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.
by Judy Handley | Jul 7, 2006 | French Polynesia - Society Islands, Sailing Logs Year 1 |
Day 263, Year 1: Snorkeling, Snorkeling, and Birthday Dinner at Bloody Mary’s
Date: Friday, July 7, 2006
Weather: Mixed Rain and Sunshine and Wind—Front Passing Through
Location: Bora Bora (Society Islands, French Polynesia)
The weather here really has not been cooperating, but we are still having a great time. During our time in Bora Bora, we have spent more time wet than dry, sometimes soaked from rough dinghy rides into town, but we have survived. Tonight for Mark’s 64th birthday, Lee and Mary Ellen took us out to eat at Bloody Mary’s. In order to get there we had to wear full foul weather gear over our Polynesian dress-very strange attire! Bloody Mary’s is a really interesting place-from the sand floors to the waterfall sink for washing hands. Tonight Australian TV was there video taping for their version of the Travel Channel. It was a fun evening and a great way to spend our last evening with Mary Ellen and Lee. They fly back to Tahiti tomorrow and we will miss them very much.
Our day started with a snorkel not far from where we are anchored. It is an area where the local dive establishments bring their clientele and this morning there were lots of people. It was still enjoyable, however, as we got to benefit from the local knowledge of the dive masters on the different boats. They were feeding an eight foot-long moray eel and then holding it up for all to see. I felt a little sorry for the eel, but it was fun to see one that large. Most of the local dive masters all seem to be male and dress in very traditional Polynesian dive attire-a sarong thong. Mary Ellen came up to the dinghy from snorkeling to make sure I didn’t miss that sight! Some of the female tourists that were diving also had on very interesting attire that kept Mark and Lee busy.
After the morning snorkel, we went to town to have lunch and on our way back to the boat we ended up in a driving rain. But never fear. As soon as we returned to the boat, the rain stopped, the wind came up, and the sun shone through the clouds. The second snorkel of the day was back at the same place, but this time Windbird’s dinghy was the only boat there. It was fascinating to see the difference in fish behavior in the same area from morning to late afternoon. This afternoon the butterfly fish were swimming in schools along with other schools of fish. During our other visits we have just seen a few of each kind of fish. There was even a school of trumpet fish this afternoon and a really big spotted ray. Mark got to swim with that one which made a great birthday present for him.
We will be here in Bora Bora only another day before we return to Raiatea for a few days. We hope to come back here for Bastille Day on July 14, and then it is off to Raratonga.
by Judy Handley | Jul 6, 2006 | French Polynesia - Society Islands, Sailing Logs Year 1 |
Day 262, Year 1: Circumnavigating Bora Bora
Date: Thursday, July 6, 2006
Weather: Mixed Rain and Sunshine
Location: Bora Bora (Society Islands, French Polynesia)
The sun was shining this morning which made us all very happy, so we took off in the dinghy to travel all the way around the island of Bora Bora. Our first stop was in town for some French pastries, but on our way in we realized that we were headed right into the start of the one-man canoe races that are part of Heiva. The guide boats motioned for us to head to shore, which we did, but that put us in very shallow water with lots of coral heads. We had to turn off the motor and paddle our way to town carefully. That was a bit of a hassle, but we were very excited to have a front row seat for the races. There were the one-man junior and senior races, and the 12-man (actually not “man”, but vahine) race. Once the races were over we left the town dock and headed further north. We made a stop at a resort called Top Dive, which is a dive resort, in hopes of finding a guide to reef fish in the South Pacific. This was our last hope, but that book is no where to be found in French Polynesia. As we traveled on, the sunshine disappeared and we once again had rain. None of us had expected to be wearing ponchos and foul weather gear in Bora Bora, but that has been the case. With the rain came the clouds, but we could still easily see the shore. The mountains, however, were veiled in clouds. When we were about half-way around the 32-kilometer circuit, the rain stopped and sun tried hard to peek through. That made us all very happy. Once we rounded the southern tip of the island, we prepared to snorkel our way back to Windbird. I, of course, was in the dinghy but hanging over the side with my mask on. The current carried the boat faster than Mark, Mary Ellen, and Lee could swim, so once in a while, I would start the engine and back track.
