Author: kerrizane

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,

May 23, 2010

Last night it was fun to review Scott\’s photos du jour. He got more good
ones that he expected. I love his work and am so glad he has the patience
for it. I do not! I am happy to point out pretty things for him to take
pictures of. But actually dragging a camera around underwater and all that
underwater photography entails would ruin the experience for me. He loves
it. It is his art. And I love the results, so it works out great. As I
write, he is in his \”dark room\”. Thanks to digital photography, he only
needs his Macintosh, not a room full of chemicals.

We were happy to see Ronald alone pick us up this morning. We will likely be
his last clients as he is selling Maupiti Dive Center to another couple.
Ronald and Rochelle, with two kids, are buying a boat in Raiatea and plan to
go cruising themselves. Ronald discovered all the sites here, hopefully the
new owners will keep things going.

The wind shifted to the north overnight which really knocked down the swell
outside the reef. Hurray!!! It was a MUCH more comfortable ride to the
sites. We had two gorgeous dives. They were both shallower than yesterday so
we could stay down a long time. Scott got some awesome detailed shots of the
coral texture and patterns, colorful blue clams, and an outer space looking
jelly fish.

We came across a few of the hated Crown of Thorn starfish, the reef
destroyers. I could hear dive guide Ronald in a Bruce Willis or Clint
Eastwood voice saying, \”Not on my reef you don\’t!\” as he went after it with
a loose piece of sharp coral. Stabbing it, dismembering all its spiny legs
and strewing the remains with a certain amount of righteous indignation. If
Scott was focused on shooting something with his camera for a while, Ronald
would go ahead and destroy more of them as he saw them. It is amazing that
he has been able to single-handedly weed out this invasive reef destroyer.
Hopefully Lionel will keep up the practice to protect the reef. I am tempted
to bring my Hawaiian sling & spear a few myself.

We were so tired by the time we rinsed gear, showered and had lunch that it
was nap time. Scott looked at our fish books, identifying various ones we
saw today, but I was gonzo. Delicious. Wake up, almost time for happy hour &
writing! It\’s a tough life but somebody\’s got to do it….

Jerome & family on the other Switch 51 (s/v Na Maka) which is Polynesian for
“Spirt of the Ocean”, moved and are now anchored closer to us. We passed
them snorkeling this morning as we went out in the dive boat. There are also
two other charter catamarans and a trimaran. There have been clouds off and
on, no rain yet, but we did have a lovely rainbow before sunset. We are
going to dive again tomorrow, because the weather is predicted to get rough
on Tuesday and we don\’t know how long that will last. Besides the weather,
we think it is smart to take advantage of Ronald being here while we still
have him. I\’m sure Lionel will be fine too, but he is just learning the
sites.

May 24, 2010

Maupiti Dive Day #3

It started raining about 4:00 a.m. & at 7:15 was still steady. It probably
seems funny to think that a bit of rain might deter us from diving, when we
are wet anyway. It\’s partly psychological, even though the water is just as
warm and the air only slightly cooler. It is just not initially appealing to
zoom out in the rain. Donning \”gooey wet things\” is kind of yucky (our gear
hanging outside got wet in the rain). But I was really looking forward to
one more day of diving with Ronald. We called and he said he would happily
take us, he likes to dive in rainy weather. Sometimes it just isn\’t as
pretty without any sun. Everything underwater looks more monochrome. He was
at home and willing to “stand by” and let us see if the rain would break.

The weather forecast is for strong winds Tuesday through at least Friday so
we may have a few mandatory \”stay at home\” days ahead. Scott has a lot of
video editing he wants to catch up on. I have a harder time figuring out
what to do sometimes, but can always read. Although the rain cools it down
(76 at the coolest) it gets stuffy inside because we have to close all the
windows. One of the forward salon windows has a drip so we keep a container
under it.

By 8:30 a.m. the rain slowed to a drizzle so we decided not to be wimps and
called Ronald, Let’s go. The wind was not blowing hard, so the waves were
not whipped up and the ride to the sites outside the reef was pretty
comfortable. Just the three of us again – yippee!

The past two days Scott used the macro lens on his camera to take close ups
of fish, coral, etc. Today he used the wide angle lens which means that he
wants me in the photo for perspective. He is \”in his darkroom\” right now, as
I write. I forgot how small and far away I look, even though I feel very
close to the lens. I imagine I am the dominant feature in a picture, but
that\’s not the case.

I don\’t look as goofy as I used to in the early years of underwater
modeling, but it is still a challenge to not exhale, look relaxed & natural..

Between our two dives he gave me these tips:

*Look either at the camera or the subject that is in front of me

*Tilt my head up a bit and raise my chest

*Avoid flailing arms, especially the arm nearest the camera, keep at my side

*Avoid super bent knees or widely spread legs

I know how important good photos are to Scott so I try to cooperate as best
I can. We are both still learning and I\’m sure will improve over time. I
confess that when his strobe batteries died halfway through dive #2 I was
relieved to be \”off duty\”.

Highlights of today\’s dives: more neat jelly fish, an eagle ray seen in the
distance, but mostly lots and lots of gorgeous coral. Scott said he kept
hearing Sting\’s song \”Fields of Gold\” as he swam the beautiful reef. Perhaps
for a future slide show…

We didn\’t get back to the boat until 2:00 p.m., so had a late lunch. We had
our afternoon snack of oatmeal at 4:00 p.m. and wouldn\’t ya know, it\’s
almost happy hour! We\’ve certainly had 3 very happy days in a row. We feel
lucky that we got to dive our first few days here. It would have been a
bummer to come and immediately be stuck onboard due to weather. Now we can
be more patient to wait out whatever potential bad weather is coming. The
lagoon where we are anchored should stay comfortable, but it can be too wild
outside the reef to go out to the dive sites if the wind is blowing hard
(especially from the south) and the waves are big. We are still waiting for
our generator oil hoses to arrive in Papeete (by way of Wisconsin and
Redondo Beach, California – Yea Mike!) then be flown here, so we are in no
rush to leave.

