Author: kerri

Dear F&F,

May 28-29, 2010

We have not been diving again because of persistent strong winds/waves
outside the lagoon, where the dive sites are. Too rough to be comfortable.
Where we are anchored is fine. The breeze keeps us cool. The wind chop on
the water is a bit strong to swim against plus we are anchored in sand so it
is not that interesting to snorkel or swim off the boat.

Our package of generator oil hoses & warranty replacement video lights did
not arrive on the morning plane yesterday, but it was there on the afternoon
plane. Why? Glad you asked. The morning plane was so full with people,
they ran out of “weight” space for the cargo. So, they sent it in
alphabetical order. “Yacht – Beach House” was last on the list. Fortunately,
their promise of it’s afternoon arrival came true. It is pretty interesting
to watch the prop jet land on this narrow strip of motu. A few tourists
departing & arriving plus locals waiting for supplies from Papeete. One of
the pension (B&B) operators asked me if I had just arrived. In poor French I
said, No I am on a boat. He gave me a fragrant welcome lei, since one of his
expected clients did not arrive. It is a string of Tiara flowers which are
white & smell delicious. I have them hanging in the galley.

Scott could not bear to wait, so we dug right into the generator oil hose
replacement project. It was a bit disconcerting at first since the
replacement hose was significantly smaller than the original (leaky) hose.
But the fittings were the same size & he had the foresight to order extra
fittings. We spent over 2 hours: he in the awkwardly small space contorted
on top of our anchor line and chain. Me, fetching & handing him various
tools, (doing as he says,”My best Vanna White routine”), shining a
flashlight & mopping up endless drips of oil. Sadly, upon testing we
discovered the 2nd hose was also leaking, but we called it a night & tackled
that this morning.

I must be acclimatizing & the season must be changing: I actually got cold
out there in the stiff breeze for 2 hours last night. We had a lovely moon
rise. I giggled at myself running in to grab a sweater when I could plainly
see the temperature still read 80 degrees!

This morning Scott & “Vanna White” tackled the 2nd hose replacement. We did
not have sufficient new sized fittings, but he made do and it \”knock wood\”
it is working with no leaks so far.

This afternoon I snorkeled an hour scraping the hula skirt of algae off the
boat\’s hulls. It was a good workout against the wind produced waves and I
felt cold by the end. The water temp on our boat gauge says 81.4. We\’ll see
what we find when we next go diving, planned for Monday. Five days ago it
was still 84 at depth. We hope that the conditions are favorable for diving
on the east side of the island where the beautiful coral sites are. The new
owner came by in his boat to tell us he did not get to keep the same phone
number that was supposed to have been kept when he bought the business. We
can tell he is just getting settled. We gave him our local cell number &
asked that he call us day by day so we can decide if diving is a “go” for
that morning or not.

We had a blast making a new shark video for the web. See our Video Gallery,
“Fins of Bora Bora”, music is “Fins” by Jimmy Buffet. It is faster paced and
more fun than some of our prior footage. We\’ll see if we can get good enough
WiFi or more likely load it from shore right next to the antenna. The next
island for sure does not have internet or ANY infrastructure for that
matter.

I must be settling into this life because the days are just kind of gliding
by. Mainly from meal to meal. I hope to find some semblance of fresh
vegetables soon. I used my last carrot, broccoli & bell pepper today. I have
a few apples, kiwis, one grapefruit. Then it’s frozen peas & green beans. We
may rent bicycles to circumnavigate the island. It is so small they say it
takes only about an hour to ride around.

Enjoying Maupiti Island life,

Cindy & Scott

Dear F&F,

May 26-27, 2010

Jerome and Natalie invited us aboard their Switch 51 “Na Maka”, the blue
Switch for dinner. I had already cooked Szechuan eggplant with shrimp in the
morning, so added some rice to take as my contribution. The beef roast with
potatoes was delicious. Having someone else cook a meal is always a treat.
When we arrived, Natalie was trying to have the children finish their
dinner, which was already served. The twin boys tussled as expected. I felt
a bit sorry for 10 year old Leo who disappeared quickly with his IPod.
Natalie said any two of the boys get along fine, but when all three are
together, there is a lot of fighting. She is a brave woman! But they seem to
be enjoying themselves and it sounds like we will be on the same path for a
while which is nice. Lucky for us, both of them speak English very well, so
Scott chatted with Jerome as I talked with Natalie.

