The Adventurers’ Club Newsadventurersclub.org/archives/AC News/AC News Nov 2012.pdfThe...

the Year 2012Adventurer of

Danee Hazama

90th ANNIVERSARY YEAR!

The

Adventurers’ Club News©

Volume 56 November 2012 Number 11

The historic route of the Tahitian Voyaging Canoe Faafaite

November 2012 ADVENTURERS’ CLUB NEWS

The Adventurers’ Club NewsThe Official Publication of the Adventurers’ Club of Los Angeles®, California

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FRONT COVER ........................ROUTE OF THE TAHITIAN VOYAGING CANOE FAAFAITE.PHOTOS DANEE HAZAMA & DOUG BROWN

DIRECTORY ............................................................................... INSIDE FRONT COVERPRESIDENT’S PAGE .................................................................................................... 1ARTICLES – TE MANA O TE MOANA – THE VOYAGE OF THE FAAFAITE ..................... 2

UNUSUAL ASIAN RAIL ........................................................................... 5THRAWN RICKLE ........................................................................................................ 7WHAT’S HAPPENING... ................................................................................................ 8BOOK REVIEW: WALKING THE AMAZON: 860 DAYS. ONE STEP AT A TIME ............ 10THURSDAY NIGHTS AT THE CLUB ............................................................................. 11LETTERS .................................................................................................................... 20FORTHCOMING PROGRAMS .................................................................................... 21SLATE OF OFFICERS FOR 2013 .............................................................................. 21

PRESIDENTMarc Weitz

1ST VICE PRESRalph Perez

2ND VICE PRESMike Gwaltney

TREASURERRoger Haft

ADDRESS2433 N BroadwayLos Angeles, CA 90086

MAILINGADDRESSPO Box 31226Los Angeles, CA 90031

DINNERRESERVATIONS(323) 223-3948Deadline: Tuesday Noon

SECRETARYRobert DeMott

Volume 56 ...........................................................................................Number 11Publisher .................................................. ACLA President, Marc Weitz #1144Editor ....................................... Robert G. Williscroft #1116, Lewiston, ID 83501

Cell (818) 613-9445; [email protected]. Editor ................................... Marc Weitz #1144, Los Angeles, CA 90071

(323) 600-4805; [email protected] Phone (323) 223-3948 (24 Hrs) .......................... www.adventurersclub.org

November 2012

ADVENTURERS’ CLUB NEWS November 2012

The

ADVENTURERS’ CLUB NEWS©

Volume 56 November 2012 Number 11THE PRESIDENT’S PAGEMarc Weitz #1144 - President

1

Our Night ofHigh Adven-ture went offwithout a hitch.144 people at-tended theevent that fea-tured PasqualeScaturro talk-

ing about his kayak trip down the en-tire length of the Nile along the BlueNile to the Mediterranean; Bill Burkeand Allan Smith discussing their sum-mit attempt of Everest and pre-viewed their Eight Summits film; andlastly Danee Hazama spoke aboutnavigating the Pacific Ocean usingnative navigation techniques.

The Club then honored Danee asour Adventurer of the Year. Therewas a bit of mishap when the crystalworld on top of the trophy rolled offand onto the floor, but we’ll get thatfixed for Danee. He definitely de-serves the award. A complete write-up of NOHA will be featured in theDecember edition of the News.

I’d like to give a special thanks to AllanSmith for putting together our awesomespeakers. He really came through forthe Club and helped to make theevening an amazing success. For that, Imight make him his own certificate.

Larry Schutte did an excellent job help-ing to prepare for the night, MC, andhelped with the A/V. It was good tosee Larry as Pat Sajak at the podiumagain. Steve Lawson bravely helped withthe A/V. Mike Gwaltney suffered throughcustomer complaints at the silent auction,and Jim Heaton buttonholed everyoneinto buying tickets, and Martin Bloomsuckered everyone into attending throughhis marketing campaign. The Clubcouldn’t have done it without them.

With just two months left in theyear, we are on track to finish up anexciting year. Ralph Perez has donean excellent job since taking over asFirst VP and Program Chair. Already,he has the Club almost entirelybooked till the end of March. Excel-lent, especially since this is his firsttime doing the job. Hopefully, he’ll stopgiving me a hard time about nixing hisultimately successful Meetup idea.

Don’t forget that the ChristmasParty is coming up December 20th.Members and male guests are invit-ed. As I told you last month, we havehired the World’s Greatest Entertain-er to sing for us. Yes, I got us an AlJolson impersonator. He’s one of myfavorite singers, and I think that it’llbe appreciated amongst this crowd.

I wish everyone a happy Thanks-giving and a good college footballseason.


Hokulea - Honolulu Star Bulletinartist David Swann

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Te Mana O Te Moana – The voyage of the FaafaiteThis article is compiled from material supplied by Bob Zeman (#878) from notes he took duringDanee Hazama’s presentation at N.O.H.A., and from online material extracted from the Te Mana OTe Moana journals by the Editor.

Faafaite

Across the Pacific, the Tahitianvoyaging canoe, or vaka moana,

represents island genealogy. Pacific Is-landers trace their origins to certain ca-noes, for each isa sacred and liv-ing treasure thatconnects peopleto their ancestry.The vaka moanarepresents ori-gin and possibil-ity, heritage andstory, and forPacific Islandersa poetic, power-ful metaphor ofplanet Earth, re-minding them that our planet is an is-land of finite resources, floating inthe sea of space.

