can we help
+44(0)1983 296060
+1 757-788-8872
tell me moreJoin a rally

Menu

American Spirit II - Day 116; Tour of Moorea, Albert and His 3 Wives and our Departure Delayed a Day due to High & Building Winds; Tuesday, April 27, 2014



Up at 6:30 AM. David and Paul got up 15 minutes later.



Eggs, grapefruit, French bread and coffee for breakfast.



At 10:15 AM we started a tour of the island with Folie a Deux in an 8 person taxi/mini van driven by Albert, who advised as we started the tour that he had 3 wives and numerous children and grand children. Not sure if polygamy is legal in French Polynesia, but Albert certainly believes its OK. His oldest wife is 67 and the other two are 42 and 39. He's 75 and by his own account is the biggest tour operator on the island.



Our first stop was at a pineapple distillery, where we were able to sample some of their 'wares. One of the liqueurs on sale was pineapple rum in the most attractive bottle I have ever seen. I almost bought it just for the bottle; but at $57 took a pass. Next we stopped at the lookout point that afforded us a view of both bays on the north side of Moorea. Then we stopped by one of his daughter's business's where black pearls were sold. Very high end, with some pearl necklaces going for over a million francs or over $11,000. Lunch was at a restaurant with a great view of the ocean. We took too long there, spending 2 hours to eat lunch. Something to remember when in a restaurant outside of the USA, you never seem to get the bill until you ask for it. You can sit for 4 hours and be done with a meal, but until you ask for the check, it isn't coming. Turnover of customers seems to be unique to the USA in maximizing profit. And since the waiters and waitresses receive no tips, there is no incentive on their part to get customers out the door to be replaced by other customers.



Our final stop was at a grocery store, where Folie a Deux bought some milk and bread.



Back at the boat next to the Bali Hai Hotel at around 4:00 PM. Two boats that had been anchored near us earlier in the day, Trillium and Alpheratz, were gone - obviously heading to the islands 90 to 100 miles north of us. The leeward Society Islands.



After sunset I went to turn on the starboard ceiling lights but the switch didn't work. Fortunately, Paul had brought 2 new switches with him. Joel will install one of them tomorrow. Good timing Paul!



At 7:00 PM we called Follie a Deux on the radio to discuss the Passage Weather forecast that Joel and I had just looked at. Both us and them were planning on leaving Moorea to head to Huahine 90 miles away at 8:00 PM. The forecast was not good, with winds building tonight thru tomorrow, in the 25 to 30 knot range, with 30 to 35 knots possible. The forecast indicated that the winds should start to diminish Wednesday night thru Thursday morning, so we both decided to delay our departure at least until tomorrow night. What was obvious tonight was that a low to our west and south; and the high pressure to our east, were both building and gaining 'form.' Our position was to the north of both of these systems. Our conjecture was that the proximity of the high and low were giving us the high and building winds. By Thursday the winds and the low appear to be dissipating; and by Friday the winds appear to be much lower than today. And because we're south of the equator, lows don't rotate counter clockwise but clockwise; and highs rotate counter clockwise instead of clockwise. And lows move east to west instead of west to east like at home. Not positive about that, though.



No dinner tonight as we had a big lunch. We try to have only two meals on the boast each day, breakfast and dinner. Since we had 'dinner' at the lunch hour, we didn't need to repeat that meal. Instead junk food and pineapple slices were eaten, followed by popcorn during the first part of the John Wayne movie The Searchers. David and Paul were tired, so we'll have to finish the movie some other night.



As I typed my backlog of logs (3) outside tonight after everyone else had gone to bed, the wind kept building and howling. Good decision not to head offshore tonight. And because of intermittent rain showers, we have to keep the hatches closed tonight. Which means its warmer down below in the cabins than it normally is. Earlier tonight Joel and I had a discussion about 'securing' the wind turbine in high winds. Above 35 knots the wind turbine starts to 'free wheel,' meaning it stops generating electricity and starts to spin without doing so. Not good. We're supposed to be able to turn the wind turbine off and that should stop it from spinning in high winds. We've had inconsistent results with that, though, and I will email the manufacturer tomorrow to get their advice on dealing with a 'runaway' wind turbine. We'd like to secure it and keep the 3 blades from turning by using some bungie cords, but we have to be careful not to damage the blades and make them unbalanced in the process.



Depending on the weather tomorrow, David, Paul and I may go golfing. Joel will stay on the boat and install the new engine alternator, ceiling lights and ceiling light switch.



Brian Fox


Previous | Next