The 4 weeks shut up on Babs seemed to go pretty fast...i went ashore once a week for groceries getting a tonne of fresh veggies from the market. Ben and Andy worked on a few boat jobs, making an epic rain catcher with material we bought in Ecuador. Took em most of a day to design and fix it but is proper profesh…Our resident seamstress (Andy) even hand stitched it! We hauled Ben up the mast one day so he could take the wind speed detector down as not reading right. I exercised most days doing a downloaded routine in my tiny saloon space where I spent most of my time. Practiced some drawing, painting, cooked and read a lot! Amazing story called ‘Unbroken’ which is also a film was one of the greatest survival tales I’ve ever read! Get on it if ya aint read it already🤩. Confinement aint much different to being on passage except it’s easier to move and get things done without the lurch and roll of da open seas…and plenty of fresh grub!🐷. One morning I woke up gagging from a dream watching a huge rat being pulled out of someone’s gullet with a long, thick tail but feeling like it was in me own! 🤮 Occasional big rain but mostly a sweaty kinda heat during the month but not unbearable. Had to move the anchor a couple of times as funky winds kept pushing us close to other boats which had Ben and Andy fretting…after a day of mutterings on whether to move they managed a decision 😜. Playing cards and backgammon…finally I beat Ben at backgammon for the first time in our whole trip after Lenny from Perigee helpfully sent me through some tactics (which I didn’t understand most of but still manged da win!) While ashore filling water jugs a fisherman hosed a teenage chicken into a school of thrashing sharks! He paddled about with his little claws being swooshed about by 1-2mtr long sharks feedin on fish guts before making it to other side of quay. I plucked the poor, bedraggled thing out and he had a bit of a limp but frikin miracle he was alive to limp!

A lot of the boats in the bay kept themselves and us entertained by coming up with different ideas…there was the usual general information net at 8am then the ‘womens’ net twice a week at 9am where we got to know some of the other gals stuck on their boats that we hadn’t met. World news was broadcasted by ‘Amelie’ at 12pm. At 4.30pm 3 times a week there was a raidio show hosted by boaters with the ‘good news’ and interviews, stories and music by random fellow imprisoned. Ben spoke on the radio very reluctantly (I heaved him into it 😜good to get outta our comfort zone sometimes) about how they made the rain catcher …good design as we managed to catch 180ltrs one night form a long downpour. Bless him…he done real well…proud🥰. I played me penny whistle down the radio another night …weird no one can see you but was still sweating and bit breathy while playing! Then at 7pm every night a boat would put on trivia for whoever we wanted to…we only ever listened coz we too thick to answer but was pretty funny and meant we didn’t have to talk (as nuffin left to say!) over dinner😂. 1 night Perigee put on a virtual boat party welcoming us onboard on a certain radio frequency then having different frequency’s for parts of boat e.g number 70 for the ‘boom bar’ up on deck and 68 for the cockpit…was strange and pretty fun but didn’t last that long as only 1 person at a time can speak on your channel. Had 1 day where I just wanted to cry all day long…sooo bored of me company and missing people back home…mojitos and cards cheered me up nicely in the evening 🤗. Beluga (boat) started a bakery delivery down to the quay so we could all have fresh baguettes 3 times a week…pleased us all especially Andy😛 very much. About 2 weeks in another boat ordered 4g sims from Tahiti which Andy kindly bought us a so we have 13gigs for the next 2 months. Great to see pics etc on facebook and download WhatsApp vids!

On Easter Sunday I made some hot cross buns and collected banana ice-cream from ‘Itsara’ (boat) for £1.40 each and made Roast potatoes!!...Babs first ever with our improved fixed oven! On the 17th of April we heard confinement rules were relaxing so Andy went for an early walk...his 1st in almost a month followed by an early lunch and the start of lazy hobbit trilogy arvo! 🤩 Only managed the 1st 2 films with a glutton of snacks and homemade toffee popcorn as the 3rd was a bad copy. Later went over to Perigee for a better copy. Day before restrictions eased up Itsara gave out free vanilla icecream…sooooo good!

