Rally to Moorea

June 19

Following early morning cafe au lait with fruit tarte and purchase of fresh goods at Champion grocery (initially thought French woman was directing me to a mushroom store) battened the hatches to shove off for 0930 rally start just outside Papeete harbor. Entire fleet bobbed along in Tahiti's wind shadow for awhile, took off as zephyr roared into twenties, then hung on with more than thirty knots around Moorea's north end. Boat was way over-canvassed with all working sails flying until forced to furl staysail and double reef main. After all, as we were often told, this was not a race. Uh huh, uh huh. Rollicking good time had by all.

Lamb, chicken, fish and steak at the barbecue tonight were, untypically for large groups, excellent. Entertainment was highly evocative of Hawaiian, but the beautiful music was less professionally polished making it more authentic and the dance delightfully more erotic. Easy to see how Spenser Christian and Marlon Brando were so thoroughly seduced by the people and the place.

Pictures of Moorea (Moh-oh-RAY-ah), either Cook Bay or Opunohu Bay (current location) rather than Tahiti, are the images one most often sees of French Polynesia. Will sail to Papeete Monday for logistical reasons, but plan to spend additional time here after short trip back to Florida.

Await full day of planned frittery (real word?) tomorrow and, with any luck, unplanned more-of-same in ensuing days. Young, retired, marine single-hander expressed some guilt about too much fun and minimal productivity. He could be Catholic, Jewish or Calvinist, but suspect it's just military indoctrination. Pleased to say that incorrigibility has rendered me socially untrainable and generally free of such inconvenient sensibilities.

Jack