Worrall Wind Update - Exploring Huahine

Taking Care of Business and Exploring Huahine, Society Islands

Sunday, July 25, 2010 - On the Hook and Why is the water pump on?

After our crossing from Moorea, we arrived in Fare Bay in Huahine, dropped the hook, did some cleanup and spent the afternoon and early evening just relaxing and napping. When it was time for bed, I took first shower. The shower sump pump worked fine, but I couldn't hear the volume of water exiting the boat that I should have. Finally, I heard the water being pumped out of the boat and enjoyed the hot water shower. After my shower the water pump came on and didn't seem to go off. I brought the matter to Russ's attention. Are slow start to shower sump pump and fresh water pump not turning off unrelated or related? It's late. We decide to turn off the fresh water pump and sleep on it. We were planning on renting a car in the morning, but looks like we have some maintenance work to do instead.

Monday, July 26, 2010 - Fixing things and Grocery Store Adventure
We get up early in the morning, after a night of howling winds and us checking the anchor alarm frequently. We held tight. Russ starts to sleuth down the water pump problem.

Good news: We have an extra pump, if the pump is the problem.

Bad news: Our dry bilge has several gallons of unaccounted for water.

Good news: It's not sea water. Bad news: Shower sump overflowed once again. Not sure why, maybe it lost its prime during the rolling seas.  Russ cleans out the bilge. But there is more water in the bilge than could possibly have come from the shower sump overflow.

Good news: Water pump is working. Good pressure at the pump.

Bad news: There is not enough pressure building to fill the hoses. There is a leak somewhere.

Good news: There is no leak forward of the pump.

Bad news: That means the leak is behind the pump (engine room, aft head or shower).

Good news: Russ finds the leak in the aft head cupboard. A T-joint stressed out during our rocking and rolling. My shower blew it off the hose. Russ has the right replacement. We are fixed and just need to dry out by 11:00 a.m.

Moral of the story: Turn off the fresh water pump at night and when we leave the boat. (Fortunately, we were onboard when the fixture broke and we could hear the water pump on. Had we not been on board, the water pump would have continued pumping all of the water (250 gallons) out of water tank into the bilge. Hopefully, the bilge pump would have pumped it overboard as soon fast as it was being pumped into the bilge or we could have had major problems with flooding on the boat.) So many lessons to learn.

We still are having problems connecting our WIFI system to local provider. Seems to have gone haywire after Russ fixed the gooseneck on the mast….hmmmm. More later on that. We had done enough fixing for the day and went ashore to walk around.


 Grocery Store Adventure

The cruising guide said there was a fabulous grocery store on this little island. It was not an exaggeration. Actually, the variety of merchandise was amazing rivaling the biggest Carrefour (similar to Walmart) in Papeete. We even found things here we couldn't find in Papeete or Mexico……Denty Moore Stew, Chilie Con Carne, etc. Who would have evers thought we could get so excited about these little things!

We also found some powdered yogurt mix call Eaziyo from New Zealand. Of course, I had to buy a few packages.After our exciting grocery store adventure, we met up with friends on The ROAD, for happy hour, then returned from the dingy dock on shore to the boat for some chilie con carne.

Dinghy Dock in Fare

Russ could hardly wait. I made up a batch of vanilla yogurt and could hardly wait for 8 hours while it thickened.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010 - Rain  Forest Walk

The vanilla yogurt was delicious! I'm going back for some more of those packages before we leave here. We took a lovely walk with friends from The Road into the rainforest today just outside of town. And of course, it rained while we were there, but the canopy was so thick, we could hardly feel the rain, only the secondary drips as the rain slid off the leaves to the forest floor. The variety and beauty of the vegetation here in Polynesia is incredible. Here are some photos of our rainforest exploration.

Shirely, Taffy from SV The ROAD, and Russ

After our morning walk, we returned to the boat. Russ started sleuthing out the problem for the WIFI problem. Basically, the router was working fine, but the "bullet" that picks up the signal from the antenna didn't seem to be working. Next step is to investigate the wires in the mast. Did Russ nick or pin them when he was repairing the gooseneck?

We decided he had done enough work for one day, so we spent the rest of the afternoon snorkeling in a nearby reef and getting our exercise by swimming from the reef back to the boat towing the dinghy behind us, just like Jack LaLane swimming from Alcatraz towing a rowboat with the line in his teeth……well not quite, but it still brought that image to mind.

