The Dullest Catch – Installment #4 – Pohnpei

In which the author discovers a most charming and beautiful island as yet unblemished by development.

28 August 2009 position L 06-59.091N Lon 158-12.015E

I woke the morning of 28 August and walked up to the bridge to have a look around. Just peeking over the horizon was our first landfall in 31 days, Pohnpei. Located in the Federated States of Micronesia, and formerly known as the Ponape, in the Caroline Islands.

We headed up the west side of the island, reaching the Pilot station at 1000. The Pilot came aboard, a young man who introduced himself as Junior. As he guided my vessel through the channel to the dock, I got a good first look at the island. Capt. Mark had told me in Honiara that Pohnpei sucked, and the Chief Mate on here told me he didn’t like Pohnpei because of the killer mosquitoes. My first impression absolutely disagreed with both of them, and didn’t change one bit while I was there. I didn’t think it sucked at all, and I only got about three mosquito bites. But I did get the flu…

Sokehs Rock, Pohnpei:

At the Pilot Station inbound:

The CFC (Caroline Fisheries Corp) dock:

The Pilots on Pohnpei are amazing. They have no assist tugs, so they do it the old fashioned way, by using “shiphandling” skills. I watched as one of them brought a container ship in, spun it 180 degrees in its own length, and put it against the dock with not a tug in sight, just a couple of line boats. The Pohnpei Pilot Boat is a twenty foot open skiff, powered by an outboard motor. It’s so small we had trouble finding it on our way in. They kept calling on the radio: “We’re over here! No worries though, it isn’t that hot out yet”.

Docking a container ship:

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A couple of days before we arrived at Pohnpei, I slipped and fell on the deck. I bashed my knee pretty good, and thought that I had better see a doctor. So I told the Dongwon agent, Mr. K***, to take me to the Doctor. No doctor on Saturday, says he. At this point in my career working with Koreans, the first thing I assume when they tell me something is that they’re lying. So I press the issue. I need a doctor, or a clinic. No, it is Saturday. No doctor, no clinic. Obviously I’m going to get little help from Mr. K***. So off I go on my own, searching for a Doctor. A guy from the dock gives me a lift into town. “Where do you want to go?”, he asks. I need a doctor, or a clinic. “Which one”, he asks. I knew Mr. K*** was full of it. I have no idea which one, I didn’t even know I had a choice. Dave, my inner father, kicks in, so I tell him I want to go to whichever one is cheapest. That would be the State Hospital, he says. That’s good enough for me, thank you. I was worried about spending money, even thought the company was going to pay. It’s a Dave thing I deal with. I didn’t really look forward to spending hours sitting in an emergency room waiting area. The memory of the last time I went to the ER at home was fresh. That visit cost over $8000.00, and I was only there for seven hours or so. Three and a half of those five hours were spent in the waiting room, in excruciating pain from what I thought was a kidney stone. The remainder of the time I spent pumped full of Dilaudid and Xanax, only to learn that it was muscle spasms in my back. Eight grand for back pain and drugs. Not worth it. I wasn’t excited about going to another ER, as you might have guessed by now.

Going to the hospital on Pohnpei is a completely different experience. I was in and out in just over an hour, during which time I did my intake, saw a doctor, and visited the pharmacy. They even gave me a patient number  to “use next time, it’ll save you some time waiting”. I got a good laugh out of that one. The doctor himself spent twenty of those sixty minutes with me. The eight thousand dollar ER doc in Tacoma spent about 90 seconds with me, spread over three visits.

The total cost? One hour of my time and fifteen dollars. This included three different medications, because he also treated me for some intestinal troubles I had been having. And they say it can’t be done in the United States.

The Majestic Blue stayed on the dock for the next 24 hours, waiting for our cargo reefer ship, the “Emerald Reefer” to arrive. I kinda like that ship’s name. Once she arrived and was at anchor, we headed out to meet her and begin transshipment of our cargo, 300 metric tons (mT) of tuna fish.

Tied up alongside the “Emerald Reefer”:

Transshipment video:

Transferring 300 mT of fish takes about two days or so, working from six am until about ten pm. For our trouble I think we’re paid about US $1000/mT, but the price swings with the market.

