Author: kerrizane

Dear F&F,

August 29, 2009
More Manihi

Yesterday & today we enjoyed diving with Serge, the outgoing divemaster here in Manihi atoll. Marc, has been getting oriented to the sites & dive center operations. We hope to see Wilfred again when we get to Tikihau in about a week. The 5 of us are all very experienced divers so it has been a very enjoyable group. We dove at the manta ray \”cleaning station\” several times. They hover & swirl around this 70 foot deep pile of rocks & uninteresting coral. The small fish nibble clean any wounds or parasites. Win-win: the little fish get a meal & the mantas stay healthy. The mantas are filter feeders, plankton, so the small fish are not in jeopardy of being eaten. In fact they swim inside the mantas mouth & do oral hygiene. Very interesting to watch. The water was murky, but Scott video & photos turned out surprisingly well.

The second dive today Serge baited the sharks. We had been on one of these experiences years ago in Moorea. A big frozen tuna head was lowered into the water in a wire cage. We dove while the tormented grey reef sharks swirled around smelling but not yet able to eat it. After Marc, Wilfred & Scott got their fill of close up shark photos, Serge tripped the line to open the cage & the mayhem began. I\’m not afraid, but I don\’t love it. We kept a safe distance from the short-lived feeding frenzy. I find it more enjoyable to watch sharks calmly swimming vs in a feeding frenzy. We had one other French tourist who had apparently requested to see this, which is why they did it. It has been a very enjoyable 3 days of diving here & we look forward to diving at 2 more Tuamotu atolls before spending the cyclone season in Tahiti.

We are checking the weather & will pick our time in the next day or two for the overnight sail to Rangiroa, the largest of the Tuamotu atolls. Wilfred gave us a referral for a dive operation there. Everyone who we\’ve spoken to that has visited raves about it.

Cindy & Scott

Dear F&F,

August 24-26, 2009
Manihi Life

This is a nice spot, very comfortable anchorage. A 3rd sailboat pulled in today, \”Aquarius\”. The captain is an older British guy, Arthur, with 2 crew (1 South African, 1 from the Canary Islands). He\’s been cruising 20 years, since his wife passed away. Scott tried to help Arthur get his Sailmail going. They fixed one computer problem but there is still a modem issue. Scott sent a tech support request email. Hopefully he\’ll get some helpful advice.

We are waiting for Marc\’s arrival to get back in the water – soon we hope. The outgoing dive guide, Serge, that will be replaced by Marc did not want to take us diving today. He is preparing to return to Paris in 1 week (death of his mother, needs to help settle the estate, plans to be there a while).

So we had \”free time\” this morning. That sounds funny, I know, but we usually have some kind of agenda. We did a few jobs: changed the sheets, changed the watermaker filters. I had defrosted some chicken that I needed to cook. I opened an experimental can of yellow curry paste I bought in Costa Rica. I think Mary said she\’d tried it & said it was really good. When I opened the can the smell of lemongrass rose to my nose. It reminds me of the smell of Thai chicken coconut soup which I love. I started with a small scoop & got braver as I kept tasting how the flavors blended with the condensed mushroom soup, coconut milk and chicken bouillon. Frozen peas & a can of sliced mushrooms were added to fill it out. Yum! It will be great over rice.

While I washed the pile of dishes I\’d created I listened to audio French lesson #1. Scott got motivated to make a concerted effort to learn some every day & is up to lesson #4. It is sad how much we have forgotten since the days when we took Berlitz while having the boat built in France. Something about \”use it or lose it\”.

After being in the galley for 3 hours, I decided to cool off with a swim/snorkel. The visibility was kind of hazy along the shallow coral reef. It always feels great to be in the water & there were plenty of small reef fish to see.

