Apologies for recent lack of news from us but when
in port there always seems so much to do - mainly socially - especially when its
in the Society Islands - well named and great if you are rich and famous.
On three nights we ate or just had a couple of Miatais at the renowned
Bloody Mary's establishment. The entrance is adorned with hundreds of
names of the 'stars' etc who have visited the place. Im not sure our
sing songs went down all that well but they took our money.
On 20th we set sail for the Cook Islands which are
associated administratively with New Zealand - ie English instead of French
speaking and normal prices. First stop will be Rarotonga on 24th. Yesterday
the sky ahead of us went blacker than any daytime sky I have ever seen. It
was quite errie and made us nervous. Luckily the winds didnt increase much
and we just had hours of thunder and lightning and occassional torrential
rain. Yachts around us reported 55 knot winds which would have been quite
hairy, although with well reefed sails we would have coped without
difficulty. In fact we played I spy and name a song beginning with every
letter in the alphabet!
Soon after leaving B B we caught two skipjack tunni
fish - one on each of our two lines - within a minute of each other. We must
have crossed a shoal of them. Anyway we wont have to fish again this leg
which is a bit of a pity as the whorling of the reel is an exciting sound and
makes all the crew leap into action - even if its only to take photos. The
fish are filleted expertly by Gordon within minutes and either eaten that
night, fried by Bob with Ann's egg fried rice, or deep frozen.
The actual temperature is delightful except at
night when the hatches are shut in case of a sudden shower. Then it becomes hot
and sticky.
Love or best wishes as appropriate to all from Ann
and Keith plus Joan and all on Andante.