Mid morning we dinghied to the fuel dock with 5 of our 5 gallon jugs. The
day before, I had \”reserved\” two dozen eggs. I also bought vinegar from the
\”market\” with a walk up window. Yesterday the proprietor had let me inside
to more closely view what was for sale. At a roadside stand I bought two
pamplemousse (grapefruit, $3 US each). We think the Seventh-Day Adventist
church members must own all the businesses since everything is closed on
Saturdays. And we did not see any alcohol in the market, as SDAs don\’t
drink.

There were posters about a local artisan art fair. There were about 50
vendors with nicely displayed shell jewelry, wood carvings, pareos & other
chachkies (yiddish). A band was there but not playing yet. NO ATTENDEES. It
was sad. I seemed to be the only one browsing around. The artists were
dressed up but not smiling. I am not a collector, gift-giver, or shopper and
there was nothing special at all. I don\’t know if the mayor of the island
decided this was a good idea, but without a cruise ship or some group of
tourists to attend, I don\’t know what they were thinking! They did not seem
to be buying from each other. The oddities of island life…

Scott\’s packages are both in Papeete and the agent will put them on the
plane to arrive here tomorrow morning. He will tackle the generator oil hose
replacement ASAP. I pray the new video lights really work. It will be so
disappointing if they are lemons too. So many companies are bad about bench
testing their equipment before sending it out to the customer.

We hope that the wind that has been making the outside of the reef too rough
for diving will start to subside soon. I hope to dive here a lot more. Scott
always has his eye on the weather and will be looking for a window to sail
to the next island, Mopelia, which is an atoll and will be our last stop in
French Polynesia. It’s hard to believe but we’ve been here for almost
exactly one year! I can happily stay here longer, if I get to dive. If we
are not diving, we may as well move along. That is my feeling. Of course
there are repair and maintenance days. And for Scott many hours of photo and
video editing.

Tonight I received Vincent\’s Ships Log: his account of their stay with us.
It is priceless. It made me laugh and cry, re-living the magic week we had
together. I hope you enjoy it.

Thank you all for writing. I still get \”homesick\” for my friends & family.
Your emails bridge the gap between us.

Cindy & Scott

Dear F&F,

In brief, the diving here is fantastic. But GETTING to the dive sites is a
bit rough. Inside the reef/lagoon where we are anchored, it is nice and
calm; very few local boats zooming around. In Bora Bora, there was always a
local or other cruiser zooming through the mooring area, their wake rocking
us around. Here there are just 6 of us, nicely spread out. And if we
understood correctly, the group of 4 German charter boats will be sailing to
Raiatea tomorrow.

Ronald, the current owner of Maupiti Dive Center and Lionel the new guy
taking over the operation in 1 week, both came in the small dive boat to
pick us up. No other clients, which is nice for us. Apparently he can take 4
divers, including him, but just 3 or 4 total is ideal as far as we are
concerned. We noticed yesterday there was no bimini for shade, so I wore my
seawater hat & cheap sunglasses for some sun protection.

Heading out the pass was rougher than when we came in yesterday. The swell
was larger and choppy so the power boat rose up then slammed down every
wave. Not comfy. We braced ourselves as best as we could and hung on. The
ride to the first site was rough, but thankfully only 15 minutes. That’s
pretty far in this 18 foot runabout. I was happy to backroll in to get down
below the chaos on the surface. All was calm, all was bright …

Wow: we though Bora Bora had great visibility. But here we could see for
miles and miles (sing)…Ok maybe not miles, but really clear, beautiful
water. AND pristine coral reefs. What an improvement from the other islands
in French Polynesia! When we asked Ronald later why the reef looks so great
here compared to Moorea and the other islands, he told us that he personally
exterminates (with a special process I’ll describe later) hundreds of the
Crown of Thorns starfish that are coral eaters. An infestation will decimate
a reef. He focused on the area of his 6-8 designated dive sites. His efforts
have really paid off. Moorea has been completely decimated, same for Tahaa,
Raiatea & Bora Bora was pretty bad too.

