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

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COURTESY COCOKAI
LETTERS
water hole in a massive desert, we shudder to think how few
drops they would allot each parched traveller who came by.
Maybe four whole days would seem like a long time to the billionaires
who are the core supporters of The Nature Conservancy,
and who often travel to Nature Conservancy sites by private jet
or megayacht. But it's not to sailors to who make big sacrifices
to arrive at such remote places in such an eco-friendly fashion.
As anyone who has crossed an ocean can attest, it takes at
least 24 hours to recover from an ocean passage and 24 hours
to prepare for
the next leg —
which would
have left the
Cocokai crew
with a pitifully
short two days
at Palmyra to
relax and have
a peek around.
How could The Nature Conservancy staff at Palmyra
give sweet little Coco the boot after just four days?
Geez, thanks a
lot.
As we recall,
Cocokai
bur ned only
15 gallons of
diesel on their three-week, 3,000-mile trip from the Galapagos
to the Marquesas. That's about one quarter of what self-proclaimed
ocean-loving mini-megayacht owners burn using one
generator for one day while tied to the dock. And a fraction of
what they use in a single hour while underway. So we think
The Nature Conservancy should not only welcome visiting
sailors with a week's stay at Palmyra, but should also honor
them with an exhibit celebrating what a small footprint they've
left in getting there.
Yes, we understand the need to protect critical habitats and
for such places not to be overrun by crowds, but we don't think
respectful cruisers staying a week would pose any danger to
Palmyra. As for the contention that remote Palmyra might have
become a casino had the Conservancy not bought it, come on
— that was about as much in the cards as our becoming the
next black President of the United States.
⇑⇓HE SEEMS LIKE SUCH A NICE MAN
My wife and I have just spent the past two months in the
river/estuary of Playa del Sol, El Salvador, aboard our boat
Freedom. It’s a beautiful, peaceful place to pass the days,
explore, do boat projects, and enjoy the cruising lifestyle.
During this time, we’ve come to know the people and politics
of the small community quite well.
The May edition of Latitude featured a letter titled "44 Days
in an El Salvador Jail," that was written by a man named
Alfred. The man painted a colorful picture of his experiences
here, and described how a local man named Santos allegedly
assaulted him, broke his arm, and threatened him with a
pistol. As a result of the dispute, Alfred claims to have spent
44 days in an El Salvadoran jail.
Alfred writes an entertaining article, and while we must
admit that we weren't around when the alleged incidents occured,
there are clearly holes in what he presented as facts.
In the two months that we've spent here, we've learned that
Alfred changed his story many times. For example, I read
court documents that said his left arm was broken, but at
a later hearing, his right arm was in a cast. Furthermore,
Alfred never presented an X-ray of his broken arm, proof of
the injury, or even evidence that he'd visited a doctor.