The Walking Wounded

 

Ia Orana!

We are currently holed up in a deep inlet on the southeast coast of Raiatea.  Forested mountains tower over us at the head of the loch and the wind continues to blow strongly from the east.  Last night it was gusting well over 30 knots – not very conducive to a good night’s sleep but at least without the added responsibility of an extra body on board as our visitor had wisely decided to decamp to Moorea for the last few days of her trip.  

Wing foiler in the lagoon

Papillon in Baie Hotopuu, Raiatea

We, on the other hand, had decided to sit it out.  We love this end of the island.  It is so peaceful.  This morning our patience was rewarded with a fantastic sighting of a manta ray cruising around the boat its fins breaking the surface of the water with every gentle turn.  Eventually it settled on the corals a few boat lengths away, presumably to be cleaned by the numerous blue streak cleaner wrasse we had spotted there earlier.  As it did so two turtles popped up to survey the scene – I honestly feel like I am in an episode of blue planet at times.  We may not have been privy to the amazing Northern Lights you experienced last week (beautiful photos all!)  but what a privilege!

Rainbows in Baie Hotopuu

Fuzzy manta ray

We are also sitting it out because skipper is injured.  He is suffering a nasty bursitis on his elbow that is proving very slow to clear.  The treatment is complete rest and regular icing – not easy on a boat in a force 6!  To compound the problem, I suffered a “large local reaction” when a wasp stung my hand a week ago.  The swelling in my middle finger is finally down today but trying to do the simplest task with only a thumb and index finger has been challenging to say the least and a sober reminder of how quickly this life grinds to a halt when we are the walking wounded.  Daily tasks most certainly benefit from two fit crew members.  With only one exhaustion quickly sets in and with neither, battening down the hatches becomes the only safe option…so that’s what we are doing.  A year ago, I might have found that difficult, but this experience has changed us and these days it is really no punishment to sit tight and watch the world go by! 

head of the bay

The beautiful lagoon

Another upside of sitting tight is that it is giving us time to plan our exit from French Polynesia.  With our flights departing on July 15^th and our visas expiring 24hours later there is a lot to do before then – not least the small matter of selling a boat! Today we have been writing a wish list of jobs to attend to before we put her on the market.  We may be in paradise, but the next 8 weeks are going to be frantic!  In all our discussions the thorny issue of the dinghy has obviously raised its head again. New Zealand deliveries will almost certainly be too late now and the new one we might have bought in Tahiti has proven to be PVC not Hypalon meaning that it is too heavy for our davits -painful news for me but music to skipper’s ears!!  In the interim we have received some very generous offers of dinghies from overseas doners.  Although tempting these have reluctantly been declined (see below!) and we are currently pencilled in with a dinghy repair man from Raiatea who is going to “take a look” next week.   As someone who will remain nameless commented “you have taken the legendary parsimoniousness to new heights on this”!! – he may have a point but what a saga it has been!!

Other jobs this week have fortunately been less thorny.  Our new stack pack from New Zealand is a huge improvement on the old.  Making all the measurements in gale force winds whilst on a video call with Grant could have been disastrous but instead proved to be money well spent which is a massive relief all around.  Earlier on in the week we also had a mini success with the alternator which seemed to have seized during our absence in NZ.  This could have been a showstopper but a quick google search brought up a simple solution from “Jim Bob” – a You Tuber from Louisiana who suggested pouring copious amounts of engine oil into the “stators”. Eyebrows were raised from my incapacitated skipper who suggested replacing “copious amounts of engine oil” with “a few squirts of WD40”.  Even with a one-handed puny crew carrying out the repair the WD40 worked a treat and with a new belt installed we triumphantly got on our way.  What would we do without google? It seems there is no question too quirky for its consideration!!

On our way

Hurepitti Bay Taha'a

Hopefully most of the jobs on our list will fall into the latter rather than the former category.  One of my main tasks yesterday was to prettify the boat for the sales information. No mean feat when we are living in the space 24/7 and water is restricted but yesterday, I tackled the cleaning for most of the day and was rewarded with some beautiful photos of decluttered shiny spaces I hardly recognised! Nicki, our broker was impressed.  I just hope potential buyers feel the same way!

Saloon	Main Cabin
Heads	New Zealand Stack Pack installed

Being in selling mode is a seismic shift for us.  Decision making, previously centred around cruising options has now been refocussed towards making a sale.  I think to survive we will have to remind ourselves to keep enjoying the space we are in and to savour the last few weeks; the night skies, the warm sea breezes, the leisurely swims, the endless shades of blue and green, the sun setting behind Bora Bora, and the sealife -all will be sorely missed back in the UK.  One thing we have learnt living aboard is that contrary to our Presbyterian outlook life can’t all be about the jobs! In keeping with this mantra, I plan to tackle the decks today for the outside shots.  Deck scrubbing is a thankless tiring slog but a promised trip to “Snack Tamara” this evening for their famed Fish Burger special washed down with local Hinano beers will certainly help ease the pain! 

Sunrises	and sunsets
Palms	and Banyan trees