Looking ahead, I found a dive center by Googling Aitutaki (a Cook Island).
Neil Mitchell has already responded to our inquiry and given us some info
about the island and entering the pass there. Between here and there is
Mopelia, which is an atoll, our last stop in French Polynesia. Apparently
only 10 people live there! That should be interesting…We discovered there
is a WW1 German “Raider” wreck right outside Mopelia Pass. We’ve Googled it
and hope to have lots of photos and the interesting story behind it and her
Captain. Scott believes the Captain and vessel were the inspiration for the
John Wayne film, “Sea Wolf”.

Ok sports fans, that\’s all the news that\’s fit to print! Please email us
about what is happening in your life. No fair just living vicariously, we
care about what is going on with you.

Cindy & Scott

Dear F&F,

Always a bit anxious the night before heading to a new place, I woke up more
than an hour before my 5:15 a.m. alarm. At 5:30 a.m. it was raining and
still too dark to see due to cloud cover, so we lingered in a bed a bit
longer. We cast off the morning with just a drizzle & enough daylight to see
by 6:15 a.m. I had taken a Bonine early and strapped on the trusty A.W.Z.
(Annoying Wrist Zapper). Good thing because outside the reef of Bora Bora
the swell was abeam (hitting the boat sideways), 4-6 feet high. The wind was
from the south, NOT what was predicted & NOT the recommended direction for
going into the pass at Maupiti. But it is only a 28 mile trip and we decided
to just go and see how the entry looked. Willing to turn around and head
back to Bora Bora if we were closed out.

Since the ride was not that comfy, I took a 2nd bonine at 8 am which helped..
If I did any close focus activities like frying eggs or washing the dishes I
felt marginal. But as long as stayed outside and looked out toward the
island I was ok. The clouds & rain were intermittent. We had good
information on how to approach the pass and what to look for. The buoys and
navigation markers were accurate and really helped. My surfer dude husband
waited until after a set and then full throttle on in. No problem! It was
not as narrow as some passes we’ve entered and no breaking surf in the
opening, so it was A-Ok. Once we were through the “crux” we could relax and
enjoy the ride.

Maupiti is like a mini Bora Bora. A high island, surrounded by motus (small
outlying islands) and fringing reef. As we were motoring in the well marked
channel to the anchoring area, the owner of Maupiti Dive Center, Ronald who
we\’d talked to by phone & email came zooming up. He had one client , a guy
from Arizona of all places, and was heading out for a dive. We told him we
wanted to dive the next day. He agreed to pick us up at 8:30 a.m.

We anchored in the sandy lagoon between town & a motu. We get some
protection from the prevailing wind & sea anchored behind the motu. We can
see one pension there has two very tall wind generators to provide some
power.

After lunch and a nap, we woke up to see 4 more catamarans and 1 monohull
anchored near us!

Jerome & Natalie (s/v Na Maka) with their 3 boys arrived later and anchored
by the motu just left of the pass entry.

The group of 4 charter boats are on vacation from Germany. We stopped in our
dinghy to say hello. The group organizer has been here before and gave us a
tip of where to land the dinghy.

A water taxi boat for the airport, which is on a motu, was docked. We asked
the Maupiti man if we could tie our dinghy under his line, which is standard
procedure. He said no and directed us to paddle over to a very shallow area
(had to raise the engine to not drag bottom) and tie to the balcony railing
of a small building. We didn’t argue and did as instructed. Later when we
returned, we got a good laugh that the cleat left with the water taxi! It
was not screwed permanently into the dock for everyone’s use. It was his
portable cleat which he took with him when he left.

We got to the post office after closing time, but the very nice just French
post mistress (Dominique) stayed to sell us WiFi access cards. So we still
have connectivity! Scott had tried Winlink which wasn\’t very good, so if the
WiFi works we will get faster connections. He got out on Sailmail ok. The
postal worker explained to us that Monday is a holiday, so we were lucky to
catch her for the WiFi card today, otherwise not possible to purchase until
Tuesday. She also kindly gave us a ride to Ronald’s house. He is in the
process of selling the dive center to another French couple who are already
there staying with them at their rental house. We all chatted, had a cup of
coffee. We asked about the sites. They are proud that they do not do
zoo-type shark feeding. All encounters are natural. The owners to be, Lionel
(Lee-o-nel) and Crystal (Crees-tal), are very nice and their English is good
enough. It is just a coincidence of timing that we will have the opportunity
to dive with both of these dive guides in the transition of the sale of the
dive center.

It was a pretty long walk back from their house to town. Lots of kids on
bicycles and adults on mopeds. There were a more spontaneous friendly
greetings than we\’ve experienced on other French Polynesian islands. There
are about 6 pensions (bed & breakfast), no resorts or tourist development.
I think the local people are very proud of Maupiti and happy to have
visitors. The four other German boats had their dinghies tied up by ours
when we got back. We all walked to the market. Just a scouting visit, I
don\’t really need anything yet. Scott bought some postcards. Some of his ham
radio buddies have requested a postcard from where he is. It\’s called a QSL
card, proof that someone spoke to you on the radio from your stated
location.

Can’t wait to get in the water tomorrow!
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