Local kids doing "high fives" after church.

We haven’t had enough time today to put together an entry, so will leave you with a short message until tomorrow.

Got up at 0600 for breakfast because we went into the Church here in Bay of Virgins for Catholic Mass. It was all in Marquesan and it was beautiful. More tomorrow, but I’ll say that they had a guitar and ukelele to accompany the singers.

Then back to Charisma for boat projects. Ann made a bimini out of sun-shade fabric. A bimini is basically a tent that goes over the cockpit to provide some relief from the sun. It works!

I jumped in the incredibly warm water and went around the waterline scrubbing the marine life that grows on cruising boats. The bottom paint is working great, but Charisma’s hull was brown with marine growth where the bow wave comes up. 45 minutes of scrubbing with snorkel, mask and fins wiped me out and I took a nap while Ann finished putting grommets in the bimini and went for a swim herself.

After dinner, we were invited to our friends boat; “Gato Go” for a game of Mexican Train (dominos). Craig and Bruce are so nice and fun to talk to. Had a great night and were sorry to leave a little earlier than usual since a) it was verrrry windy/gusty and I was worried about being able to row back to Charisma in the dark and b) we’re leaving this spot in paradise tomorrow for a new island called Tahuata and have to get up and out by 0600 if we’re going to be sure to make it before dark (in case of light winds). More about it later, but it’s about a 30 mile sail, so we want to get an early start.

Why am I so tired all the time? This cruising’s hard work, that’s why. 😉