We are renting a car tomorrow with Shirley and Taffy on The ROAD. This cruising couple is from South Africa. They have been cruising for ten years. We met them and their crew member,Collin a fellow countryman , and their very intelligent parrot Rubbish while we were moored in Tahiti. The ROAD stands for the Royal Order of the Ancient Druid. Taffy claims to be the ancient druid and is the head of the royal order.


Wednesday, July 18, 2010 - Island Tour

We got an early start with Taffy and Shirley for the rental car agency on Wednesday morning, but got there later than we intended because there was quite a bit going on in town. We could hear the Tahitian drumming coming from the pier.

A dozen women dressed in their Polynesian finery with headdresses and arms filled with fragrant leis were waiting for the approaching cruise ship, the Tahiti Nui.

La Head Director

Passengers disembarked and were greeted with leis and the two cheek kisses. Turns out that the passengers on this boat were primarily the international bicycle teams participating in the Polynesian Bicycle Race. Each day, the cyclists ride around the different islands. We were to see them later in the day on our car tour around the island.  This was a fun way to start our day!

Highlights of our tour around the island were:

Maeva - is an excavated archeological site of ancient Marae (Island Royalty, Religious site). On Huahine, the various chiefs from around the island had all of their ceremonial homes and religious sites in one place instead of sprinkled around the islands near their own villages. It's an unusual practice, but makes for an impressive excavation and archeological place of interest. We wondered through the sites for about an hour. Ancient fish traps are still in use today outside of the town.

Ancient Terraced Gardens and Foundations

Shallow rooted palm trees lean into the wind

Fish Traps Still in Use Today

Coral City - On the end of a peninsula on the west side of the island near the now defunct Sofitel hotel, we went for a snorkel. A local woman, Michele, suggested that we not wear our fins, but sandals into the water. She pointed out to what looked like a kilometer away to the reef and asked if we could see the exposed coral reefs sticking out of the water. We could. She said we could wade out to them and because of the current, it would be better for us to keep our feet on the ground so we didn't drift south.

Had Michele not suggested that we go out to the rocks, we would never have ventured that far from shore on our own. It was truly spectacular to see the variety of fish, coral, anemones, sea cucumbers, clams, and spiney urchins in the crystal clear water. After our snorkel we got back in the car and continued on our tour.


Blue-eyed Eels - Just before crossing the bridge that joins Huahine Nui to Huahine Iti, we came to a little village with a fresh water stream that was nearly dry. Purportedly, on the downriver side of the bridge that crosses the stream, there live some blue-eyed eels that are revered on Huahine. By the looks of the very little amount of water in the stream, we wondered if the eels were still alive and about.

To our amazement they were. A tour group came through and had a bucket of meats that they started to through out to the eels. Thee eels, many four feet long, sucked in the meat like slimey vaccuum cleaners. The tour guide was sure to keep her fingers out of the way. When the eels got close, she and her tour would pet them. We were happy to stand on shore and watch the whole experience. And yes the eels do have blue eyes.

Tour de Polynesia - If you have ever seen bicyclists racing, you know how fast the experience whizzes by. When we stopped at a high overlook on Huahine Iti, we were the only car on the overlook.

Within minutes the overlook parking area filled with cars and people. The cyclists were coming up the hill and we had front row seats. Fortunately because they were huffing and grinding up hill, we got a bit more time to watch them before they crested and disappered in a flash on the downhill side. It was very exciting.

Here They Come!

Rah! Rah!

And,  There They Go!

Vanilla Plantation - On the eastern side of Huahine Iti, we stopped at a vanilla plantation. The owner showed us his crops and how the vanilla bean is grown. He only spoke French so we just got a little information from him.  We will have to learn more.   And of course, we each had to buy some fresh vanilla beans.

Vanilla Vines in Screened Greenhouse

We returned to Fare, dropped off our car, and proceeded to happy hour. We had had a wonderful day. Our friends Gene and Gloria on Pincoya had come into the bay and joined us for happy hour.

Thursday, July 29, 2010
Last night, the Tahiti Nui, loaded with all of the cyclists disappeared out the reef while we slept. We decided to stay close to the boat and relax today. Tomorrow, we plan to cross the channel to Raietea and Taaha, about 20 miles away.

In the meantime, Russ is still sleuthing down the problem of our WIFI. It turns out that he didn't pin the wire inside the mast while fixing the gooseneck, but he had nicked it breaking one of the wires inside the casing. He soldered it together and is now seeing if that will be enough to solve the problem. We hope so since direct connect to the Internet is painfully slow.