So on Monday the 20th of may we were freed.. me and Ben walked over the hill to a beach and had an amazing swim relishing the time alone! I like Andy a lot but after 3.5 months on a tiny boat together it’s time for some not together time😉 . Andy takes walk in the arvo up the other side of the bay to a lookout point. Next day me and ben walked up another hill with about 20 other boaters (not sposed to be socializing in big groups so got told off by gendarmes and tried to stay further apart till we got to woodland) Mega view of the bay at top, great to talk to some gals and found starfruit and Avvy trees on way back down. Had some gin and music on the fore-deck as Andy kayaked (Bev from Dandelion kindly lent us) round chatting to other boats before joining us. Walks, kayaking, sups, munching and chatting to people other than each other fills next few days…bloody lush! I see shark fins, jumping fish and spotted rays from the kayak in the bay. Olena (boat) made a chocolate order from Ua pou, a neighbouring island so fatty ere obvs put me franks forward and gotta say its deliiisshhhhh! Finally taught Andy how to make a Dahl…I taught him chapattis on the crossing so hopefully he’ll give Jane a night off when he’s back homesky 🥘 Lots of talk about whether Andy should stay or go during the lockdown as everything is so unknown but finally decide its best to go home while he has a chance. Ben helps him organise a ticket for the supply/cruise ship, the Aranui from Nuku-Hiva to Tahiti while Jane organises a plane outta there straight to Paris, then 1 to Heathrow. Have drinkys for his last night before dropping him off at 2pm the next day as the Aranui comes into port. Pretty excited to get a look round on the tour…about 5 others leaving the bay for home so he’s got a few mates to keep him company/help him 😊. Get shown the bar but they have no booze 😂 and a swimming pool that has no water in it. However his room's got a proper shower and a big fat bed! Jell! Big waves as we dingo away and receive Anzac biscuits from Lenny and Dave to celebrate Anzac day (they Aussie)
Had a hissy fit the next day coz Ben didn’t put the pasta on for luncheon while I was ashore and I’d skipped brekki…proper silent treatment (bloody ol’ bitch) until he agreed to make dinner 🙈🤭 enjoying each other’s sole company already😂. Started drinking and playing games in the arvo and had a chat with Pete who stopped by also helped recover from bitch meltdown. After a rainy, lazy day we walked up to the lookout spying mantas down below...went higher up a goat track and found a goat hangout in an overhang of the rocky cliff…goat poo pebbles filling the ground…pretty cool up there! Walked to the furthest grocery store the next day and found 500g of gnocchi for £1.70! Bought shitloads! Bays got really rolley with swell comin in so we start thinking about moving bays…law has said we are allowed to move around the island we are on now but the local gendarmes disagree. Make a large banana cake giving some to dandelion to say thanks for kayak loan and some to perigee to thank for Anzac bics and films! Sundowners at Petes was laughs spesh when Ben flooded his toilet…so glad it weren’t me! 🤣 On dock at 8am next morn to meet Debbie (fellow essex sprog) and Steven who showed us a Tiki site in the jungle. Happy, chatty gal…wikid avin a proper chat with the female variety. Had my first swim with the Mantas in a nearby cove that evening as the sun was setting…most incredible experience! See a single hander British boat come in to anchor who Ben thinks will be a character so dingo off and find out he’s from London, probably late 60’s…sooo great to hear a proper Essex accent. He’s just spent 6 weeks sailing from Panama😲. Found the Mantas again in the bay between some boats and had a majestical swim…gliding below within touching distance…truly incredible! 5.5 hour trek the next day up to the antennae on the highest hill overlooking da bay. Legs felt stronger than before and was a right ol wonder seeing the interior…New Zealand like wilderness! Cloudy day with a cool refreshing breeze made me a happy ol rambler. Had 3 single handers around 1 night- Pete, Tony and John…was a right ol laugh all of them bringing goodies to share. Pete even brought his own dipping tool in the form of shirt pocket crackers for me Baba ganouch…apparently he was peckish and didn’t know if we’d provide nibblets 😂..had me in tears cracking up. Next night we went over to Stephen and Debbie’s onboard their swanky oyster yacht for dins dins…very generous, fun English peops…another great night. Set sail the next day at 12pm feelin a bit dodge…lumpy seas and head wind making me dodgier...takes about 3 hours and lots of tacks to get a few miles to next bay…very glad to anchor up in Houmii. 🤗

