Sailing Gromit

26 March 2016
26 March 2016
26 March 2016
26 March 2016
26 March 2016
26 March 2016
26 March 2016
26 March 2016
26 March 2016
16 January 2016
29 November 2015
18 August 2015 | Home
18 August 2015 | Home
18 August 2015 | Home
18 August 2015 | Our house
18 August 2015 | At Home

Christmas in Moorea

20 December 2010
At the fish counter in Carrefour.


We sailed away from Huahine on Thursday afternoon in light winds and a gentle swell and arrived in Tahiti at noon on Friday in blasting winds which created many waves with white caps.
Moorea and Tahiti are close neighbours and the winds funnel through between them. This gave us the blasting winds between 30 and 40 mph for the last 3 hours of our sail.

We had spent 5 weeks in Tahiti in late summer and really hadn't planned to come back, but two reason brought us here: provisioning and Moorea.

Provisioning: Huahine has a huge grocery store but the selection is limited and in Tahiti there is a store called 'Carrefour'.
Moorea: We missed the island of Moorea last time we left here and having heard so many wonderful things about it, we thought we'd spend Christmas there.

So, we went provisioning on Saturday morning.
Here is Michael's account of the outing:

It was a 5hr, $700 shop at Carrefour, a French monster store on the scale of a Walmart, with just about everything you could need. We got all of our loot into 2 large buggies which they allow you to wheel to the marina dock about 1 km away.

About half way Zoe noticed that our toothpaste box had opened up and the 2 tubes inside had slipped out of the buggy. I retraced my steps to find both tubes, one of which was run over by the buggy with a slight ooze, but still salvageable. I then rejoined the convoy to find out that, in my absence, the heaviest buggy had tipped onto a busy 4 lane road. Fortunately no one was hurt and the only damage was one of our new mugs was smashed. This wouldn't have happened if the carts didn't have casters on all 4 wheels instead of only 2.
Oh well, we did get a turkey and its now in our freezer.
_____________________

Picture us navigating two big grocery buggies on a fairly rough sidewalk along the side of a busy 4 lane street. Michael and Zoe had one buggy and were left in the dust as my two trusty navigators-steerers and I swiftly pulled ahead. I was the engine pushing the buggy along and they were at the front corners steering around pot holes and rough patches and helping lift it up and down over curbs.
We were almost back to the entrance of the marina that we are anchored in front of, when I heard Michael call out. I turned to look back and took a few steps to see what was wrong and in that time, less than 30 seconds, the buggy that Liam was hanging onto, began its decent off the sidewalk toward the busy road. I heard him call out and just as I turned, I saw him straining with all his might to master the buggy, but to no avail. The wheels rolled over the edge of the curb and the buggy tipped over and spilled onto the road.

One of our new mugs was in pieces and was just inches away from the wheel of a car that had stopped, probably fearing that it was about to crush our goodies. The driver rolled her window down asking if everything was OK and if we needed help. I told we had it under control - which really we didn't at that moment, but soon got it under control - as the three of us hurriedly started placing our spewed items back onto the sidewalk. We lifted the half full buggy off the road just as Michael arrived to see the carnage; food items placed willy-nilly on the curb and a mug in pieces.

It does seem funny now, although, at the time, Liam was beside himself, as he was the one holding the buggy when it got away. I reassured him many times that it was OK - poor guy.

Today, Monday, Michael and Liam are taking the dingy into town. Zoe, Maia and I are going to check out a clothing store nearby. The kids have worn out and out grown a lot of their clothes and this was the other part of the reason for coming to Tahiti.

We'll be here a few more days and then off to Moorea.