This afternoon, we will make one last trip to the grocery store and maybe do one more snorkel adventure.

Huahine is not to be missed.  We have had a great time here.

All is well on Worrall Wind.

Worrall Wind Update July 24-25, 2010 Huahine Bound

Arriving in Huahine, end of the rainbow, after another white knuckle adventure.

UTC/Local Time: 2000/1000 July 25
Latitude: 16 51.210 S
Longitude:151.05.117 @
Course Over Ground: 314
Wind Direction: East, South East 18-25 knots of wind
Sea Swell: 10 feet East
Starboard tack, beam reach
Sky: partially cloudy
Barometric Pressure: 1019

Update:

July 24 - 7:30 p.m.

We are currently at sea sailing between Moorea and Huahine. We have traveled 20 of the 80 miles to our first outside mark which according to our sailing calculator we should reach around 7:30 a.m. tomorrow morning. We have a stiff breeze of 18-25 knots of wind on our starboard stern quarter, broad reach. The sea swells are 9-10 feet, coming more towards our beam. The boat is rocking from side to side, and every few minutes a set of rollers pass under the boat heeling us to port where we are taking some water over the bottom rail. Our hydrovane (Hydie), windvane steering system is working well.

We have less than 50 percent of the jib out, and a triple reefed main, no mizzen because of our almost downwind sail. Even with the sails reefed, not only for comfort, but because we are trying to keep our speed down to 5 knots, we are coursing along between 5.5 and 6 knots. We are moving well, although the rocking is a bit uncomfortable...so what else is new? After having been in port and on land, this is our first overnight passage in 2 months, and just the two of us again. We were both a bit anxious with nervous energy. That always seems to be the way of things after having stayed in one place for so long. The sail to Moorea on Friday was a nice warm-up.

Moorea had a beautiful moonrise last night and clear skies this morning.

I have first watch this evening. It's pretty early for Russ to be sleeping, but he is trying. We didn't sleep too well last night because there were some party boats in the bay last night playing music and talking loudly until 2:00 or so in the morning. Also our anchor alarm went off a few times. When we got up this morning it appeared that our anchor had drug a little, getting us a little to cozy with Pincoya, so we pulled up the anchor and repositioned ourselves for the day. It was a good thing because the wind really piped up by 10:00 a.m. and we were firmly anchored.

Our sea life entertainment today included flying fish, a pod of 4 dolphins swimming through the anchorage, and a white spotted ray jumping about 4 feet out of the water within 10 feet of the boat. Went ashore to find a geocache, but unfortunately we did not find it, not for the lack of trying though. I think the cache was gone. The last cache seeker also could not find it on July 9, according to the online log.

Dragon of the West & Out the Golden Gate and Hang A Left Travel Bugs outside the geocache that had disappeared.

Too Bad!  But they got a nice view from the beach of Worrall Wind.

July 25 - 12:30 a.m.
 The wind and waves have gotten progressively stronger. Some of the rollers are moving incredibly fast, one right after another, mounting up to be super sized and breaking as they roll past, under us, in front of us, or worse from the side. One of the large rollers that hit us from the side popped open the v-berth door and it slammed back against the galley wall making such a racket that it woke Russ about a half hour before I would have awakened him.

We discuss our progress. Even though the seas are rough we're doing fine, but about 4 miles to the right of our course line. I've been having to hand steer the last two hours because of the shifting winds and the rolling seas that keep taking us off our wind line and Hydie is having difficulty recovering. We need to tack, but for right now, we'll stay the course we are on. The moon is still out, but there are more clouds coming up behind us.

1:00-3:00 a.m.
I'm sleeping downstairs in the main salon trying to keep from rolling from side to side with pillows squished behind my knees and back and in front of me. Russ holds the course for two hours then the wind really starts to pickup and shift around. Yes, you guessed. A big honking squall is on our port quarter and starting to obscure the moon. The boat is rocking wildly and we are recording gusts of 40 knots, 30 being the sustained winds. Sure glad we are triple reefed. Even with that we are now moving at almost 8 knots and the waves are well over ten feet, and we are rocking toe rail to toe trail with water coming over both sides and streaming down the deck. By this time, I am up with PFD, gloves, shoes, and long pants.