Houmii bay
Lil sup in the morn...i caught a wave on me knees (like a ledge!😎) and managed to fall off heavily onto me left hip as the board hit the beach…obvs didn’t fall far but it worsened me back strain that I spronged lifting the outboard onto boat day before. I wimp out of surf as sooo many stones and coral to hit when I undoubtedly fall off…balance aint in me skill set 🙃. Ben starts talking about cutting his dreads off for the 3 billionth time and after some discussion actually finalizes a decision….i'm pretty excited and nervous as is he...he faffs around for ages getting go-pro set up and procrastinating in many ways before I get me first choppidee chop🤪😈 goes swell with lots of laughy meltdowns but actually comes out looking hot! I thought it probably would and was very pleased to finds he has curls! Styled it perfectly to make sure he looks exactly like guy martin and voila! 🙊 Flakey scalp gets magically better over next few days and we have a healthy head o hair. Backs real aching next day so read most of it trying to rest as Ben slaves away on boat jobs…mehehehhehe. Aching so much at night, tossing and turning to get cwumfy as pain moves to front of gut. Bit better by morn so motor 20 mins round to the next bay…Taipivai. Leave the engine on as batteries are suffering a bit with this cloudy weather while we go and chat to Perigee. Lennys a nurse so quiz her bout me back and she says it just sounds like a sprain and to take ibroprofen which puts me hyper-condriact mind at ease. Take a walk down a wooded path collecting limes and seeds for jewelry to the little village half hour away. Find a yoga mat for £20!! to insulate our fridge…excessive but least we get our towels back which had been doing the job. Card night with Perigee on Babs teaching them shithead…Lenny brought homemade focaccia, and lots of other goodies while I did me usual toffee popcorn 🙈😂. Actually cold enough for a blanket in the night...real nice to snuggle up. Next day we took a 5 hour walk to a waterfall mostly along a car track…walked into a sickening smell of dead animal which lasted for about 5 mins until we saw the source…horse hair and fluids on the road…looked into the ditch and saw a rotting corpse covered in flies..i was gagging me guts out as we sped away 🤮 poor ol fing. Waterfall was first running one we’ve seen in Marquesas…filled up our water bottle before retreating quickly from mosquito land. Bottom scrubbing and cake making in the arvo as Ben got Babs ready to sail tomoz.

Anaho bay
Left at 9am…big choppy seas and not enough viiinnnd…Sailed 2 miles from island and chucked in one of Bens dreads as an offering to wind gods🐱‍👓 …seemed to work and had nice weather …few tacks and after 6 hours we anchored in the yachties favoured anchorage…Anaho. Is real beauts with 4 beaches in the curve of the bay. White sand and clearer water than is the norm for Marquesas. Ben helps Perigee bring up their anchor as their gypsy is broken and we get invited for dinner onboard for Daves bday. I make popcorn again as no time for anything else…7 other boatys join us all bringing delish goodies and Lennie makes a spliffing chicken satay😋. Ukuleles are brought out after dinner but me gin aint working for me and mega tired so head home around 10pm. Sooooo knachered the next day…feeling a booze detox coming on again…all these sundowners int doing me too well…Bens feeling the same so gunna attempt having tea at next sundowner😎. Walk over the top of hill over to the village the next day…tonnes of mango trees on walk, looks like season is coming to an end but still manage to grab a few. Clean the bottom of hull for final time…had got so bad with growth and has left stains...poor ol Babs defo needs a new paint job. Unfortunately we haven’t left ourselves much time in Anaho as me Tattoo man can only do weekends. Also we are hearing the rest of the society islands may open up to sailors by end of the month so we’ve decided to start getting ready/provisioned to continue west so hopefully 1 day we’ll get back to the homeland! Say goodbye to everyone the next day…get Baloos shortbread recipe off them and collect 8-ish coconuts off the beach. I take a sea sickness pill just in case and have the best sail in a while…seas are bit calmer, less wind and manage to fetch most of the way back to Taiohae bay. The next day we go to tattoo man...Moana is doing mine as he does colour…draws it on my back but I’m not happy with it…he changes it until I like it before 5 hours of pain…don’t remember me other ones being this bad! Pretty happy with it though...about £185 so pretty good deal I reckon. Bens back there the next day so his cousin Daniel (the main tattooist) can do an epic piece on da boi’s leg. Proper good…sickening looking at his shaved, girly limb though🤣 …looking forward to the hair filling in again. So Bens a changed lad…new hair, new leg...both looking awesome and we are gunna spend the next few days provisioning etc and filling with water from the natural stream fed hoses here…water is soooo pure and yummerz! Then hopefully sail to Ua pou as it’s the only one of the inhabited Marquesian islands we haven’t seen yet. Spend couple of days there before doing the 3-4 day sail to the Tuomotos. Felling real lucky to have freedom as the lockdown worked quickly here so no cases of covid any more…just hope we can continue to sail west to make it home by next summer💚💙.

Hope everyone’s coping with confinement in back home…love ya all big time innit XXXXXXXX