Now, 300 mT of fish caught in 31 days is simply ridiculous. My sister ship, the “Pacific Breeze”, caught over 1000 mT in the same period of time. Luck or skill, we sucked at fishing during August 2009. I stopped calling it fishing, in favor of the more descriptive “wishing”. I’ve decided that our fishing master has some things to learn about fishing when the FADs are closed.

After we finished transshipment, we headed back to the CFC dock for six days of repairs to the net and the vessel. The people coordinating this repair work are employed by Dongwon Industries, the Korean mega-corporation that “charters” my boat from it’s “American” owners. Dongwon has offices on Pohnpei. The “American” owners are, interestingly enough, the two daughters of a Dongwon executive. They were born in America, but live and work in Korea. Republicans love this kind of business arrangement. It gives them wood.

On Pohnpei, Dongwon’s general manager is a guy called Mr. K***. He was at the dock to meet me:

Mr. K*** sailed as a Second Officer on the tuna boats and gave that up for a desk. He sort of remembers what it is like to be a working sailor. Sometimes though, he needed reminding. He has lived on Pohnpei for one year, and has three to go. He says he doesn’t really like it here and looks forward to going back to Korea. He is concerned about his daughters falling behind in school. I had a chance to meet his wife and two little girls, they were charming. Mrs. K*** made a delicious pound cake and brought it to the boat. The cake reminded me of my Mom, who makes the best pound cake I’ve ever eaten.

Mr. K*** next told me we were going to go to a luau! Yay! If you know much about me you’ll know how thrilling this was for me. I was as glad to be there as the dancer in the picture below:

I sat at a table with the officers from the boat, and a couple of the officer’s wives who had flown in to spend some time with their husbands. The Fishing Master’s wife was there, as was the 1^st Assistant Engineer’s wife. Along with Mrs. K*** and the girls, it was a happy fun family affair. I just didn’t want it to ever end! Ever!

Guess what? I’ll share some of it with you, how fun is that boys and girls?!

 

Eventually, as all things will, this enchanted evening came to an end. But, more fun awaited!

When we first were nearing Pohnpei, I climbed up on top of the boat with my iPhone to search for a signal. Nothing popped up, even as we entered the harbor. So one of the things I did was to go to the Telecom building to buy a SIM card that would allow me to use the local network. Junior, the Pilot, told me his son had an iPhone so I figured with the right card I could use mine too. So I bought a SIM card and a couple of hundred dollars worth of air time, popped the card in, and my iPhone told me to go to hell. It didn’t like the SIM card. The lady at the counter just shrugged. So, I returned the SIM card, and the phone cards, and as I was signing my credit receipt, the lady said she could rent me a phone for a week for $40.00. So, I rented a phone and bought back my phone cards. Now I could call home! So I did. As soon as my minutes ran out, Kathy and I found out that she could call my cell phone on Pohnpei and it worked, even if I didn’t have any minutes left. Plus, Pohnpei has a United States area code, so Kathy could call me and the way our phone plan at home works it was a free call! A little travel phone tip for you if you plan a visit to Pohnpei. Note: in Honiara, my iPhone worked on that network. No 3G, but phone and text worked just fine.

Among the repair jobs the Dongwon folks had scheduled was doing some work in my head, and ripping the top bunk out of my cabin so I got to go ashore and stay at the fabulous China Star Hotel, just a short walk from the dock. The China Star Hotel is owned by a family from China. Kind of like an American boat being owned by Americans, except this family is actually from China. The owner/father was back home while I was staying there, and I was treated to the wonderful hospitality of his family: Daughter Lisa, niece Carol, and Lisa’s ten year old son Jack. Lisa runs the place, Carol is her sergeant, and Private Jack serves up one hell of a cold beer in the bar while doing his homework. Your choice of Budweiser or Bud Lite. Young Jack is no slouch. He speaks, in addition to his native tongue, English, Japanese, and some French. He became my buddy for life as we talked about video games, China, and America. He made me miss my own son Drew pretty badly. He reminded me of Drew at ten years of age. Very smart, very thoughtful. I look forward to seeing young Jack again someday. Not nearly as much as I look forward to seeing Drew again.

Here are some pictures of the fabulous China Star, world renowned for its brilliant “no stairway tread is the same height” marketing strategy. An ambulance chaser’s wet dream.