As she voyages, the vakamoana embodies balance,harmony, teamwork, andrespect. If one of herhulls is damaged, thecrew takes actionsto repair it to pre-vent sinking. Sotoo, say the PacificIslanders, is our re-sponsibility for theEarth, to care for our home asthough the planet is on loan to usfrom future generations yet to beborn.

Ancient Polynesian voyagers navi-gated using only the sun, stars, wind,waves, clouds, and wildlife as navi-gational guides. Ancient Navigators

were attunedto the worldaround them,from the heav-ens down to asingle waterdrop, constant-ly noticing thefeel of thewind, shape ofthe sea, charac-ter of sunlightthrough theclouds, the flight

pattern of birds, patterns of drifting seaand land vegetation, the entire integratedbubble surrounding the vaka moana.

This ancient art of navigating was onthe brink of extinction when Mi-

cronesian navigatorPius Mau Piailug setabout reviving thisancient art. In 1975,Piailug and his pro-

tégé, Hawaiian NainoaThompson, successfullysailed the Hokule’a, an ac-curately recreated vaka

moana, 2,500 miles from Hawaii toTahiti and 2,500 miles back using onlythe ancient navigational methods.

Following in Piailung’s wake, and

Traditional Pacific Islander navigation starsPh

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Faafaite

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(Faafaite continued on page 4)

with the generous financial supportof Okeanos Foundation for the Sea,commencing in April, 2011, DaneeHazama (#1014) departed New Zea-land on the double-hulled Tahitianvoyaging canoe Faafaite. Faafaite wasbound for Tahiti, the Marquesas, andthen Hawaii. Faafaite was one of sev-en Tahitian vaka moanas that madethe voyage or some part of it underthe collective name of Te Mana O TeMoana (Spirit of the Sea), including

one each from Samoa, Fiji, Raraton-ga, Tahiti, Maori, and a Pan-Pacificcanoe. Each vaka moana was aboutseventy-three feet long, twenty-twofeet wide, and weighed fourteen tons.

Danee and the other Te Mana O Te

Moana voyagers memorized the con-stellations. Overcast days were aproblem, of course, but they hadlearned in training they undertookbefore they set sail how to accom-modate lack of sun and stars for dayson end, and how to get back on coursewhen the sky cleared. Birds and vege-

tation floating on the water helped alot in the search for land, as did a knowl-edge of the many ways water can ap-pear depending on wind direction, near-ness of land, water depth, and manyother esoteric factors.

The crew manned rudder and sails inshifts so everyone had an opportunityfor that, and for cooking and cleaning aswell. In keeping with the tradition, the crew

Hokulea - Kane’ohe Bay, off Kualoa-Hakipu’u circa 1975

Photo Pacific Voyagers

Tahitian Voyager Faafaite

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Off New Caldonia

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The Te Mana O Te Moana fleet

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Faafaite

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(Faafaite continued from page 3)

held various Polynesian ceremonies be-fore, during, and after the voyage.

Besides the fresh native food theycarried aboard, they fished for mar-lin, tuna, and mahi mahi, and carriedfresh water in thirty-two twenty-five-

pound containers, supplemented byrain water whenever they could.

In addition to showing the world(and themselves) their newly reac-quired ancient navigation skills, thegroup was also concerned about heal-ing the oceans – a rejuvenated Te

Mana o Te Moana, which they consid-er endangered by modern life.

When they reached Hawaii in June,they landed in Kahoolawe, becausethat is where tradition says the an-

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New Caldonia

Welcoming ceremony in Numea,New Caldonia

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cient voyagers, the Hawaiian ances-tors, landed. Following a three-and-a-half-month sojourn, Faafaite depart-ed from that same traditional site onthe morning of October 30 for the2,500 mile trip back to Tahiti.

A documentary of the voyagecalled Our Blue Canoe will be releasedin 2013.

The Te Mana O Te Moana fleet offHawaii

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Faafaite at KahoolawePh

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Back in beautiful Bora Bora


Asian Rail

(Rail continued on page 6)

Unusual Asian RailMax Hurlbut (#880)

Max & Hueih-Hueih Hurlbut recentlycompleted to trips to Tibet/China, Viet Nam,Cambodia, and Taiwan.

Iron Dragon Across Tibetan Plateau

The Lhasa-to-Chengdu train acrossthe Tibetan Plateau is the world’s

highest railway. It crosses the Tang-gula Pass at 16,640 feet and skirts Hu(lake) Quing-Hai, a salt lake that isChina’s largest. It’s a high-desert fron-tier with the occasional yurt, wild yak,and small mining settlement. Our lo-comotive is electric – Internal com-bustion engines are anemic at over16,000 feet. A few turbo-charged die-sels are also in use.

The trains are advertised as oxygen-ated and “environmentally friendly.”A first-class ticket costs $138 US. Itentitles you to one of four bunks in atiny “soft-sleeper” compartment. A“hard-sleeper” offers six bunks ondoor-less cabins. The remainder of thetrain is cattle-car standing-room-only.There are no American-style cars withseats to view your two-day crossing.

One uni-sex Asian toilet serves 32.

Bring your own towel and toilet pa-per. A hole-in-the-floor dumps ontothe tracks. Not all users – we werethe only foreigners aboard – are squat-accurate. No one cleans it and thesmell permeates the sealed car. Theoxygen system does not work. Westop at local stations where foodis purchased from vendors. (The yakis tough but tasty).

Chinese trains may not be up toWestern standards, but the scenery ismagnificent.

