Happy Bastille Day!

We're here I our little bungalow listening to local drummers at some kind of nightly practice. They're quite impressive and are thoughtful enough to stop by 2100!

We almost missed being here, and in fact our rental vehicle isn't here but remains locked in at the marina. Dummies that we are, we paid no attention to whether regular hours would be kept today, and they weren't. Imagine our surprise when we dumped our gear in our ride, looked at the gate, and it was closed and locked! Conni doesn't get so angry, but this one had her ranting. We grabbed our packs and went through the smaller man gate, which we had to scramble to get unlocked, walked about 1-1/4 hour back here.

We arrived at the yard early, and immediately got the main down and stowed. It's such a huge sail and we simply can't manage it with any wind at all, so the windless mornings were an invitation. I washed and stowed the dinghy, applying protectant to the surface, deflating it, rolling it into a cylinder, and covering it in a sunroof cover.

I got the outboard, one of the best investments that we've made since it give us great and reliable mobility, greased, changed the spark plug, and put anti-corrosion in the cylinder. I'll stow it below decks just before we button up,on Thursday. We also ran fresh water through the main engine, removing corrosive salt deposits. I changed oil and filter, so when I've replaced the diesel feed tube, she'll be in good shape.

Conni worked like a fiend, completing the thousand little tasks on her decommissioning list. Each takes time and effort but each is only part of the list.

Both of us are moved out of the boat and have clothing and gear packed, although mine is still sitting in the rental car.

A lovely Tahitian woman appeared on the boat this afternoon and introduced as an agent for French Polynesia tourism. She talked to Conni for a hour a our many topics. We were impressed that they were soliciting the cruiser community since we often get forgotten compared to the big-spending tourists in resorts. On the other hand, we get to remote locations and we spend money and require little infrastructure support. We arrive with accommodations and need only cold beer, some groceries, showers, laundry, and Wifi. That's not much more than the locals so we don't demand much.

I have to hoist Conni up the mast tomorrow since we must inspect things up there and we like to remove the wind instruments. As I might have mentioned, I've found two 1/4-20 x 3/4 inch hex heads on deck and suspect that they're from the radar mount. Oops! She'll carry the replacement machine bolts and some Locktite!

As usual, we've met some interesting people in the boat yard life. The couple and kid next to us are French and all three are on a steel 36-ft boat, obviously homemade. Since Bernard Moitessier's boat was in this very yard last year, I guess that it's proper to have such another boat. They're very nice people and have been working very hard sanding the hull to prepare for mor rustproofing and anti fouling paint. There's an Italian guy, too, on his own boat. He speaks excellent English so conversation is easier. He's a professional sailor and works on big boats as skipper, and when he's off, he sails on his own boat. As a singlehanders, he has my admiration. His boat is a 43-ft boat, bigger than Wings, and he does it all by himself. Impressive. When does he sleep? We're giving hi all of excess gasoline si ce we do t want to store it and he can use it. It'll save some money and reduce transport hassle. He's a nice guy and Conni thinks that he's a very fit, long blond-haired, very handsome guy. I guess that he is.

More work tomorrow, of course.