Roi! Roi, Roi, Roi!
Thursday, October 07, 2010
Hello! I made it back safe and sound from my 
three-day excursion to the northern island of Roi-Namur.
My friend and I sure packed a LOT of stuff! It's hard to ride your bike when it's weighted down with clothes, food, and beer!
Yes, that's a pirate flag on our boat! We're serious sailors!
After much drinking and debachery, our crew headed back to our sailboat, Down East Trader. We had a lovely dinner of cheese and crackers and seafood pasta. Yes, we had a chef on board! Then we all took the mattresses from down below and placed them around the boat to sleep outside. It was a lovely, warm, starry night. Much better than sleeping in the galley!
Early the next morning we awoke to impending doom: a storm cloud was fast approaching. Luckily our captain had packed provisions, involving tarps, bungees, and adult beverages. We waited/drank out the storm, then set sail for Roi.
three-day excursion to the northern island of Roi-Namur.My friend and I sure packed a LOT of stuff! It's hard to ride your bike when it's weighted down with clothes, food, and beer!
I was able to use some PTO hours (yay, real job!) to take a half-day on Saturday. We all hit the high seas at 1pm and sailed to Meck, an island about mid-way between Kwaj and Roi.
We anchored at Meck for the night with three other boats. Luckily our Captain had a dinghy with which he could shuttle people from the three other sailboats to the party boat (Stinger). In order the boats are: Down East Trader (the one I was on), Stinger, and the rental boat. I didn't get a pic of the other, but it was nice!
Yes, that's a pirate flag on our boat! We're serious sailors!
After much drinking and debachery, our crew headed back to our sailboat, Down East Trader. We had a lovely dinner of cheese and crackers and seafood pasta. Yes, we had a chef on board! Then we all took the mattresses from down below and placed them around the boat to sleep outside. It was a lovely, warm, starry night. Much better than sleeping in the galley! Early the next morning we awoke to impending doom: a storm cloud was fast approaching. Luckily our captain had packed provisions, involving tarps, bungees, and adult beverages. We waited/drank out the storm, then set sail for Roi.We arrived at Roi around 3pm and achored about 200 yards off shore. We floated and drank for a bit, and then took the dinghy ashore. Once on land, we hopped on a golf cart and putted to our hotel rooms where we had nice showers and stable buildings.
Oktoberfest occured on Roi that evening, so we all decided to grace it with our presence. There were costumes, beers, and a chicken dance contest! Fun was had by all.
The next morning we hung around Roi for a bit to check out the WWII ruins and the tide pools.
Ruins (Bunker and guns):
Tide Pools (We saw eels and crabs! And dead baby black-tipped sharks, but I decided not to put those pics up):
Then we rendezvoused at the Parrot Head, a very low-key, unstaffed, BYOB kind of bar overlooking the lagoon in which our boats were anchored. 
We took the dinghy back to the boat, climbed aboard, and set sail for Kwaj. We arrived home 8 hours later thanks to some great windspeed (the estimate was more along the lines of 10-12 hours!)
All in all, it was an excellent trip. I've even been invited to join the Yacht Club!