All in all, the China Star Hotel was a great place to stay, and some of the friendliest hotel staff I’ve ever been served by. Great Chinese food in the restaurant, to top it off.

I ventured out of the hotel frequently the first few days I was there. After a daily check-in at the ship my time was my own. So I explored the town bit. It’s cheap and easy to explore on Pohnpei, as I quickly learned. When I asked about transportation, they called me a taxi. I was worried about having enough money, but I needn’t have. I learned that for a dollar, they’ll take you anywhere in town you want to go. If you want to go to the other side of the island, it is three dollars. There are no meters in these taxis. They’ll even sit and wait for you outside a store while you shop, and take you to your next destination, often on the same dollar. During one of my taxi rides I met a driver named Wilson, and his became my car of choice. Dial the number, ask for Unit 25, and Wilson shows up. Wilson is a dedicated worker. He is on the job five days a week: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday he works from 0600 until 0200 the next morning. Tuesdays and Thursdays, he works from 0600 to 1800. His “short days”. I learned during one of my rides with him that he lived in Hali’imaile on Maui for several years, working the fields for Maui Pine. He’s from the Philippines. His wife is from Pohnpei, and went to the Job Corps high school in Olinda on Maui. The three of us (she rode along once, he picked her up after work) had fun talking about Maui and Makawao. She works as a cook at the State Hospital. State job, very good employment on Pohnpei. Between the two of them, Wilson says, they do well.

One of my favorite taxi rides with Wilson was when he was taking me to Ace Hardware and he got a flat. No problem, says he, I’ll get it fixed. So we drove on the flat for about a half mile, pulled into a driveway, and a guy came running to help. They jacked up the car, pulled the flat tire, and put a new one on. NASCAR has nothing on these guys. I sat in the cab the whole time and listened to local music on the stereo. No extra charge. Not that I’d pay extra for the local music. It’s a shining example of too much ProTools tinkering. Within about five minutes we were back on the road.

Waiting for a taxi:

As you cruise around in the taxis, they use CB radios (Wilson’s CB is on channel 5, good buddy) to get dispatched. There’s a running chatter throughout the ride. It’s not in English, so I have no idea what they were talking about. But it was fun to listen to. Here’s a sample:

Part of the deal when you ride the taxis is this: the drivers pick up anyone else they want to, and there is no priority of destination. So some of the rides last a while, but that’s fine because you get a nice tour of the town and you get to meet some interesting people. What a great resource for the local people on the island to have. Maui could use something like that, or could have years ago, before about 100,000 cars clogged her roads.

Here’s a video clip of one of my rides:

My trip to Ace Hardware was kind of fun. J***** and Mr. K**** met me there, because we needed to buy fire extinguishers and non-skid sand for the boat. Plus, I needed some items for myself. We gave the guys who work there a list, and they went and grabbed everything for us. While I was browsing around, I noticed that they had a bunch of camping equipment. Among all the gear was a couple of items I grabbed: a folding chair for my cabin, and a deck lounger. Dongwon bought the chair for my cabin, and I ponied up for the lounger. That’s just about the best thing I’ve gotten so far on this trip! I go up everyday after lunch to the top of the boat, where I unfold my lounger, peel off my shirt, turn on my iPod Shuffle, and kick back and catch some rays while enjoying my daily cigar ration. I’ve never been one for laying out in the sun. Most of you who know me have never seen a tanned Doug, except for my arms and my legs. But now, I’ve got some color to my torso. It’s kind of strange, very out of character for me. But I do about ten minutes per side every day and it makes me feel good. Keeps the vitamin D levels up too, I’ll wager.

Back at Ace Hardware, I learned that they don’t take credit cards. Big, giant, amazingly well stocked store, but cash only please. Thank goodness I had thought ahead and taken an advance on my pay, otherwise my lounger would still be sitting on the floor at the store.

Across the street from Ace Hardware is a little grocery and dry good store. I stopped in there, and bought me a big box of bubble gum, and some crunchy peanut butter for my snack time on the boat. Some fresh fruit for the taxi ride back to the hotel was icing on the cake. Not much fresh fruit to be had on board, except for the day or two after we take provisions, which doesn’t happen all that often. Once, since I arrived.

