In the bleak mid winter - Pacific Style

 

Ia Orana!

Its midwinter in French Polynesia.  Darkness comes by 6pm and dawn not for another 12 hours; the Southern Cross is high  in the sky at dusk and the nights are cooler.  

Papillon for sale

Giant clam at the reef

I had forgotten just how cold.  In fact, I’m sure it wasn’t this cold last year.  Skipper tells me it’s all about solar angles and reminds me that our solar capacity has dropped by more than a third since February.  As proof of this he checks the solar angles, and we are both surprised to learn that the Society Islands had an equivalent angle to Reykjavik yesterday! Approximately 50^o in both places! Hard to believe I know but the numbers don’t lie.   In early February the angle was 90^o so solar heat is certainly a factor but perhaps not the whole story.  The typical pattern of easterly Tradewinds that normally bed in around midwinter has been replaced by a more southerly air flow this year.  With this comes colder air from the Antarctic Continent which may be responsible for making our evenings seem cooler compared to last.  In the spirit of science, we got out the infrared thermometer last night to check The temperature in the cockpit as the sun was setting was 24^oC.  Sadly, we don’t have a comparison for last year but for us tropical liveaboards 24^oC is a temperature that more than justifies a jumper in the evening and a bed cover at night!!  How we are going to acclimatise to UK weather in a few weeks’ time I have no idea!

(almost) Full moon rising

Unwanted guests inspecting the new gelcoat

The programme of works associated with “Operation Papillon Sale” has benefitted from the cooler air temperatures outside.  Gel coat filling and rust removal to name but a few are more easily progressed out of the blazing sun.  Much progress has been made but unfortunately, our efforts have not been rewarded at the Brokers end.  A phone call last Friday revealed that all 4  of Etienne’s “leads” had come to nothing over the week.  It was even suggested that an easier sale might be achieved if Papillon was moved to Papeete.  Since this had never been raised before signing the sales agreement and knowing that moorings in Papeete are like gold dust Skipper came off the phone royally teed off.  We both were and Friday night beers were an unusually sombre affair.  

Tired old Helm seat cover

The transformation! Thank you Leo

It seemed that we needed to take matters more into our own hands.  Online forums on catamaran sales suggest that more and more boats are being sold through Facebook, so it was decided we would place an alternative advert onto some well-chosen sites.  While Skipper put together the wording and the photos, I completed the detailed inventory and by Saturday evening everything was ready.  We uploaded onto 8 different sites. All have strangely similar names involving “Catamaran” and “Sale “which makes keeping track of everything quite challenging, but it has been a good exercise - obviously a lot more work for us but at least we are feeling slightly more in control.  The Broker was a little surprised by our decision but as long as we refer any potential buyers to him for the actual sale the adverts contravene no rules of our agreement, so we are proceeding.  It’s actually not so different from when we used to advertise our own boat for charter back in the UK.  From those days we became masters of the rapid response and providing interested parties with all the information they need.  It seems selling a boat is no different so hopefully our efforts will be rewarded.  So far, we have had 8 solid enquiries.  Two are from Papeete which is very encouraging.  One of them is coming over to view Papillion in a couple of weeks’ time and the second seems very keen. We are trying not to get our hopes up, but it is a start.

Full leaf cover in midwinter

Blue sky thinking

Like all frantic dashes to the finish line a stumble at the final hurdle is almost inevitable. For us it has been the water maker which refused to power up this week.  The power source appeared to be fine meaning we either had a problem with the high-pressure pump or more likely with the impeller on the seawater input pump.  The impeller was removed and, compared to photos online, it did seem a little swollen and misshapen.  Sourcing spare parts in French Polynesia is never straightforward.  At home an online order with Amazon would have had one winging its way over to us in less than 24h but not so here.  Various forums were consulted, and online queries made but with no success.  Finally, a shop in Papeete we had used over a year ago came up trumps.  The impeller was put on the plane to Raiatea this morning and Skipper is currently off to pick it up – a 2 hour round trip to the airport from our mooring but if it solves the problem we won’t be caring.   The membranes on our water-maker must be flushed through with fresh water every 10 days or so to prevent them drying out and becoming inoperable.  We are currently on day 8 so the clock is ticking.  Needless to say, an operational water maker was listed in ALL of our adverts!! 

Brilliant blue giant clam

Azure giant clam

So, selling a boat is proving to be as stressful as selling a house.  To sooth our nerves we headed out to the reef for a spot of snorkelling yesterday.  It was a beautiful still afternoon.  The reef at this point is only a few meters wide- a natural breakwater between the huge Pacific Ocean and the gentler waters of the lagoon within.  We can anchor the dinghy here stepping out into waist deep water amongst the multitudes of tiny fish grazing the corals.  On the far side depths of 3000m await creating huge waves that normally crash continually over the top but in calmer weather recede every once in a while to reveal a living corridor of Sealife below: shellfish of all shapes and sizes, multicoloured seaweeds, brilliant blue and purple giant clams nestling in the nooks and crannies of the coral, dramatic sea urchins with porcupine like spines and sea anemones gripping to every surface holding their own against the waves.  Walking along this corridor legs washed by the breaking waves, we gingerly pick our way between potential stinging creatures and the rough corals beneath.  This natural breakwater meanders almost 60nm around Raiatea and Taha’a  but today, we only walk for a few minutes back towards Raiatea before re-entering the lagoon and drifting back on the currents to the dinghy.  As always, the richness of the sea life below the surface takes our breath away – so much ceaseless activity normally hidden from view.  How we will miss this.  The stresses and strains of the last few weeks dissolve away.  These are the moments that make everything worthwhile, the reasons why we  came and the why we will find it so hard to leave this beautiful place. 

The reef	Reef stretching into the distance
Skipper admiring the Pacific	Sea Urchin