Tahaa -

The wind is here!

So after the crossing from Huahine we saw one of our buddy boats, Albion, and decided to tie to the city dock.  When we tied up, there was about 15 knots blowing us onto the dock, but as the evening wore on, the wind increased to 20 to 25 knots, and we were pinned to the dock.  Our fenders were squished flat and it was a sleepless night!

The morning looked no better, and the weather forecast showed no improvement for the next 4 days.  We had to leave.  We first tried pulling the bow of the boat off the dock with the dingy.  But no!  Finally we put the dingy between the hulls and used it like a tug, which worked great.  So with the motor from the boat powering the stern off the dock, and the dingy powering the bow off, we were able to get the boat off the dock and then pointed into the wind. It worked perfect!!!

Now we are over at the coral gardens of Tahaa, enjoying drift dives over the coral. As we were drifting a Moray eel came out to see if we had brought a treat for him.  He was about 6 feet!  I had some bread, and tried to feed him, but the little fishes would just eat it.  Earlier today I had checked if the local 'sacred' fresh water eels would bite, and actually lost a chunk of my ring finger!  Weird!  Oh, and Wolfie, (now called Woofie) said that was the first time he dove with something bigger then himself.  Just wait for the sharks and Mantas of Bora Bora!!!

Until next time!!

Courage

At The Island of Huahine

Hello, we are doing well here in Huahine.  It's been gorgeous with scattered rain showers.

We set up our volleyball net in south Huahine and played many, many games with our friends on Paje as well as more often than not, we were joined by locals.  We had some fun games, and there was a big grassy field for the kids to play.

It was a total surprise, but our friend Paul from the motu on the other side of the island came over in his outrigger.  I don't think he knew we were there; he was just out to visit with boats.  Maybe there were no boats on his side??  And he really seems to enjoy the company of other people.  He brought a book to sign.  We gave him a gift of a headlamp, fed him some lasagna for lunch, and then went to play.  He took our paddleboard out for a run while we took turns on his outrigger for spins.  It was great!  Wolfie got to try it, then Cassidy.  Both did great, I took some pictures, then Cassidy went to the front of our boat for a spin and I saw the bottom of the outrigger, I have no idea what happened there, but of course I went to get pictures as she recovered!!  I went for a spin and flipped just as I was getting into it from the dinghy.  Smooth after that.  Then we all went to shore for a game of volleyball.

This morning, Wolfie and I went for a snorkel after he helped Courage with some tasks replacing the pulley on the top of the main, etc.  We saw a bunch of stuff, and then had a nice time playing onshore while the kids swam.

We came up to the top of Huahine, to the town of Fare during lunchtime.  Kids went to the beach with Courage while I made pearl necklaces, a bracelet and even a pair of earrings, as well as made dinner.  After dinner we went to the dinghy dock, a short walk from there is a store with ice cream!!  So we got ice cream for dessert!!  A rare treat when you don't have a freezer!

We came home, read a story, and then watched an episode of Wipeout.  We enjoy those as a wind down in the evening.

So, we are doing well here.  Going to bed.  In the next day or two, we are going to make our run across to Raiatea where we were docked at the public wharf for a few days last visit.  It's only 20 miles, but there were predicted big winds tomorrow afternoon.  Each prediction thereafter seems to be less and less, so we shall see, but it's a short jump and will be weather dependent.

Loving having our marine radio back in action.  Looking forward to a good night's sleep!

Shannon

Back to Honeymoon Beach

After a pleasant time in Tahiti it was time to start working our way west again.  We left early in the afternoon, with almost no wind. We motor-sailed for a while, and then sailed for a few hours, before the wind died again. Around Midnight we got a nice squall of a little over 20 knots. Our speed increased to around 10 knots and we were enjoying some night sailing when I heard the dreaded sound of a small piece of metal hitting the deck. The biggest fear is that it is one of the tiny pins that attach the shrouds to the mast.  I was unable to find where the piece of metal came from.

