Welcoming Beach
18 August 2022
• (9.9s, 139.1w)
by robin
We are anchored in a calm anchorage surrounded by sailboats from around the world with only the slighted motion of the boat making one of the smallest flags squeak. It is quiet enough you can hear the fish attracted by the light in the cockpit thrash their tails as they rise to the surface. Quite a contrast to last night where it blew 25-20 knots all night, the boat creaked and rattled as the drag alarm sounded more than a dozen times. The drag alarm ringing does not mean we are in trouble but it does mean one of us gets up to check the map and look around to where we are. Last night when the wind started blowing dragging meant a slow motion towards the open ocean and Tahiti but the wind shifted threated to blow us toward the cliffs.
When the sun came up, we were ready to move to a site with less of a wind funnel effect. So, after baguettes and eggs Karl pulled up the very well-set anchor and the winds pushed us out of the harbor. Our destination was 1.5 miles away, upwind but we had arrived at the isolated harbor by 1030. As we put our anchor down German catamaran promptly hangs up a t-shirt the says âtrunk fonald dump: Not being sure what to say we just wave as we are not in the mood for politics. We declared it a beach day. ON the agenda were reading snorkeling, swimming and playing with my birthday present the underwater vehicle.
Karl continued to read the French novel about an American scientist and I dove into the catalogue for the Marquesean Art Exhibit at the Met and an article about the impact of the centuries of land use here. I hope to see the Marqesean Kingfisher and the rays purported to fly in this bay. The landscape has changed from when the settlers first began farming these lands about the year 1200, Initially it was burning the lowland forest, reducing the native coconuts while planting tubers and yams. Next came the widespread planting of breadfruit for food and candlenuts for lighting. Since the arrival of the first settlers almost half of the endemic birds have disappeared. The very white lizard eating Kingfisher only found on this island is now endangered.
We end the day leaning over the bow of the boat looking at the schools of fish rising to the deck lights. The white anchor lights atop the 9 sailboats anchored here mingle with the southern constellations.
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