The snorkeling here is just fantastic. The fish come right up to you and the water is just so very clear. We are going to try to work in two snorkels tomorrow before going out to dinner at Bloody Mary’s for Mark’s 64th birthday. Could he really be that old?!!!
We went to Monica and Felix’s boat, Makani, for sundowners before going into town for another night of Heiva competition. The other thing that is amazing here is the dancing. How people can move their bodies like these people do is simply beyond understanding. The singing and dance presentations were once again just spectacular, and the drumming and music is just wonderful. In the log for Day 259, I explained about the different types of dances. I guess I should also explain about the different types of singing. I’ll do that here and sign off for tonight.
The first himene (singings) created in the early 20th century are a sort of mixture of Polynesian traditional polyphonic singings and religious hymns brought by the first British missionaries. There are three types of himenes: 1) himene tarava is very complex and is sung by 60 to 80 singers with 6 to 10 different parts, 2) the himene ru’au is sung acapella and has a slow tempo with all singers sitting in a semi-circle facing the chorus chief, and 3)and the ‘ute which is much more light-hearted and sung by two or three people accompanied with traditional or modern instruments. Every night when we attend the Heiva presentation, we see all three kinds of himenes performed. There are only about five thousand people on this island and each town competes. The singing groups have at least 80 singers and the dance groups have at least 60. We’re not sure where all of the people are coming from. We assume that almost everyone in some of the little towns are performing, but they perform like professionals while making their culture come alive for the visitors to the island.
by Judy Handley | Jul 5, 2006 | French Polynesia - Society Islands, Sailing Logs Year 1 |
Day 261, Year 1: Fighting the Weather
Date: Wednesday, July 5, 2006
Weather: Another Cloudy, Rainy Day in Bora Bora
Location: Bora Bora (Society Islands, French Polynesia)
The weather here is really not cooperating. Today started out as a bit of an overcast day, but by 10 AM the rains set in and we continued to have heavy rains for the remainder of the day. Every time we thought it was going to clear, the rain returned with a revenge. In the middle of the afternoon, we had 25 knot winds in the anchorage with white caps. By 4 PM calmer weather returned and at this time it looks like things might clear up. Let’s just hope that is correct.
Last night we attended a Heiva program in Vaitape. We arrived around 7:30 PM for the 8:00 PM show. First we saw singing which was very good and then the dancing program started at about 9 PM. This was spectacular. There were about 60 dancers involved and their costumes were really beautiful. It was so great that we hope to go back tomorrow nights to see other groups perform.
We started our day today with another snorkeling adventure and just as the rains started, we returned to the boat. We took it easy for the remainder of the day and waited for the rains to stop. The snorkeling adventure was truly remarkable. We tied to a buoy used by the hotel dive boats and it was immediately obvious that they feed the fish in this area. You could literally put your hand in the water and scoop up fish if you so desired. There was a greater variety than we saw yesterday and we just truly enjoyed the moment.
The rest of the day was spent trying to stay dry. We are truly hoping for a better tie tomorrow. We had Monica and Felix from Makani over for dinner tonight and had a great time socializing with old friends. Unfortunately, it is late and I am very tired, so I’ll sign off for tonight. I will add more detail tomorrow.
by Judy Handley | Jul 4, 2006 | French Polynesia - Society Islands, Sailing Logs Year 1 |
Day 260, Year 1: Happy Birthday, USA!
Date: Tuesday, July 4, 2006
Weather: A Cloudy, Rainy Day in Bora Bora
Location: Bora Bora (Society Islands, French Polynesia)
Morning comes early these days. Before 0700, Lee and Mary Ellen are up and making coffee. Mark and I slowly wake up and by 0730, I am on the radio listening to the Coconut Net. On this morning’s net it was reported that Steve on the sailing vessel Oz was flying an American flag in Papeete the size of a spinnaker this morning. I’m sure that got the Americans there in the celebration mode. It’s hard to keep track of US holidays out here. Mary Ellen is wearing red, white, and blue today, but I don’t think we will see any fireworks. Hope your July 4th has been a good one.