Then came the pounding on the cockpit roof! A quick inspection and it became clear that we had lost the pin that holds up half the lazy jack system.  Half the sail-cover and the lazy jack system were flapping in the breeze.  We hooked up a spare halyard to the lazy jack and were able to Mickey-Mouse it back together again.

Now we are back at Honeymoon beach enjoying volleyball with our friends from Paje, and some of the locals.

We are having a great time here!!

Courage

Back to Tahiti

We are in Tahiti and the trip back was surprisingly good considering it's usually upwind.  We (Courage) picked our weather, motored in the calm, and then actually sailed about half of the way home.  We got a lot done on the boat today, putting things away, cleaning up, setting up the bedrooms, getting things we've pulled out back into the bilges, etc.  Courage also set up 3 swings for the kids on the deck, so they played happily most of the day.  Valiant is in a baby swing, but he clears the lifelines on either side.  We made the port forepeak into a cushioned kids’ play area instead of a storage area.  All storage stuff went into bilges or under the cockpit deck.  It's much nicer to have usable floor space and different living spaces for a change of scenery or quiet time or whatever.  We're a little spoiled that way, but loving it and appreciating it!

Since we haven't really finished the interior, so the walls are rough, the paint isn't finished, you can see the imperfections, I'm decorating the walls with stickers and things to make it more "personal" or "homey" much to my husband's dismay.  They don't add much weight and I like them.  The women who come to the boat usually love them and how it feels like a home, not just a plastic boat.  The men usually don't comment.

A little motorboat pulled up next to us and grabbed a mooring buoy (or we assume it was, although it is red and most of the moorings in this anchorage are white).  They took some pictures of the kids swinging, had some drinks, and went to lie out on their deck.  I went down to work, when I came back up, they were well behind us, still with the red buoy tied to their front.  I watched for a while, but it's such a small boat that they were up on deck, they couldn't all go inside to do things if they wanted to, so I figured they knew they were on the move.  So, I went back down and did more work. When I came back up, they were gone.  Now I'm not so surprised that the little motorboat got bored and left, but where's that red buoy that was here that they tied up to?  I can't see it anywhere.  I looked down current where they had been dragging, no signs of them or the buoy in the anchorage.  I guess that shall remain a mystery.  Just a reminder, if you didn't set it down, you have no idea what's holding you.

I also got some fresh foods that we haven't had in a long time.  The kids were so excited.  Grapes were on sale, so we got some.  Then we splurged and spent $7 (actually close to $8 with the conversion, ouch) on 450 kg of strawberries.  They were sooo goood.  We had them for lunch dipped in chocolate syrup.  The kids loved them!  We got a good price on mangoes from the Marquesas (and bananas, but those have been a staple for us).  Also, the tangerines weren't a great price, but not terrible, I think $4.60/kg, so we got some.  Haven't had a lot of citrus other than limes, so we love those too.  And pineapples are surprisingly hard to come by for some reason.  Only in Tahiti, haven't seen them on any other island, although they grow them in Moorea, I can't figure out where or how to buy any.  We got a bundle of them here and they are sooo sweet.  Very nice!  Thinking of getting some extra and trying to can them.  They rarely had cans of pineapples in Panama, so I have only 1 can left that I've been holding onto, but we love it with teriyaki chicken and on our BBQ chicken pizzas, as well as plain for a treat, etc.  So, if we could have more, we'd love it.

We haven't watched Finding Nemo since we've been on the boat I think.  Valiant LOVED it.  He was talking about it much of the movie - shark, fish, turtle, boat, etc.  It was right up his alley!

Looking forward to two teens on the boat in a couple of days!  We'll have an almost complete volleyball team wherever we go!  Then it's easy, get maybe one or two more boats to play, but if they are lazy, we can still get out there!  We also pulled our paddleboards up from being stored below the cockpit floor.  They were too inaccessible and never getting used.  I tied them down on the deck and hope that we use them much more often now!

We wore ourselves out today, but got a lot done.  Looking forward to a few more productive days of getting boat projects done, provisioning for the next weeks, picking up the kids, and showing them the Society Islands!  We'll have a big party on the 27th for Welcome Home Cassidy, Welcome Wolfie, and Happy Birthday Innocence!!

