by Judy Handley | Jul 13, 2006 | French Polynesia - Society Islands, Sailing Logs Year 1 |
Day 269, Year 1: Life at the Dock in Raiatea
Date: Thursday, July 13, 2006
Weather: Beautiful, Sunny Day
Location: Uturoa, Raiatea (Society Islands, French Polynesia)
Today started off with Mark getting a haircut from Kathy on Po’oina roa as payment for the canvass work he did for them yesterday. She was a professional hairdresser back in California and did a great job.
Then Richard showed up with our autopilot – all repaired and ready to install. In less than half an hour Mark had it installed and we had tested it. Seems OK at the dock. Guess we’ll get a chance to test it under more realistic conditions tomorrow as we can now leave for Rarotonga. Just the possibility of leaving brought on a whole new list of tasks to be done. We had to check-out with the Gendarme, I needed to get new blood tests done to see if I am still OK, we needed to do some last minute grocery shopping, plus we had some cooking to do both to prepare meals for the passage and to have something to take to a dock party this evening. It was rush, rush, rush, but we got it all done.
At 1630 the crews of all the boats at the dock began to congregate just beside our boat. The decision was made to have in near our boat so Judy wouldn’t have far to walk. Everyone brought a contribution to the pot luck dinner and we ate heartily. The guys played botchi ball until we got a sudden downpour. Then it was a mad rush to close hatches, get umbrellas and shelter the food. Soon someone brought out a large beach canopy that provided protection for most of the gang. The rest stood around in groups under umbrellas. Shortly the rain had passed over. It certainly didn’t dampen our spirits or slow the merriment.
There are only a few more things to do to transform the boat from dockside living to passage making. And then we are off. I think we are both looking forward to doing a passage again, though this one may be a bit tougher with a leg in a cast. The weather window looks good and if that is confirmed in the morning weather report then it is off to Rarotonga!
by Judy Handley | Jul 12, 2006 | French Polynesia - Society Islands, Sailing Logs Year 1 |
Day 268, Year 1: A Sunny Day in Raiatea
Date: Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Weather: Beautiful, Sunny Day
Location: Uturoa, Raiatea (Society Islands, French Polynesia)
We got our wish. We awoke to a blue, sunny sky. After a few days of clouds and rain, it was certainly a welcome relief. James on Cheyanne left around 9 AM headed for Bora Bora, and Don and Barbara on Lutana II left shortly thereafter, also headed to Bora Bora. That left just Jerry and Kathy of Po’oina roa on the dock with us, but that changed quickly as they day progressed. Right now the dock is totally full, all US boats from the Pacific Northwest with the exception of the big French catamaran, Sarabi, and another big charter catamaran, Raiatea out of Papeete. The US boats are White Swan out of Port Townsend, Washington, Capaz out of Portland, Oregon (2 young boys aboard), Moorea out of Seattle, Washington, Ohana Kai out of Port Orchard, Washington (2 young boys aboard), and Seacor (young single-hander from the US). We have met the folks on White Swan back in the Marquesas in Ua Pou, but have not met the other cruisers. Kelly and Kelly of Moorea came over this evening to say hello. They are a great young couple from Washington and we enjoyed our conversation with them. They are probably in their mid-thirties and will be returning to work once this trip is over. Tomorrow night we are going to have a dock party here so we can all get to know one another.
Mark spent his morning in the local internet café and came home a couple of hours later very frustrated. The connection is just too slow for sending pictures, so we are going to have to send pictures on a CD in the regular mail to our son Justin. It will take awhile, but the pictures will get posted at some point. Mark returned to the boat just long enough to eat lunch and then he was off to Po’oina roa with his SailRite sewing machine to attempt his first canvas repair for another boat. It took all afternoon, but he was able to replace a zipper, repair damaged corners, and restitch areas where the thread had rotted in the sun. His repairs worked and he felt good that he was able to do this. Maybe he has a new career as a boat canvas maker?!!
I took a walk around the dock this morning to say good-bye to Lutana II, and then spent the rest of the day onboard editing pictures. Mid-afternoon here, our SAT phone rang. It was Mary Ellen and Lee. They arrived home last night and wondered if something was wrong since logs haven’t been posted for the past couple of days. I assured them that all is well here and that we have been sending the logs. Something went haywire with the website on Day 264 and nothing has posted since then. I hope that our son Justin will be able to get whatever it is that is wrong fixed soon. Until then, I will keep posting logs in hopes that they will get through soon.
