. Why, I don't know. (I don't remember why I had wet
eyes all the time. It was very emotional time, I suppose)
I'm not so much scared of big storms or the danger of going to faraway places with a
small boat, old charts and little experience. I'm scared of the change. I'm scared of
leaving all behind. The friends, mates and surroundings that make life familiar and safe.
Yet that kind of life is like given a free entry to all rides Disney World, and only
choosing to sit in the Ferris Wheel for the day. Round and round and round......
We are still waiting for a small cash payment to have some cash before we go. The
bloody outboard is not going but I'm not sure if I care anymore. All else is ready. I
reeeeaaally need to leave this town. It is hard not to be out at sea when you've said your
goodbyes almost two weeks ago! Well....I'm learning life and that's what its all about.
(The small cash payment never came. Phil so called friend thought we had already gone
and sold Phil's old Mercedes 280SL for fifty dollars. Phil fury was comparable to that
later in Papua New Guinea) This page: 29/8 - 30/8 - 31/8 - 5/9 - 7/9 - Top - New page: On to PNG
Blessed are the people who's lives are touched by those who care.
5 September 2001
Woke up Friday morning at 7am. The mast head lights had stopped working and I
climbed up the mast to sort them out. After removing the whole light housing, I lost the
wires in the mast. Not a good start. Water tank still leaks. So does the dinghy. Getting
into the car that Peter White had let us use for the last three weeks, the battery was flat
and alternator needed fixing. "That's it!" Enough is enough. I felt furious. Frustrated,
angry, desperate to leave, with no money and more problems to be fixed. I was two
weeks over due. This was the end of my tether. I is time to cut the umbilical cord and get
the hell out of here! Time to take all the problems with us and go. (I remember being
stressed out and telling Phil: "We're leaving now! We're getting the fuck out of here
today. I don't give a fuck about what we have and don't have, it's time to go!)
The final go ahead came from Peter White, a man that is not mentioned in my
acknowledgements.* I should be ashamed. Good men are few and far apart. Peter White is one of them. Without a hesitation he handed $2000 to Phil and said: "Just pay it back in a
couple of years". Peter became the third person onboard - in spirit. I am humbled by
Peter's generosity. Life is a strange thing.
Still using Peter's car, we drove to the customs office and got our passports stamped.
Departure today, Saturday 8 Sept 2001, late afternoon. Peter Hope called me last night
and asked if I could work for the night in his pizza shop. I agreed, but only if they don't
pay me in cash. Peter and Gaynor had something that I didn't want to leave without; Tom
Waits' album "The Heart of Saturday Night" (find yourself a copy and check out Shiver
me Timbers, I'm sailing away....
I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend my last night: Drinking beer til 4am with
Peter, as we used to couple of years ago. Thank you Peter Hope and Gaynor. Thank you
for the potatoes, pizza, beer, but most of all for your friendship.
Today I'm getting sick of crying. I need to go. While I'm writing this in a internet cafe,
Phil is getting the last fresh fruit and veg. I don't care about leaking tanks and missing
mast head lights any more. I'll fix them in PNG.
The last item added into the shopping list was a spare tape adapter to my portable CD
player. I'd hate to think being without Tom Waits, Paul Kelly, Dido, The Corrs and most
of all David Grey. Never mind life rafts and other safety gear. I'm setting my priorities
here and mind you, four days ago we managed to attract a pod of 20 dolphins simply by
playing the sound track of Big Blue. They arrived by the highway cast by the full moon,
just minutes after I turned the music on outside, and left 45 minutes later when the tape
ended! You just can't buy experiences like that.
Anyway, I'm carrying on now. I'm dizzy. I'm leaving in two hours. I'm in tears every five
minutes. I'm leaving so many loved ones (love comes pretty easy to me...)and I'm not
sure what future holds for me. All I have is a pocketful of good karma and lucky Jupiter
overhead. I was thinking of making a will, but if something goes wrong, there won't be
anything left for anyone.
Leave it with me guys. I've got to go now. I've got to go and LIVE. I've never felt more
ALIVE in my life. Isn't life sweet. Yep, a daring adventure or nothing. Wish me luck, I'll
be thinking of many of you. I'll write a real story as soon as I can. This will be the last for
a month or so.
Take care.