Scott meanwhile went to shore with his media computer hoping that some Adobe updates would help solve the snags he\’s having with his video editing program. First it took 45 minutes to update the anti-virus software. He came back to the boat after 3 hours, leaving his computer there to continue loading the updates that would take the rest of the day. Welcome to slow speed internet. Tempting to use, but frustrating as heck. It was to a very kind & patient American Airlines booking agent that helped me purchase my ticket to California via a poor Skype connection. I am so happy to have that trip nailed down

It was 15 minutes in the dinghy to the hotel / dive center dock. Going is the easy direction. Returning we slam into the wind & swell. We did not see Serge, so just asked some departing tourists to point us in the direction of the airport. I always feel a bit weird when I finally get to stride out & stretch my legs when we haven\’t been on shore much. The waiting room was an open air thatched roof with some benches. The runway was right there. Serge pulled up in a hotel golf cart that they use to transport the guests the 1/2 mile to the hotel. It was great to see Marc strolling off the tarmac in white linen shirt & long pants. We never saw him in anything but a wetsuit or lava lava before (polynesian wrapped skirt). His hair was cut short and he lost 10 lbs – looks great! Serge & Marc began chatting in high speed French. Scott & I could only smile to each other & wish we had stuck with learning the language before this trip. C\’est la vie, no time like the present. Marc had 2 carry on bags & 1 checked. His dive gear etc will arrive on the cargo ship tomorrow. Serge showed him to his new home, a hotel staff bungalow. Less private, but nicer than his digs in Fakarava. We visited with them a while, convinced Serge to pick us up in the dive boat at 7:00 a.m. tomorrow & excused ourselves. We could tell the two of them had a lot to discuss, mostly we just wanted to be part of Marc\’s welcoming committee. I quietly left some cake I baked last night in his room. I knew he was coming, so I baked a cake…as the saying goes.

Scott took cupcakes into Xavier, Kenny & Sylvan. In return Scott came back with half a loaf of Xavier\’s bread machine bread that was really good. It had some seeds in it, nice to have something besides low quality plain white baguette. Scott thinks the Tahiti baguettes will be better. So far I\’m not impressed, but white bread isn\’t my thing.

The other 2 boats have decided to have happy hour on Xavier\’s pier at sunset. Eight guys & me. It\’s ok. We won\’t stay long since we have to get out all the dive gear, pump tanks, etc. So that\’s our day. Eager to dive tomorrow. Hopefully it will be Serge, Marc & us. Maybe one other couple. The early dive is inside the lagoon, there is a cleaning station where a few manta rays are known to come. It is always a treat for us to see mantas up close. The 2nd dive will be on the reef on the outside of the atoll.

Scott checked on the progress of his computer updates. It had stalled so not much progress. Perhaps the power convertor had blown so the computer went to sleep? Anyway, he re-connected & is letting it work all night, hopefully it will finish. Xavier is very kind to let us boaters use his facilities, such as they are.

Cindy & Scott

Dear F&F,

August 20-22, 2009
Apataki, Tuamotu Atolls

We had one more day of diving at Toau\’s coral garden. The following day we dinghied out there but had to cancel diving due to 6 foot breaking waves on the reef. The next day we decided we\’d had our fill of Toau, so slipped our lines from the mooring. There was not enough wind to sail, so we motored 17 miles to the south entrance of Apataki atoll. The only village is in the south, but we had heard that the good diving is 15 miles up the lagoon in the north. We took a few photos then continue north. There were no other boats. A couple of isolated beach shacks, but basically pristine sand/coral beaches, swaying palm trees & crystal clear water. We could tell the tide was coming in so went out the north pass then came right back in, just to check it out. Tomorrow we plan to dive there, towing the dinghy. It has the potential of being as good as south Fakarava.

Our only problem with this beautiful atoll was finding a safe place to anchor. There are many coral heads very shallow that we must avoid. The beaches drop off steeply. Not far from shore is too deep to anchor. So we wandered up & down the coast searching for a good \”campsite\”. Scott got in the dinghy while I managed the big boat to try to better see the coral heads & using the depth sounder check the depth, searching for a safe place to anchor. We must envision the wind coming from any possible direction & make sure we are safe with the amount of scope (length of anchor chain) we need to put out for a certain depth. Usually 4 or 5:1 ratio, meaning if the water is 40 feet deep we will put out 160 (4x) or 200 (5x) feet of chain. That makes for a wide swing, so we have to assess every bit of water that is in our path. The wind is very light & predicted to stay this way for a week, but we must be prepared for any possible change. Although the 5 hour trip was lovely, the 3 hours trying to find a safe place to anchor was hot & we got weary. At least we had plenty of daylight so were not stressed about putting down in the dark.

