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December 31, 1998
San Francisco to Hawaii, Second Attempt. Update #64
64. Date: Thu, 31 Dec 1998
KONA HAWAII
To More MOKSHA'S PHOTOS
The further west around the world the expedition gets the more it seems to be becoming a vehicle to link children with their own dreams and aspirations for later life - and with children in other countries to broaden their sense of being a world citizen: our theory being that there is no greater way for a person to be inspired to follow a path of personal excellence than by seeing others around them following theirs. This is the reason we ended up visiting with over 1200 kids on the main island in the three week period following our arrival in Hilo; showing slides of the crossing, displaying Moksha on the odd occasion (a greater pull than all human team-members put together!) and introducing some of the various cultural exchange programs hosted by the Global Learning Exchange.
The most southerly point in the USA was where Moksha found herself being taken to be displayed to children from the Na'alehu Elementary School. We had a pretty good system set up so that all the 4th, 5th grade and even kindergarteners got to see and experience as much of the expedition in the time available; Steve gave slides of the recent crossing, Renee showed archive video clips of the history of the expedition while I hosted a workshop in the computer lab where we studied the expedition web- site. The main attraction however as always was Stuart's by now well packaged 'tour de Moksha' (as seen here in the pictures). Each child getting a chance not only to get inside the boat as a 'cook' or a 'first-mate', but also to be subjected to one of Moksha's infamous 'virtual storms' which involves the hatch being closed to keep the waves from crashing in, Cap'n Stu bellowing out the immortal words "surfing" and the boat being rocked violently from side to side by those standing on the boat trailer.
You should hear the screams of delight that come from inside Moksha during this routine - the log ride at Disney World ain't got nothin' on this one!
Over the course of the three weeks based in Kailua-Kona we also got to hand out the 178 pen-pal letters Steve and I brought with us in the back of Moksha from San Francisco. Many of these letters had been hand- made by children using recycled paper and implanted with seeds that grow into sun-flowers or some other symbolic flower of friendship once planted by the recipient*. This idea was started by the Sowing Peace project in Carmel, California and we - as our expedition takes us far and wide around the world - are able to act as couriers or vectors of these seed letters that connect children in different countries . As animals in nature distribute certain seeds to foreign soils thus contributing (unconsciously) toward the survival chances of that particular plant species, so we distribute the concept of peace in the form of seed letters thus contributing (consciously) toward the survival of the human species and the planet we depend upon.
To reciprocate, Bini Easly's 5th grade class from Kahakai Elementary made a make-shift screen and got stuck into the rather squishy task of making their own paper to send back as seed letters to their new friends in Europe, the US and Central America. If you would like to know how to make paper and to have your letter sent to someone in another country, e-mail April, april@fone.net.
In next week's update we'll be showing some of the wonderful work that various classes did in response to the Classroom Expedition curriculum; for example the muddy footprints on the walls of Mary Farmers school in Benicia marking their study of how we humans impact each other and our environment! Also you'll get to hear some of the amazing expeditions that kids from Suzanne's 5th grade class from Nueva school thought up - and see some of the crazy 3-D prototype expedition vehicles they built to be able to do the expeditions in real-life!
Lastly, it was Francis Basco from Leslie Ruben's 5th grade class from Longfield Elementary in San Francisco that came closest with an arrival prediction of 52 days for our crossing from San Francisco to Hilo (actual duration of voyage - 53 days). Here are some of his class-mates holding up the chart Francis won for the class - complete with photos of the voyage and exact latitude/longitude positions of shark sightings!!!
*We are aware of the hazards of introducing non-native plants to foreign soils. The seeds are kept in pots in the classroom rather that being planted outdoors.
Lewis & Smith,
The Moksha crew
THE REGISTRY
Posted at 8:09 PM
December 10, 1998
San Francisco to Hawaii, Second Attempt. Update #63
63. Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1998
KONA HAWAII
To More MOKSHA'S PHOTOS
Now fortnight-long landlubbers, Jason and I are well immersed in school visits, lectures and in mopping up the aftermath of our 54 day ocean voyage. With backpacks now bulging with paperwork and the familiar 'to do' lists growing ever longer in typical Virgoan fashion, we try to combine community outreaching with the internal stuff like recycling all of our garbage, disassembling and servicing all the gear and processing photographs.
Click Photos for enlargement:
Now fortnight-long landlubbers, Jason and I are well immersed in school visits, lectures and in mopping up the aftermath of our 54 day ocean voyage. With backpacks now bulging with paperwork and the familiar 'to do' lists growing ever longer in typical Virgoan fashion, we try to combine community outreaching with the internal stuff like recycling all of our garbage, disassembling and servicing all the gear and processing photographs.
The simplicity of ocean life is definitely behind us, but is willingly replaced by good, soulful work and with the help of those around us - Stuart, Nancy, Renee and locals Laurie Ann Thrasher, Mark Outcault, Lima Tamasese and many others - great things are happening.
One event this week stands out in particular, a small but meaningful beginning of a new initiative. We haven't yet settled on a title for this project (suggestions please), but it aims to facilitate real adventures for young people. Whilst our newsletter and web site hopefully encourage larger numbers to try new experiences, it also feels great to work directly with just a few young people. Whether sailing, hiking, biking, camping or whatever, the idea is to help develop the self-confidence and mind-stretching abilities gained through a manageable but challenging mini-expedition.
We are grateful to Jim Sullivan's Ocean Friends project www.oceanfriends.org for our first mini-expedition last Wednesday. Four youngsters - Jacob and Zachary Thrasher, Brian Kahele and Oscar Passalacqua learnt how to sail the 'Elusive', which Jim is using to sail around the world. Next year we have more exciting mini-adventures we will be sharing with you, including a rain forest trek and a week-long, 125 mile biking expedition across the island from Hilo to Kona. The picture-story of the day's sailing trip follows.
Lewis & Smith,
The Moksha crew
Posted at 8:07 PM