Good night for now,
Shannon

Bora Bora

Motorcycling in Bora Bora

Another Manta Ray

Bora Bora Manta Rays -

More Sailboats With Kids -

The boat that washed up on Suwarrow was named "Amiable" we believe.

We're doing great!  Had a potluck last night with 15 kids onboard, so we've found another group of kid boats and are doing well!  Innocence slept over at one and Integrity at another.  Vitality went with Innocence, but decided to come home at 9 pm when they other girls didn't want to keep the light on.  That was probably a good plan on her part.  She had a play-date all day today and fell asleep early. 

Courage and I swam with mantas this morning while another mom came and sat with our kids.  Innocence swam with the mantas with her overnight family.  Then this afternoon, I babysat 2 little ones while their parents took the motorcycle out for a couple of hours.  The kids are 4 and 2, they are Swiss German, so small network and they rarely get time away.  They seem to have really enjoyed it! 

There are 6 boats in this anchorage, all kid boats.  Thank goodness they were all at the party last night since at a few points, we were really loud playing on the deck!!

We found a bird washed up on the beach, but still in the water drifting.  I thought it was dead, but Valiant pet it and it moved.  I picked it up and brought it home.  Not sure what's wrong, definitely a broken leg, but wings seem to move symmetrically, but it's not flying.  Top of its beak is broken, but that doesn't really look fresh???  Put it in a box with a towel and spoon-fed it some water, which it drank pretty well.  Gave it some milk/water the second time, and some weevils mashed up in the water the third time (not going to mention where I got the weevils).  Thought he was going to die for sure, but he looks somewhat perky at times and drinking water is reassuring.  He even pooped once.  That usually doesn't happen if you're not doing somewhat well??  Shalet - any suggestions for him?  Needless to say, the kids are tickled to death to have a pet, but we're really trying to leave him alone to rest since your body heals better with rest.  Hard to get around here!  Valiant just discovered him this evening again.  Darn!

Small update from Bora Bora - - We are keeping busy, doing well, exploring new places.

Today stopped by Bloody Mary's restaurant.  It's the famous one from Jimmy Buffet's "Cheeseburger in Paradise" song.  We didn't stop to eat, maybe when we return with Cassidy we'll celebrate our 11th anniversary revisiting Bora Bora and eating a cheeseburger in paradise.  We believe we identified our honeymoon spot on the motu in the south east corner, but aren't 100% sure yet.  I'd remember it if we took the dinghy there, but not across the whole bay where you can hardly make out details.  We may move down in the next day or two, just soaking up the last of the kid boats who are mostly continuing on west as we go east to pick up Cassidy and re-visit the Society islands with her.

Goodnight,

Shannon

Bora Bora Manta Rays

Mantas

The secret hidden manta viewing spot was finally located here at Bora Bora. The first day it was raining, and the mantas were out in force. We found a group of four. They are distinctly different that the ones that we saw in the Marqueses.

These have the same large flipper fins that help guide more plankton into their gaping mouths, but when they are not feeding they roll these flipper fins into two horns protruding from their head. The also have white shading on their top, and a tiny fin down by their tails. Rumor has it these are Devil Manta Rays because of their horns. All great stuff!!!

Soon we will be heading to the seahorse hideout to see what is there. (We are thinking seahorses!!) Then it is off to the stingray and shark feeding station!!!

Life is tough out here, but somehow we are managing!!!

Courage

A Day in the Life -

Hello,

So we have found that if we run the water-maker about 2 hours every 5 days, we are able to keep the batteries from completely dying, and that we have enough water to survive for another week, and do a load of laundry!

The new improved shorter rudder is nearly ready for re-install. As I keep talking with people it becomes more and more obvious that a lot of people hit their rudders. There is even a guy at Raiatia who specializes in repairing bent and chewed up rudders. Apparently there is enough business to create a specialty. The trick seems to be to have an easily straightened rudder shaft, and materials enough to do any needed repairs.

We should be heading off to the fabled Bora-Bora within a few days. The dream is to climb up the tallest peak, and take some great photos!!

Courage