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Aretha - 6 Hours away from being in a Marina - almost at Tahiti



Tahiti. Made famous by Captain Cook and the the Mutiny on the Bounty. The Island steeped in history is just 20 miles away from us now and we will make landfall by around 10am this Sunday morning. It’s the largest Island in French Polynesia and by all accounts a bustling metropolis with some 130,000 people living here. It will be our first marina since leaving Panama - some 2 months ago. It’s strange to think we have been at sea or at anchor since then and have had to be completely self sufficient in that time - making our own water and creating our own electricity - courtesy of our water maker and generator. It’s a good feeling that you can be self sufficient and at the same time good to look forward to the security of a marina and Aretha not moving for a change! Strange when you contrast it to sailing back in Europe and you might only go 1 or 2 days without being in a marina.

Distances have seemed to shrink to us now. We’re over half way across the Pacific Ocean now - I checked on the chart yesterday and in round numbers it was c4,500 miles back to Panama and only c3,000 miles to Australia. The distances seem smaller and easier to cover - this particular voyage of 250 miles from Fakarava to Tahiti seems a tiny hop, as did the 550 miles from Nuku Hiva to Fakarava. The miles glide by underneath us in this beautiful and barren ocean where seeing any other vessels is extremely rare. You truly are in the middle of nowhere out here.

We’ve spent the past week in the atoll of Fakarava. It’s one of the atolls in the Tuamoto archipelago. It is the quintessential island paradise and the photos don’t even come close to conveying the peacefulness and tranquility of it. It is actually the busiest of the atolls - which isn’t saying a lot - there are 2 shops, 2 churches, one school and one hotel/ pension that was open. That and a couple of pearl farms (more of the famous black Tahitian pearls to come). A supply ship comes once a month and after that you’re back to coconuts, breadfruit and fish.

Some assorted highlights and memories of a week spent in Paradise.

1) Willow’s first day at School.

Last Thursday I spent planning a day of boat maintenance. A full one involving taking the boat apart. The challenge. How to do this with 3 lively children. Brainwave. There is a local school. I wonder, I just wonder if we can give them a true local experience and at the same time buy us some time. I call Stephanie, a French lady from Fakarava Yacht Services (she has 2 children at the local school of 100 pupils) and we ask her if if might be possible. She replies we’d have to speak to the head mistress, so why don’t we meet her at 715 the next morning and go to the school together.

This is starting to sound promising. Right children, you’re off to school tomorrow. Let’s get ready. We have mixed reactions. Willow - bouncing around with excitement - she can’t wait (this will be her first day at school), Columbus goes quiet and expresses some concern, Bluebell has a slightly more voluble reaction and not in a good way!. Things settle and by the morning all are ready and lined up.

We dinghy over to the dinghy dock and wait outside the school with the other children. There are no school uniforms and the children wear flip flops or are bare footed. A group of boys play catch with a home made ball and ask if I want to join in. I do of course and my children look away slightly embarrassed as Dad throws a ball around with the local kids.

We meet Stephanie and head into the school. The head mistress is extremely welcoming and in no time at all, Willow and Caroline are in one class, Bluebell and Columbus together in another class. This will be interesting as all the lessons are in French! The head mistress is grateful for the Childrens scrabble and books we have taken as gifts for the school.

I wave goodbye and Willow is off for her first day at school.

A children free day beckons. By the end of the day, we’ve serviced winches, made a new gasket for the engine, straightened the bent anchor pin, serviced the outboard, replaced and repaired broken navigation bulbs, done a rig check and fixed some other small jobs. Progress that would have been impossible with the children on board.

I dinghy back at 330pm to collect the children. I spot Bluebell first. She is surrounded by local girls (they are fascinated by her blonde hair) and she has become the centre of attention. She is smiling and happy (phew). I see Columbus next - also surrounded by boys and twirling his rubiks cube which has been of great interest to the boys (his record for the completing the cube is now 3 minutes 22 seconds). Lastly I see Willow, bouncing, smiling, happy. We walk to the shops to get the children an ice cream - they are full of stories and excitement and Willow is keen to show me her pictures, the book she has been given in French and her toothbrush (the 3 year olds have teeth brushing lessons in the afternoon). They have loved the experience and I’m certain this will stay with them. I’m delighted and it’s great that Caroline has been able to have a different experience as well.