Ronald does no shark baiting, so any sightings are completely natural, and
consequently more rare, since there is nothing to attract sharks to divers.
We enjoyed our \”Shark Week\” with Gilles in Bora Bora very much. (PLEASE SEE
OUR VIDEO GALLERY….”FINS OF BORA BORA”). But Ronald\’s philosophy is good. We
saw two small white tip reef sharks, only about 30 inches long. Scott is
(trying) to take photos of smaller fish. Close up underwater photography is
much more challenging than wide angle. Just when he frames the shot, the
uncooperative critter swims away. Free of a camera, I admire the scenery,
smiling as I blow bubbles. Lionel led us into a cave that had 5 lion fish
hanging upside down as they like to do. Sort of bat-like. We saw a few eels,
one coral-banded shrimp and the usual assortment of tropical fish. The
variety of texture, shape and size of the coral is a canvas of beauty. The
swimming creatures bring the pretty picture to life. Fantastic! Hopefully
when we post the still underwater photos, you’ll get a feel for the
beautiful expanse of Maupiti’s hard corals.

The second site was just as lovely as the first. A bit further pounding ride
in the dive boat, along the motu where the airport runway is located. It was
a fairly short surface interval since none of us wanted to hang out in the
bouncing boat. We were greeted with a school of silvery barracuda with
black stripes. We had to keep an eye on our depth gauges because of the
short surface interval. We didn\’t readily notice the depth because of the
water clarity, there was a lot of light and visibility even at 80 feet.
Ronald guided us up to the shallower part of the reef so we could extend our
allowed bottom time, without needing a lengthy decompression stop;
beautiful. We got so enchanted looking at everything and swimming along that
an hour passed by quickly.

Voila! Off to a great start for Maupiti Diving. Ronald said the weather
forecast is for stronger wind & bigger waves Tuesday, so we will go again
tomorrow, while it is still \”calm\”. Ha! He says he won\’t take divers out if
it is too rough. There is a manta cleaning station in the pass, he will take
us there when conditions are right (incoming tide). It is nice that we are
not on any fixed schedule, so can just relax & enjoy.

Cindy & Scott

Dear F&F,

VINCENT & CLARK\’S \”Ship\’s Log\”

Two weeks ago, we were on a different planet. At least, it felt like it on
the other side of the world, where the oceans are pacific and the Southern
Cross visible amongst funnily shaped constellations. We sailed away in every
possible way. From our urban Parisian society to the Society Islands. We
traded the roll of our daily routine for another kind of roll, and the
fishing for jobs for the job of the fish, which basically means swimming
nonchalantly and colorfully warm waters. We owe the discovery of French
Polynesia to the conjunction of a dream, a promise and an opportunity. The
dream has come true. It is our dear friends, Cindy & Scott, who made it a
lifetime project and an adventure for two to sail around the world onboard
their 51-foot catamaran named “Beach House”. The promise was ours to them,
made exactly 6 years ago during the maiden voyage of “Beach House” on May
20, 2004 in Sete, that we would meet them someday, somehow, somewhere and
share their dream. The opportunity was this year. Clark & I found our selves
stranded away, unanchored in the troubled waters of unemployment, but clung
to the buoyant feeling that those times of change are actually likely to
open new perspectives and rise new suns. The contemplation of the sun\’s
course, from golden rise to golden set, was actually spectacular; and
although we have certainly missed some great TV shows, as Calvin and Hobbes
would certainly agree, we have bathed in this very appreciation of slowness,
wordlessness and natural harmony every single day of our week on the boat
from April 26 to May 4.

