Last June, in Sigatoka, Fiji,  5 Infinity crew members, joined the climate leadership workshop where 50 people were representing 13 Pacific countries — Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, the Solomon Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Tonga, Vanuatu, American Samoa, Samoa, Fiji, New Zealand. We came out from this workshop more prepared to act against the climate crisis and committed to build up the Moving Planet on Sept, 24th on board Infinity.

Moving Planet in Utupua

The event in Utupua mobilized approximately 500 people in four communities, Nembao, Aondo, Asumboa and Aveta with educational and cultural activities.

We promoted seminars on climate change awareness for 300 students at Patteson High School, disposal of plastic and batteries waste at Nembao Primary School e an overview about volunteer’s home countries. Actions included plastic and batteries waste collecting, coral reef checks, solar panel repair and the manufacture of over 40 sails for traditional sailing canoes, supporting this fantastic and sustainable culture. Sailing canoe is the main way for transportation in Utupua. This is an inspiration for all of us since this modal is zero carbon emission.

Sept. 24th – Zero carbon emissions day

On Sept. 24th we had cold breakfast and lunch on board, paddled and walked to move.  We had dinner at Nembao village and concluded our day listening to guitar and angelical local young voices.

Pacific climate crisis

The effects of climate change on remote islands such as Utupua, bring us the urgency of lifting the rights of people and nature over the rights of polluters. It is unfair that these people, who have a very sustainable lifestyle — use sailing canoes and hike to travel, develop organic gardening, collect rain water and use solar energy only —  are facing a series of adversities not caused by themselves.

Sea levels rising, more accelerated over the past five years, brings very real threats to life on the islands. Systematically, the reservoirs of fresh water and crops have became salty, coastal trees which are a natural protection against cyclones are being felled. Their houses have been washed out by high tides, what provokes the islanders to relocate. The increasingly frequent and potent cyclones destroy everything in their way.

The higher seas and oceans temperature and the significant increase of plastic particles  in plankton parts are degrading coral reefs and marine life – entire food chain – leading to their death.

These facts described above impacts in a very basic need of island people; their water supply, food chain and housing.

Our time in Utupua was very fruitful and led us to call up individuals, societies and governments to do their share and get the atmosphere’s CO₂ level back below 350 ppm

Notes:

1. 350.org is building a global grassroots movement to solve the climate crisis. Online campaigns, grassroots organizing, and mass public actions are led from the bottom up by thousands of volunteer organizers in over 188 countries.

2. The number 350 means climate safety. To preserve our planet, scientists tell us we must reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere from its current level of 39o+ parts per million to below 350 ppm. But 350 is more than a number—it’s a symbol of where we need to head as a planet.

By Raquel Miranda

Downshifter, traveler

Crew member from Nov/10 till Out/11

Later we make an expedition in the dingy past a variety of sailing yachts in the sheltered bay and go up the river past mangroves with huge gnarled roots and floating gardens of water plants. We are serenaded by the calls of birds and jungle insects that hum in the background, something we don’t hear on the boat.

The water gets clearer and bluer until we reach our destination, “the Blue Hole”, an incredible, deep, fresh water oasis complete with a huge rope swing and overhanging trees to climb and plunge off into the bracing clear water. What a magical, beautiful place!

Patti Datlof
Artist/teacher
Crew member from Aug to Oct 2011

37 yr, has 1 daughter, is director of Losalava Center School, in NE Gaua Island, Torba Province, Vanuatu.
September 15th, 2011 – Guaua Island.

“In fifty years time Torba will be more developed than it is today. Concerning the school, new buildings, electricity, computers for children and teachers and more teachers from overseas will come in. Peace Corps, for example, were helping with teaching here for 9 years, however, they had to move to a safer place 2 years ago because of the volcano eruption.
In the village, some people support community projects, most do not, the community is becoming very lazy. In fifty years, people will be much more dependent on people from town to get some basic things done. New projects involving the community give a different view to our people and it can motivate them to be cooperative and get the job done.
More people from town and overseas are coming to the island and having a bad influence on the community. Compared to the past, the community does not follow the Chief’s instructions. So, even in the near future, Chief’s programs are at risk.
Our country is changing a lot. The Government makes me disappointed. There are no long term programs, decisions are not stable, many changes are done with no discussion which causes a crisis of confidence. Personal interests are stronger than interests of people. In fifty years, things will be bad or worse. Progress is good but it depends on the mentality.
People in coastal lands are moving to higher places in the bush. 2 years ago we experienced tsunami down here. Each family all over the world should be more respectful to the environment to guarantee a better place for the future human beings. We are all related and we should work together for a better world.
The life of the planet depends on the decisions we take, activities we make. It is in our hands, if we go in the wrong way…. The planet is life, a basket full of life, if we do not care for the environment now it will be really bad. We will suffer climate change crises and plenty more difficulties.
My wish is that every individual would know how to care about this planet.”