As I was heading back to the boat, Wilson and I passed a store called Wall Mart. Yes, Wall Mart. I just had to go in and see this place. So I had him stop and I went in to check it out. Kind of like the actual Wal Mart, only Pohnpei style. They have a little bit of everything there. So I just kind of wandered around a bit and picked out a couple of things. I bought a tea kettle for the two Mates on board, because they had stolen mine the day I arrived and I had stolen it back the very same day. I thought it would be fun then to give them one as a little reminder. I also bought another of the same tea kettles for the Fishing Master, thinking he might appreciate a gift. As I was walking to the cashier, out of the corner of my eye I saw three guitars hanging from the wall. I went over and checked them out. They were complete hunks of shit, one of them had a neck that had about a fifteen foot radius curve to it. Six inch action at the twelfth fret. But out of the three, one seemed at the moment to be halfway decent, and they wanted $65.00 for it. I thought it might be nice to have a guitar on board that I could take up to the top deck with me and play outside. I brought my Strat along with me but she lives in my room and doesn’t venture outdoors. So I bought a guitar. That pretty much rounded out my day of shopping, and I went back out and hopped in Wilson’s cab and made for the hotel.

After a day spent running around Pohnpei, it is time relax and enjoy some local nightlife. My new drinking buddy J***** and I headed to his favorite watering hole, a nice beachfront place called “Koko Marina”. It is owned by a family he is friends with, and they treated us like royalty there. There is such an innocence and lack of guile in the people I met on Pohnpei, and this bore true with the staff at the Koko Marina as well. The place has been through some tough times lately. The owner recently passed away. Her husband is a physician who lives and works on O’ahu, Hawai’i. Their oldest daughter just returned to Pohnpei from Hawai’i to run the place. They’re trying really hard to make a success of it. They closed for a time to remodel, and had just reopened a couple of days before J***** and I stopped in. The staff was all brand new, and very inexperienced. J***** and I spent some quality time mentoring the bartender. We taught him how to mix and serve a variety of tasty libations, and then we turned our attentions to the cocktail waitress, helping her learn how to carry a tray full of drinks and how to serve them without making a mess. We labored long and hard at this that evening, and I know that when I return someday my protégés will be carrying on the good work. I also helped them figure out how to work their fancy new Karaoke machine, and demonstrated advanced level techniques that one should use when singing along with a Karaoke machine.

The Koko Marina bar:

Pohnpei beauty at the Koko Marina:

After satisfying ourselves that they were ready to fly solo at the Koko Marina, J***** and I went back to the China Star Hotel Bar and Karaoke Club, to finish off the evening. We were joined there by two FFA Observers: Badley from my boat, and Leslie from another boat that was in town. Young Jack had long since gone to bed, and the bar was under the care of Lisa, who definitely does not need any help from anyone. One tough cookie, this Lisa. Tonight she was busy polishing silver dollars, so she told us to pour our own drinks and keep a running tab.

J***** and I were joined by Badley and Leslie, two FFA Observers:

We started up a Karaoke session here as well:

In fact, here’s some of our singing for you to hear!

J***** took a turn or two at singing:

Good fun had by all that night. and we closed the place down at midnight. I headed for my luxurious suite and went to bed.

The next day, I went to breakfast with J**** at the Ocean Terrace restaurant. This place overlooks the inner harbor at Pohnpei, and it became my breakfast place of choice. You must try the Pohnpei Hotcakes combo breakfast if you go. Here’s a shot of the view:

The service is good, but you’d better not be in a rush. I amused myself sitting next to a table of what turned out to be American lawyers, in town for some big real estate deal. They were going nuts because the service was so kick back and slow. I think they were from Hawai’i, which made their frustration with the service that much more ironic.

At the Ocean Terrace bar, they have a bunch of dollar bills hanging from the glass racks and nailed to the walls. People sign the dollars and tack them up. I added mine to the mix:

I think if I went to Pohnpei for fun, I might think about staying at the Ocean Terrace hotel. It seems like a pretty nice place, and I already know that I love the restaurant.  The staff was great, and my buddies the cats kept me company during each meal.