3:00-3:30 a.m.
We don't like it. There is no end in sight of the black squall line behind us. It's scary as hell, but we're dry inside and the boat is taking it like a champ, even if we are white knuckled. Hydie is needing constant help now.

3:30-5:00 a.m.
 During a lull of 25 knots, (ha ha, seems like it is hardly windy), we clip in and go outside on the fantail (back deck) and take over steering from there. I go out first and secure the upper helm. Russ follows. We sit for a few minutes getting a read on the situation. We have a cruise liner, the Paul Gauguin, coming up on our rear. He should be crossing behind us less than 4 miles. Russ calls him on the radio and he sees us on the radar. We pull in the jib and see if we can get a bit more on course as we keep rounding up pulling us farther off course. This helps a bit, but it slows our speed down considerably and in the end slows us too much for us to either gybe or come about, which we need to do. So we rest a little as the wind howls around us, and we basically fore reach (into the swell and close to the wind).

We wait for the wind to subside. It doesn't. Paul Gauguin passes behind us. The black squall line is still there with no light coming from the horizon It's a dry squall, only a few rain drops. We decide to turn the motor on and power around. It take Russ a few minutes to go in the engine room and open the thru hulls. The engine comes to life...such a reassuring sound. We power the boat through a gybe, put the engine in neutral, reset the jib, and adjust the windvane. At last we are moving back to our course line.
The wind and seas are now consistently on a broad reach on a port tack. Eventually we will need to gybe again.

5:00-7:00 a.m.
I go back to bed. The boat courses along at 5-6 knots, wind around 25. At 7:30 we gybe again. The seas and wind are still strong, but it always look better in the daylight and the sun scares away the squalls. We can see Huahine in the distance.

10:00 a.m.
We are within a few miles now of Huahine and our outside mark. We are looking forward to a quiet anchorage on the lee side of the island and a little rest. It's been an exhilarating ride. I need to post this while still in open waters as I don't know what the radio signal will be once we are in the Bay.

12:30 p.m.
I am unable to send the log at 10:00, so I postpone until I have an Internet connection in port.  We are now at anchor in Huahine.  There is a large mountain at the base of the  bay creating clouds and winds.  Because we are behind the reef, there is no swell, but the winds here are pretty stiff.  We don't care, we drop the hook.  We're done for the day.

All is well on Worrall Wind.

Worrall Wind Update - On the move again July 24, 2010

UTC/Local Time: 2000/10:00 a.m.
Latitude: 17 29.448 S

Longitude: 149 51.093 W

Update:

We left Tahiti yesterday, July 23, 2010, one week after we returned from the states. During that week, we finished up a lot of fix-it projects. We stained and mounted our new spice and wine glass racks, installed replacement parts for the refrigerator, installed the new lid for the freezer, installed the repaired autopilot computer, fixed the gooseneck,

                                                             Gooseneck on the Mast

 made new pillow covers and table cloths from some Tahitian fabric, scraped the waterline of sea gunk, washed down the boat, provisioned, stowed stuff for passage, and refueled.
We load about 200 gallons of diesel into the tanks

                                                                  Russ getting fuel

and 30 gallons of gasoline in our jerry cans, about $600 US, as we left yesterday. Gene and Gloria on Pincoya were right in front of us on the fuel dock headed to Moorea as well. We said a sad farewell to Betty and Herb on SV Sula. Their boat has had transmission/V drive problems since leaving Mexico. They have been in Papeete nearly 8 weeks. The mechanics might be able to do a temporary fix by tooling a part to keep the oil from mixing, but the real problem is the incompatibility of the two components. They are ultimately going to have to have V drive or both replaced in New Zealand or big boat yard. In the meantime their visa is going to run out here in a couple of weeks. It's a sour pickle. Wish we could have brought the parts back to them from the states when we were there.


Our sail to Moorea was wonderful. We left the Papeete channel at 1:30 and arrived in Oponohu at 4:30. When we left Tahiti we had some large waves, but not a lot of wind. Eventually, the wind kicked up to 8 knots then 15, then 20+, and Worrall Wind was coursing over ground at 7-8 knots. The swell was 6-8 feet from the stern quarter. It was nice to be on the move again, but oh how quickly we forget how everything is in motion while we are sailing. We'll have to get our sea legs back again. We arrived and anchored to Pincoya, enjoying an evening with Gene and Gloria.