Photos Max Hurlbut

China Rail-Lhasa to Chengdu

Bamboo Train to Battambang

The few Cambodian trains do notrun; they crawl. Guerrilla activi-

ty after the Khmer Rouge extermina-tions and Vietnamese invasion haveresulted in dilapidated trains andtracks. Trains pushed an armored car-riage with gun ports. The first carriage

o f f e r e dfree trans-portat ionand half-price forthe second– a rollingm i n e - d e -tector.

Bambootrains allowrural ac-

cess to village markets. “Trains” areplatforms about three meters squareatop two axles with wheels. The aftbogie is connected, by a fan belt, to a

Max & Hueih aboardBamboo Train toBattambang, Cambodia

November 2012 ADVENTURERS’ CLUB NEWS6

Asian Rail(Rail continued from page 5)

Chinese 6-h.p. “Cosmic” gasoline en-gine. (Gasoline is sold in old soda &beer bottles). This “nori” travels at30 to 40 kph over warped and mis-aligned rails. An E-ticket ride cost-ing a couple of US dollars. (Preferredover the Cambodian riel at 4,000 tothe dollar).

The Bamboo Train offers a brilliantsolution to the most difficult prob-lem on a single-track line: What todo when two trains, going in oppo-site directions, meet. The nori withthe fewer passengers is quickly dis-assembled so the other can pass....

endorsed with the name of the railsection it controls. The locomotivein possession of the token is the onlyone permitted to traverse the single-

line section.Boundaries ofsections start andend at train sta-tions. The tokenis physicallytransferred on atrain staff – aleather pouch at-tached to a loopwith a handle.Tokens are

passed by holdingup an arm to re-ceive the hoop.The tokens arestored inside an-cient red iron lock-boxes of Japaneseorigin. They ac-cept only the cor-rect token for theline.

Dismantling Bamboo Train

Taiwan Train Control

Trains are uniquely susceptible tocollisions as they run on fixed

rails and cannot be quickly stopped.Timetable operation, train orders, andblock signaling are not used in allcountries. Parts of Taiwan still usesignaling by token which dates fromthe Japanese occupation (1895-1945). The system eliminates colli-sions; something computerized sys-tems have not accomplished.

A large brass right-of-way token is

Japanese token-control machine

Station MasterSYU JI-YAN atZhuo-Shui(Cloudy Water)Station, ChungHwa, Taiwan

Exchanging Right-of-Way token


Thrawn Rickle

Jill and Imissed N.O.H.A. this year,

but in two weeksit’s off to the rac-es – NASCAR,that is. At least, Jill

is making the trip to Phoenix in theRV with the twins. Medical problemsare keeping me behind this trip. Ourfirm is sponsoring a car in the race,so Jill will be supporting the team anddoing the photography. By the timeyou read this, it will be too late tojoin us, but if any of you are inter-ested in visiting a NASCAR race onpit row, contact me. We can get youpit row credentials, but you will haveto pay your own way to the race lo-cale.

I described the arrival of Autumnlast month. This month the trees areturning. It’s not like the East Coast,but the color still is spectacular. Frommy office overlooking the Snake Riv-er it appears like the banks are on fire,the color is so brilliant. I hope I canshare it with some of you as you getup here to pursue your adventures.

I understand N.O.H.A. was a tremen-dous success. My hearty congratulationsto those who made it happen, and toall of you who attended.

As many of you may already know,Reda Anderson, long-time friend of theClub and a personal friend, went

THE THRAWN RICKLE From the Ancient Scottish: thrawn = stubborn; rickle = loose, dilapidated heap

Robert G. Williscroft #1116 – Editor

OTGA Thursday, October 25. Redawas the kind of woman many of uswould like to see as Club members, buteven though she was not eligible formembership, Reda attended everyevent that she could. My big regret isthat she will not have been able to ex-perience the trip into space that she hadalready funded, and for which she wasjust awaiting a definite date. Fair windsand following seas, Reda, as you explorethat great unknown.

Not one peep from even a singleone of you about the Rhinogrades. Ihad thought somebody would write,or perhaps even have read the bookalready. Ah well...such is the life ofthe Editor, knowing that the wordsgo out, but rarely knowing their im-pact. I guess it’s a bit like being a ra-dio talk show host. I’ve done a bit ofthat, too. You’re in a small room sur-rounded by microphones, and dialsand switches. You keep the patter up,and only get to talk with a real per-son when a listener calls or when youinterview someone. Ask Fred Hare-land. He has a radio show up in Chi-na Lake. He can give you the details.

Did you vote? By the time you getthis, it will all be over. Your votecan make a difference, you know.The people who decided the lastelection could have fit into a rela-tively small office building. Lookout for hanging chads!


What’s Happening...

What’s Happening...Shane Berry shows how to do it

Photo Shane Berry

Jim Dorsey shoots the Shuttle

Shane (#1093) describes the shotthis way:

• Shot in the “TV” setting not “AV”as I wanted the boulders and thebackground both in focus.

• I used a tripod and made sure thatthe camera was level. My Acrat-ech ball head has a leveler with abubble.

• I can’t remember if I used a po-larizer filter for the water.

• I shot it with my Canon 5D MarkII. The lens was the Canon 1635MM 2.8L shot at 32 MM, 1/15sec., F/8, ISO 100.

• I was thinking of Galen Rowell’sfamous photography quote “F8and be there.”

• I reviewed the histogram and ithad full range. If it was off then Iwould go to the right or left. Thisshot was OK.