Today, we feel lucky and so thankful to our Hosts for the dream vacation
they offered us. And, from time to time, our bodies bequeath us the gentle
memory of the swell. Living on a boat is about inhabiting space in both
literal and figurative senses: making it a perfectly arranged habitat, where
everything has its designated, practical and to-be-remembered place for the
sake of comfort and, in the same time, making it a Home. We moved in to
Cindy and Scott\’s boat for a week. We shared their home and intimate space,
floating between two infinites. And we very rapidly felt like home, in the
most natural way. It is an understatement to say that we felt warmly
welcomed, as we were allocated the left floater, The Guest Room (now rated 5
sea stars) with queen size bed and both natural and artificial breezing.
Cindy and Scott simply put us at ease.

An evidence quickly strokes our minds. We were on vacation for a week
(although officially doing research for job opportunities abroad as stated
to the French administration). But Scott and Cindy were not. Living on a
boat is their daily way of life since 2007 with no scheduled ending. That is
quite a bold decision to make. And as we have observed during our stay, it
is all about fixing things and it is a lot of work. Whether at anchor or
sailing in full sail between islands, maneuvering and maintaining a
high-tech boat like Beach House represents considerable and constant
efforts. I must shamefully concede that my contribution was mostly
observation and very little participation, whereas Clark did contribute with
a lot of winching and hoisting (ya! I know my sailing vocabulary!) and he
enjoyed it. Well, it was not quite an ordinary week for Cindy & Scott since
our presence on the catamaran carried its own distraction and conveyed more
occasions for visiting the islands, drinking cocktails and chitchatting.
Last time we had seen C&S was at our California wedding at the Del Coronado
Hotel in July 2008, almost 2 years ago. What a great time! So many things to
catch up on!

Don\’t count on me to give you any technical details on the boat. I know she
(how weird is the English language to designate a ship like a girl!) is a
catamaran and 51-foot long. I know she is both motor and wind propelled and
so very high tech that she can calculate the sea depth automatically and GPS
position herself on the inner and outer screens. I also know she pitches in
the most exquisite way when another boat passes by. But most important, I
know you can enjoy the deep sea wind when standing aft during a crossing
between islands or gaze at the south hemisphere stars and a bright milky way
when laying on her roof. These are actually parts of the boat where you can
find intimacy and solitude, as surprising as it sounds. We never felt
confined or restricted. On the contrary, the immensities of the sky and the
sea surrounded us all the time and allowed our minds to wander and evade.
And especially when anchored, we could dive any time we wanted into the 28
C° (84 Fahrenheit) waters. I spent hours contemplating the silver surface of
the ocean, the celestial moods, the solar dance and read four spellbinding
books during our stay on the boat: (Sad Tropics by Claude de levi-Strauss;
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, The Clear Room, an essay on photography
by Roland Barthes and The Desert by Pierre Loti).

This is my very definition of a vacation. It is about letting go, changing
minds, breaking habits, moving slowly, enjoying good things, evading &
dreaming, spending time with good friends. Guess what a typical day was?

5:00 a.m. Imagine waking up at before the sun. First dip in the tropical
waters. Opportunities for a photographers eye when the early morning light
dresses up the lazy clouds in dazzling colors.

6:00 a.m. First breakfast of eggs or tropical fruits and flax seeds with
coffee with vanilla flavor (from the vanilla farm on Huahine Island).

8:00 a.m. Busy bees occupations for our hosts, while I read or dive from the
boat. Boat maneuvers to find the perfect anchor in a charming bay.

10:00 a.m. Second breakfast of fruity oatmeal. Then scuba diving including
conversation with lemon sharks for the bold versus snorkeling and close
encounters with angels, butterflies, trumpets, anemones, surgeons, parrots,
triggers and other strangely named sea critters for the beautiful (have you
not noticed my tan?). Or tour of the island onboard an air conditioned
rental car.

12:20 Lunch on the island including pina colada cocktails and an unplanned
bump into Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn! Several gorgeous points of views
over the bays, the lagoons and the island vegetation and as many photo ops.

2:00 p.m. Siesta. Reading.

4:00 p.m. Swim or snorkel or dive.

5:00 p.m. Cocktail hour. Perfectly cooled white wine (Blanc de Blanc JP
Chenet).