It is such a contrast to be completely alone compared to packed in with 8 other boats at the last place. I prefer this. There is always a concern that we could have a dinghy engine problem & might have difficulty rowing back to the big boat, with no one to radio for assistance. But that is just a worry. Like you can worry about having a flat tire on the highway at night. It will be a fairly long dinghy ride to the dive site, the pass. We are glad we bought 5 gallons of unleaded from Gaston. We are hopeful that what we see in the pass will be great. We could stay here a week if it\’s good.

We got the nicest email from Werner, a German dive instructor in Indonesia. He found our website by searching the web for diving websites, then subscribed. He wrote us, saying that he just finished reading every Ship\’s Log from start (Sept 2007) to current. I was flabbergasted & very flattered. That is a lot of reading! He says he is envious of our travels & told us of places in Indonesia where he thinks the mantas are also friendly like San Benedicto. We look forward to meeting him one day.

We are kicking back tonight. We\’ll haul out the dive gear tomorrow & hopefully have reports of great things tomorrow night.

*************

Yesterday we were so gung-ho to dive that we loaded our gear & zoomed the 15 minute dinghy ride to the pass to watch for the incoming tide. We don\’t dive when it is flowing out because it can push you down as well as out & that is not safe when we are alone. If we lost control of the dinghy it would be hard to retrieve it in the open ocean. If we lost it with an incoming tide, we have a good chance to retrieve it inside the lagoon. We had to wait almost 2 full hours for the tide to turn. It was interesting to watch the whole process. Seeing the outside waves reduce and then the inside turbulence begin. Everything gets flat calm at slack tide & then within minutes it starts flowing the opposite direction, into the lagoon. That\’s when we dropped down, me holding the video camera, Scott holding the line to tow the dinghy. The current got very strong within 10 minutes. Visibility was just ok, not great. We did not see any sharks, but we were unable to stay at the deeper place very long as we kind of got blown into the lagoon by the strong current. We each grabbed on to a rock or piece of coral to stop & look around. I did a little filming, but it is too hard to manage clearing my ears, inflating or deflating my B.C., make sure I don\’t smash the lens port of the camera housing into a rock or scratch it on coral. This kind of adventure diving is always challenging especially the first time we dive a new site. There are old pieces of rebar sticking up on the sides of the pass which was also a concern to not bash the dinghy into them. These are old fish pens that no longer have chicken wire on them so no fish are trapped. It was an exhilarating dive. But the stress to enjoyment ratio was not good, especially for Scott struggling with the dinghy. We had such high hopes for this pass, but are disappointed.

The next day we dive on our anchor putting lift bags as needed to assist lifting when we are ready to leave. We explore the coral heads near \”Beach House\” which are pretty & alive with smaller fish.

Just before sunset a panga (don\’t know what the French word for it is) with 3 local guys came over, wanting to sell us some fish they just caught. Apparently they live in one of the shacks on the beach near us. Three brothers, one of them has a baby & there are older parents. So 6 people in one shack. Hard to imagine. The structures look so run down we thought they were abandoned. They were very friendly but disappointed that we did not want to buy a fish. We spoke in our broken French & their broken English. They will sell their fish in the south village. They said some is even shipped to Tahiti for sale. They don\’t see many boats up here, so we are somewhat of a curiosity. They mentioned sharks in the pass. We told them we didn\’t see any. They said they would be in the village today but would come show us the sharks on Sunday. We\’ll see.

Cindy & Scott

Dear F&F,
August 9-10, 2009

We patched the gennaker successfully. I went snorkeling to cool off, very nice. Then a nap & editing my journal for the website\’s \”Ships Logs\”. There are now four other boats anchored by us, one is \”Uliad\” who we first met via radio sailing on the Galapagos to Marquesas passage. We are thinking to go ashore tomorrow & say our farewell to Marc. Then motor to the north of Fakarava Monday. I will have a chance to buy eggs, milk & oatmeal there. Any fruit or veggie they have. A supply of baguettes and chocolate croissants. We still won\’t know our timing for Tahiti until Tuesday at the earliest. We will probably head to Toau Atoll on Tuesday.