After we had breakfast, J***** went off to inspect a fishing boat (he’s a marine surveyor, in addition to his job with Majestic Blue Fisheries) and I headed to town again. I had woken up feeling as if I was getting sick, and I needed to run some errands before I crashed. I had spent all of my cash on shopping, telephone cards, and wifi cards. I wanted to exchange some Australian and Solomon Islands currency for US Dollars. I called Wilson for a ride to the bank. When he picked me up, he asked “You want to go to the bank on Friday?”. This apparently was an important clue that slipped past me in the moment. Yes, I do, thank you. Off we went. Wilson dropped me off at the local branch of the Bank of Guam. I asked him if he could wait for me, and he laughed pretty hard and said no, not this time. He was still laughing as he drove off. I understood the source of his laughter as soon as I opened the door to the bank. Friday is payday on Pohnpei, and everyone goes to the bank to get their cash. I looked around for a commercial teller who might be able to exchange my money, but didn’t see one. So I got in line, and waited. And waited some more… An hour later it was my turn, so I walked up to the teller and handed her the money, and asked her to exchange it for me. She said sure, wait a moment. So I waited… Five minutes later she came back, and asked me to take a seat and she’d call me back up as soon as my money was ready. So I took a seat, and waited… While I was waiting, my buddy Mr. K*** stopped by and said howdy, and attempted to say some other stuff but I didn’t understand him. He was in line to cash his paycheck. Fifteen minutes later I went looking for the manager. I found her, and explained that I was waiting and could I expect my money anytime soon? She told me that she had to call Guam to find out the exchange rate, and by the way they won’t exchange Solomon Islands dollars. Apparently it’s about as popular as Russian rubles. So she handed my Solomon Islands money back to me. That was ok with me, but her comment about checking the exchange rate didn’t sit quite right, and I asked her why should she have to call Guam for something she could pull up on her computer? She gave me nothing in return but a funny look as she walked away. So I returned to my seat and waited… Twenty minutes later, the teller finally called me back to her window. The people in line were not pleased, I could tell, but tough. I got to the window and instead of giving me my US dollars, she asked me for my account number. Yep. I don’t have an account here, I said. Well, she was very sorry but I had to have an account with the bank to exchange currency. I said that this must certainly be a policy that just this moment went into effect, because surely you would have mentioned this TWO HOURS AGO? She gave me my Australian dollars back with a cheery “Have a nice day!” So, I left. I was beginning to really feel lousy now, with a cramping stomach and chills, and I still needed US dollars. Could this be the dreaded swine flu, I was wondering.

There is another bank on Pohnpei, the FSM Bank. It’s a couple of miles up the road from the Bank of Guam, so I started walking. Once I arrived, I was encouraged by what I saw. A big, brand new shiny bank building. Don’t judge a book by its cover, they say, and I found this out to be true. As I walked inside, the first thing that I noticed was that the place was empty, except for employees. After my experience up the road, this struck me as somewhat odd. But, maybe it was just my lucky day. I walked straight up to the teller and handed her the money, asking for US dollars please. The teller was very sorry of course, but they do not exchange currency at the FSM Bank. Where do you suggest that I go to get some US dollars, I asked, and naturally she told me I should head right on over to the Bank of Guam.

By this time, the unthinkable became something for me to consider. I reached into my pocket, and pulled out my MasterCard. Can you advance me some cash please, I asked, thinking that Kathy was going to kill me for doing this. I have never, ever, taken a cash advance on a credit card. I’m surprised I even thought of it, but that must be an indicator of the level I had sunk to this day. Or, a sign of fever. Certainly sir, we’d be happy to advance you some cash. What is your account number? It’s on the card, right there. No, your account number here at FSM Bank? Arrrgghh.. Where is your ATM, I asked. Sorry sir, but we don’t have one.

Brand spanking new bank, shiny and modern and air conditioned, but there is no ATM. Sir, they have an ATM at the Bank of Guam, I heard as I was walking out the door.

Back up the road I went. A couple of minutes later Wilson honks, then stops and picks me up. It’s too hot to be walking, says he. Take me to the Bank of Guam again, please. I don’t have a dollar, but he doesn’t care this time. I tell him about my fiduciary adventures and he just laughs. Says he, “Now you know why I didn’t want to wait, yes?”

