We purchased a locally ukelele here in Moorea, and Antoine has taken a keen interest in playing it. He's taken some lessons from a local teacher here, and can't put it down. He's getting pretty good at it already, learning the basic chords and rhythms.
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07/14/2011, Moorea, French Polynesia
Before leaving La Polynesie, we've decided to make a stop at Cook's Bay, Moorea. This is such a beautiful island that it's a shame to visit it only once.
We arrived at the anchorage just after sunset, navigating by the lighted bouys and range markers. As we entered the bay, the sound of traditional island drums resonated. We felt as if we were James Cook and his ship, arriving for the first time in this magical place.
We'll be here until we're ready to make the 2500 mile passage north to Hawaii.
Here's an 18th century sailing song:
"Come cheer me up, me lads,
'tis to glory we steer,
To add something new to this
wonderful year,
'Tis to honor we call you, as free men,
not slaves,
For who are more free as the sons of the waves?"
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John has uploaded a fantastic set of photos from our 23 day crossing from Mexico to the Marquesas... better late than never.. click on the link below:
CLICK HERE
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We enjoyed a farewell dinner with Pascale's cousin Colette and Didier, at restaurant Casa Bianca at the marina. We ordered a meter long pizza! It was delicious. This brings to a close our visit to Tahiti as we are sailing soon to our next stop, Hawaii.
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Pascale's cousin Colette and Didier took us for a drive to see some of the sights in Tahiti. Here is the lighthouse at Venus Point. The point was so named by Captain Cook as he sighted the planet Venus as he arrived at this point.
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07/10/2011
We dove on some spectacular sunken wrecks in the lagoon near Papeete, Tahiti. Included were an airplane and three large boats.
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Here's a movie which includes the video footage of our dive on the sunken wrecks near Papeete and photos of the wrecks and reef fish.
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07/04/2011, Papeete, Tahiti
We had a wonderful dinner chez Colette, Pascale's cousin in Papeete, and shortly afterward our friend and crew member John got on a plane, violin in hand, to fly home. John has been with us since before our departure from Mexico, back in February, so this was a major event. He's flying home for some commitments he has, to play violin in some performances at the Bohemian Grove. We are sad to see John go, he has been a loyal and hard working crew member and has always been fun to have around.
Meanwhile, we are looking for a new crew member to take John's place, and we think we may have found a good one, though it is still tentative.
Meanwhile, the weather predictions are for a storm system to come through this part of the Pacific over the next few days. But today the winds have calmed down and the anchorage is very flat and comfortable. We're waiting for high winds to arrive tomorrow, however, predicted to be up to 40 knots. To that end we have moved our boat to shallower water (30 feet instead of 60) to provide better holding, and we've let out all 180 feet of chain on our primary anchor, and also deployed a second bow anchor, our aluminum Fortress anchor.
We shall see what the weather will bring, and we are ready for it.
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