Jim Dorsey (#1081) caught somegood shots of the Space Shuttle En-

deavor as it made its way through theCity of Angels to its final restingplace.

Endeavor over Jim’s house

The Shuttle Endeavor

Heat Shield shot

Photos Jim Dorsey


What’s Happening...

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Editor’s Note: Each month we will feature recentactivities of members and friends on this page.Please send your material along with any photosto the Editor by email or snail mail. Designate itfor “What’s Happening....”

The Cockpit

The Rear Thrusters

The Shuttle Endeavor at rest

Reda Anderson O.T.G.A.

At 7:41 pm, Thursday evening, Oc-tober 25, our friend and benefac-

tor Reda Anderson departed On TheGreat Adventure.

Reda will be missed as if she hadbeen a Club member. Her legacy willremain with us until we join her. Fare-well, good friend – we will miss yousorely!

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Reda – Ever the explorer


Book Review - Walking the Amazon

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BOOK REVIEW:WALKING THE AMAZON: 860 Days.One Step at a TimeEd Stafford; Penguin Group, London, 2011, 5.5 X 8.5 softcover, 320 p. ISBN-978-0-452-29826-2, Review byBob Zeman (#878), with input from the Editor from material supplied by online sources.

In April, 2008, Ed Stafford set offto become the first man ever to

walk the entire lengthof the Amazon Riv-er. He started at thePacific Coast town ofCamana in southernPeru in April, 2008.He estimated the trekwould finish withineighteen months. Thiswas the first of manyerrors. The book tellsof 860 days walking,and it gets to be a bitof a slog gettingthrough it.

The statistics are im-pressive – nine million-odd steps; over200,000 mosquito bites; over 8,000 ki-lometers; about 600 wasp stings; a doz-en scorpion stings; ten HD video cam-eras; six pairs of boots; three GPSs, andone Guinness World Record.

But there is little mention of the an-imals and no reference to the huge di-versity of birds. The author was sup-ported by a number of benefactors in-cluding Ranulph Fiennes of the Trans-globe Expedition Trust. Stafford wasmade a member of the Royal Geograph-ical Society for his achievement. Butwhy walk the Amazon when one can

go by boat as Joe Kane did, or can evenswim as one person did?

There is an excel-lent checklist ofnineteen points toconsider when plan-ning an expeditionlike this. There is alsoan excellent kit list ofthings to bring. .

Stafford gives nocredit to previous ex-plorers of the Ama-zon. He does appreci-ate the natives alongthe way and dines andstays the night withthem, but he is usuallytoo tired to conversewith them at length

about his hike thus far and his future plans.The author’s first partner dropped out

after a few months because ofStafford’s obsession to walk the entireroute. Money became a problem whenthe adventure took longer than planned.

This is a story of a grueling adven-ture to achieve a self-imposed goal, butjust reading the book is a grueling task.

The book is available wherever booksare sold, and online as an eBook as well.Editor’s note: Not all readers agree with Bob.Virtually every online review was very positive,so draw your own conclusions.


Minutes – September 20, 2012

September 20, 2012Marc Weitz (#1144)

THURSDAY NIGHTS AT THE CLUB

Those Returning from Adventure

Those Leaving on Adventure

Roger Haft #1098 – Is much betterafter being medevac’d out of East-

ern Europe last week.

Brian Cruickshank #1158 – Off tovisit family in Cologne, Germany,

and then on to Paris and Amsterdam.Derek Borthwick #1061 – Going to

Sao Paolo, Brazil, until December.Jeff Holmes #1148 – Going on an air-

line-mileage run with his mother, who’sbecome obsessed with accumulating miles.

nous crew. None of the locals, however,knew the location where three of Cpt.Bligh’s sailors were buried. Bob met aKashmiri who described living in a Mus-lim area in India. Bob met some menwho took him to an opium den and thento a Sikh temple to get rid of his buzz.There he blew 400 feet of film on a Sikhputting on his turban.

Bob and some friends crossed to themainland and got themselves a LandRover, which, according to Bob, is muchsturdier than a jeep and easier to find re-placement parts for in the former Brit-ish territories. From there they drove upto the Northeast corner of India. Theyfollowed the old British route into Bur-ma and then went onto East Pakistan and

Bangladesh. Bangladesh’s main productis people, but they also export teak, aheavy wood that is used to make furni-ture for Pier One Imports. The teak doesnot float and has to be transported down-river wrapped in bamboo. The teak isharvested using elephants to push downthe trees. Bob truly felt like he was in In-dia witnessing this scene. To him, itlooked like one of those Hollywoodmovies about India, which he knew werefilmed in Tarzana but yet created a sense

India: The Journey is the Destination

In 1963, Bob Silver went to India tosee what it was like 100 years ago. For-

tunately, he only had to go there fifty yearsago to find out. His goal was to followin the footsteps of Rudyard Kipling’sclassic novel Kim. Bob’s father grew upin England, and like all good Englishboys, he read African Hunting From NatalTo The Zambesi by William Charles Bald-win. The book taught Bob’s father thatAfrica was a terrible place to go. Englishboys needed also to learn Latin, Greek,and Kipling, so he went to India instead.This inspired Bob to go to India.

