round we go!!

After leaving Aitutaki we set our sites on Palmersgton atoll with the idea of timing our approach to land at the island in the morning with plenty of light to see the reef, which was a 1.5 day sail. The winds were really
strong on our backs and we averaged 7 knots using just the jib. We didn't want to go too fast or else we'd arrive at night. With the strong winds the seas were especially steap and choppy. Sleeping was almost out
of the question for a few reasons. First, we estimated the swell to be at 15 feet. Every 30 minutes or so, a wave would even come crashing over the side, or the boat would heel over enough to dip the side into the
water. Second, if you were inside for the first few waves that crashed, water poured in the windows like a waterfall. So basically, every cushion that we sleep on was wet. And last, the dripping off the closed hatches.
On bubbles, the windows are sunken in so water can gather on the outside. While we tried to sleep, the dripping was random, and it would land at different parts of your body (depending on where the boat was
leaning at the time). It was like Chinese water torture. Alex even managed to start a fire in the galley amid all the chaos while trying to cook one meal and half the indgredients ended up all over the floors, walls and
ceiling. To say the least, it was a relief to finally arrive in the morning and start to relax.

Palmerston island is located in a small atoll where a man named William Masters landed in 1860 (originally discovered by Cook in 1774 and given to William as a gift from the Queen of England). He was from California
and brought with him four polynesian wives from other Cooks islands. By the sixth generation there were over 1500 Masters! To this day, everyone on the island has the last name Masters (There are now 64 people
living in the island). There are few subgroups of families there now but they all originate from the William Masters ancestry. When we arrived with our delivery package from the Navy (there is no airstrip so the only way
they get anything is through the random sailboat that stops by) and said it was for 'Mr. Masters' we had several claims.

When you arrive, there are mooring balls outside of the reef on the leeward side of the island. Depending on which ball you hook up to, a different one of the subfamilies will come out in their boat to greet you. Once
you are ready, they bring you from your boat to the island and take you in (sort of like a mini adoption) and you are expected to communicate with them only and not any of the other sub families.

Once on the island, they first served a humongous meal. I felt like I was at a tropical thanksgiving, it was awesome. There were multiple types of fish (some breaded), biscuits, breadfruit, a ceviche type dish, and
mango juice. It was nice to have a sit down meal on land. Afterwards, one of the daughters gave us what amounted to a 3 hour tour of the island. We met probably half of the island with me Joe and Alex all meeting a
Jim Joe and Alex Masters. Even though they all look very polynesian they still speak with the English accent and are very English/American about the way they do things.

The next morning (which was this morning as I'm writing) we were up early to get the boat ready and were under way by 10 AM. Overnight Bubbles was really quiet so it was nice to get a full night's rest. Right as we
were leaving another boat, Wiskers, was also getting under way. They ended up following us most of the route and alerted us that they had caught a 5 ft Mahi Mahi right as they left. As they slowly caught up to us
(Wiskers is a catamaran but she's big and heavy), we told them we'd get some good pics of them flying the spinnaker in the sunset. In the middle of doing so, they alerted us via vhf that they were going to trail a buoy
line with some fish at the end. We immediately snapped into action: Alex was on the main runner filming (up high on the mast), Joe was ready with the gaff hook, and I was at the helm. It was quite an experience just
cruising side by side next to another boat on open waters. They came up our starboard side (we're flying wing and wing this whole time, btw) while we tried to maintain course at 5 knots or so. After getting within less
than20 feet of this huge cat, Joe was able to snag the line and tear off the bag of fresh fish fillets. We all cheered and pulled away to safe distances. We are going to have another awesome meal tonight.