And some great news this afternoon: Richard, the local guy who offers his services to cruisers came by to say that our autopilot part was in Papeete and would be shipped this afternoon. He should have it tomorrow and we should have a repaired autopilot no later than Friday. This is perfect timing as it looks like there may be a weather window opening up on Friday or Saturday that would allow us to take off for Rarotonga, which is about a five days sail away. We are anxious to get going now. We have seen French Polynesia and are ready to meet up with good friends Linda and Mike and their son Garrett.
by Judy Handley | Jul 11, 2006 | French Polynesia - Society Islands, Sailing Logs Year 1 |
Day 267, Year 1: Red Sails and a Full Moon in Raiatea
Date: Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Weather: Rain All Night and All Day; Weather Clearing in the Evening
Location: Uturoa, Raiatea (Society Islands, French Polynesia)
Tonight we actually saw red sails as the sun set. That is the first time since June 27 that we have actually seen any color associated with a sunset. It has been too cloudy to see anything. We are also sitting here under a party cloudy sky where we can actually see the full moon once in a while. We are hoping that these are signs that the terrible weather that has settled into this area is moving on. It rained all night last night and most of today. People on the net are starting to whine. From the Tuamotus to Tahiti to here, the weather has been just awful. All we can do is ask, “Where is the beautiful weather?” We know it is not here in the South Pacific right now.
Today was a “getting ready for passage” day. Since we are on the town dock, Mark was able to simply move the boat along the dock to get us to the fuel and water. We filled all tanks and moved ourselves back to where we had come from. I went through clothes drawers and pulled out things that we are never going to use out here. We will vacuum pack and store those things. I also worked on pictures for the website. We were unsuccessful in our attempt to send those today as the internet café was closed today, same as yesterday. We have been assured that they will be open tomorrow, however, and that we will be able to begin the sending process.
Maggie Drum left today for Tahaa, but Po’oina roa, Lutana, and Cheyenne are still here with us at the town dock. It has been very windy, and as a result, very noisy here, with water lapping against the dock, but we have been safe albeit not totally comfortable. I baked bread today and made chili for dinner and for our passage to Rarotonga. Tomorrow I will do more cooking for the passage, and we will hope that our auto pilot parts get here by week’s end. We will be ready to go as soon as the parts arrive.
Here’s hoping that we awaken to a clear sky in the AM. That would be wonderful.
by Judy Handley | Jul 10, 2006 | French Polynesia - Society Islands, Sailing Logs Year 1 |
Day 266, Year 1: Happy Birthday to My Sister Patsy!
Date: Monday, July 10, 2006
Weather: Still Sunshine Mixed with Clouds and Occasional Showers
Location: Uturoa, Raiatea (Society Islands, French Polynesia)
Today is my sister’s 73rd birthday. She’ll probably kill me for announcing her age to the world, but she looks so young that I think she should be proud. If I look half as good as her at 73, I’ll be a very happy person. So happy birthday to the world’s greatest sister.
We have had a productive day here on the dock in Uturoa today. We made the final orders for things that we hope the Stuarts will bring to us in Raratonga. I went to the hospital and had more blood tests and x-rays-all fine, and I worked on getting photos ready to send to the website. That’s where we ran into trouble. Again, we are having trouble finding an internet café that will let us use our computer and we have trouble using the French keyboards. There is one more place that Mark is going to try tomorrow, but if that doesn’t work, we will just copy the photos on CD and send them by snail mail to our son Justin. Very frustrating. But soon we hope you will be able to share some of the things we are seeing out here.
We are here on the quay or city dock in Uturoa along with five other boats tonight-Don and Barbara on Lutana II from Australia, single-hander James on Cheyenne from San Francisco, Jerry and Kathy on Po’oina roa from Los Angeles, Joe and Cindy on Maggie Drum from the Seattle, Washington area, and one French boat. We have not met the single-hander from the French boat, but we did invite everyone else over for cocktails and appetizers. The weather was pretty miserable-rainy and windy-but we were still able to all sit in the cockpit and enjoy each other’s company. One of the greatest things about cruising is getting together in the evenings with other cruisers to share war stories.