He was in Sydney when he met aformer British government official whoowned a boat. His crew had jumped ship,so Bob volunteered to be his crew inreturn for passage. Three days in, theylost the mast and spent the next 43 daystrying to get to land. They finally made itashore in Timor where Captain Bligh hadlanded after being set adrift by his muti-

Elephants working teak harvest - 1969Ph

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(Minutes continued on page 12)


(Minutes continued from page 11)

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of romance about India. Bob visited anarea where jute is harvested and turnedinto rope and burlap. All the villagers weresad because of a recent tragedy involv-ing an elephant. A baby elephant slippedinto a rivulet and drowned. Bob had beenfilming much of his journey up to thispoint until an ornery border guard con-fiscated all his film.

From here Bob took one of the fa-mously overcrowded trains. There werefifty people inside, twenty-five on theroof, and twenty-five on each side. Bobstrapped himself to the side of the train,so he wouldn’t fall off. A large Austra-lian man spotted him out there andreached out and pulled him into the cab-in where Bob found himself amongstBangladeshi communists, who spent theentire journey trying to convert Bob tocommunism.

The British built railways all over theirterritories like veins and sinews, exceptthat they often built lines with incompat-ible gauges. As a result, goods and pas-sengers have difficulty moving within thecountries, often leaving one side of thecountry economically deprived.

Bob reached Bhutan, where the Indi-ans kept expanding their territory by

moving the border posts farther and far-ther back until the Bhutanese were onlyleft with the highlands. Bob took a busand found himself dropped off in asquare with a dancing bear. A police of-ficer stopped Bob to check his papers.This distracted the bear from his danc-ing, which cost his owner money. Bobquickly hopped on a leaving bus to avoidthe ire of the bear owner and the cop.

Bob met Sadik, who spoke perfectEnglish from reading Zane Grey novels.

They becamelifelong friends,and Sadik cameto speak at theAdven tu r e r s ’Club twentyyears later. Bobwas smuggledout of Bhutanwith a soccerteam and foundhimself in Ne-

pal. He was arrested for illegally crossingthe border and put in a tiny jail. His guardspent most of the day asleep except togive Bob his daily meal. Finally, he wasbrought before a judge who sentencedhim to time served and set him free. Bobtook the railway up to Darjeeling to seeEverest.

All in all, Bobspent a year in In-dia. He carried in hisbackpack a portableSwiss typewriter onwhich he recordedhis journey. Thiswas Bob Silver’s fif-tieth presentation atthe Club.

Crowded train in Bangladesh

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September 27, 2012Marc Weitz (#1144)

Those Leaving on Adventure


Other Announcements

Bernie Harris #1063 – Flew to Oma-ha, NE, for his fiftieth Medical

School Reunion. Twenty-five out of six-ty-three of his classmates showed.

Claude Hulet #1114 – Brought in apre-publication copy of his new bookdiscussing the exploration of the Capeof Good Hope called The Great Naviga-tion Secrets of Vasco da Gama.

Larry Stern #1112 – Returned fromtraveling in Europe for three weeks.

Dave Finnern #1065 – He and Steve Law-son #1032 went looking for a sunken city.

Lopes, and Ken Freund #1046. RosalyLopes is a exo-volcanologist at JPL. Thepurpose of the mission was to study thelava lake at Erta Ale and compare it tothe lava lakes on Io. Rosaly spoke at theClub last year, and Jim says that his per-spective on the trip is completely differ-ent from Rosaly’s.

In the Ethiopian capital of Addis Aba-ba, they stayed at the Hotel Ghion, at-tended a geology conference, plannedtheir Erta Ale expedition, saw somemonoliths called stelae, and visited thefossil of Lucy, a distant ancestor of thehuman race discovered in Ethiopia in1974. From there, they flew to Mekelein the north of Ethiopia and hired guides,4x4’s, cooks, and security. The area is rug-ged with rough roads that could only betraveled in 4x4s. The local tribe, the Afar, isknown to be one of the most murderoustribes in the world, and they don’t like for-eigners. It wasn’t until recently that they easedup and embraced the benefits of tourism,but security is still necessary. Adding to theperil, Erta Ale is located near the disputedEritrean border. A long-running feud be-tween Ethiopia and Eritrea resulted in thekidnapping of tourists by the Eritreans inan effort to disrupt tourism.

Having obtained the proper permits,the expedition hopped in their vehiclesand drove northeast to Berhile. At one

Rick Flores #1120 – Going to Pt.Mugu via the Backbone Trail.

Bob Walters #1047 – Going to a meetingof the American Fighter Aces Association

Shane Berry #1093 – Traveling up tothe Sierras.

Bob Aronoff #837 – Reported thatDave Yamada #969 is in the ‘Stans.

Dave Finnern #1065 – Putting togethera report on the Red Cars that weredumped off Newport.

Bob Walters reported the RichardVenola #1071 will be tried on No-

vember 27th.

A Trek Up to Hell

Jim’s longtime friend Mike Gwaltney#1128 introduced him. Mike and Jim

went to the same high school and servedin the military together. Jim traveled toEthiopia with his wife Irene, a team ofgeologists, friend of the Club Rosaly

Ghion Hotel-Addis Ababa

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point the vehicles became stuck. The driv-ers ignored Ken’s experienced advice inthe matter of getting them unstuck untilone of the vehicles broke down. Thelandscape is hot and arid, with tempera-tures routinely between 95 and 115 degreesin the cool season. Conditions were rough,and the outfitter failed to bring enoughfood and water for everyone. Camel cara-vans traversed the landscape transportingsalt, just as in ancient times. The locals usedpig bodies as canteens – one drinks out a

leg fashioned into aspout. The sight ofthese caravans feltlike another worldto Jim. Goats wereeverywhere, and Jimgrew fond of themas pets, even if theylater became hismeal.