Comments
Vessel Name: Gromit
Vessel Make/Model: Olympic Adventure
Hailing Port: Toronto
Crew: Michael, Cornelia, Zoe, Maia, Liam. Photo: At Tilloo Bank, Elbow Cay, Bahamas (photo by Frank Taylor)
About: Michael: The technical/mechanical/all about the boat and systems guy. Cornelia: The lists/house and land details gal. Zoe, Maia and Liam: Gromit's Skippers in Training!
Extra: Departure date: Summer 2008 email us at: sailinggromit@gmail.com
Gromit's Photos - Main
31 Photos
Created 5 June 2015
40 Photos
Created 30 May 2015
Fishing, fishing lures; Disco Boy, Disco Man and Sargasso Weeds
15 Photos
Created 4 May 2015
Southern most point on the continent of Africa
19 Photos
Created 9 February 2015
27 Photos
Created 14 December 2014
57 Photos
Created 11 December 2014
120 Photos
Created 9 December 2014
16 Photos
Created 26 October 2014
18 Photos
Created 26 October 2014
37 Photos
Created 11 September 2014
9 Photos
Created 7 September 2014
39 Photos
Created 28 August 2014
15 Photos
Created 28 August 2014
21 Photos
Created 26 August 2014
63 Photos
Created 21 July 2014
Tea Paradise
34 Photos
Created 19 April 2014
50 Photos
Created 19 December 2013
Three days, two nights in the Thar Desert, Rajasthan, India.
90 Photos
Created 20 November 2013
50 Photos
Created 20 November 2013
35 Photos
Created 8 November 2013
20 Photos
Created 28 October 2013
14 Photos
Created 28 October 2013
17 Photos
Created 25 October 2013
15 Photos
Created 20 October 2013
No Photos
Created 11 April 2013
36 Photos
Created 12 March 2013
27 Photos
Created 7 March 2013
67 Photos
Created 11 February 2013
51 Photos
Created 29 December 2012
55 Photos
Created 25 October 2012
47 Photos
Created 25 September 2012
81 Photos
Created 9 September 2012
18 Photos
Created 29 August 2012
26 Photos
Created 24 July 2012
39 Photos
Created 4 March 2012
Opua, Auckland and Whangateau
51 Photos
Created 12 January 2012
51 Photos
Created 12 January 2012
Going back in time! Here are some pictures of our time in American Samoa from the end of August to the end of September.
69 Photos
Created 10 January 2012
Great Barrier Island, New Zealand
29 Photos
Created 8 January 2012
88 Photos
Created 4 November 2011
33 Photos
Created 26 October 2011
88 Photos
Created 17 September 2011
16 Photos
Created 2 September 2011
26 Photos
Created 6 July 2011
7 Photos
Created 5 July 2011
20 Photos
Created 4 July 2011
9 Photos
Created 1 July 2011
17 Photos
Created 27 June 2011
No Photos
Created 27 June 2011
Gromit snags a big one!
5 Photos
Created 26 June 2011
33 Photos
Created 26 June 2011
43 Photos
Created 14 June 2011
60 Photos
Created 13 April 2011
24 Photos
Created 4 April 2011
9 Photos
Created 17 March 2011
18 Photos
Created 22 February 2011
31 Photos
Created 31 January 2011
31 Photos
Created 12 January 2011
21 Photos
Created 24 December 2010
14 Photos
Created 12 December 2010
8 Photos
Created 4 December 2010
33 Photos
Created 3 December 2010
What we've been doing in the last weeks in Huahine.
34 Photos
Created 20 November 2010
This is for you, Eric and Jan!
28 Photos
Created 30 October 2010
17 Photos
Created 8 October 2010
17 Photos
Created 8 October 2010
13 Photos
Created 31 August 2010
24 Photos
Created 30 August 2010
11 Photos
Created 30 August 2010
53 Photos
Created 30 August 2010
10 Photos
Created 6 August 2010
10 Photos
Created 6 August 2010
15 Photos
Created 30 May 2010
29 Photos
Created 12 May 2010
12 Photos
Created 8 May 2010
A 10 pound tuna caught in the Perlas Islands, Panama.
7 Photos
Created 7 May 2010
10 Photos
Created 16 April 2010

Sailinggromit

Who: Michael, Cornelia, Zoe, Maia, Liam. Photo: At Tilloo Bank, Elbow Cay, Bahamas (photo by Frank Taylor)
Port: Toronto