Faithful one-eyed Panda cheering on the Canucks to the end (thanks Ashley for sending this photo from Kamloops).
Well I’m still dinghy-less for this week, but managing fine with the kayak. I’ve figured out how to get in and out on the decrepit dock, although it isn’t graceful! The primer is definitely gone, so luckily I was able to email Peter and he is bringing a replacement part back from Canada. Apart from that, the only other hitch was with the watermaker. As mentioned last week, I had been given detailed instructions on how to run fresh water through it at least once while Peter was gone to keep the membranes moist, etc. True to form, I didn’t pay enough attention and so since I couldn’t reach Peter who was at this point racing on the outside of Vancouver Island, I did what I thought should be done.
When Peter arrived in Ucelet he responded to me with this email: “As far as the watermaker is concerned you need to do what I am about to tell you as soon as possible. Do NOT touch the actual water maker controls, all you need to do is open the valve beside my toolbox with the red handle 90 degrees for 3 minutes the generator should NOT be running. You will hear the fresh water pump come on, this is normal - you are flushing the salt water out of the system. After about 3 minutes close the valve and you are done. PLEASE do this ASAP as you have put salt water in the system when you started the Water maker. Again no need to touch any of the controls. I will e-mail more later and hopefully we can Skype later.” So, I didn’t win any brownie points for this one!
Another beautiful rainbow in the bay
In one of my earlier posts I mentioned that there were 25 boats here from New Zealand. They are heading to Fiji for their next leg, so they had their big send off dinner at the Mango with a band, dancing and entertainment. I had a lovely dinner out with friends and enjoyed an excellent lobster dinner (for only $20.00).
Lobster dinner
All week, new boats have been arriving from New Zealand and they have been badly beaten up. A normal transit time might be anywhere between 7 – 10 days. The average for the boats arriving has been 17 days of brutal conditions – 30 – 60 knots winds, right on the nose with swells of 18 feet! One boat had to sit out in the middle of the pounding storm for two days with their sea anchor out until it finally shredded and they had to continue. Lots of war stories being compared.
Had another great Saturday morning reading to the kids at the library. It just amazes me how keen they are to learn. They really enjoy asking “palangi’s” questions and interacting. A Palangi is a term for white person. Unlike, the negative term Gringo in Mexico, a Palangi is a respectful title and we are very well received here.
The “classroom” at the library.
One of my favourite days here is Sunday, because everything closes down. It reminds me of when everyone used to get the day off in Canada, although that seems like a million years ago. I just really like the difference where people aren’t just shopping and rushing around just like every other day of the week. Here, everyone puts on their Sunday best and meets their friends and neighbours in church and then they all go to a big family get together for a lunch and an afternoon of visiting. Call me old-fashioned, but I think if we still had some lazy Sundays and Sunday night dinners together, a lot of people would feel more connected and less lonely, even though they may have a zillion friends on Facebook.
I walked to another village about 1.5 away and went to church there. I get there early to chat with the locals and stay afterwards to talk with them. That’s where you really learn about the culture. I also met lots of the dancers from the Mango dinner and many of the women from the market, so it was nice to chat with them in a casual environment. I had my couple of bottles of water so I kept walking in the country for a couple of hours until I reached the Tongan Beach Resort. Met up with an old friend from last year who runs a business (every day except Sunday) and we spent 5 hours just gabbing away. Kathy kept wanting me to have a beer with her, but I’m taking a break from drinking while Peter is gone. She was too funny. She kept saying “who says you can’t drink” and I said “I just decided not to while he was gone”. She said “well decide you can”. I held firm though and we had a delightful afternoon just talking as women love to do.
I lost track of the time though and when she dropped me off at her house, I still had another hour to walk home. She kept insisting on driving me all the way, but I was a little concerned with her having 6 beers and going in to town. I did forget though how quickly it gets dark and found myself in the middle of nowhere in the pitch back with the sound of the bats getting louder and louder and the prospect of feral dogs a little daunting. I increased my pace and kept moving. Luckily a taxi driver appeared out of nowhere (The Secret at work?) so I got back to the marina bar safe and sound.
Shrimp in the bay
Yesterday, the reason I wasn’t able to blog on my regular day was that I went diving – haven’t been since last September and have never gone on a dive without Peter. Went to two other divers onboard Two if by Sea – a large catermaran run by a wonderful European couple. Very comfortable digs! The first dive was to Shark’s Tooth which is a cave that you have to swim in to from about 40 feet below surface. I had trouble with my buoyancy and didn’t have enough weight. I also started bleeding from my nose, so had to end the dive after we explored the cave and the wall dive outside of it. I was determined to go for the second dive as I though it important to get back on the horse. I had more weight added, but it still wasn’t enough. We did a nice dive in the coral garden but I was fighting to stay down the whole time and had more difficulties with my ears and once again started bleeding so I had to end the dive early. I was disappointed with myself to say the least.
Afterwards when we were reviewing it, we figured out that their weights were in pounds and I was used to diving with kilo’s so I had less than half the weight I needed. That made me feel better. Also, the good thing about it was that I didn’t panic and remained calm, even when I had to have one master diver hold my hand and the other instructor swim right on top of me to keep me from just flying up to the surface. I’ll make the necessary adjustments on the next dive – which will be with Peter when he gets back.
Lunch onboard the dive boat
I’ve been following Peter and gang in the Van Isle race. They’ve certainly had their adventures with collisions at the start, false starts, a grounding, a de-masting, a boat hitting a whale and destroying their rudder and wind hard on the nose for most of the 2 week race. The worst leg was from Winter Harbour to Ucelet which had very rough, cold conditions. Peter says he got about ½ hour sleep in 36 hours. One of their crew members got sea sick (more than half the whole fleet was incapacitated by sea-sickness) and another got hyperthermia. Peter was glad to have two nights in a hotel between legs to catch up on sleep, warm up and get laundry done. He has had a good time visiting with friends along the way, and is currently in Victoria with old friends Shorry and Kim. He has begun the last leg this morning to Nanaimo. He arrives on Sunday morning, takes the ferry to Vancouver and then flies back here that night arriving two days later…Only 3 sleeps till my man comes home to QuickStar. I’ve really enjoyed my time alone, but have really missed him too – so will be nice to have him back.
Until next week…..Have yourself a magical Sunday – perhaps a picnic or a walk in the woods with family and friends.
Band at the Mango
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