10:00 PM local time Tuesday, July 31st. (1000 July 31st UTC) 18 07 S
178 25 E. Temp. 78, Humidity 78%, cloud cover 10%. At anchor at the
Royal Suva Yacht Club, Suva, Fiji.
Our obituary of Fearless, the boat we saw on the reef as we
entered Fijian waters, was premature. Some cruisers who had a powerful
pump came along, after the owner had salvaged sails and gear and
abandoned it, and managed to pump it out, fix the leak, and refloat it
at high tide springs. It was a stoutly built steel ketch or it never
would have survived. The owner, who handled himself with great dignity
through the whole ordeal, seemed near tears when he gave me this news
the day he heard it. He and another cruiser headed out with sails, a
handheld VHS, and a handheld GPS and managed to sail it back without
engine or any electric power the 120 miles to Savusavu. His crew allowed
that taking it through the reef into Savusavu Bay, which the skipper
decided to attempt at night with no engine or radar, was one of the most
stressful things he had ever done. We'll keep you posted on the repairs
and refit.
On the topic of driving under the influence of Kava, apparently there
has been another arrest in California, which we hear thanks to Peter
Siegel. And it turns out that the law against driving under the
influence, at least as interpreted by San Mateo County Superior Court
Judge Quentin Kopp, not a liberal, does not in fact require that the
substance in question be actually named in the statute. He ruled that
"actual notice of each drug constituting a basis for prosecution under
Section 23152(a) is not required if a person is reasonably made aware of
the proscribed conduct, namely, impaired driving ability resulting from
ingestion of some substance." Watch out, Sudafed users.
On to some general culture notes. By now it will come as no surprise to
our readers that western arts have a fan base in the South Pacific.
Three very popular TV shows in Fiji are Oprah, ER, and, right before the
Fiji news, Get Smart. While we were waiting in the Australian consulate
for our visas, we watched MTV and were entertained by Destiny's Child,
O-Town, and N-Sync. Today in the hardware store we heard a Dolly Parton
tune. A couple of days ago we went to a very modern Cineplex and saw a
movie called Captain Kangaroo's Mandolin or some such starring Nicolas
Cage, of whom Ship's Movie Critic and Historian Terry Shrode is a fan,
and Penelope Cruz. In general we could have been in Ohio, so
sophisticated was the theatre complex.
On the other hand, there is an island group in Fiji called the Lau
Group where, to hear some tell it, people really do run around in grass
skirts and live in thatched huts. We cruisers are currently prohibited
from going there, the reason vaguely being something about modern people
corrupting the natives, so of course the Captain's interest has been at
a high pitch. We have heard that if you have enough money you can pay
the right people who in turn pay the right people and as a result your
going there will not be reported to those who like to have such things
reported to them, or if it is they might be watching Get Smart just at
that moment and not hear about it. This, of course, is not seen as
corruption. In any case the Captain is quite beside himself with shame
to have to admit to our readers that because no provision was made for
this sort of expenditure in Maverick's budget, he is unable to provide a
report on the Lau Group of Fiji.
But it just seems plain odd that we can't go there. Exactly what do
they think? Do they think that if the Captain and Mr. Shrode do not
visit these precious places, the people residing therein will never,
ever hear of our Britney? And is that a good thing? Are they Christian?
Is that a traditional Fijian religion? Are they an exhibit, the
primitives, with no audience permitted but an odd assembly of
missionaries, anthropologists and Greenpeace? Aren't they smart enough
to decide for themselves if the crew of Maverick are a corrupting
influence, like so many others have? Does the chief make these decisions
for them? Aren't they just like real people? And don't they have
relatives in the big city? Most folks do. Don't they tell them anything
about, like, the latest stuff? So maybe they don't want to hear about
it. Don't you think they have some brother-in-law who wears loud shirts
and just won't stop about Jennifer Lopez or his new cell phone? Do they
put their hands over their ears and yell so they don't find out who won
the rugby match against Australia or about the fact that, with a
computer and a telephone line you can now sit on your island, check out
a fishhook catalogue, and get back to your brother-in-law by email if
and when you feel like it? Do these people know that the earth revolves
around the sun? Maybe I'm whacked, but let's go tell them, that's what I
propose, and then see what they think. The Prime Directive is SCIENCE
FICTION.
PS: It just occurred to me, after re-reading the above, that maybe they
just keep us out because we're annoying.
Next report from this location:
A Little White Lau
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