The group set up camp at Hamed Elawhere they could see the volcano. It wasa low-sloped volcano similar to the onesin Hawaii, giving the illusion that it wouldbe an easy hike to the top. Jim didn’tconsider that the group was already exhaust-ed by the trip and weighed down by theheat, nor did Jim realize that he was suffer-ing from a number of blood clots fromyears of sitting on long flights. The hikebegan at night over the rough, volcanic ter-rain. The red glow of the lava marked theirdestination. The volcanic summit revealeda Dantean landscape of lava pools, smoke,and gas. There was an inner and outer pit.The lava was only in the inner pit that night.Heat radiated from the pool as the moltenrock popped and bubbled.

The group remained at the top untildawn when they took photos with both

the Explorers and Adventurers’ Clubflags. The group had a couple hairy mo-ments on the way down. Jim’s wife broke

her leg trying to mount a camel andbravely duct taped the injury. In anotherinstance, the group left a couple of gun-carrying Afar at the top having an argu-ment. Minutes later they heard gunshots,thinking the argument devolved into ashooting feud. Scurrying to the bottom,the group discovered later that a coupleAustralian guys paid the Afar to let themshoot their guns for fun.

The group traveled next to Dallol,known to be the worst place on earth tolive. It lies 130 meters below sea level,and like Death Valley, it used to be sea-bed. The average temperature is 94 de-grees and has gotten as hot as 145 de-grees. Incredibly, the area once featureda potash mine, and a nearby railway wasbuilt in 1918 to transport the potash toEritrea. Kidnappings are common in thisarea, and the Ethiopian military itself hadto provide security. The landscape wassimilar to many features on Io with col-orful green and yellow bubbling lakes.Men cut the salt flats into blocks to trans-port back to market by camel. The groupreturned to the relative civilization ofBerhile, electricity, and cold drinks.

With Afar Gunmen

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October 4, 2012Marc Weitz (#1144)

Minutes – October 4, 2012

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Allan Smith #1069 – Was in Borneowith Chuck Jonkey #1026 filming a

documentary for muscular dystrophy.

Bernie Harris #1063 – Going to adude ranch in Prescott, AZ.

Larry Stern #1112 – Flying back toMontana to visit a survivor of the BataanDeath March.

Working on the West AntarcticIce Streams 1983-1986

Few college students get the opportu-nity to spend their undergraduate

years in the Antarctic, but that’s whatAndrea Donnellan did, and it was thisunique experience that shaped her life.Andrea is a familiar face at the Club, andthis is her fourth presentation. She works atthe Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) as ageophysicist and a computer scientist.

Her work in the Antarctic began in 1983at age 19. Heavily recruited by the IvyLeague schools, the recruiters were sur-prised that she chose to go the Ohio StateUniversity. Only OSU could offer the

opportunity to go to the Antarctic withProfessor Ian Whillans to study ice floes,even if she did end up missing the col-lege football season ever year. Sheworked on a project to study the WestAntarctic Ice Sheet and how it’s affectedby climate change.

She arrived at the McMurdo Stationvia Christchurch, New Zealand, flownin on a C-130. Her experience began withmandatory attendance of Happy CamperSchool, where new arrivals to the Ant-arctic are given basic survival training.They’re taught how to find their wayblindly through a blizzard and build anigloo in case of an emergency, and shelearned ice climbing using crampons.Their living quarters consisted of a num-ber of tents and temporary buildings,each one drafty but featuring its own bar.Today most of these have been replacedby permanent, modern structures.

Environmental concerns were fewerthen. Trash was buried in a hole andblown up every Tuesday. Now, every-thing brought in must be brought backout. Sled dogs were formerly used fortransport, but that is not allowed anymore due to environmental concerns. Thedogs were friendly so long as you petthe alpha dog first. Jim’s Bar and Grill

Photos Andrea Donnellan

Andrea in ice cave

Andrea & crew




16


was one her hangouts. She found it oddto enjoy a night out in the tent, drinkingwith friends, only to walk outside intothe bright, midnight sun.

Andrea was there working on a teamto study ice streams. Ice streams are riv-ers of ice within the ice sheet that movevery rapidly, over 1 meter/day. The teambegan by photographing the ice streamsfrom the air. However, most of the workwas done on land using snowmobiles.Blizzards were frequent and would of-ten shut down the work, so the research-ers wouldn’t blindly drive a snowmobileinto a crevice. The sky would be over-

cast for weeks, which quickly becamedepressing and disorienting, a white skyover a white landscape.

Dr. Whillans kept them busy 16 hoursa day, saying that boredom is the worstthat could happen in the Antarctic, giv-ing them only Thanksgiving and Christ-mas off. Andrea got along well with herteam. Aside, from late night drinking ses-sions, she and her tentmate often stayedup late cracking jokes and getting by onlittle sleep, something she couldn’t imag-ine doing now. Andrea was known tobe a crazy snowmobile driver and oncesped off without noticing that her co-researcher had fallen off the back. Sens-ing something amiss, she returned for him

and found him grateful. Care packagescame in the form of cheese sent by herbrother. Her tastes were different then,and many of the exotic cheeses were dis-carded uneaten.

Andrea was efficient and could surveylarge areas in one day. She pulled out 10mice cores by hand, and would sometimesburn them out if they got stuck. Soon,they were sending Andrea out alone; sheenjoyed having no one to argue with.Once, the snowmobile broke down20km from camp. She considered skiingback but instead got to work repairingthe snowmobile and limped in on a bro-ken spring.

