The Islands of Gambier are all pretty close together and within eye sight from each other.

Last weekend we and a couple of other boats traveled about an an hour over to Taravai. We referenced waypoints recorded by previous sailors to navigate a safe route through the coral and I stood on the bow keeping watch for shallow coral heads. We tucked into a nice sandy spot with plenty of room. for our anchor chain to swing without getting caught up on coral.

The remote island has a pretty church and a half a dozen houses. The local family Herve, Valerie and their 6 year old son Ariki host a pot luck luncheon on Sundays. I whipped up a quick bean salad and we headed for shore. Dorit and Micheal from Germany brought a few items one of which was steamed breadfruit. They had cooked it like potatoe and ate it with a nice brown gravy from their chicken dish. We met Sandra and her father Francois from Switzerland who have been sailing together for 3 years. And Annie and Daryle from New Zealand with their crew Janis. They hosted a gathering for us all later on their 52ft catamaran. Janis joined them for the crossing from Panama. He had no sailing experience which Ive since learned is the perfect prerequisite for crew members. Many of the skippers appreciate the extra hands but do not like to be challenged by crew who think they know more than them.

Herve and Valerie are extremely welcoming and friendly. Plus they play a mean game of bocci. The target ball is a lime. Herve knows how to direct the balls over every bumpy root and lump in the yard. When we threw them of course they veered off in the wrong direction. Valerie surprised us by throwing the ball over the volley ball net for the perfect back spin. They have a huge garden with flowering shrubs and some root vegetables. I have my eye on the many rosemary bushes I saw growing. I was thrilled when Herve gave me an avocado the size of a cantaloupe. He promised to go shopping in his garden for us for bread fruit, sweet potatoes, grapefruit and bananas. We will trade for something we have on board. Apparently they value tools and hardware and Herve has a sweet tooth.

Peter and I went exploring in the dinghy to check out the remote island. We brought the machete to dehusk the coconuts we collected. its hard work getting that husk off. Not nearly as easy as the locals make it look. The husks will stain like a walnut so they must be removed before they come on board. We also collected a stray buoy that had washed up on shore. Peter has been collecting them in case he needs them to float the anchor chain in the Tuamotus. In some areas we may need to semi float some of the anchor chain to prevent it from wrapping around coral heads. Back on board we drained the coconut water into a water bottle and cracked open the nut to harvest the delicious white meat inside. Yummy.

We had planned another trip ashore for another game of bocci but the weather was not cooperating. There were a series of squalls which always come with torrential downpours and sometimes come with big winds. The winds up to 10-15 knts are OK, the gusts to 25 we can handle, at 35knts the boat was moving sideways and when the gust of 40knts hit Mazu was being dragged toward the coral patch. We had no choice but to pull up the anchor and move. You can imagine how exciting that is in the middle of a squall with coral hiding beneath the waves. This was the perfect time for the anchor chain to get stuck in the feeder. Quick thinking Peter ran to get a tool to free the chain. DO YOU FEEL ALIVE NOW PETER!! I tease him because he tells me he doesnt feel alive until he is having to rely on his own actions. For me I do not need a pending disaster to make me feel alive. I can feel quite alive lounging on a beach chair with my feet in the sand and a glass of champagne in my hand.

With a 2 day forecast of continuing squalls and wind we headed back to the protected bay of Rikitea in Mangareva. We will return to Taravai next weekend to enjoy the BBQ and Bocci. We will also have to get some more bananas. That darn wind blew all of the bananas off of the stock that was hanging from Mazu.. Fortunately I had already made Banana bread with many of them.