So we get back to the Bank of Guam, and indeed there is an ATM right outside. And no line! A guys is walking away from it. Great timing. Wilson, wait for me I’ll be right back. I’m reaching for my credit card as I approach the ATM. I get there. I start to shove the card into the slot and… WE’RE SORRY BUT THIS ATM IS OUT OF ORDER. PLEASE VISIT ANOTHER BRANCH OF THE BANK OF GUAM. You’ve got to be kidding, I think to myself, as I walk inside. Where is another branch, I ask as I tell them their ATM is out of order. I’m not surprised to learn that Guam is where I’ll find another branch.

Wilson takes me back to the China Star.

My return to my room at the hotel allowed me to lay on my bed and let the full force of my now obvious illness have its way with me. I was having awfully bad stomach cramps, and making a dash to the head every twenty minutes or so. I even turned down an invitation to go out with some of the boys from the crew that night, something I would have loved to do. I spent the next couple of days in my room, using something they call “the internet” to do some correspondence, check in with my forum friends at gCaptain.com, and begin publishing this blog. Now, in the United States we have this internet thing too, and at my house I’ve often complained about the slow line speeds we get from our DSL provider. Well, I will probably not complain as much when I get home. The internet speed at the hotel was reminiscent of my old telephone modem days back in the 80s. My first computer ever had a 300 baud modem in it that I used to connect to a BBS (Bulletin Board System) on Maui. This was before the general public had access to the internet. What was state of the art then is now, needless to say, not. It was like a trip down memory lane, watching (or hoping) as the transfer of data took place at excruciatingly slow speeds. At these “speeds” one comes to hate websites that use lots of Flash and Java and pictures. On top of that, I’d get knocked off line for no apparent reason from time to time, usually as I was trying to upload pictures. And this was on a wired connection at the hotel, not a wifi connection. The wifi is even slower on Pohnpei, unless you go to the Telecom building in town and use one of their public terminals. You can buy wifi cards, I think they’re $20.00 for 250 mb of bandwidth. You log on, enter your card number and scratch-off code, and you get 250 megs. Oh, and make sure you don’t use any weird characters in your password. It took me a full day to figure out why I couldn’t connect. When I finally changed my password to something completely crackable, I logged on immediately. When it’s gone, you get dumped until you enter another card’s worth of bandwidth. One quickly learns that Skype eats about 1.5 mb per minute on a video call. One also learns that Skype video calls are a joke when your transfer rate is about 2 kbps.

During one of my trips to town, I stopped in at a business called “Visual Impact”. It is a graphics design business. I needed to get some documents printed and just happened to have them on a USB memory stick in my pocket. As I was getting the print job done, I overheard a worker there talking about her church fund raiser that she was getting ready for. I asked her what the cause was, and she said that the church youth group was raising money to buy a keyboard to add to their collection of musical instruments. I assumed she was not talking about the quality of musical instrument that one finds down the way at Wall Mart. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a $20.00 bill, and gave it to her. We made small talk for a bit and then it hit me: I have a beautiful Kawai full size electronic keyboard gathering dust at home. I bought it years ago for Drew when he was taking piano lessons, and we use it to put stuff on top of these days. So I asked the woman if she might be interested in it. She was thrilled to hear that I might be able to help. She said that if I could get it there they would pay for the cost of shipping it. I’m going to check into it when I get home, and see if she still wants it. If she does, then I’ll be sending it her way.

One cannot write about Pohnpei without mentioning the rain. When it rains here, it comes down in a deluge. Massive raindrops numbering in the billions pound the place. I was caught in a Pohnpei rainstorm and went running for cover. It was some of the hardest rain I had ever seen in my life. The only time I saw rain like this on Maui was during a hurricane.

I will always fondly remember my time on Pohnpei. I never did get away from town, and I hear that on the other side of the island there is world-class surf. I would like to take up surfing again, and it would be fun to go out there. Also I would very much like to take Kathy to Pohnpei someday for a visit. I think perhaps I must.

Oh… My friend Henrietta, a former Argosy Cruises deckhand of mine and now a jet-setting, world traveling shit-hot airline pilot suggested that I look for Pohnpei Black Pepper. Apparently it is world famous. I tried, Hank, I really did. But I learned that the government on Pohnpei thought they could do it better and nationalized the pepper industry. That was the end of that. I even asked at the Ocean Terrace restaurant if the pepper in the shaker was Pohnpei pepper. They just laughed.