The last several days have been a constant diet of boat projects, some the same project over and over. Surprise splashed into the water on Monday and we motored over to the visitor's dock at Marina Apooiti to start on the stuff that couldn't be done while we were in the yard. We planned on getting sails bent on Tuesday morning, but we woke to a downpour that continued all day, so accomplished inside projects only. Parts for the power take-off unit required machining, so these were dropped off and promised for Wednesday. They didn't return then, and Thursday, May 1 is of course a European holiday. But to our surprise the parts were personally delivered that holiday afternoon! We got the sails up, including our now indispensable mainsail stacker (so we don't have to flake and cover the main each time we drop it). Wednesday morning the head stopped working, always a favorite task, so our spare pump unit was installed. No point in arriving in New Zealand with new spares!

On Wednesday evening we went back to the local tourist hotel for dinner and another performance of Tahitian music and dance featuring our friend from the boatyard, Simone (photo). He does these gigs a couple of times a week at hotels and cruise ships, and travels to Hawaii and Japan several times a year to play.

Today, Friday, after reaching a negotiated truce with the power-takeoff and removing and cleaning the carburetor on the outboard, we dropped the mooring lines, disconnected the shore power and headed across the lagoon to Tahaa and a mooring ball at Taravana Yacht Club, one of our favorites from last year. What a lovely anchorage.

As we pulled into the bay we noticed-it would have been hard not to-what appeared to be a large cruise ship anchored across the bay. Turns out not to be a cruise ship, but a personal vessel called Rising Sun, Larry Ellison's biggest water toy. He hasn't invited us for cocktails yet.