Position: 12 degrees, 24 minutes South; 141 degrees, 31 minutes West
I’m giving Bob a blog-break tonight. He said to give you my perspective and so there you have it..lots and lots of water.
But it is beautiful blue water full of fish who are not entertained by our lures. Which means instead of fishing I spend my time looking at my French workbooks. There are two trains of thought about this language thing. The first is that we are in a foreign country and should learn to speak their language. Heck, most of them speak Marquesan and French. (We do know how to say hello in Marquesan – it sounds like “aloha” but is “kaoha”) The second thought is that we are only allowed in French Polynesia for 90 days, so why bother.
I am torn and am not really great at French but what the heck, what else do I have to do all day anyway? Watch the waves, check the course, do the dishes…you get my point. Actually I also made a lovely tuna salad for lunch, did a little exercise routine with my stretch bands (thanks Joanne) and did the laundry – you can do laundry when the boat is not moving too fast.
As we left Nuku Hiva we had some great wind and were making 6 to 6.5 knots. During my first watch (9 pm to 2 am) the winds lightened but mostly because we were behind the other small islands. Later it picked up and we were making 4.5 to 5 knots through the night. Unfortunately today has been a little slower, more like 4 knots, although now at 2100 the wind’s picking up and we’re back to 5-6 knots boatspeed.
But did I tell you what an almost full moon looks like on an open ocean. Incredibly beautiful! As the sun set last night we could see a big squall behind us. Very big, so glad it went behind. But it put me on alert so all through my watch I “prayed” the clouds away. And it worked. They skirted all around us and provided beautiful vistas against the bright moon. There is nothing as peaceful as the moon on the ocean. And every once in a while you get a special treat – a shooting star!
So my closing thoughts on today: I am a little stiff from sitting. I also tried to kill time by putting all of the pictures on my iPad into folders but was not successful. Anyone know the secret?
And a final thought – a year ago Bob and I were up in Tahoe with Cliff getting ready to ride our bikes around the lake. Unfortunately we were rained out. Tomorrow Cliff and friends try it again. We are very excited for them and wish them lots of energy to get up those hills and lots of joy coasting down the other side. We look forward to the full report. (Party on, Garth)
I bet that moon was magnificent! The girls had their dance recital yesterday, which was great if a bit creepy! Stephanie came and joined me in a 10K to stop hunger…it was great because she was such a great coach! It really only made me hungry! Love you! Party on Wayne!
Lots and lots of water sounds perfect for someone on a sailing boat in the middle of nowhere. For instance, lots and lots of sand…not such a good thing.
I’ve always been intrigued by the whole moon thing. Why does it seem so friendly? Why is it comforting? Why do you see faces in it? I’ve never been there but feel connected to it. I know it’s supposed to have its bad side (blue moon means Comanche attacks, full moon means crazy people in the ER; not to mention werewolves roaming). Yet, somehow, it’s almost human in a way – like a kindly uncle.
We were up at Tahoe this past weekend and saw lots of bicyclers…but didn’t see Cliff! I’m sure he was among the packs of riders. The weather was BEAUTIFUL, so I’m sure they had a great time.