July eBook pages 1-91 (16.1 MB) - Latitude 38

COURTESY INTER-ED
SIGHTINGS
Page 76 • Latitude 38 • July, 2010
sailing teen needs a home kiwi chainsaw
Despite what some might have you believe about 16-year-old girls'
activities, there is middle ground between sailing nonstop, singlehanded
around the world and falling into the dark world of drugs.
Take Viviane Farke, for example. This 16-year-old German student,
who hopes to fi nd a sailing family in the Bay Area to host her during
a 10-month exchange program, is a sailing fanatic.
"My favorite hobby is defi nitely sailing," Viviane wrote in her application
to her student exchange program. "I am crazy about it and I
spend a lot of time at the Elfrather See, a lake in Krefeld. In the photo
you can see my friend
Simon and me sailing a
boat called a 420."
Viviane, who has a
younger brother and
sister, is an A/B+ student
and plans to go
into the sciences to
become a doctor or
researcher. Her other
interests include playing
guitar, dancing and
soccer, but none apparently
come close to
Where could be better than the Bay for a foreign exchange sailing.
student who sails? Let’s fi nd her a host home!
Cheryl Williams,
who works with Inter-Ed to place foreign students in California homes,
contacted us in hopes of fi nding a suitable home for Viviane. "I normally
place kids in the Fresno area but we don't have a lot of sailing
here," she said. "Viviane sails twice a week so I really hope someone
in the Bay Area who's involved in sailing will host her."
Suckers for sailing kids, we promptly posted Viviane's story in
June 16's 'Lectronic Latitude. "Great news! I had a family request to
host Viviane," read Cheryl's email a few days later. "The bad news is
that the deadline to enroll at Redwood High School, where she would
attend, was June 15 and they wouldn't accept her. Not to say it's not
diffi cult, but I must honor all schools' rules. I'll keep trying for Vivi,
you know I will!"
Cheryl notes that while the program is 10 months, it's possible to
split the commitment between two homes, though the ideal is to have
Viviane stay in one home the entire time. All students are fl uent in English
and arrive with their own medical insurance and spending money
— host families are asked to provide a roof over their heads and meals.
"And it doesn't have to be a family with kids," Cheryl said. "Retirees and
couples are welcome to apply as well." The application process seems
relatively painless, as well as obvious — criminal background check,
Megan's Law check, reference check and in-home interview — but
Cheryl needs to fi nd a host by July 30 or Viviane may have to suffer
through a year of no sailing, and that would be a shame.
If you're interested in hosting Viviane, email Cheryl at cheryl@
inter-ed.org or call her at (559) 940-4713.
— ladonna
grounding in monterey
The long Memorial Day weekend was surprisingly slow for Capt.
Chelsea Wagner, owner of Pacifi c Salvage in Santa Cruz. That may not
be great news for a tow boat operator, but it’s good news for boaters.
Unfortunately, one sailor wasn’t so lucky. The owner of the Monterey-
based Hunter 27 Aeolus was reportedly out for a daysail on Saturday
when he noticed the 30 feet of water he had been sailing in off Del
Monte Beach was shoaling rapidly.
“He was getting ready to tack away when it went from 30 feet to
continued on outside column of next sightings page
Some cruisers are lucky, smart and/
or frugal enough that they don’t have to
work. Whatever income they’ve arranged
back home fi lls the kitty every month and
they live within those means. The rest
have to fi nd periodic employment.
Some cruisers work within the yachtie
community, doing mechanical work or
sail repair for other cruisers, for example.
Others work in the country they’re in, if
the rules allow it. We know folks who have
taken courses and even gone into careers
such as nursing and diesel mechanics
specifi cally to use those skills when they
go cruising.
And then there are the fringe jobs. It
never ceases to amaze us how creative
cruisers can be when it comes to generating
income. We once met a Mexico-bound
Yeehaw! The salvage crewman who rode
through the surf aboard the grounded ‘Aeolus’
reported becoming airborne.