The Vacation Within the Vacation (V-W-V)

Kate arrived last Friday, and it marked the beginning of a vacation for us – within, of course, the general feeling of vacation-hood we’ve been feeling since we left the States in January.  True, as readers know, we’ve had our share of projects, heartbreaks, and delays, but let there be no mistake; we’re having the time of our lives.  A bad day on a boat beats a good day most anywhere else.

ile de Grace's stern, with solar panels, wind generator (upper left),
and Jennifer tending the line that keeps me aloft!

With Kate’s arrival also came the leaving of so-called civilization (i.e., Papeete, Tahiti) so I made a long-overdue trip up the mast to check the lines that either terminate there or turn there on blocks as they come back down the mast.

Working aloft, in the bosun's chair
(present from Number One Son!)

A good thing; the line holding our genoa (front-most sail) had chafed halfway through, so I was able to trim and re-tie the line.  Not unexpected after about 10,000 miles of sailing!  The view from the top was nice – and on the way down, I also changed the floodlight that illuminates our froint deck when we’re working at the mast at night.

I guess the V-W-V began when I got a chance to play a round of golf – there’s one course on Tahiti, and it offers some spectacular views (to make up for the rock-hard greens, I suppose).

Readers may recall my post on mulligans; I tend to be a purist, and took none – and thus eeked out a barely-respectable 49 for nine holes – all in all not bad after a year’s hiatus,  wearing boat shoes, and relying on a slightly-gnarled left ring finger, My baseline game is rather feeble to begin with, as my friend Billy Moore will attest, but I had a lot of fun.  My playing partners were Francois and Cristal, a couple we met in Taravao (they live on a catamaran, and teach high school), and Francois’s sister, Alixe, a well-regarded young Tahitian golfer.

After meeting Kate at the airport, we proceeded to Heiva and an island tour (see earlier post); some pictures of our sojourn:

Walking back from Les Cascades

At Point Venus, Tahiti

Papeete, Tahiti, with Moorea in the background

On Monday, we tossed off the lines from our mooring and set sail for Moorea.  As we left the harbor, we were followed closely by a local piroguer, who matched us stroke for stroke at 5.5 knots.  Even though Heiva is over, the nightly practices continue ...

Then, to perhaps herald our V-W-V, we passed one of the legendary Tahitian floating bars – essentially thatched huts on a pair of floats that serve as drifting bars for the locals’ weekend parties on the flats adjoining the pass into Papeete.  Let the (more) fun begin!

And here's a teaser of our time in Moorea; Kate and I snorkeling ... more pictures from Moorea forthcoming ... we are anchored tonight in 15 feet of water clear enough to see the turtles, rays, and needlefish drift slowly around and below the boat, and the waning full moon shines clear to the sandy bottom.  Magical Moorea!