{"id":6227,"date":"2019-07-28T23:55:19","date_gmt":"2019-07-28T23:55:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/?p=6227"},"modified":"2019-07-29T21:23:08","modified_gmt":"2019-07-29T21:23:08","slug":"days-for-girls-panapompom-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/?p=6227","title":{"rendered":"Days For Girls – Panapompom Island"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Geographically, a visit to Panapompom and Nivani Islands in the Deboyne group makes sense for us, as it\u2019s an obvious departure point to head north to Rabaul.  However, there\u2019s another important reason why we\u2019re here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

When we were in Cairns, I made contact with the local branch of \u201cDays For Girls\u201d, a worldwide group of women who sew sustainable, washable feminine hygiene kits for girls living in remote parts of the world. I thought it was a great initiative and something that could be very welcome in the Louisiades.\u00a0 I went along to their working bee and was amazed at how much thought and care went into making the kits. They\u2019re bright and colourful and include several washable liners & panty shields, underwear, soap and instructions, all beautifully presented in individual cloth carry bags. As they only had a few finished kits to give me, I took away a lot of the components and I\u2019ve been putting them together whenever I have time. So far I have about 40 kits completed and ready to distribute. Faye, another cruiser at the working bee had been to the Louisiades in 2017 and suggested that the school at Panapompom would be keen to receive some kits for their girls. So here we are, cruising with a purpose!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The volunteers busy at the working bee for ‘Days For Girls’ in Cairns<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A few components of the “Days for Girls” kits <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s an easy sail from Panasia, with the wind behind us and just the jib out, and the Nivani reef entrance is wide and clear.  Like all the other anchorages here, there\u2019s numerous coral bommies making it hard to find an adequate patch of sand. We drop anchor on the north-west side of the uninhabited Nivani Island, and soon we get a visit from Martin, one of the elders on nearby Panapompom island.  He invites us ashore tomorrow to sign his visitor\u2019s book and visit the village.  This place is a lot more laid-back, with only a few canoes visiting in the whole week we\u2019re here – it\u2019s a bit of a relief! It\u2019s probably because they\u2019re closer to the main island of Misima and have more options for supplies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The anchorage off Nivani Island<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The rain starts again in earnest and we have an uncomfortable and noisy first night bouncing around in the swell and the rain squalls, listening to our chain jerk and grate on the coral  as we shift direction in the gusts. We\u2019d like to move in the morning but the deluge continues all day so nothing for it but to sit tight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally the rain eases and allows us to re-anchor and then get to Martin\u2019s village.  We sign his visitor\u2019s book and are thrilled to see previous entries from other cruising boats we know.  He gives us a jar of coconut oil that his family sells at the Misima markets and in return we give him reading glasses, fishing line, a couple of shirts and caps and some blueberry muffins. We chat about his family and culture and ask about the meaning of the name \u201cPanapompom\u201d. He tells us \u201cPana\u201d means \u201cplace of\u201d and \u201cPompom\u201d is the name of a congenital (?) disease that the original inhabitants suffered from, which made their legs swell. No idea what that could be, but I guess the literal translation would be \u2018place of swollen legs\u2019. Hmmm not very romantic, I wish I hadn\u2019t asked!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Martin’s house in the village<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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They’re also building a new canoe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The village is neat and tidy with fenced off gardens to keep the pigs out<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

He also introduces us to his nephew, Andrew, who comes from Sudest Island  – renowned for their bagi necklaces.  Andrew shows us how he makes the bagi – first collecting the spondylus shells with the red colouring, then cutting them into small pieces and grinding them smooth on his grinding stones. He uses a small hand-drill to make the hole in the centre of each piece and then they\u2019re threaded onto fishing line, strung out on a bench and sanded smooth to make the rounded edges.  At some point the fishing line is replaced with woven twine but we didn\u2019t get to see that part. They\u2019re still used as currency – the long bagi have 1000 pieces and apparently 20 of them will buy you a new sailing canoe.  It\u2019s a fascinating process and such extraordinary and meticulous work, but Andrew reckons he can make a short bagi in half a day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Spondylus shells and grinding stone used to make the bagi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Andrew grinding the small pieces of shell to a smooth finish, with Martin looking on<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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using the hand drill to make the hole in the centre of the shell piece<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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the bagi is laid out on the bench and the edges sanded to a smooth round finish<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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This Is Bruce’s short bagi given to him by John at Panasia Island. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the afternoon we snorkel over the wreck of a Japanese zero plane that was ditched in shallow water in WWII. The wings are buried under the sand, but it\u2019s still mostly intact and now home to lots of marine life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The prop of the zero plane clearly visible underwater<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Home for many little nemos<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Later Martin takes us on a half-hour walk to the school to meet the teacher – Edith shows us around the school which has only been open 18 months, and currently has two grades. Each year they\u2019ll add another grade until they have a full complement of grades 4-7. Edith is lovely and extremely hard-working. The head teacher has been seconded to another school for the past 3 months, so she\u2019s single-handedly been teaching two grades plus doing all the admin work to boot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The two classrooms at Panapompom middle school<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The school grounds<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve brought a sample of a \u201cDays For Girls\u2019 kit to show her and she thinks they\u2019d be wonderful for her girls.  I offer to bring the remaining kits the next day, but she\u2019s keen to come and see the boat, and offers to collect the kits at the same time.  She tells us to go ahead and she\u2019ll meet us at the dinghy so we start off back down the track with Martin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bruce and Martin walking back to the village<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Before long we\u2019re joined by Edith\u2019s two kids and her niece, and then Edith herself and her husband. Clearly they all want to come out to the boat!  Bruce warns them it\u2019ll be a wet ride – Edith cheerily says \u201cThat\u2019s OK we\u2019re used to washing in salt water\u201d! So all 7 of us pile in the dinghy and plough our way to the boat, getting drenched in the process.  But their delight on coming aboard \u2018Toucan\u2019 is worth it – little Junior\u2019s eyes are like saucers and Edith reckons he\u2019ll be talking about the experience for months to come!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Edith and her family visiting Toucan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Edith taking possession of the ‘Days For Girls’ kits<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The rain returns so we wait a couple more days before departing to Rabaul.\u00a0 But Panapompom has other ideas about letting us go. The night before we leave Bruce thinks we\u2019ve dragged anchor a little. I\u2019m not so sure. But it turns out he\u2019s right – we\u2019d re-anchored in a clear patch of sand, but when we raise the anchor this morning we also bring up a very large lump of rock and coral, firmly wedged between the shaft and tip of the anchor. We try everything to dislodge it – the boathook, a hammer, dropping it down and raising it again, but no luck.\u00a0 Finally our only solution is to drive Toucan into the shallows (avoiding the bommies) and lower the anchor back down. While I hold the boat in position, Bruce dives down and tries to wrestle the anchor free from the massive lump of rock. After a couple of attempts he surfaces and I get the thumbs up – success!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I can think of many ways of starting our day, and I can assure you that THIS was not on our list! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, finally free and clear of Panapompom we\u2019re ready to start the trip to Rabaul, approximately 470NM to our north. Here\u2019s hoping for an uneventful sail!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Geographically, a visit to Panapompom and Nivani Islands in the Deboyne group makes sense for us, as it\u2019s an obvious departure point to head north to Rabaul.  However, there\u2019s another important reason why we\u2019re here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-svtoucan"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6B46t-1Cr","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6227"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6227\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6257,"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6227\/revisions\/6257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}