2) The Kingdom of the Sharks

This place is known as the Kingdom of the Sharks. Stick your head underwater and you see why. They are everywhere. I go on a dive outside the entrance to the lagoon and you see 8 - 10 sharks at a time - they are curious and unnervingly swim straight towards you. Nichola and I for our wedding anniversary coming up escape for a night and check into the Havaiki Lodge where we have a beach bungalow. 10 metres from our porch along a rickety jetty in 1 metre of water, we watch six 2 metre sharks cruising around. We spend several days here swimming, playing in Kayaks and enjoying the peaceful tranquility. To get here, you come by dinghy swerving around the pristine coral heads and tie up on the jetty.

The children all take to Kayaks - Bluebell and Columbus are totally at home and paddle out to the bathing platforms and tiny huts with seats in the water. They tie up their Kayaks are playing at diving swimming around. Willow is content lying face down on the front of my kayak paddling with her hands and pulling the kayak up the beach and then pushing it out to sea again and jumping in. They are so much at home in the water now and its lovely to see. As we paddle round the sharks and watch them from the kayaks, they are relaxed and watch with curiosity, not fear. We see turtles, huge fish and manta rays too.

3) The Pearl Farm

On another day, we rent bikes. Willow in a bike seat behind me, Bluebell and Columbus on their own bikes and Caroline and Nichola all in the saddle too. We pedal on the only road (the atoll is maybe 300 metres wide only) for 9 km and reach a Pearl Farm run by Gunther - a retired German architect. He explains to us how pearls are cultured and the history of the famous black pearl here in Tahiti and the Tuamotos. There is a small shop selling pearls - perfect for a small gift for a little girl with a tenth birthday around the corner (Bluebell).

4) Snorkelling

We are anchored some 100 metres from a North Cardinal marker. Early one morning, Caroline and I with Bluebell and Columbus head over and tie the dinghy to the cardinal marker. We snorkel in water that starts at 50 cm deep and then plunges down to some 20 metres. It is spectacular. Pristine coral, thousands of fish and incredible light. The photos and videos we snapped with the Go Pro almost look professional - more I feel due to the light and stunning views than us. Truly magical.

5) Launching new businesses

Fakarava saw the launch of 2 new businesses - Columbus Killer Lures and Bluebells Bread Delivery. We’ve had great fun planning this with them, creating their products, working out pricing and margins and then the marketing of their offers. Both have made their first sales and are now gathering testimonials for their marketing collateral. They are loving it and are learning much from it - they both appreciate the value of having their own money and being able to create all their spending money at will.

Columbus lures - well the first in his product line sells for $5. Actually, it’s a bargain and they’ve been proven to work by the 2 times World ARC fishing champion (Columbus).

Bluebell’s bread delivery service charges $1 per boat for bread delivery on top of the bread costs. Her product extension is rubbish removal for $1 also. That’s potentially $2 a day per boat - 10 boats per anchorage and she is starting to make some $’s that are meaningful for her.

All great fun and the learnings are coming thick and fast. Being short changed on on delivery (inadvertently of course) means Bluebell now pays greater attention!

We’re looking forward to arriving in Tahiti and meeting up with Nichola’s Dad in a couple of days. The children are super excited as are we and we have many stories to share. It will tinged with sadness though as Caroline leaves us on the 25th to fly back to the UK. It’s hard to believe she has been with us for 3 and a half months which have flown by since we met in Grenada after the strength of one ten minute Skype call. She has transformed the schooling on board and has been a pleasure to sail with and have on board. It will feel very strange without her and we’re hoping she will come back to join us later on.

Right, better go do some sailing - the lights on Tahiti are getting closer.

From a very warm Team Aretha in the South Pacific, Out.








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