by Raquel Miranda

Crew member from Nov.10 till Out/11

Down shifter, traveler

As participants of the Pacifika Leadership Workshop, run by 350.org PACIFIC, Infinity has committed to actively organize an Moving Planet – beyond fossil fuels – whenever INFINITY will be on September, 24th, 2011. Infinity’s commitment is summarized in 4 actions to be carried out on that date, as follow:

No Fossil Fuel Consumption on the ship: generator, main engine, outboard engines and diesel stove will be kept off;
Climate Change Seminary (conversation) with community;
Plan Snorkeling Trash Collect Competition with Prizes;

To achieve above goals, the following detailed actions are required, as well as the addressed responsible:

1) Identify Anchor Place Coordinates
Responsible: Due Date: Infinity Captain (Clemens)
Action: UTUPUA Island, Basilisk Harbor, 11º17’S, 166º29‘E , part of Santa Cruz, in Solomons Islands.

2) Contact Local representative of 350.org
Responsible: Due Date: Francis Maglia

3) Set event in 350.org & Internet adds
Responsible: Francis Maglia

3.1 Sign in Infinity as 350.org member
3.2 Add event as ”MOST REMOTE AND LOWEST CO ON THE PLANET”. All the several small villages are right on the shore lines, semi-protected by outer reefs, sea level rise will have massive impact on those, cargo ships came once a year, with very basic supplies (no cars, no electricity, no outboard engines, no carbon footprint at all)

EVENT DESCRIPTION:
Infinity Expeditions crew will carry out a full day program on this community that can be considered one of the MOST REMOTE AND LOWEST CO2 EMISSIONS ON THE PLANET. Formed by several small villages right on the shore lines, semi-protected by outer reefs, the inhabitants will be severely impacted by sea level rise.

The event will have the following agenda :

4) Crew members on board on Sep 24th
Responsible: Due Date: 7/8/2011

4.1 Crew list: Pierre, Raquel, Francis, Clemens, Sylvia, Aljosha, Ruben, Phillipe, Nicholas, George, Alex, Patty, Deborah, Rhian.

5) Plan Community Involvement
Responsible: Pierre/Francis.  Due Date: Sep 22th
Action: Figure out the right approach to realize all planned activities.

6) Plan No Fossil Fuel Consumption
Responsible: Francis/Clemens Due Date: 30/08.2011

7) Climate Change Seminary (conversation) with community
Responsible: Francis Due Date: Sept 24th, 2011

Plan Reef/Check/Snorkeling Trash Collect Competition – Sailing canoes sails as prizes
Responsible: Francis/Clemens/Pierre.  Due Date: Sept 24th, 2011

By Francis Maglia

Downshifter

Crew member from Nov./10 till now

Coral Reefs, festival of forms and colors – Lelepa, Emae, Maskline, Malekula e Espiritu Santo Islands, Vanuatu.

Coral reefs are biological treasures of the ocean. More varieties of plants and animals live on coral reefs than in any other ocean habitat. Throughout the ages a vast array of animals and plants have become associated with coral reefs, creating some of our earth’s most fascinating, complex and biologically diverse ecosystems. At least 350 million people and a quarter of all ocean life depend on coral reefs for their food and livelihood (reference www.reefcheck.org).

Corals are coelenterates, a class of animals that also includes sea anemones and jellyfish.They are formed by thousand of tiny polyps grouped in colonies that attach to hard surfaces of the sea floor. Corals are basically carnivorous animals although they do get nourishment from plants, zooxanthellae, with are embedded in their tissues. Corals and zooxanthellae live together in mutually beneficial symbiotic arrangement. Zooxanthellae gains protection, utilize the carbon dioxide produced by corals respiration for their photosynthesis and use other compounds excreted by corals. On the other hand, corals welcome the oxygen produced by zooxanthellae photosynthesis and gain an efficient elimination system that make them save energy for more important things such as reproduction and growth. Corals are generally nocturnal feeders that make them retract their polyps during the day and expand during the night. So, it is only at night that they can be visible in their complete and colorful forms.

