Author: Pam
We got up with the sun with the primary goal of getting the rest of the laundry dry before leaving. We spent the morning respectively doing the chores to prepare to leave by late afternoon. We had made plans to have lunch with Warren and Stephanie, they were coming by at 12:30 and we wanted to be all ready to go after lunch. We accomplished everything but stowing the dinghy, that would have to wait until after lunch.
The best part about our stay at the yacht club was the opportunity to use a washing machine. Apparently the yacht club is under new ownership and the business plan left us a bit baffled and disappointed. After being on a mooring ball for free at Bloody Mary's with free access to water and ice, it was a bit difficult to pay $20.00 per night for the ball, $10.00 to do laundry, $10.00 for ice and $10.00 per boat to take a shower. We did not take on any water, but we did take advantage of the rest of the amenities. However, not everything worked out as we had hoped. We were both excited about the opportunity to take a "real shower”. It is amazing how much lower your standards become when opportunities become so limited. The showers were far from beautiful, but at least it was a shower. So after finishing all of our chores we rowed to shore for a shower before we hit the road. I won't go into the gory details, but the experience far surpassed my lowest expectations when the plumbing apparently backed up into the shower I was using. I quickly washed the shampoo out of my hair and bolted. We stopped to pay our tab on the way out and explained with disgust what had just happened. Not much was said, but at least in good form she did not charge us for the shower. We went back to the boat and I finished showering on the bow with the sun shower. I didn't quite finish before Stephanie and Warren arrived to go to lunch. There's another thing I have gotten mostly use to, it seems every time I take a shower on the bow (of course wearing a bathing suit) someone comes by for a chat right in the middle. It's a cozy community.
We had a nice lunch at the yacht club, sharing plans of next stops and when we might meet up again. We will most likely see them in Tonga. They are not going to Rarotonga, they are headed to Penryn in the Cook Islands and then to America Somoa.
They dropped us off back at Tournesol and shortly after Ann and James came over to say so long. They are not going to Rarotonga either. James likes to only go west, so they are going to Aitutaki, another island in the Cooks. We have opted to skip Aitutaki, the pass is 40 feet wide and six feet deep. It is suppose to be very beautiful, but challenging to get into.
After all of our goodbyes we stowed the dinghy and finished the last few details. We raised the main sail with one reef and with the help of the engine sailed off of our mooring and out the pass at 3:45, right on schedule. As we headed west into the sunset we were treated to a perfect rainbow shrouding Bora, it was a very sentimental goodbye to French Polynesia.
We couldn't have asked for more perfect sailing conditions, moderate wind and calm seas had us enjoying our love for sailing on the bow as the sun set. We made tuna sandwiches on the last delicious baguette we had bought yesterday. They love their baguettes in French Polynesia. Yesterday while we were waiting for our ride at the grocery store I watched every person come out of the store with at least two baguettes, usually more. There are always bins or shelves stacked with (sometimes still warm) delicious loaves of freshly baked bread. Well unless they have run out for the day, it pays to go early if you really have a hankering.
As we eased into the watch schedule the evening continued to be calm, until around midnight. The wind increased and so did the seas. This was the end of the perfect sailing for this trip and the beginning of the worst passage so far. We had winds up to 40 knots and unrelenting seas that either crashed over the boat, crashed into the boat or picked Tournesol up and deposited her at the bottom. It was like being on a roller coaster with no end. We had the usual small stream running across the cabin sole when we take on that much water over the side. We could not have the hatch or any ports open and we had to keep the lower hatch board in the companionway. We couldn't be out in the cockpit, because waves were crashing over the side and filling it up like a bathtub. These conditions continued throughout most of the trip, with the seas calming down on the third day, only to pick back up again. One morning I was sleeping on the starboard settee and Scott was sitting on the port side and we had our first near knockdown. Tournesol was hit by a wave that sent her over to at least 70 degrees. We experienced the crashing sounds of anything that is on the loose, the big one was the dish drainer with a few dishes that sailed across and landed on and under the nav station. It happened so fast and because I was lying down on the low side of the boat I had minimal awareness of what happened. I have decided if you are going to get knocked down perhaps laying on the low side of the boat is the place to be. Another morning Scott was sleeping this time on the starboard side, but we had changed tacks shorly before, but not which side we were sleeping on. The heel was manageable and neither one of was keen on the hassle of making a bed on the other side of the boat. The heel wasn't a problem, but those pesky waves threw Scott on the floor twice. He landed in a heap at my feet between the settee and the table, it was quite amazing, because he barely fits. With the boat rolling and pitching it is very difficult to move around, including cooking. We were not our usual creative galley monkies, we cooked a few times, but eating was just no fun. I don't care for the conditions where you can't set your dish down for one second and getting your fork to meet your mouth is an Olympic event. It is a good thing it was only a five day passage, we barely ate anything the last day and a half.
