What Mark was Doing.... The Sol, by Mark

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I have had the luck of pretty much being able choose my jobs at sea. Last year I had the pleasure of conducing a beaked whale survey in the tropical waters of the coral sea. This year I would be sailing from Cairns to the Solomon Islands. The trip started as most trips to sea do; rough and with about half the crew spending most of the trip lying down, praying that the seas would calm and they can again resume some sort of normal life. The rough seas started a few hours out of Cairns and didn’t stop until we rounded Guadalcanal and headed into Honiara many days later.

While in the Sol we had the great opportunity of spending a considerable amount of time in the Russell Islands, a beautiful part of the world. Coral which only ended on the shore of white sandy beaches which themselves were littered with Coconuts falling from the trees. Many a day was spent Snorkelling and sipping Coconut milk on the beaches. The locals there are very friendly and as not a lot of tourists make it this way, were very curious. They didn’t take long to paddle out to our boat for a look and something new to jump into the water from. The local girls took their chances and asked the boys onboard if they wanted to marry. The local custom is to present shell money, strung together on a string to the girl you wish to marry. Shells are still a form of currency on some of the more remote islands, as money isn’t that easy to come by out here. No shells were presented while we were there.

A highlight of my time in the Russell’s was having a punt in a Locals Canoe which I tried on several occasions. The kids could paddle rings around me! The boat fills up with water as you paddle... the children are given older boats and its quite an art form to keep the ratio of water out of the boat higher than water coming in. Many laughs were had mainly at our expense as we sunk boat after boat. It was quite common for the local kids to come out to our boat after their school had finished for the day. They learn to swim here at a very young age, with kids as young as two out much further into the ocean in a small wooden boat than the western culture would allow. It was inspiring to see how much the young ones were looked after by the older kids, the older ones not being much older than 10 or 12. At night the kids were replaced by fishermen who would bring in reasonable sized fish one after another, much to the dismay of the boys onboard our boat who failed to catch anything.

The Sol received heavy fighting during WWII both at sea and on land. Everywhere you go is a story of lives lost and battles won. The battlefields are a solemn place indeed. Apparently the locals didn’t really understand why two foreign forces decided to pick their islands to conduct their battles, the scars of the war are still littered all over the Islands, in the form of Ship wrecks, tanks, planes, whiskey bottles and ammunition. Both forces left in a hurry and dropped everything into the ocean as they left. Mother Nature is slowly reclaiming the forests and reefs, but it a slow process and has taken its toll.

Diving on the ship wrecks is amazing, most of the wrecks are far too deep to be dived, but some like a Japanese troop carrier which was run aground deliberately by its Capitan to save the crew after it had seen battle, are only in a few meters of water. The ships boilers and mast are still visible above the water and underneath the fish and coral have moved in which make it a very interesting swim.

The Solomon Islands are a wondrous place full of friendly hardworking people who have not had the easiest existence of late. Peace is returning to these fine lands and once outside the main towns life goes on not too dissimilar to how it was played out many years ago. Ah... Solomon Islands how I already miss your fresh coconut milk in the mornings...

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Comments

[Grandma Anne]

Good one thanks
Hi Mark, loved your story and photoes, thanks. Hope all the present plans are working out well for you all. Have some pretty good ufo stories to send you when you're settled in China. Will be sending a Christmas Wish to you all in a day or two. Love Anne.