Scott has worked on video editing all day. It takes many, many hours of editing for him to come up with a 3 minute segment for the website. I nag him periodically to stand up & move around for his back. He will likely upgrade to a straight hard drive camera & new housing on our next trip home. It will save him hours of the tedious step uploading the mini digital video tapes to a hard drive. The new one will be drag & drop. He can use the same expensive wide angle lens, so that\’s good.

Aug 10
Marc came over last night to work on photo & video stuff with Scott. I handed each of them a bowl of rice, cut up beef & green beans when it became apparent that there would be no dinner break. It was fun to see them in their element. We are really blessed that we\’ve been making new friends along the way.

Yesterday Steven, the M.D. on sailboat \”Uliad\” kindly made a \”house call\” to examine my ear. One look & he said there was no mystery why I couldn\’t hear well. He pulled out a bunch of wax with a little plastic tool; an ear currette. He showed Scott how & gave us the tool. He also instructed me to rinse with mild soapy fresh water (ear bulb in the shower) after being in the ocean, whether for a dive or snorkel. And to continue using my alcohol or vinegar/peroxide drops too. My ear was too sore for him to get all the wax so I used Debrox drops last night & tried to flush out more wax this morning. It is weird and somewhat jarring to hear clearly out of the right ear for the first time in a long time. I am very relieved that there is nothing more complicated than wax to deal with. Apparently, I not only have my father\’s nose, but his ears too!

During the day we went ashore for a walk. I also had one last snorkel at the pier. I saw my fishy friends & cooled off.

Last night the wind came more from the north which makes it feel like we are underway, even though we are still tied to the mooring.

August 10
This morning I asked to speak to Mary after the guys had their radio chat. There was a lot of static, but it was still nice to hear her voice. Their daughter is flying in from Scotland soon & will stay with them onboard for 2 months.

We are conflicted, but think we will motor the 30 miles back to north Fakarava today. We are envisioning happy news from the visa office in Papeete. If they do not grant our delay and tell us we must be there for the renewal process August 14, perhaps one of us could fly to Papeete since there is an airport out of North Fakarava. If we can find someone to keep an eye on the boat I think it would be fun, although pricey, for both of us to go. Anyway, I\’m not really worried about it, it will work out somehow. It\’s all an adventure.

Cindy & Scott

Dear F&F,
August 1-4, 2009

We have sort of lost track of our time here (that\’s a good thing) so I looked it up: half a month on this atoll & we could stay another week. Here\’s what\’s happened the past 4 days:

August 1
Fun dive with Jill, Dan, Marc and several hundred gray reef sharks. I do not have words to describe it. You\’ll just have to wait for the video. This afternoon we moved \”Beach House\” to the anchorage on the north side of the pass which saves us about 15 minutes in dinghy ride time to get to the dive site. We have no way to get more gas for the dinghy, so are trying to use it sparingly now.

Our anchor & chain are fouled up on some coral & Scott was unable to dive it free easily. He\’ll have to try again when we have more hours of daylight to do the job. It is impossible to see the coral from the surface except with good overhead sun. Any wind also makes it hard to see below. I hated to separate from David & Mary, but there hopefully David will dive with our group tomorrow morning. I invited them for lunch tomorrow. I sure hope they will come for one last social event before we part ways. I was encouraged to hear David say they that their plans may include spending a second winter in New Zealand. In which case we may catch up to them again December 2010. That would be loads of fun.

August 2
It probably sounds like the long goodbye and in a way it has been. We had our farewell luncheon with David & Mary today. She gave me a shell to remember her by. It was a thoughtful memento & I will never forget it is from her since it is the color of her hair, a lovely copper red. She\’s been collecting shells from beaches wherever they go & sewing them into decorations on fabric. David brought their IPOD to play Fado music from Portugal for us. It is Spanish style guitar, a banjo type instrument & a woman singer. Portuguese sounds like no other language. Although not a word was understood, you could feel the drama & angst in the ballads. Some of it was up tempo with African rhythms, very nice. After music & lentils we took them into our bedroom (amidst much joking that we have been waiting for this moment all this time…) to show today\’s diving video. We got split into 2 groups today. Jill, Dan, Scott & I with the owner of the dive shop, who is a local guy whose name sounds like Sunny but spelled Sane. Marc the French dive master took 3 from \”E.T.G.\” & David. We all saw the parade of sharks, fish, coral & had a fabulous dive. It was nice to share it with Mary, who snorkels but does not scuba dive.