One Christmas Day, she and her col-leagues grew restless and decided to ex-plore some ice crevices. They foundsome, roped up, and climbed down intothe blue and white translucent ice, illumi-nated from above by the Antarctic sun.The ice sheets are ever shifting, and work-

ing in them is dangerous, requiring thatproper precautions are taken. Standingon the ice sheets, it’s possible to hear themmoving beneath your feet. It sounds likedistant thunder, something that can beheard by searching for audio online.

A plane dropped off Andrea and hercompanions to explore a region faraway

Inside the shelter

Out on the “ice”


Minutes – October 4 & 11, 2012

17

from McMurdo. They set up camp andbegan work. The tents were primitive anddrafty. Drifts of snow blew in from theedges, and the only warm spot wasaround the kerosene stove in the center.At one point, they lost communicationwith the base. After 10 days of no com-munication, the rules required that some-one be sent to find them. No one came,figuring they were fine. Eventually, a planedid show to find a rather surly team.

The field research season ends in Feb-ruary with the approach of the Antarcticwinter. After months in the bleak, whitelandscape, Andrea’s senses were height-ened upon her return to Christchurch. Itbecame a ritual to visit the botanically gar-dens and enjoy the benefits of sharpenedawareness.

It is clear that Andrea cherished an un-usual college experience spent in the Ant-arctic. She was sur-rounded by intelligent,driven people withwhom she remains incontact. It was aboutdoing something dif-ferent, working hard,and sharing those ex-periences with her col-leagues. Andrea

Andrea with a banana sled

October 11, 2012Bob Zeman (#878)

Larry Schutte #1121 presided tonight.And today was Roy Roush’s 88th

birthday.Bernie Harris #1063 flew his single-

engine Cessna with the Airventurers toCottonwood Ranch in Arizona. Thegroup stayed at the Blazing M (not theMustang) Ranch and viewed a miniaturezoo.

Dave Finnern #1065 went scuba div-ing off of Redondo Beach. He was look-ing for the old red cars that were sunk inthe 1950s to form a reef. He found them,but they are not in good shape.

David Grober #1068 attended themulti-day Blue Water Film Festival

Jay Foonberg #1126 has reduced hisgoals. Instead of running a full marathonin all 50 states, he is going to run a halfmarathon in half of the states. His nextrun is in Savannah, Georgia.

Jim Heaton #1020 urged all to buytickets for NOHA.

Bob Zeman #878 also urged all to sub-mit articles for the Club News.

OSS 70th Anniversary Celebration ofOSS Water Team Combat Swimmers

Erick Simmel presided and told thestory of Bill Donovan who was

awarded the Medal of Honor in WorldWar I. He became a prominent attorneyin New York and in the 1930s he startedmeeting with swimmers and divers inpreparation for hostilities in the next war.

Donovan’s daughter came to Califor-nia and introduced her dentist Jack Tay-lor to her father in 1939. Jack Taylor wasone of the best southern California surf-ers and divers and a premier waterman.



(Minutes continued from page 17)Minutes – October 11

18

Guest Craig Lockwood then explainedthe skills needed to show mastery andbe given the title waterman. The adventof the Churchill fins and the first divemasks enabled watermen to dive andspearfish. They had to love the ocean andto exhibit grace under pressure.

Lord Mountbatten realized the needfor trained underwater swimmers andsent a British unit to train under Bob Buttsand the watermen.

Guest Master Chief Harold Dunniganis a former Santa Monica lifeguard whoknew and trained with many of thosewho became OSS operational swimmers.He later assisted the Navy’s UDT andSEAL programs.

Erick then told the story of Jack Tay-lor. He was captured in WWII and put

in a prison camp to be executed. Butthe Allied troops arrived. During theprosecutions of the war criminals, Hei-nrich Himmler would not release thenames of the cruel prison guards. But JackTaylor remembered names and thoseguards were sent to Nürnberg for trial.

The operational swimmers were re-cruited during WWII and sent to CampPendleton, Catalina Island, the Caribbe-an, and even south Pacific for training.But the war ended before a big opera-tion could beconducted.

Guest MarkHowell workedon a Los Ange-les fireboat formany years. Hedescribed theearly gear. Themask was hardto fit; the finswere made of tire rubber; coral bootswere needed to protect the feet; add tothat swim trunks and a knife.

Guest Dan Kintoff then introducedWalter Mess. Walter is ninety-nine yearsand ten months old. By 1937, Walter hadplayed professional football, spoke sev-eral languages, held law and businessdegrees, and a Coast guard “Ship’sMaster” rating. Four years prior to U. S.involvement in WWII, Mess was recruit-ed by Donovan’s private OI (Office ofIntelligence – the “Blackwater” of its day.)

In 1938, Mess was trained by the Brit-ish and then dropped into Czechoslo-vakia where he walked out to the Adri-atic with four teenagers for training inthe USA. Mess also set up interactionwith the British Station Chief and Tito.

OSS Jump Divers

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WW II OSS Operations

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A young Walter Mess

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In 1939, he was flown by the RAF intoPoland and brought out three moreyoung men.

In 1941, he was inducted into the Armyfor pre-OSS training.

Mess was sent to the Philippines on amission via submarine in 1942. Later inthe year he was in Morocco with the OSSto re-supply a team to bring more gold.They bought off the Vichy French toinsure the French would not shoot at U.S. troops then landing in OperationTorch.