                                                                 Pincoya at Sunset

Today, we plan to snorkel, find a geocache on the beach, rest, and leave for Huahine around 4:00 this afternoon. It's 90 miles to the harbor. It will take us 18 hours at 5 knots, 15 hours at 6 knots, and 13 hours at 7 knots. The wind forecast is for winds 15 plus knots. By leaving in the afternoon, we will get there sometime tomorrow morning. If the winds are really fast, we'll slow the boat down or heave too outside the harbor if it is still dark. We should have almost a full moon tonight. We'll turn Worrall Wind Spot on so if you are interested in tracking us you can. Hopefully Spot is working.

All is well on Worrall Wind.

Wedding, Tattoo and Birthdays! Now Back in Tahiti.

         Grandpa Archie, Grandma LaVerne, Russ, Roz, Neal, Abby,  Jessica,  and Garyn


Back in Tahiti

After three action-packed weeks in California, we are back in Tahiti to resume our South Pacific and world adventure.  Worrall Wind waited patiently for our return and with the exception of harbor grime, she is in good shape.  We expect to start our regular reports once we are underway and have something other than the daily chores and fix it projects to share.   Maybe next week.   Visits home are always bitter sweet.  It's always hard to say good-bye and to miss seeing folks we just couldn't connect with.  Thank you all for such a wonderful visit. 

Wedding
The primary reason we returned to California was for our daughter Abby's wedding.  She married Neal Young on July 3, up at the ShinneyBoo Resort, near Eagle Lakes trail head on Donner Summit.  The wedding was a four day family and friend celebration.  It just couldn't have been better.  We all had a great time, and we are delighted to have Neal as our son-in-law and his familoy as ours.  Here are some wedding highlights!

Abby and Katie Rehearsal - best friends "sisters" from babyhood.

          



Brother Mike, Dad Ken, and Groom Neal getting ready       

 Katie sharing her wedding necklace with Abby.  It was a gift from her mom Cathy who died two years ago.  Cathy was Abby's second mom and this was a touching and poignant moment.

                                  Neal's Mom Henny dusting Abby with glittering fairy dust.

                                                           Grandma Vernie and Abby

                                  Abby pinning corsage on Neal's Grandma OMA from Holland

 

                                    Abby and Noodles the Flower Girl

      Abby and her proud Dad, Russ, coming down the aisle to Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

                               Abby and Neal's vows were beautiful.  Friend Eric officiating.

                                            Whoo Hoo!

                                          Radiance, Love, Joy

 

                         Abby and Neal gently fed each other.  No cake in the face.  

                                                      Chocolate brownies & ice cream.

Birthdays and Tattoos

We also celebrated birthdays while at ShinneyBoo, both our son Garyn's and mine.  Garyn was born on my 29th birthday.  He has always been my best birthday gift, but this year I got a close second.  Here's a little poem to commemorate my 62nd birthday and the gift we gave ourselves before returning stateside.

Happy Birthday to me.
I get Social Security.

What else do you do at 62?
I sailed to Tahiti,
swam with the rays,
and got a tattoo!

 And yes, it hurt!

WhooHoo!  Russ got one too!

Be happy.  Stay well.  Hope to see you along the way or when we return.

All is well on Worrall Wind.

June 21, 2010 - Papeete, Tahiti – Enjoying Life, Even When It Rains!

Latitude:        17 32.407 S

Longitude:  149 34.247 W

Garyn and Jessica were able to secure a flight out of Tahiti on Tuesday evening, June 15.  That was good news for all of us.  It meant they could get home and that we would be able to fly home for Abby and Neal’s wedding the following week.

I don’t know exactly where the time has gone since I have not been writing daily logs, but we have been consumed with little projects, reading books, and visiting with friends we have met along the way.  On Thursday, June 17, we started to prepare the boat for the Puddle Jump Reunion/Moorea to Tahiti Rendezvous.  After only a week in port, we needed to take down sunshades, restow stuff we had taken out that works well at the dock, but not at sea, pay our bill at the marina, provision for the weekend, etc.

Each year for the past five years the Bureau of Tourism in Tahiti along with other sponsors like Latitude 38 put on a rendezvous for the cruisers that have been either officially or unofficically crusing the Pacific to Tahiti.  The festivities on the dock begin as soon as the boats start filling up the marina.  Radio voices that kept us company and provided us with advice while sailing the sea materialize in human form on boats whose names have become familiar….