6:00 p.m. Night is here. Creative dinner in bowls by Cindy. The art of
making a master dish with almost nothing. Explosion of taste (like in the
movie Ratatouille!

7:00 p.m. Herb tea and dark chocolate.8:00 p.m. Star gazing on the rooftop,
singing \”Some Enchanted Evening\” from South Pacific. How appropriate!

8:30 p.m. Nighty night and sweet dream in constant swell. What a day I had
today? Quoting Barbra Streisand\” Just gorgeous! Dites qu avez-vous vu?
asks the French poet Charles Baudelaire in my favorite poem? \”Le Voyage\”
which translates \”What did you see?\” We saw lush that run on dramatic rocks
of ageless basalt, and the trees of bread, and their tasty fruits fall in
sounder shock. We saw diving birds like the frigate flocks. And a school of
fish with their puffy heads. The infinite sky, the infinite sea Mirror
their faces, vast and versatile, While at aft we stare, or at stern we glee..

Scott is hands on the helm and here comes Cindy, with her perfect mood and
her sunny smile. The divers have talked to the lemon sharks, eighty feet
below, where the light is rare but the coral sparks. I keep myself in
shallow waters, surprising angels, named after a lark. We have seen islands,
their wild side unlaced. We have seen lagoons, turquoise green or blue.
Nothing was too loose or nothing to waste. All quality time with vanilla
taste. To The Boat Boy and his Admiral too, we say, Merci mille fois, that
we translate in sweet Polynesian tongue: Mauruuru!

From the boat, you get the best possible perspective on Huahine, Raiatea,
Tahaa and Bora Bora, the four leeward islands of the Society Archipel we
discovered during our Voyage. These luxuriant islands with terrific volcanic
rocks rising over the magnificent shades of blue are simply spectacular. One
of the most memorable moments was to get to Bora Bora sailing full sail
across the Pacific. From a distance of 50 kilometers we could already
glimpse the fade silhouette of its famous peaks, before they disappeared
under the heavy sky. The closer we got, the more of the island body was
revealed, laid across the horizon after a vastness of dark twinkling waters..
And suddenly we could distinguish a stain of luminescent blue forming a
perfect pool at the feet of the island. It was getting bigger and bigger. It
was iridescent and somehow magical as the colors dont mix, delineating
radical frontiers of intensity and beauty. As if to extend the pleasure, we
circled the island to find the only entrance to the lagoon through the coral
barrier, leaving the red buoy portside. Then the dolphins appeared from
nowhere, answering my secret call and they welcomed us and they let us in.
Nana Bora Bora. Hello Gorgeous. Welcome to paradise. Thank you again, Cindy
& Scott, for this amazing sailing experience that took us to the most
beautiful lagoon in the world. A part of us remains on Beach House. We wish
you a safe trip on your continuous exploration of new seas and new shores.
And we make you another promise: We will meet again in Australia.

Love from Paris, Clark & Vincent

Dear F&F,

MAY 8th-18th

May 8th – Saturday Keep on Diving

The two other couples today were fun. An American woman with her Polish
immigrant husband, now living in Seattle. She looked like and had the
mannerisms of a younger Meryl Streep, it was amazing! She said she is told
that all the time. She works as a voice actress: reading audio books, doing
commercials, etc. The other couple were from Guanajuato, Mexico which was
one of our off-boat trips that we really loved. We went with the dive boat
to the resort motu where they are based, so I had one last chance to give
C&V hugs & kisses. Clark was talking to the Italian honeymooners & she
reluctantly wrote down our website, teasing that she hates us. It was very
funny. It has really been a boost to view our life not only through the eyes
of C&V, but these other divers, vacationers, honeymooners. At the moment I
feel very light & able to laugh at everything. Even as our refrigerator is
still misbehaving… We may need to have a new evaporator shipped to Tahiti
then here. Scott believes that is the solution. Meanwhile there is much good
diving to do and the toilet project awaits. Scott is editing his underwater
video footage as I write.

