Author: richwest3

June 18, 2012

You want to drive from San Diego to San Francisco to visit your Aunt Mavis. You really want to go tomorrow but you can’t because the wind isn’t blowing. Let me explain.

Your car only goes five miles an hour – that’s 120 miles a day if you drive 24 hours a day for around five days. You probably have enough gas to get there, but you a pretty sure there are no gas stations in San Francisco so once you leave San Francisco, you’ll have to drive to Portland to get gas.

Because of this, you need the wind to blow from behind or thereabouts so you can turn off the engine most of the way and coast with the wind. If it doesn’t blow, you might make it with your engine, but then you’ll be stuck there for a long, long time and how much sourdough bread can you eat?

We wanted to leave for the Tuamotus today. Our equivalent of Fritz Coleman told us the wind should be good for the next five days but he lied –they all lie. There were rain squalls today and no wind.

We had a little same-bay-too-long fever so we motored about 10 miles to the west side of Ua Pou to a bay called Hakamaii. We’re now anchored in our first uninhabited bay and we’re the only boat here. It’s really pretty and we’re 10 miles closer to the Tuomotus (only 415 miles to go)! We’ll try again tomorrow if the wind comes up, if not, we’ll be forced to sit around for another day, read and eat. Darn! -Rich

June 2012

Who knew that managing bananas was both a skill and an art.  I wish I’d taken classes in school.  First, you need to know how green a bunch to get then you soon learn they all ripen at once.  You also learn that if you cut the stalk, it leaks a clear, sticky fluid that turns dried-blood-red-brown the next day and refuses to come off no matter what you do (this is why the bunch is hanging where it is).

Our cushions and dingy now look a little like a brutal crime scene.  We have been told that the stains fade in the sun – we’re still waiting to see if that’s true.

Bananas are so plentiful here that they aren’t even sold in the stores.  Why would anyone need to buy them?  Why wouldn’t you just go to your front yard and pick a bunch?  Because our front yard is small and bananas won’t grow on fiberglass (at least not yet).–Rich

June 17, 2012

Always a challenge on a boat as we don’t have a room nor electricity for a toaster.  We think we’ve perfected our system.

June 15 – 18, 2012

It’s kind of a rare day when we don’t see a rainbow!

June 16, 2012

Since we last posted:

We sailed about five miles west to Daniel’s Bay. It’s actually two small bights and after turning right into the east bight, we were treated to another beautiful bay that appeared to be completely land-locked because of the turn at the entrance. Also because of this turn, it was a very calm bay and it may have been our stillest night on the boat since leaving Redondo Beach.

At Daniel’s Bay we hiked to the Vaipo waterfall – we’re told the third tallest waterfall in the world. It was about a two and a half hour hike to the falls. I just don’t have the words to describe the incredible beauty on walk to the falls. Whether it be God or Nature, I am in awe of it’s creator!

At the falls, we swam in wonderful cool pools with water cascading into the pool. Crayfish-like things cleaned our legs and feet. Strange, glowing growth lined the top of a deep crevice. After the hike back out, we had coffee at a local’s house. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful day!

Now we’ve sailed back to the island of Ua Pou in a bay by the main town–the one that was too crowded for us last time we tried. We caught up with our friends Dean and Sabina on Local Talent here and went out for, what else, pizza.

The weather’s looking good for a Monday departure on the 450 mile trip to the Tuamotus Atolls. It should take us three or four days. We’re not even sure which atoll we’ll head for and are planning to sail in the general direction of Takaroa and see what happens as we get closer. The fall-back is about another day’s sail: Fakarava. Google Earth should easily locate these. We’ll also try to check in with the Pacific Seafarers Net so there might be some updated tracking information on the “Track Us” link. -Rich