Hither and thither

 

Ia Orana!

I am writing this long-hand today!  After weeks of dry weather, the heavens finally opened last night and with rain continuing to fall this morning and no chance of solar energy in sight skipper has announced a moratorium on using the inverter.  There will be no laptop charging today and I will have to use my batteries prudently! 

Sunset at the mooring

Sunset at Apua Bay East

Wet days on Papillon can be challenging but today a laziness has settled onboard that is long overdue.  The last 10 days have been hot, dusty and frantic.  The advert finally went live on Monday with the video uploaded on Tuesday.  It was exhausting just getting to this point.  We’d hoped for Friday, but it wasn’t to be and then to make things more stressful we had noticed an issue with the newly repaired dinghy over the weekend while having a so called leisurely swim!  After only a couple of trips into town it appeared to have developed the equivalent of a dinghy hernia! We were distraught! Esteban was dismayed.  “Don’t abandon it (my suggestion…naturally!),  deflate the inner tubes and bring her back to Raiatea for more stitching and gluing…on the house”.  It was such a kind offer, what did we have to lose after all?... but it was also complicated.  Esteban could only manage Wednesday – the same day that we had arranged to meet Leo, a sailmaker in Taha’a about a new cover for over the helm seat.  Navigating the logistics of one boat job in French Polynesia is tortuous but two jobs on different islands on the same day could be described as utter madness!

The hernia

Drifting off the mooring at dawn

We rose at 5am for a dawn departure to Taha’a.  The winds were light and cyclonic meaning a 3h sail at least, if we were lucky.  It was tempting to motor but with our engine hours described in the advert as “under 3000” another moratorium on “unnecessary motoring” had also recently been decreed! So instead, we drifted very pleasantly across the lagoon in the morning sunshine picking up a mooring in Apua Bay East around 10am.  Shortly afterwards Leo arrived on board – a whirlwind of an Italian, his weathered face shaded by a baseball hat and reflective sunglasses, his wiry frame draped with a blue sarong and white linen shirt. Talking nineteen to the dozen and with much hand waving he quickly removed the existing cover; a complicated operation involving pliers, screwdrivers, zippers, brute strength and much WD40.  I was relieved I hadn’t been tempted to try it myself.  The cover looked even worse off the frame than on but with his template intact and my material to hand he quickly took his leave turning his dinghy towards his workshop where he would make the replacement.  Our meeting was over.  A long exhalation of breath and cup of tea followed.  We had digested more words in the last five minutes than in the last five months and needed a moment!  

Leo's boat in Apua bay East

End of another long day

Fully restored we set sail for Raiatea meeting up with Esteban at the town dock for our next  appointment by mid-afternoon.  Repairs at the town dock always generate interest and this one was no different but unlike Skipper who always has time for a chat Esteban remained oblivious to it all.  He sewed on doggedly all afternoon, his natural vivaciousness seemingly undimmed by the scale of the task at hand.  The last patch was finally applied at dusk. With the garage closed and its air pump back in a cupboard it was decided to leave the dinghy deflated on the dock with us tied up alongside.  Technically this is an infringement of the rules but for once “La Securite” appeared to have taken pity on us and left us to our own devices.  Esteban departed in the gloom assuring us it had all been a pleasure and we cracked open a beer.  Then and only then did Skipper tell me that Leo had left a message earlier.  He needed to make a plastic pattern of the cover after all, the old one was too deformed to work from.  Could we come back ASAP?…we opened a second beer and went for pizza – sometimes the midweek alcohol rule is just screaming to be broken!

Polished Bimini in preparation for sale	Jazz hands patches on the trampoline
Gleaming rigging	Scrubbed decks

The next day we retraced our tracks with a seemingly successfully inflated dinghy on its davits arriving back in Taha’a with plenty of time to spare for Leo to make his plastic pattern.  He returned later on that afternoon with the finished article.  It was a thing of beauty and such an improvement on the patched mouldy cover we had lived with for months.  The cockpit looked coordinated for the first time in our ownership of Papillon and we were delighted!  Leo was delighted!  The world was good.  All the rushing about over the past 48 hours had been more than worth it.  With spirits high and any thoughts of a midweek alcohol ban completely forgotten a celebratory beer was suggested.  There followed two very entertaining hours around the cockpit table.  One of the joys of this sailing life are serendipitous meetings, such as this; the chance to share stories, observations and experiences with virtual strangers who just happen to share the same passions as you.  Leo turned out to be a wonderful storyteller, entertaining  but also a font of knowledge about French Polynesia and how to live well here. It was a complete delight talking with him.  Hopefully it will not be the last opportunity as we have an invitation for a bowl of pasta on board his boat before we leave.  Perhaps not so much to get excited about knowing what “Champion” has to offer by way of ingredients but we have been assured of Italian food parcels in his galley so have high hopes of fresh parmesan and Parma ham for the first time in months!

Leo fitting the helm seat cover

The beautiful bay

Connections like these are enriching but also so important out here.  You never know when you will need a favour.  For us calling in that favour is imminent as we will be leaving Papillon unattended on the mooring next month when we come home.  Both Esteban and Leo have offered to help keep an eye on her which is incredibly kind and a huge comfort to us. Leaving a boat unattended is never ideal but in the unpredictable world of boat sales is virtually inevitable.  The advert may be up and running but sales are never quick, and we will need all the friends we can find to help the process along the way.

Rain clouds approaching

Quick walk ashore