Raro to Bev - Day 1
20 July 2010 | Rarotonga to Beveridge Reef
Alison
The wind has launched us solidly on our way toward Beveridge Reef, 3 days sail from Rarotonga. We've been sailing on a nice beam reach for a few hours now, although the wind is slowly moving behind us, which makes for less comfortable sailing, a bit disappointing as evening draws near, but we knew the forecast was for a mostly lumpy run all the way to Beveridge.
It was a rather leisurely departure this morning, starting with coffee aboard Serenity to say farewell, for now, to Sherry and Gordon. Actually, Gordon was sleeping off some Nyquil while he copes with a stubborn cough and Allan doesn't drink coffee, so it was just Sherry and I taking in the morning action in the small harbor from their cockpit. She offered to give me a ride home from Budget Rentals after I returned our trusty scooter, so I went back to the boat to get the spare helmet, my wallet, and the scooter key, which I'd wisely left in the helmet to remind me to bring it along. As I stepped onto the stern step and reached for the rope to pull the dingy up, I heard a plop. Allan, standing a few feet away on the wharf, heard it too. "What just fell in the water?" he asked as I peered over the side, knowing full well that the scooter key was now settling comfortably on the bottom. We just looked at each other for a moment, smiling. Then Allan, Knight in Shining Dive Gear, climbed aboard the dingy, pulled himself over to the boat, changed into his swimsuit, donned fins and mask, took a deep breath, and jumped over the side into the murky harbor water. A few seconds later he surfaced, handed me the key, and swam off toward the bow to free up our knot meter wheel, which always jams when the boat sits for more than a few days.
We've become quite forgiving in this life we're leading, so many things can go wrong, so many things have, and it can just as easily be his fault as mine. Things happen, even when you're extra careful to prevent them from happening. Things slide, get launched, break, scratch, overheat, get wet. Things fall overboard. Some are recoverable, others are donations to Neptune. Since we left Mexico, we've irretrievably lost a mop, a beach towel, an expensive winch handle, and a hat; we've lost and then recovered Allan's Tilley hat, his windsurfer skeg, a spoon, and now this key. So it goes.
Armed with the key, I zoomed off to Budget with Sherry on my tail, stopping along the way to get a few last-minute photos of town. Scooter returned, I hopped on the back of Sherry's Hardly Davidson (as our new friend Dave calls his) and we returned to the harbor, where Allan had the boat ready to go. So we're on our way, after 6 lovely days and 1 not-so-lovely day in Rarotonga, leaving while we still want to stay and wondering if that's better than getting sick of a place. No matter, it is what it is, the adventure continues, off we go, and always -- fascinating places await.