It continues to be bloody hot, but I am acclimatizing. Yesterday I felt cold
during the second half of dive #1, the entire surface interval & all of dive
#2. Today I switched from my 3 mm to my 6 mm wetsuit, put on my cuter mask
and headband instead of the dorky beanie to be a better dive model. I was
toasty warm on both dives. Of course I am now still toasty warm, whereas
yesterday the hypothermia kept me cool all afternoon. I kept thinking, Ahh
it\’s finally cooler, but when I looked at the thermometer it was 91 outside..
It was just me. Today it\’s overcast, raining off and on and I feel hot at
87. C\’est la vie.

Tonight is a BBQ for the 13 boats moored at the Bora Bora Yacht Club. (Which
sounds way more grand than it is: just an open air bar.) I will take a 3
bean salad.

May 9th Work & May 10th Dive

After 5 hours yesterday, my Bulldog got our toilet working again! For now
anyway. I talked him out of an elaborate refrigeration repair that I was not
convinced was possible, would really work and might keep us stuck here or
send us back to Tahiti for weeks. I told him I was willing to live without a
fridge if it died. And even though that would add to the \”camping\” aspect of
boating, I will have the option of converting the unit in the guest cabin to
a fridge when we\’ve eaten up the food that is currently frozen. I think
Scott was relieved to not have to tackle that big job in the field. In New
Zealand we will have much better resources to parts & technical support. We
are really out here on our own now. I was so proud of him for fixing the
toilet. It was multiple problems, not just one easy fix, which is why we
didn\’t have success before C&V arrived. It is much more civilized to just
flush the toilet and not have to wrangle with it.

We did two dives with Gilles this morning. The two Italian guys were in our
group plus a solo Japanese gal. Another 5 went with dive master Patrick (See
Bora Bora UNDERWATER Gallery for photos of Patrick’s “motorcycle accident”).
The gang that went with Patrick are here filming the reality TV show
Bachelor. They were all in their early 30s. We definitely felt the age gap
with this young, hip group. They were nice, but so different from us. The
diving was not as spectacular as some other days, but still enjoyable.

After lunch and a short nap, we rallied to dive under the boat. The
propellers and all parts underneath really grow algae fast with the 85
degree water. We both worked 1 1/2 hours and did a good job. William & Jubee
(nickname for Julie) invited us onboard s/v Fuerte for happy hour. We all
hit it off well. Sadly, they will be leaving here soon back to Raiatea where
they will pick up a honeymoon couple for charter.

Tomorrow is work day: we must get under our bed to clean out the fuel tank
gauge that has algae growing on it. Scott will continue the wax job. I need
to do a lot of interior cleaning. We are watching the weather day by day. We
are not in a rush to leave, but could jump on to the next island whenever
there is a good forecast for the trip. We have pre-paid for 3 more days of
diving with Gilles\’s company, so with the alternate day work/play program it
will probably be another week, which is fine.

It continues to be bloody hot. Even submerged for over 3 hours today it
feels very toasty inside the boat. As soon as I sign off I am rushing down
to our cabin to enjoy the little air conditioning unit for an hour while we
run the generator to charge the batteries and make water.

May 11th

Scott is bravely waxing the boat section by section. It is a 4 step process..
First he uses rubbing compound in a slurry to get the oxidation off the
hull, then washes it off. After it dries, he applies the wax by hand, lets
it dry and the hardest part is buffing it out by hand. Too difficult at a
mooring to use a machine and we don’t have a good one anyway. This
afternoon we attacked the fuel tank under our bed. The digital gauge gave a
warning message that we have bad fuel in the starboard tank. Sure enough,
algae is growing in the diesel. We took out, cleaned & dried the sensor.
Then began the messy process of siphoning the fuel from the tank into 5
gallon jugs through a filter. I forgot to open the air vent in one tank so
it overflowed causing about a quart of diesel to go spewing all over our
bedroom floor and me! Yikes. We persevered siphoning about 40 gallons and
are letting the 8 x 5 gallon jugs sit overnight for any water/algae/crud to
settle overnight. Early tomorrow we we will re-filter the fuel and put it
back in our tanks. We re-installed the gauge & it seems accurate, but we
won\’t really know until we next top off. We still have to attend to the
leaky generator oil hose which seems to have multiple pin holes in it. Why?
We’re not sure, but Scott is going to have a new set of hoses and fittings
shipped from Wisconsin to our next island, Maupiti and replace the whole
thing their. The fun never ends. Well the work never ends. The key is to
just take time for fun regardless.