He was sent to Anchorage to repair acracked hull on a “Liberty ship.” He thentook two OSS boats to Ceylon via Syd-ney and Calcutta.

In late 1943, he commenced ultra clas-sified operations in the Bay of Bengalagainst Japanese forces. He was senior

Mess’s hand-buit PT BoatPh

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flotilla officer for Maritime Unit opera-tions ferrying operational teams. He alsoreturned over 220 downed pilots andcrewmen.

In April 1944, he became the primaryboat operator for Dr. Christian Lambert-sen and swimmers for combat evalua-tion. Dr. Lambertsen was instrumentalin the development of combat rebreathersystems. He also performed special indi-vidual missions for the Viceroy of India,Lord Louis Mountbatten.

Walter Mess is hard of hearing and themeeting went long. But his memory ofmore than 100 secret operations is ex-cellent. After the war, he continued toaid in U. S. opera-tions in the interiorof Burma and Thai-land. He is a lastingpioneer for all mod-ern day Navy, CoastGuard, MarineCorps, and maritimelaw enforcement.

OSS MU Swimmer Trainees in 1944

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OSS MU Swimming Group 2

Photo Erick Simmel

Walter Mess

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Letters

LETTERS TO THE EDITORTo the Editor:

What a great proverb, particularly as appliedto the Club (sent to me by a former mem-ber):

Everyone can find fault, few can do better.(English Proverb)We owe a debt of gratitude to all who

step forward and give of their free time tothe Club. For whatever reason they do so, allthe members know we couldn’t function with-out those who “do” (= get the job done) –and we thank them!

At the same time, constructive criticism isthe way we all grow. Standing pat isn’t alwaysgrowth or forward progress.

For members outside the Los Angeles or-bit, the Club News is the common thread, theonly common contact for all members. It isgood to always realize how those outside ofLA “keep in contact” with us.

Dick Kyle lives in Northern Calif not thatfar from the Oregon border. I think the clos-est town is Weed. Dick’s dad was also a mem-ber of many years’ standing.

– Bob Aronoff (#837)Good advice for all of us. I was expecting to gethit with something, but Bob must have neglectedto include it! Bob forwarded a letter he receivedfrom Dick Kyle. That letter follows – Editor

To the Editor:Thanks so much for the photos of me and

the president and Bob Silver [said to BobAronoff]. It has been a long time since I spokethere and, of course, I never expected any-thing more. It was a pleasant surprise to re-ceive them. I’m certainly glad you figured outhow to download the Costco photos [refer-encing some trouble Bob had with emailingphotos].

Life in Weed California is not always tran-quil. Yesterday our dogs chased a young coy-ote into our pond after a growling snappingfight on the driveway. The coyote swam across

Thanks, Dick, for sharing with us through Bob.We always enjoy hearing from our more distantmembers. – Editor

Thanks for writing, Fred. Next time you are outhere, drop in for a visit. We’d love to see youagain! – Editor

Update to the Member Roster for Fred:

Fred Schilling (#1031)[Contact Editor orClub Secretary foraddidional information.]

To the Editor:I am in my 82nd year but apparently in pretty

good shape. I am still a practicing consultinggeologist in California (EG 2046), generallyby remote connection email reports back andforth. In the last year I did make it back to theL.A. area four times to look at properties.What fun that is: Throw your bag in the over-head, and go back and forth at a great rate.Recently I made a new start serving a client inthe San Francisco Bay area. So, exploration inthe heart still beats strongly.

– Fred Schilling (#1031)

and ran. Then in the evening acow escaped the pasture next to

us and was in our driveway. Afterwe chased the cow off the county road,

we finally got it back in the pasture closestto us. It bellowed all night. The next morn-

ing we came to find out its calf was trapped inthe next pasture over, and the two couldn'tget together. We called the cattle owner whorents the pasture, and he came out at 7 AMand finally reunited the pair

You fellows have had some outstandingprograms this year. I really enjoy reading thesummaries in the News. Sorry I haven’t beenable to attend..

– Dick Kyle (#899)


Programs / Slate of Officers – 2013

Forthcoming ProgramsNovember 1, 2012 – LADIES NIGHT – Chuck Jonkey – Exotic Sonic Safari

to Morocco & IndiaNovember 8, 2012 – Rick Flores – Cambodia – 2nd General Business MeetingNovember 15, 2012 – Alan Feldstein – Nambia: A New Part of AfricaNovember 22, 2012 – Club Dark – ThanksgivingNovember 29, 2012 – Fred Hareland – Mojave AirportDecember 6, 2012 – Chris Doering – LandOps AdventureDecember 13, 2012 – Kris Hermans – Emergency PreparednessDecember 20, 2012 – Annual Christmas Party – Members and Invited Male

GuestsDecember 27, 2012 – Club Dark – ChristmasJanuary 3, 2013 – Club Dark – New YearsJanuary 10, 2013 – Ed Stafford – Walking The Full Length Of The Amazon RiverJanuary 17, 2013 – John Ricci – Huaorani Indians ExpeditionJanuary 24, 2013 – Patricia Polcyn – Arizona Indian Ruins

Richard Flores – PresidentRalph Perez – 1st V.P. [Open] – 2nd V.P.Robert DeMott – SecretaryRoger Haft – TreasurerMike Gwaltney – DirectorJim Heaton – DirectorMartin Bloom – DirectorStuart B. Wilson – DirectorBob Silver – DirectorJeff Holmes – DirectorMarc Weitz – Past President

Slate of Officers for 2013

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