It's Time!

After two years of planning, building, and waiting, the time has finally arrived! It's time to put Shan Skailyn (and it's crew) to the test!

Early tomorrow morning (Friday, March 1) the helicopter, the only transportation in or out of our remote location, is scheduled to arrive. After it slings Shan Skailyn and it's crew down to the coast, my wife and four kids will head out to Madang about 90 miles up the coast where we plan to meet them after hopefully not more than 5 days.

This is Shan Skailyn's maiden voyage. It is also this virgin sailor's first chance to try to put all the pieces together into actual experience! Excitement level is high! Having done the best I can to think through and prepare for possible reasonable contingencies, it's time to dial down the 'what-ifs' and jump in. Will it be smooth sailing, good fishing, enough to eat, making our destination in good time with minimal problems? Or will the all too well attested reputation of Papua New Guinea as 'the land of the unexpected' hold true for these northern coastal waters as well? We shall soon see! Only God himself knows what is laid out before us in the next few days.

One thing I'm sure of though is that it will be an adventure! There won't be any internet on this little voyage, but may be some intermittent cell phone coverage. So I'm not sure what I'll be able to post during the actual trip... may end up being a few low quality pictures and descriptions via my half-wit phone if anything. Once in Madang I'll share lots more pictures and narrative impressions. While I'm aware this is a comparatively small venture for many, it's a big deal for me to be doing this. You'll just have to forgive that I don't let relative smallness of scale mitigate my own excitement!

For now, feast your eyes on Shan Skailyn all bundled up in aerodynamic efficiency for its maiden flight 12 miles out, from our cool 5000 feet to the coastal hot of zero. I spent today trying to get everything set up so it can be slung under the belly of a helicopter safely, without swinging and tossing about, or dropping anything into someone's hut or garden below. "I! Dispela hap diwai kam pundaun long we!? We'll save that kind of excitement for the sea. Yeah, that's a fin on the canoe, affixed to keep it pointing forward in flight. Hey, how many outrigger canoes have 'flight' as part of their repertoire?