                                                             Trim  (Ken and Lori)

                                                            Sula (Betty and Herb)

                                                       Freezing Rain (Marie and Don),

Windryder, Furthur, Sea Level, Puppy, Mulan, Fly Aweigh, Whosh, Endless Summer, Acapella.  Some of the folks we had already met, but many we had only heard and had yet to meet.  First meetings were more like reunions. “Ah yes!  We’ve talked with you on the radio.  We’re Worrall Wind.”  Everyone knows your boat, but not your person. 

The official party began with a cocktail party at City Hall in Papeete on Friday evening.  We were met at our gate dock by Tahitian Ukulele players who also turned out to be traffic controllers in traditional Tahitian dress.  Once the cruisers were assembled, we paraded to City Hall, blocking traffic in the streets as we did so.  There may have been 200 or more of us ranging in age from 2 – 80, dressed as fine as each could muster.

The party which was originally planned for the garden had been moved indoors as it

was sprinkling.  As we entered city hall we were welcomed by city officials and presented with fragarant leis to wear around our necks.  We were treated to beer, punch, wine, hors d’ouerves, Tahitian music and dance,

and a skipper’s blessing for the regatta the following day.   After a wonderful evening, we returned to the boat for an early turn in.  Ken and Lori on Trim were going to join us at 6:00 the following morning and sail to Moorea with us. 

The official regatta didn’t start until 9:30, but we wanted to get an early start and find a good anchorage and not have to jostle for position with 70 other boats in deeper water between the reefs.

Before going to bed, like the good skippers we are, we pulled up the weather forecast and grib files.  GULP!  It didn’t look promising. There was a big black smudge over the islands with wind barbs all around with 40 knots of wind.   We would check again in them morning.  It was a restless night for both of us.  Ken and Lori showed up at 6:00 a.m. on Saturday morning.  We shared the weather information with them and several others on the dock.  By 7:00, Sula, Freezing Rain, Trim and Worrall Wind, all having had enough excitement on the passage to Tahiti, decided that predicted winds of 28 knots gusting to 40, 4 meter (12 feet) seas, rain, lightening, thunder, and squalls  and 70 boats anchored closely together through the weekend, just didn’t look promising…..and usually the gribs and weather reports are understated!  

It was still pretty pleasant on Saturday morning as the other boats with all their flags flying high, left the marina and we stayed put.  Staying was sooooo difficult because we had looked forward to the festivities, but we were trying to exercise some lessons learned from being overly optimistic about weather forecasts and dragging anchor in heavy winds.  We watched as the boats left the harbor and while disappointed believed we had made the wise choice to stay behind.  We had already paid for our meals at the Rendezvous and had decided that if the weather didn’t materialize as predicted, we would take a ferry over the next day, rent a car and join the fun.

As the day progressed, we listened to boats on the radio reporting consistent winds of 30 knots and big seas.  We could only guess what was going on in the anchorage because we could not hear the boats tucked in the bay.  We had a relaxing day on the boat planning our calendar for the next couple of months and still debating whether to go New Zealand or Fiji for the cyclone season.  A couple of boats on the dock next to us that had also stayed behind organized a dock party bar-b-que which we all attended.  There were about 20 of us  on the dock gazing out over Moorea which was totally shrouded in dark clouds, happy with our decision to stay in the marina where the water was like glass.  The rain started about midnight in Papeete. 

We got up at 6:30 a.m. on Sunday and could barely see Moorea through the rain clouds.  Nevertheless, the rain had lightened over Papeete, and we decided to take the ferry over anyway.

Herb and Betty on Sula, Don and Marie on Freezing Rain, Lori and Ken on Trim, and we on Worrall Wind, made our way to Moorea across the channel.  It didn’t seem particularly windy while crossing the channel, but the seas were big and close together.   The express ferry had only one of its two engines operating due to some mechanical problems, so the 30 minute ride dragged into 2 hours across the rolling seas.

By the time we rented our cars (four to a car), and drove to the party it was 11:00 a.m.  Tents had been set up so that people could get out of the rain.  When we arrived it was overcast and fairly calm.

There were lots of boats tightly anchored off shore and the beach was filled with slightly soggy cruisers with more clothes on than we had seen in a long time.

Winds had blown throughout the night and some boats had drug their anchors and had some problems, but nothing serious other than a few boats dragging and re-anchoring.

It wasn’t too late to sign up for the outrigger canoe races, so Russ signed up with a group called the Random Paddlers. 