We are sure hoping for a break in this weather, but it could still be a few days. We’re keeping a watch on the formation of some low systems in the Raratonga area and hoping that they just move on. It is time for fair winds and sunshine in the South Pacific.
by Judy Handley | Jul 9, 2006 | French Polynesia - Society Islands, Sailing Logs Year 1 |
Day 265, Year 1: Goodbye to Bora Bora . . . Back to Raiatea
Date: Sunday, July 9, 2006
Weather: Still Sunshine Mixed with Clouds and Occasional Showers
Latitude: Not Recorded
Longitude: Not Recorded
Location: Uturoa, Raiatea (Society Islands, French Polynesia)
We are back at the city dock here in Uturoa, Raiatea. I decided that I should get here to have x-rays first thing in the morning. In case there is a problem, I need to have it taken care of ASAP so we will be ready to move on to the Cook Islands by this weekend. If everything is fine with my leg, then we will be able to sail back over to Tahaa to tour that island during the week while we are waiting for the auto pilot gears to arrive. It is good to be back here where I can actually step off the boat and walk around without climbing and crawling! We might just sit here this week and enjoy “city” life at the dock.
On the Coconut Net this morning, we finally found out why we are having such strange weather. The ITCZ, Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone, which is supposed to be up around the equator at this time of year, has dropped down and is sitting right over Tahiti. If this had happened anytime between November to April, we would have been on the lookout for cyclone formation, but at this time of year that is not a threat. It is just making for miserable weather in paradise. The prediction that it would move back north today has not happened, and no one seems to know what to expect. For now, it means that we have very little wind, causing warmer waters, which causes more rain. So for now, we will have to be happy with periods of sunshine and occasional rain. Today was better than the past few days in Bora Bora, so maybe the ITCZ is on the move north. When that happens, it will be time to head southwest to the Cook Islands. Right now, there is absolutely no wind out there, so anyone headed that way is motoring
by Judy Handley | Jul 8, 2006 | French Polynesia - Society Islands, Sailing Logs Year 1 |
Day 264, Year 1: Sadness Doth Prevail . . . Mary Ellen and Lee Fly Back to Tahiti
Date: Saturday, July 8, 2006
Weather: Still Sunshine Mixed with Clouds and Occasional Showers
Location: Bora Bora (Society Islands, French Polynesia)
Based on a calendar year of 365 days, we are now seventy-two percent into our first year of world cruising. Mark’s sister Mary Ellen and her husband Lee flew out of the Bora Bora airport this morning headed back to Tahiti. Tomorrow night they will fly to LA and arrive home in southwest Florida on Tuesday. What a wonderful two weeks we just spent with them. This is the third time we have had family visit us on this voyage, and each time it was been just fantastic. In addition to our visit from Mary Ellen and Lee, our kids joined us for Christmas in the Caribbean and then our daughter Heather and her husband Jed joined us in the Galapagos. I just can’t tell you how special it feels to share this experience with others.
We moved from our anchorage at the south end of Bora Bora this morning to be nearer to the town of Vaitape so we could get Mary Ellen and Lee to shore without getting them and their luggage wet. The wind was still blowing hard this morning and the lagoon waters were unsettled. Once we anchored near town, we were able to send Lee and the luggage to shore in one trip, and then Mary Ellen and I went in on the second trip. Mark and I hopped onboard the airport water shuttle with Mary Ellen and Lee and enjoyed a sunny ride to the airport which is out on a motu. The airstrip was built by the US Army during World War II and is still getting good use. The trip was delightful and we were finally able to get a few pictures of Bora Bora without gray clouds and rain. Mark and I returned to Vaitape and then headed back to Windbird. We had hoped to find a Laundromat in town, but no such luck. Mark saw Robin and John from Endangered Species on the dock while he was wondering through town and had a nice chat with them. They explained that they knew about my broken leg from a friend back in the US who checks in and reads our logs from time to time. We are constantly amazed at what a small world we live in. They told Mark that there was a washing machine at the Tahiti Yacht Club (no dryer), so we pulled up anchor, motored there, and picked up a mooring. With my broken leg, Mark now has more jobs to do than he can handle, so at least getting to wash sheets and towels in a machine that can spin things fairly dry relieves him of that responsibility. It was windy this afternoon, so most things are drying nicely. There is a constant threat of rain, however, so we have had to move everything into the cockpit. Thank goodness the sheets dried before the rains came.