However, the health of coral reef ecosystems is threatened by many problems. Despite the seemingly robust nature of many types, all corals are fragile and can be damaged by the gentlest touch. The most serious impact is caused by human touch. Overfishing, known as predatory fishing, and man-made pollution have devastated numerous coral reefs throughout the world – and it is getting worse. Whether this pollution is in the form of chemicals – insecticides, fertilizers, industrial effluents, etc -, siltation, oil spills, or whatever, the result is the same. Not only the pollutants kill the corals directly, they can kill them off indirectly by affecting their food supply. This is very unlikely that man also harvest corals for use as decorations in marine motif restaurants, aquariums and private collections, for instance.

During the last three weeks Katie Thomson from Reef Check Vanuatu (www.reefcheck.org) trained and certified Infinity’s crew for reef check surveys in the Indo-Pacific region. The training included biology, formation of corals and sea life associated with them, survey methodology, identification of substrate categories, fish and invertebrate indicators, predation actions, coral diseases, snorkel and diving survey practices on coral reefs.

Reef Check is an international non-profit organization dedicated to bringing coral reefs back to health and keeping them that way. Reef Check’s core mission is to train teams of volunteers to monitor the status of reefs around the world. The information gathered is used to make sound decisions on how to preserve and wisely manage reefs.

Reef Check Vanuatu is an affiliate of Reef Check International trains volunteers and local communities throughout the islands to monitor their own coral reefs. The data collected goes to support community conservation initiatives and also help inform the national Fisheries Department on trends and threats to coral reefs around the country. Reef Check Vanuatu also works to encourage and support communities in using the traditional form of marine conservation which is done by the chief putting a taboo on the reef.

Our past snorkel and diving trips were just amazing. Beyond a beautiful visual experience, they now help to preserve the fantastic coral reef ecosystem!

By Raquel Miranda

crew member from Nov./10 till now

see also www.downshiftingforEarth.com

After spending a week cruising around the Yasawa Islands in Fiji, Infinity and its crew set sail for Vanuatu. The passage took only four days and we anchored beside the country’s most southern island, Aneityum.

The passage was much more fun than our experiences from New Zealand to Tonga and Tonga to Fiji. With a diverse group of 23 peeps on board and a huge assortment of costumes to choose from, there was always fun to be had. Rachel, the energetic Brazilian, let the crew in an aerobic session turned dance party on the back deck of the boat … costumes were mandatory. Unlike previous passages, I was never bored.

Sailing a 120 ft yacht is hard work. It took a team effort in raising the sails and someone always had to be on the wheel to steer. We were assigned to teams of three for cooking, cleaning, watch, and steering shifts. It was likely that at least one person per team was seasick at all times, thankfully I was again totally fine.

I was very surprised that the boat did not have auto steering, as did the smaller boats I crewed upon. Steering 150 tons is not an easy job. It was a constant battle with the large wooden wheel to keep the boat on course. You also had to be mindful of changing wind direction to avoid “jibing” when the sails are up which can damage a sail. I had a crazy experience during my 4 am steering shift when the wind was constantly changing directions. I watched in horror as the front sail ripped horizontally in slow motion. I awoke the captain and the rest of the crew had to wake up and help take down the sail and raise a new one.

Infinity Crew

On the overnight passage between Tanna and Erramango my team was on watch when the captain decided it was time to jibe. Jibing is changing your direction while sailing downwind. To do this we had to pull down the jib sail and raise the sail on the opposite side of the boat. This job is always challenging but at 4 am in the middle of a thunder & lightning storm and huge swells we had an even harder time than usual. Four of us spent over an hour on the foredeck struggling to hold our balance, blinded by the pouring rain and darkness as we struggled to tame the unruly beast of a sail that flapped wildly in the wind.

As much fun as sailing can be I am always eager to reach our next destination, set anchor and explore the land. The priority was to work on the project, In Fifty Years, which involved going on shore and spending time getting to know and interviewing the locals. I have many awesome experiences to report… standing at the rim of an active volcano as flaming fire balls shot into the air, visiting the village home to the legendary cargo cult, scuba diving and snorkeling among unspoiled reef, kitesurifng the trade winds, and spending time in the villages with the locals. I felt the genuine warmth and happiness of the people in their big smiles, generous offerings, and guidance through the forests.

While in Vanuatu I have visited the islands of Aneityum, Tanna, Erromango, and Efate. I wish I could stay on the boat longer to continue the journey further north. I would love to witness the ancient ceremony neghol (land diving) on Pentecost, scuba dive through the WWII shipwreck SS President Coolidge on Espiritu Santo. This unspoiled country is home to the most interesting customs and traditions that have are still alive and I hope to have the opportunity to visit again one day.

To see photos of the passage from Fiji to Vanuatu CLICK HERE.