He had been looking forward to this event.  Ken and Lori took the car to the store to pick up some beverages and snacks.  The luau type lunch was still a ways off and we were all getting a little hungry.  They returned with some soft drinks and no snacks….Lori said they had gotten wine, beer, and snacks, but because it was Sunday, the store would only let them leave with soft drinks.

The missionary/religious  influence in FP is still very strong.   Reminded us of when we were in Virginia in the early 70’s and the old blue laws were still in effect.  You could go into a large market but could only buy necessities.  Depending who was at the cash register seemed to determine what was necessary and what was not…really and infringement of civil liberty imposed by religion.

We enjoyed mingling with fellow cruisers, listening to music, watching the canoe races, learning how to make palm frond hats,

 husking coconuts,

 and tattoo art.




Russ and his fellow paddlers, one of whom we knew, Ed from Acapella (front seat), finished their heat in third place, but not good enough for the finals.  Nevertheless, Russ was exuberant that they finished “dry”.

Several of the outrigger canoes flipped dumping all of the paddlers in the water.  I guess they are not as stable as they look.

By the time lunch was served, it was poring rain and the wind was blowing.  Not having had any munchies, we were starving.  Everyone was huddling under the open air tents trying to stay warm and dry. 

The traditional Tahitian lunch included vegetables of tarot root, poi, pumpkin poi, and breadfruit, and some mixed dishes of pork and spinach, beef, fish, and raw fish.  We tried a little bit of everything.  It’s a good thing we had eaten breadfruit before because honestly the breadfruit was horrible tasting the way it was prepared for this lunch.  The tarot and poi was also something we left in clumps on our plates.  It was hard to know whether it always tasted so bad or whether it was prepared poorly.  I suspect the latter although it could be a little of both.

The dishes with meat and fish were pretty tasty.  The pineapple was delicious.  We ate our wet and gooey meal with our fingers which is the traditional Tahitian way of eating and because no utensils were offered.  There were quite a few plates with leftover things folks cared not to eat.  It turned out to be a fairly light and expensive lunch ($35.00 each).

After lunch, there were still the paddle finals, banana carrying, tug o war, and rock throwing contests, but it was difficult to muster up enthusiasm  in the deluge for these activities from our little group.  By 2:00 p.m. we were soggy and cold enough to call it a day. 

We got in our chariots, took in some sights and drove around the island.  The wind and surf were picking up.  We stopped at a little beach restaurant for some liquid refreshment that we had eaten lunch in two weeks before with Garyn and Jessica.  On that day, it was so warm and sunny we sat in the shade indoors and gazed out over beautiful blue green water. 

On this day, the flimsy doors were “kind of closed” gapping and flapping as the strong wind whipped through, driving the rain and palm trees sideways.  We were glad to be inside the reef as we watched the raging ocean pounding on the reef and then smoothing out before the water came on shore.

We were also glad we could enjoy a beer together and not worry about our boats dragging anchor or having to head back to the mainland in our boats.

We arrived at the ferry dock about 4:30 to find the ferry office closed with a note in the window saying that our 5:30 express ferry back to Tahiti had been cancelled because of mechanical difficulties. Great!  Now what? 

Fortunately, the slower and bigger, 5:00 car ferry was still going (and would delay until 5:30), and we could get on that with our roundtrip ticket.   While we waited for the car ferry, we visited a little restaurant for cheeseburgers, pizza, fries, and ice cream.  We were all pretty hungry.  We also enjoyed a beautifully lit sky at sunset. 

The large ferry pounded for over an hour across the channel in the dark.  Plumes of ocean spray off of large seas flew up and over the second story windows where we were seated.  We were glad this was a bigger boat than the express boat that had been cancelled, but were still checking out where the life vests were stored.  It was a rollicking ride.  We arrived safely about 7:30 in Papeete with still enough time for more food at the caravans by the yacht docks.

We were glad we had left our boats behind, glad we had not missed the activities, excited that we had had a little different experience from the rest of cruisers, and very happy to return to calm waters and no wind where our boats were safely at rest in Papeete.

Russ and I are now preparing for our return to California where we hope to see famly and friends.  We will be returning to the South Pacific later in July to continue on to Raiatea, Tahaa, Bora Bora, Suwarruw, Samoa, and Tonga.

All is well on Worrall Wind.

Garyn and Jess on their way to San Francisco

Garyn and Jess were successful in leaving Tahiti last night at 11:45 p.m.  It took Garyn two trips to the airport as he discovered he had Russ's passport the first time around and not his own.  We miss them already.  It was fun having them aboard.