Tears were on the brim, but I was very brave & did not sob on David\’s shoulder when he gave me a final bear hug. I feel so blessed that we have shared the past 6 weeks with them.

We confirmed with Marc that it is ok to tie up to the mooring that is right next to where we are anchored. Scott dove on the anchor & used inflatable lift bags to get our chain & anchor off the reef so I could raise it with the windlass. When we are ready, it will make it much easier to leave here this way. It was so nice to have only the 5 minute dinghy ride this morning. And I am thrilled that every day the first dive will start 30 minutes later, so the mornings won\’t be so early & rushed.

We are really enjoying Jill & Dan\’s company. The 3 Texans anchored next to us went diving with Marc once too. Scott & Marc have been swapping photo tips. He emails us when we leave shore & are on \”Beach House\” since we don\’t have a cell phone & he does not have a radio. He writes us in French & English to help us learn. Terrific guy. It is bit lonely out here since his last French girlfriend got bored & left. You\’d really have to be into diving to want to live here. Even so, it is just a strip of sand with a few palm trees where only (including Marc), six people live. I think after another 6 weeks of these atolls it will be refreshing to arrive in Tahiti & enjoy the benefits of civilization plus the \”Society Islands\” are high islands, so more hiking opportunities. But I am being where my atoll is & doing just fine right now. Better than fine. Really happy & I feel soooo lucky. It feels like this is my reward for all the not fun parts.

August 3
Marc the dive master just swam from his house on shore to our boat. Scott is sharing underwater video & photos with him, a kindred spirit. I braided my hair in 2 braids like Jill today & wore my clear skirt mask not the black one & left off my nerdy beanie. It looks so much better in the photos. Scott took some cute shots of Jill & I together for Peggy. Also Jill & Dan kissing underwater! Such adorable lovebirds.

August 4
We are the only boat in either anchorage down here by the south pass. This will be \”Giselle\’s\” second night at sea. When we chat with them on the radio in the morning, hopefully they\’ll be in view of Tahiti. This morning they reported very light winds so slow sailing, but comfortable.

We woke up with the wind blowing from the north & now it has shifted west. This was predicted, but thankfully it is not strong. We were slopping around on the mooring which made me queasy, but I was quick to put on the wrist zapper & I do think the thing is helping. Hallelejah!

We only did one dive this morning; fun with sharks as usual. Scott\’s back was a bit delicate & it was cloudy when it was time for the second dive so we decided to pass. He feels much better lying flat on the heating pad. Bending & lifting no bueno. At 3:00 p.m., I dinghied to the pension to pick up Jill & Dan for a visit. They enjoyed seeing \”Beach House\” & we swapped underwater photos of each other. The owner of the operation Sunny picked them up near sunset. I cannot in good conscience use the word resort to describe the facilites: there is no hot water, food is limited to fish & coconuts, the cabins are open air with mosquito netting around the bed. But the diving is amazing. They go out fishing with Sunny for their dinner every night. They seem to enjoy it & know it is fresh, that\’s for sure. Too much camping for my taste, but they really love the quiet, non-touristy, rustic aspects of this remote place.

This evening I decided to bake oat & chocolate cakes. Oat cakes are a perfect glycemic index food. The chocolate cake is a package mix & evil in every way. That\’s why it\’s called Devil\’s Food! It is surely wishful thinking to imagine that baking them at the same time could elicit an insulin balancing effect�

Tomorrow we are not diving to do some maintenance. Change the oil in the scuba compressor. Change water maker filters, chase mildew, etc. I am often surprised by how full our days are.
The view from the cockpit is lovely this evening with the near full moon rising. I must retrieve my laundry to hang it inside overnight. We haven\’t had much rain recently, but I\’ve learned that it can always come out of nowhere, so I hang the clothes indoors at night.

Thursday will be our last day diving with Jill & Dan, they fly back to San Diego Friday. What a nice treat for us to share their vacation. Jill will be starring in one of Scott\’s \”shark week\” videos�stay tuned!
Cindy & Scott