Pursuit

It has been a lot of sailing lately and it is nice to have a short sail to Gambier Island ahead of us. It will be our first stop in French Polynesia chain. The sail from Easter Island to Pitcairn was pretty heavy. The seas and winds were blowing and we have been living on quite an angle for over a month with lots of slamming around in huge seas. When things calmed down a little, I got on deck and shot this video. It was pretty windy and you can hear the wind generator whistling away in the background.



We have been at sea for 32 of the last 60 days and it will be nice to get to a nice quiet anchorage and just relax. We have covered a lot of ground, but in reality, there isn't much to stop at when there is as much as 2000 miles between tiny little islands in the middle of nowhere, you just have to cover the ground. We can't drop anchor in the middle of the ocean or pull over for a rest. It makes me wonder why on earth anyone lived in these remote places and more so, how did they find it in the days before GPS and charts were available. Talk about exploring! They were incredible navigators and amazing seafarers. We had such a good time in Pitcairn Island. The people were fantastic and so friendly. We enjoyed community dinners with the islanders, got fresh goods at local bake sales and being taken on tours all around the island among so many other experiences. They loaded us up with fruits and vegetables and wouldn't accept a dime. It was so interesting to explore where the mutineers lived back in 1789. Christian's Cave was a great climb and the views from there were amazing. The island is mostly 7th Day Adventist and very religious, but there are a few of the descendants that enjoy drinking and partying, so after a big community dinner one night we were invited to a party at Andrew Christian's house on the top of the hill. He has incredible panoramic views of the island from there. It was a great night and the 5 or so colourful islanders that tend to congregate there weekly for a party, welcomed us with great hospitality. Andrew had a full-blown open bar and great music. The night got interesting when Pirate Pawl (that's how he spells it), the islands top pirate, started passing around tequila shots served out of a whale's tooth. Everything from there on is a bit of a blur. We had a great evening and were joined by a few of the other cruisers and a couple of guys who had come to the island by charter boat for a few days. The weather on Pitcairn, just like on Easter Island, so often determines when it is time to go. The weather in Pitcairn was starting to shift and just getting back out to our boat was a problem on the last day there. Quite often charter boats will sail all the way there and wont even be able to go ashore because of the seas which make landing impossible, so we were so lucky to get 4 days with beautiful weather. Next stop French Polynesia.