Ready or not, we will leave Bora Bora tomorrow and make our way back to Raiatea. I should be there on Monday, Tuesday latest, for x-rays to see how my fibula is healing. We might stop at Tahaa tomorrow night and do a little touring there on Monday before going back into the city dock at Raiatea. The two islands share the same lagoon and are very close, so even if we stop in Tahaa, we know we can get to Raiatea by early Tuesday afternoon.
After Mary Ellen and Lee left this morning, I started thinking about our trip to date. What follows are a few of my thoughts.
First Mate Reflections
Saturday, July 8, 2006
We left Boston 263 days ago full of anticipation. We thought we knew what to expect, but there really is no way to fully prepare yourself for the wonderful things you experience out here. There is also no way to prepare for the “bumps” in the road. You just live each day to the fullest and take the good with the bad. All of us out here have learned to deal with boat problems. We knew to expect repairs, but still when something breaks or malfunctions, you wonder if this is happening only to you. Well, it is not. Every morning on the radio, I listen to different boats waiting in different ports for engine parts, watermaker parts, alternator and generator parts, new computers, etc. We have certainly had our share of repairs, but probably no more than most-except for the complete engine replacement at the start of the trip.
How are things holding up?
The new engine is doing great. Wires from the alternator seem to need tightening every few weeks, but otherwise, all electronics, with the exception of the more than 10-year old auto pilot, are doing great. Richard, the man we met on the dock in Raiatea, has the parts ordered to repair our auto pilot and hopes they will be in by the end of this coming week. The 4th of July holiday in the US held up shipment by a few days, so it will probably be the end of this week when the parts arrive.
Refrigeration has been a major problem for many, many boats, but so far, that has not been one of our problems. Of course, as soon as I say this, something will go wrong. But we have had no problems to date. The inside of the boat is fairly easy to maintain. We have one port that leaks during very heavy rains, but other than that, most everything inside has stayed nice and dry and mold and mildew free. There are many, many louvered doors that need dusting, but the invention of the Swifter has really helped with that job.
Outside, the varnish on our cockpit cap rail has had one refresher coat since we left home and it is time to put a maintenance coat on our wooden Dorade boxes, but the 15 coats of varnish I did prior to leaving has worked for the most part. It did not work on the rub rail and we are just letting it peel in the sun and hope that soon all the varnish will be gone. We will not re-varnish that. It is constantly in sea water and varnish is just not going to stick. The teak deck has been re-oiled once since we left and it is probably time to do that again, but at this point it still looks good.
Our sails have held up great so far, but the sunbrella UV protection on the edges of the headsail and staysail have had to be re-stitched. The dodger and bimini are holding up okay, but just a couple of weeks ago we had to take all the canvas off and re-stitch everything. The Sail-Rite sewing machine we bought for this trip is certainly paying for itself. We did not bring enough 3-M Fabric Guard with us to revitalize the waterproofing, so now in really heavy rains we get a few drops of water from the areas where the framing touches the canvas. But this is not a major problem. We know at some point we will have to replace the canvas, but hopefully not for another year.
The stainless always needs polishing, but we are actually surprised at how little maintenance is required. In fact, overall, we have been pleasantly surprised by how little time we do have to spend in up-keep. I know Mark feels like he is always repairing something, and he is, but the repairs are usually small things that don’t take a huge amount of time.
While Mary Ellen and Lee were here, we had constant trouble with our forward head. We are going to start sleeping forward for a couple of weeks and by using that head daily, we will hopefully figure out the problem. Our bed in the aft cabin is high and climbing up and down with this broken leg has been a challenge. I didn’t think I could get in the v-berth, but today when we took out the piece that bridges the two sides of the v in order to get me up there to flake the anchor chain, I discovered that it is much easier to get into than the aft cabin bed. So we are moving forward tonight. We have actually never slept in the v-berth, so now we will get to experience what our guests experience when onboard. That will be interesting.
Enough reflection for now. It’s time to fix dinner, so this first mate is signing off.