By 0800 this morning, we were off in the dinghy to go snorkeling. I decided to go along and try what my daughter Heather suggested-putting on my mask and snorkel and hanging my head over the side of the dinghy with my mask in the water. It works! It’s a little hard on the back and I really need to be careful of that, but I do think I am going to be able to enjoy all of the underwater wonders here along with the rest of the gang. The fish we saw this morning were beautiful. Lots of different kinds of fish-butterfly fish of all kinds, lots of Moorish Idols and Sergeant Majors, a few parrot fish, beautiful yellow trumpet fish, and many other varieties that we are still trying to identify. We returned to Windbird by 1000 and did a little fish and flower research in the limited books we have aboard.
The weather took a downturn when we returned to the boat. We had watched rain storms in the distance as we snorkeled, but they caught up with us. The rain continued until mid-afternoon when the clouds persisted without the rain. We are hoping that there will be a return of beautiful sunny weather here in paradise tomorrow morning.
After lunch, Mark, Mary Ellen, and Lee headed into Vaitape, the major town here. They went to see if it is possible to rent some sort of wheel chair for me so I can negotiate better on land. I am using the crutches, but it is very difficult to walk long distances. Either I am in terrible physical shape or walking on crutches and hopping about on one foot is much harder that one would suspect. And then there is the crawling up and down steps that I have to do. Great way to travel! Unfortunately, the only way to get a wheel chair here is to have a doctor order it from Papeete and you have to buy it for $600-no rental. While in town, the crew also checked into the schedule for Heiva activities over the next few days. We will be going in tonight to see the festivities.
Heiva (pronounced Hay-ee-va) is a major cultural event in French Polynesia that begins on June 29 and culminates on July 14, Bastille Day. Before 1985, when it became the Heiva I Tahiti, this famous cultural event was called Tiurai, which is a local form of the English word “July”. Tiurai was organized for the first time in July of 1881, one year after France had annexed Tahiti. Absolutely no dancing was allowed as it was considered obscene by the British missionaries and had been abolished in 1820, but the French gave a party for the locals that was festive and included games, entertainment, and a singing contest. This went on for almost 100 years. In 1985, just after French Polynesia obtained its ability to govern internally, the South Pacific Art Festival was organized in Tahiti and the Tiurai became the Heiva I Tahiti. The local government instituted a gathering day on June 29th – called Hiva Vae Vae- which marks the beginning of the Heiva festivities. Under the current government, this is a national holiday, but as we found out in Tahiti, most locals have no idea why they do not work on that day. When asked, they just reply, “Holiday.”
If the weather holds, we will head into town for the 8 PM Heiva presentations. There will be singing and dancing. Dancing returned in the mid-1900s and although there was a terrible cultural loss of original authenticity, prizes awarded today for dances perormed according to strict traditional form encourages a return to tradition. Four type of dances are presented during the Heiva contest : (1) the ote’a, (2) the aparima, (3) the hivinau, and (4) the pa’o’a. The ote’a is a dance that was once reserved for only men, but has become the dance we associate with Tahiti-wide and abrupt moves with quick, jerky hip movements. The aparima is the dance where the hands tell a story and is performed in either a cloth dress that “let’s you guess the vahine’s curves”, or in a costume of local vegetation like the traditional grass skirt. We have seen lots of examples of these two dances as we have traveled through the islands. The hivinau is the easiest and is not technically demanding, so I’m assuming that it is not often performed. We have not seen this dance, but it is performed in two concentric circle, usually one of vahines (women) and one of tanes (men). The pa’o’a dance is an acting out of making tapa cloth. It is accompanied by drums and there is slapping of the thighs. We think we saw this performed by men in Ua Pou.
I’ll talk about the different kinds of singing in tomorrow’s log and report on tonight’s performance.