Kelly Wetherington

seatofmyskirt.com/

Crew-member Jul-Ago/11

We left from Aneytium and sailed to Tanna… the rain was hard but from Aneytium to Tanna it was just one night of navigation… so we were leaving and just at that moment… people yelled… A Whale!! it was great, we saw it blowing, everybody was on the deck looking and yelling to the whale, the captain tried to follow it for a zhile! it was a great departure!!

Then I got see sick… so I didn’t enjoy the evening a lot, neither the night!!! So we arrived in Tanna, which is a very nice island, the people were really friendly, each time you saw someone, they would great you with a hand shake and start a conversation! They live with almost nothing (I mean, bought stuffs) and look very happy, there is children every where and one of the main occupations is gardening, they grow kasava which is a kind of root, and also banana and sweet potatoes… We arrived for one week of celebration, there were big soccer and volley ball contests for both boys and girls, hundreds of people watched the game, kids every where… and of course everybody was playing without shoes! Every village had a team, there was music all day, and little stores to eat at. Vunuatu loved to listen reggae.

Then we went to the volcano : Yasur which is active now…the sound, the light, feeling of the earth moving, it was just great… it was really impressive, a little bit scary, but so unique… we could have spent hours and hours there! the best time was when it was dark, watching the molten rock falling down into the crater… just beautiful.

Another great experience was the party that we had with the local people, the captain knew some of the islanders from before… he had met them a few years previously when the boat was used by the Tanna’s soccer team to reach Port vila! So we invited them over, we made 50 plates out of banana leaves and a huge curry for all the islanders! There were more than 50 people on the boat : all the boys from the village came… we invited the women the day after…. the boys had to check if everything was allright…it was a great time; music, theater, speeches and dancing under the stars… a really good moment!

Then we head to Erromango… a really peaceful island, so cool, water really clear, lots of fish some people even saw a shark, islanders were really easy talking, I had lots of conversations with the local teacher, Mr. Dom… He teached us about Erromango history e culture, just amazing. sI will continue the exchange in France with my class… we gave them some books, paper and coloured pencils.
Then just one night sailing and we arrived in Port Villa.

Delphine Odier
French teacher
Crew-member Jul-Aug/11

Infinity sails peacefully

on a big blue open sea

we love this boat

because it floats

yea it will never sink

and even though

we sometimes make it stink

this is our home sweet home.

We party and we swim in nude

but still we must conclude

this ship is great

by the way we need live bait

to catch a tuna, dourado too!

so well, yoohee yoohah yoohoo

this ship is our dream come true!

Ronja Tara
13 yo
Crew-member Mar-Aug/11

The past few days the engine room transformed into an active hive with Danny, Clemens, and Francis zipping in and out like bees, the sound of welding a constant buzz-humming from bottom to top of the ship. Juliana flew in from Thailand and brought the ultimate finishing touch. Drum roll please…new hot pink ass showers! Things are really coming together.

Today has finally arrived and it’s almost time for setting sail. Infinity had a final send-off dinner party last night with some people from Greenpeace. It was an extra special night as crew members sprawled out together by the helm, spontaneously forming a drum circle producing this rhythmic pulse – a few singing, some on bongo drums or shaking rice filled cans and jiffy peanut butter jars with popcorn. We congregated together with curious strangers who had hopped on board to be a part of what was going on. Earlier on last night, Ronja presented a fairy tale she wrote about a powerful greedy king called King Petrobras. With the help of Infinity and Mr. Green who loves peace, King Petrobras is able to stop his glutinous ways and mining activities.

Our plans are to join forces with Greenpeace and the East Cape iwi Te Whanau a Apanui community at Cape Runaway. Our goal right now is coming together as part of Greenpeace’s protest flotilla to stop deep sea oil drilling in New Zealand.

Signing off with the whole pirate hugs thing.

Its been such a great learning experience so far for myself and the other new crew members, with daily classes from Mike and great instructions from my watch partners I have slowly but steadily developed my steering abilities- I will hopefully never turn Infinity in a 360 circle ever again, have strengthened my weak arms into mega guns, been taught by Christoph that sometimes the moon can obviously be mistaken for a boat. I am also developing my kitchen skills as weirdly enough not everybody enjoys ketchup sandwich and so when it comes to cooking its probably best I just help cut stuff up, and finally fellow people from Birmingham apparently we have an accent which makes it difficult for other humans to understand us- however there is little that can be done about this.

Three weeks at sea with such a great bunch of people has been an amazing experience and I have had a the best time, so cheers guys. I have no doubt that New Zealand will continue to bring many more adventures and laughs. We have some great projects lined up for next coming months, including a beach clean up project at the end of December we will fill you all in more when we get working on that.

In the meantime 7 days til Christmas AHHHHH have a good one!

Stace