I got in a midday snorkel: saw an assortment of beautifully colored clams
and a really large eel. It helps to cool off so much, even 15 minutes in the
water. Tomorrow is diving – thank goodness we scheduled every other day to
play.

More boats have arrived. The ARC Around the World Rally is passing through.
They started in Europe or the Caribbean. So far about 5 German boats have
pulled in. Some seem to have a hoity toity attitude. They\’ll be on their way
soon enough. They are heading around the world in 18 months. Seems absurd to
me, constantly on the move but to each their own.

May 13th

There are now about 15 other boats at the Bora Bora Yacht Club, plus another
20+ around the nearby motus. Many are participating in the Tahiti Pearl
Regatta sailboat race.

We dinghied to town to get fuel in 8 x 5 gallon jugs. We are hoping some
fresh fuel will help dilute and fight the algae growth in the diesel. We
have fuel additive plus lots of filters so should be ok. Scott also waxed
more of the hulls while I cleaned our interior fans, which is a tedious
job.

The generator oil hose leak continues. Scott was on Skype with the tech
support guys trying to figure out why this hose failure is occurring. Same
hose that is in the engine rooms, no problem. I got my exercise wiping down
the oil spill from under the boat where it drains out. Multiple swimming
trips from the stern with paper towel sprayed with Simple Green to wipe off
the oil slick.

Our primary fridge is sadly not keeping up with the heat. Likely bad
evaporator. The two freezers are working like champs. I am prepared for more
\”camping\” in that department at any moment.

While in town, we also went to the market. Not much that needs refrigeration
but other basics. Tonight I cooked a pack of chicken thighs with rice &
broccoli. It is crazy hot again over 90. We got in a snorkel before sunset.
After sunset we had hard rain & wind, just for variety. Scott frequently
helps out the Pacific Seafarers ham radio network, acting as relay which is
an important job and fun for him. All the net controllers have become quite
friendly and appreciate his assistance.

May 16th – HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO US!

We must be having fun, because the past 17 years have flown by! Nothing
beats celebrating with a couple of great dives.

The first dive was at a sweet spot with a lot of pretty fish & clams. The
clams come in such an array of colors & patterns. I am mesmerized by them.
Scott took some video, but I hope he’ll have a chance to get some close up
still shots. A couple of eagle rays swam in the distance. Very fun. We only
had one other American guy with us today. A honeymooner who\’s wife doesn\’t
dive.

Today was (possibly) our last day diving with Gilles. We\’ve had 7 days,
spread out every other day which has worked out great. We went for the 4th
time to a site that usually has lemon sharks. They are 7-10 feet long, very
girthy, have beady little eyes & nasty looking teeth. Everything you\’d
expect a shark to look like. Gilles brought a fish head and hid it under a
part of the reef. Enough scent to make the sharks circle the area. Scott got
some great video. I even grabbed the camera so he could swim with them for a
change. We kind of get desensitized when swimming with sharks, but sometimes
they\’ll swim right up to your face and you realize \”this thing is wild &
could bite my face off!\” Thankfully, hopefully, they can discern that we do
not smell like food. It was totally awesome. Four big beasts for about an
hour, up close & personal.

The weather is blustery, not good for making the passage to our next
destination: Maupiti. We will just watch the conditions day by day. It has a
narrow, shallow reef & if there are big waves it is too tricky. We may be
able to dive 1 or 2 nearby sites here on our own, or go again with Gilles if
we get too stir crazy. Not that we don\’t have plenty to do… Scott has a
pile of photos and video to edit, which is very time consuming. I helped him
with shot selection last night. And the every present repairs and
maintenance. We have issues with the generator oil hose leaking. The
refrigerator cooling ability is marginal and our main potty once again won\’t
flush #2. But none of that is a catastrophe. We hope to get the special
generator hoses shipped out tomorrow. I can live without a fridge if I have
to. And we can poop in the potty on port.