We made excellent time, averaging 7 knots for more than 48 hours. At 0500 on Monday morning Scott heaved to six miles outside the pass to Rarotonga. We had a radio check in scheduled with Starship at 0830 to find out the status of space in the harbor. When we talked the night before they told us the harbor was still very crowded and they didn't know if and where there would be space to come in. At 0830 they suggested we make our way toward the entrance, but stand off until 1000 when the navy ship would leave and space should open up. We began to make way, unfortunately into the wind. Due to the current while we were hove to we were now eight miles out. At 1100 after using the engine for almost two hours we were finally ready to enter the pass. Starship was standing by to direct us to the one spot on the quay they were saving for our arrival. Scott was on the bow and I was at the wheel, our usual configuration for entering ports. The pass is two jetties a tenth of a mile apart. From my perspective it looked smaller than that, but Scott assured me there was plenty of room. We made it through with no problem and were met by Frank just inside the harbor. First impression this is the SMALLEST harbor we have ever seen, much less come into. It looked small on the chart and in the ariel picture in the cruising guide, but we didn't know how small that really was. The harbor is a quarter of a mile wide by a quarter of mile deep and jammed with sailboats and working boats on the very small quay and anchored on the sides. Thanks to Frank and Rachel saving a spot, we were able to squeeze in between them and Wallaby Creek. We first rafter to Wallaby creek while we got the lines ready to med moore to the quay. Frank set our anchor using his dinghy. After four and a half days we were here and we couldn't have been happier to have this passage behind us. The boat looked like a wreck, mostly from the work it took to set up all of the lines, of course the lazerette had to get pulled apart to get to the spare dock lines.
Rachel invited us over and offered to share some of the tuna they had gotten on Saturday from the market. Scott couldn't pass up a cold drink and of course you know who couldn't pass up the tuna. It was nice to be in a different environment and take a little time before we sorted out Tournesol. After lunch we decided to go into town with Rachel and Frank to get the scoop on the lay of the land from them, they are planning to leave tomorrow. We instantly liked the island as soon as our feet hit the ground. We did not go to the Port Captain to check in, he was out of the office today. Our first stop and chance to spend New Zealand dollars was the ice cream shop. We had yummy homemade ice cream, once again a very welcome treat after our lack of food over the past few days. We made a stop at the internet cafe and began the arduous task of checking our land e-mail after more than a month. We checked out the grocery store on the way back, at a glance we found some prices better and some more expensive than French Polynesia. We offered to take Frank and Rachel out to dinner to thank them for their help. We made a plan to meet up in a few hours. On the way back to the boat we ran into Alan the captain of Wallaby Creek on his way back to his boat after a HOT shower. Scott asked if we could borrow his key and after tidying up the boat we headed back to shore to take what proved to be our first real and enjoyable shower in months. It seems there is a limit to the HOT water, but it was still lovely.
We decided to go to dinner at Trader Jacks, a restaurant we had walked by earlier. They specialize in seafood and that worked for everyone except Scott who had his old standby steak. I had green lipped mussels from New Zealand. They were huge, some bigger in the shell as the palm of my hand. After dinner we shared a nip of the end of the bottle of very fine cognac on Starship and fell into bed, it took only moments for sleep to come as Tournesol bounced gently secured to her new home.
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