October 2009 eBook all pages (free PDF, 36.6 - Latitude 38

GS
CHANGES
the delivery back, too. (He's got some
advice for Catalina 42 owners — don't
attach the tack of a gennaker to the
anchor roller.)
Preparing for a luau is like painting
a boat, in that
it's the preparation
that takes most of
the time. Thankfully,
there had been
plenty of helping
hands to dig the
hole, line it with
rocks, and prepare
the banana leaves
and gunny sacks.
After three hours
With motors not allowed
Redcrests are
popular at Geiger.
in the aromatic
pit, the meat, fish
and potatoes were
cooked to perfec-
tion. This was a good thing, because
when you're cooking in a pit as opposed
to an oven, you just can't take out the
food to see if it's done, and slide it back
in the oven if it's not.
Anyway, it was a great event with
great people at a great cove on a Sunday
of perfect Southern California weather.
Just like the old days.
— latitude 09/05/09
Cruise Notes:
It gets really hot in the Sea of Cortez
in the summer, and toward the end of
summer it gets both very hot and very
humid. So what do cruisers do to cool
off? There are a number of strategies,
but Anthony Diliberti, who did the ‘07
Ha-Ha with his Seattle-based Ta Chou
51 Mandalay, explains how he does it
in La Paz: “First, we chill the beer. Then
we clean the dinghy and fill it with water.
Finally, we get in the dinghy, pop open
a cool one, and use the dinghy like a
"Come on in, the dinghy-pool is cool!" Figuring
out a way to stay cool in the summer in the Sea
of Cortez is very important.
bathtub.” He didn’t mention how long it
takes before they need to add ice to avoid
being parboiled.
For as long as we've been editing
Changes in Latitudes — and it's been
more than three decades now — cruisers
have complained about the harbor at
Pago Pago, American Samoa. Thanks
to the two fish processing plants, the
harbor has always been ugly, dirty,
smelly and noisy. And the officials
weren't always the most helpful. Thus,
some cruisers took to referring to it as
the 'armpit of the Pacific'. But there are
big changes underway that will hopefully
improve Pago Pago's image and make it a
more attractive destination for cruisers.
Samoa Packing, whose 2,500 workers
made it the biggest employer on the
island, has shut down. In response, the
Governor says he's determined to clean
up the harbor — and with it, the town's
tawdry image. As it's on the South Pacific
Milk Run from Tahiti to New Zealand,
and as it's a U.S. Territory and therefore
gets U.S. Mail and goods and services,
Pago Pago has a couple of things going
for it. To add to that, $2 million — of U.S.
taxpayer money, of course — is being
spent on a dock for cruising boats and
a security fence. A private company has
also been given a 10-year lease to develop
the yacht basin even further. A large budget
has also been allocated to developing
tourism in the nearby Manu'a islands,
and to refurbish the historic RainMaker
Hotel. But what no amount of money can
change is the fact that Pago Pago, home
to only about 12,000 people, is one of
the wettest inhabited spots on earth.
Pago Pago used to have an aerial tramway
to the highest peak, which afforded
a beautiful view of the harbor. Alas,
on Flag Day in '80, a U.S. Navy plane
that was part of the festivities struck
the tramway cable, and then crashed
into a wing of the Rainmaker Hotel. The
tram still hasn't been
repaired, and the now
government-owned
hotel is dilapidated.
According to one review
on the internet,
"The Rainmaker Hotel
is frequented by government
officials on
often dubious business.
If you are one
for novel experiences,
then stay here for a
few nights, as you'll
likely meet some interesting
characters
and have a few sto-
ries for back home." Anyway, we wish
the folks in Pago Pago the best of luck
in making the changes. To make sure
there is no confusion, American Samoa is
entirely different from the Independent
State of Samoa, which was formerly
known as Western Samoa. The latter is
not a territory of the United States, and
by most accounts is better for not having
become a welfare ward of Uncle Sam.
“Latitude is famous in windy Spanish
Waters, Curacao,” write Veronique
Bardach and Ted Halstead of the D.C.based
Catana 50 catamaran Verite.
“That’s because you guys are the custodians
for the Pacific Puddle Jump, and
the PPJ is all the rage at the bi-weekly
happy hour for cruisers here who will
be doing the South Pacific. So we had
to check out the PPJ site for ourselves.
Wow, pretty damn impressive! We’re going
to try to participate if we can. After
getting interviewed by the publisher of
Latitude in St. Barth just before New
Year's, we hit many of the other islands
in the Lesser Antilles. Most recently, we
had a blast in Mustique, and we loved