A bunch of the boats with the Round the World Rally sailed off to Suwarrow
today, a Cook Island. It will take them 2-3 days. One American boat is still
here. A radiologist, wife and grown son from Maine. Apparently she is not
happy about the fast pace of the rally. I can console her with my sad tale
of being stuck in Tahiti for 7 months.

Today is 2 weeks that we are in Bora Bora. This island has a great
combination of tourist amenities, comfortable mooring, so far the best
diving of all the French Polynesian islands (Maupiti & Mopelia could yet top
it), and is a gorgeous setting. We have already been in email contact with
the dive guy in Maupiti. He thinks the weather may be good enough to cross
there on Thursday. We need to fuel up and I\’d like another shot at the
market for produce. May do that tomorrow. It is still hot: 93 today, but
spending a couple of hours submerged helps a lot.

May 17th – Fuel & Food

We had pretty strong winds this morning from the south. It is an
uncomfortable direction making the boat lie sideways to the swell. I felt
seasick on the mooring. Didn\’t get the Annoying Wrist Zapper & Bonine quite
quick enough so they weren\’t as helpful.

Scott ordered replacement generator oil hoses. Why they are leaking when
normally they should work 20 years is a mystery. Amsoil will ship to Mike,
who will ship to Papeete through an agent who will expedite them through
customs and ship to us in Maupiti. It is always a concern that all goes
smoothly, but we are likely not to head over there until Thursday and if the
diving is as good there as here we will stay at least 2 weeks.

After lunch the wind seemed down so we dashed up to the fuel dock. We left
our dinghy tied to reserve our mooring because we like that one. Good thing
too because another wave of boats doing the 18 months around the world rally
showed up this afternoon. It was more windy up by the fuel dock, we smacked
into the pier causing minor cosmetic damage. The boat was really jagging up
& down badly. The fuel station is closed from noon-1:30 p.m. We arrived at
1:05. I knew it would take Scott and the fuel dock guy some time to fuel up
both tanks plus the extra cans, so used the opportunity to jump off, walk
the 10 minutes to the grocery store dragging my cart & bags. No eggs or
lettuce. Got apples, grapes, cheese, wine, turkey & salami slices & most
everything else I wanted. Just because I could, I bought a Dove chocolate
ice cream bar as a treat and ate it as I walked back.

My timing was good. I knew we\’d need to shove off as soon as the fueling was
done so the next boat could tie up. There is only space for one at a time.
Casting off was kind of scary. I was at the helm but did not feel I had good
control over our house in the wind, so called for Scott to take over. I hate
it when I freak out in challenging circumstances, but Scott was very sweet
afterwards, reassuring me that it was a tricky situation and that I should
not be embarrassed. Tying the boat back up to the mooring and getting the
dinghy off was another trick, but we did it after a few go arounds.

I avoided reading/writing until now & am testing out the Phenergan (seasick
med) with coffee (to prevent drowsiness) seasick cure. I waited 45 minutes
for it to take full effect & am happy to report that I feel pretty darn
good. Granted, there is not as much sideways swell. But still, I am glad to
have options. The weather should be calming down over the next couple of
days. We want to work on photos and write new Ships Logs, so I really hope
not to feel seasick. If the conditions on the mooring are crappy, we can
always take our laptops to the beach bar.

I would normally go for a snorkel but last night my right ear was bugging me
plus I had a sore throat. I did an extra vinegar/peroxide rinse of my ears &
took Zicam. Ears seem ok now but it\’s probably best to keep my head dry for
a couple of days. Darn.

May 18th – Media Day

Scott is editing and posting photos and I have been writing these Ships Logs
all day. It is sunny with little breeze. The good news is that it is
comfortable on the mooring & I am not seasick. The bad news is that it is
hot and hard for me to concentrate for a long time. Scott is more driven for
these projects than I am. I’d rather be diving!

Cindy & Scott…..Off to Maupiti Soon!