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A fairly uneventful day. As planned we moved around to Baie de Cook. We’re tucked right in and can see the beautiful scenery. In the afternoon we went ashore and walked around a little to see what’s there. My cold is getting better but my wrist is getting worse. Mike on Callisto is a doctor and he confirmed I have tendonitis. Even dosed up on ibuprofin it’s giving me constant pain and I can hardly do anything with my right hand. I’m learning how to do everything now with my left. After the morning net three dinghies headed south to the end of the bay rendezvousing with two more from vessels further in. Soon we had folks from Whiskers, Callisto, Jackster, Sea Mist and us on the road for an easy hike to Belvedere. This was a lookout with views of both Opunohu and Cook Bays. The hike started off very cool in the shaded valley but soon became quite humid. Fortunately the hike wasn’t too strenuous. My cold was really setting in and I wasn’t up for too much exertion. A lot of cruisers have colds at the moment. I think it was mixing it up with the crowds in Pape’ete has exposed us to all the latest strains. Back on the boat after lunch Gerald from Whiskers as well as Tom from Emily Grace showed up to discuss our leak. There was concern we may have corrosion which would be quite serious. To be on the safe side the immediate remediation was to use epoxy to seal the leaking joint and then seal that over with a layer of self bonding tape. I did all this and upon testing we are again dry. Somewhere along the way I managed to aggravate my wrist which is now extremely painful. I suspect it may be related to the sore throat, etc. I have but can’t be sure. There are a few medical professionals on nearby boats who I may consult today. Not sure of our plans for today but right now I don’t feel up to much. The weather on Monday still hadn’t cleared up from the weekend but this didn’t stop us going out and about. Late in the morning we dinghied along the western channel behind the reef looking for a spot we’d heard stingrays showed up if we did. The first stop we made on some mooring balls turned out to have some carved stone heads lying on the sea floor. This was interesting but the sea life was pretty poor. We headed further west past one of those luxury resorts with accommodations out over the water and tied up to some more moorings. Before we were in the water it was evident we were in the right place. We were surrounded by rays and black tipped reef sharks. We assumed the fish must be fed by visiting boats and expected more of the same from us. The water was about 5 feet deep and I must admit I was a little nervous particularly when the rays would often swim under us. Memories of Steve Irwin. Nearby where we were tied off was a deeper channel where large numbers of remoras circulated amongst some more black tipped reef sharks. Heading back to the boat the heavens opened on us and we arrived feeling very cold and certainly very wet. Even the cold water in the shower felt warm and the warm water felt bliss. The weather was patchy all afternoon. I tried to further troubleshoot a leak that has developed around one of our through hulls and is gradually increasing – not good news. It started on our trip from the Tuamotus to Tahiti. I was able to stop it once but now it’s restarted and worse than before. At 5pm we had a BBQ aboard with Whiskers and Callisto. I ran my leak problem by Gerald who has built a few boats. He’s agreed to come and take a closer look today. We had a lot of fun, as ever, chatting, eating and drinking, although I’d lost my appetite. I think I’m coming down with a cold caught from the recent crowds of people we’ve been mingling with. Today we’re off for a hike to a scenic point called Belvedere then walking down to the next bay to explore the town there before finding our way back here. Should be fun. It’s dark right now but the stars are out. Looks like good weather finally. It seems the trade off for the great winds for the sail over here was a cold overcast day with plenty of rain. Despite this we all had a lot of fun. In the morning we had the canoe racing. We formed a team of four with Mike from Callisto. We ran in the first heat and came second, half a boat length behind a team of fit men. Out of about 40 teams our time was overall 6th so we figured that wasn’t so bad. There were a number of other events of which some we missed watching due to being back on the boat. The day finished with some prize giving for event winners and a third and final Polynesian dance. During this dance, both Helen and I were separately pulled up to dance with the professional dancers. Big, big thanks to the organizers of the puddle jump. To anyone reading this following our wake I’d thoroughly recommend joining the puddle jump rendezvous for your crossing. We had planned a BBQ on the boat with friends but the weather was not up to it so we ended up having a needed restful night alone. At dusk a pinch of sky in the west turned blue giving us a nice sunset and providing a hint of the true beauty of this island. We started the morning with my waking John up a little earlier than he’d have perhaps wanted to go to the supermarket for fresh baguettes and some more beer. There was an offer on the local beers as long as one bought 20 50cl bottles which made the price come down to somewhere close to decent. We munched our fresh bread and made the boat ready to sail. As we waited Sea Mist arrived from the anchorage on the other side of the airport and ended up rafted up against us while we waited for the 9am departure for the start of the race (no – it was a rally !!). There was a buzz of excitement as nearly 40 boats made their way outside of the harbour ready for the official start of the race (no – it was a rally !!). The race (rally) started at 9:30 in light winds. We cheated a little and pushed ourselves along in the light air keeping in the middle of the pack. Soon we hit the winds coming from the SE and were flying in 20 knots of wind and creeping higher. Dignity loves the high winds and we were flying along between 9 and 11 knots. As the winds reached the high 20s we reefed the main. Most of the monohulls around us were wetting their rails – one or two wee almost flattened against the water. The end of the race (no!!! – rally) was exiting. I’d noticed that the regen had been on for a while so I made sure it was off and we suddenly gained pace on the boats around us. The line to the finish was tighter than most boats could make, including us, so most of the boats were making a tack or two in close quarters right between the buoys. As the boats made it into the anchorage it became quite packed. We found a good spot on a sand bar in only 8 feet of water. With stronger winds predicted I dove on the anchor and found it buried in sand – perfect. I did later ready a second anchor in case we dragged over night. In the five years the Puddle Jump has been run this was by far the most wind they’ve had. As far as we know everyone was fine and no boats were damaged so that made it a perfect start to the day’s festivities. With the wind being so strong and every one arriving early we had quite a wait for the evening’s fun. At 5pm we went ashore to witness more Tahitian dancing (very erotic I think). A few gifts were given to random people. Helen received a basket woven out of palm leaves. Then came the BBQ which we’d paid for earlier which we ate under a large marquee. We sat with Whiskers and Callisto but throughout the evening we chatted with many of our other friends made along the way. Overnight the winds continued to blow strong. If anyone dragged it happened without waking us up despite our having the radio on overnight. The wind gen really earned it’s keep. It has rained overnight but now it is quiet. Hopefully the weather will improve for today where there are Tahitian canoe races to participate in and other events. |
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