Wednesday 23 September 2009

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We are back in Canada for the ski season….



We decided to cut short our 2009 cruising season so that we could surprise our son Danny who qualified for the B.C. Rodeo Finals this past weekend in Quesnel. He is in contention for “Rookie of the Year” for Saddle Bronc riding…yes, that means riding bucking broncos – every mother’s dream!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was really hard for me to watch him do his four rides, but he loves it, so it was just great to see him and to support him by being there.

Our final week in Tahiti was spent getting the boat ready for the winter/cyclone season. We stripped off all the sails and everything on the decks. It is now “snug as a bug” for the season at the marina in Tahiti.

We did manage to have a spectacular final day by going out with our cruising friends to do some swimming with the dolphins and the humpback whales. We were literally swimming with two 30-foot whales that were breaching and showing off less than 100 feet away from us in the water.

We will be taking care of some business in Abbotsford for the next couple of weeks, then off to SunDance Guest Ranch for Thanksgiving – then out to Ontario for two weeks to visit with friends and family, before heading back to Silver Star for our winter season of skiing and our family Christmas get together. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!!!

We will be returning to QuickStar next April, so I won’t be updating the blog until then. Thanks for coming along for our adventures…next year will be Tahiti, Fiji and other South Pacific Islands. We look forward to having you join us once again for the 2010 cruising season.

Until April 2010…….live large, hug lots, love deeply, laugh often and go for the gusto!

Saturday 12 September 2009

Peter goes native!






We had the luxury of spending over a week anchored in Moorea and got to love the community even more as we got to know it better. Peter felt so much a part of it, that he decided to go native! The kids won’t believe it since they had to wait until they were 18 to “deface” themselves, as Peter called it. Now that he is a geezer though, he figures he is old enough to do whatever he feels like and he felt drawn to get a traditional South Polynesian tattoo. Plus, he can cross off one more item on the “1,000 things to do before I die” list.

The highlight of the week was going on an all-day hike to the top of the mountains. We had a 360-degree view and a variety of terrain. Only have two black toenails on my big toes and a couple of blisters, so all is good.

Another day, we had a spontaneous bonus and were treated to a “free” afternoon show, by one of the award-winning dance troupes. They had over 100 dancers performing at the local hotel, just a dinghy ride away.

Since Peter’s birthday dinner was pre-empted by the huge storm, we made up for it by going out to dinner to a fabulous over-the-water restaurant. From our romantic table on the ocean, we could watch about nine stingrays swimming around. Each evening the restaurant feeds them, which in addition to their incredible food, is what they are famous for. So very cool to take a dinghy to and from dinner.

After sadly leaving Moorea (still so much to see and do there) we headed to a windy anchorage at the Tahiti Yacht Club. It was blowing over 25 knots when we picked up a mooring ball. Only casualty was the boat hook that I used to grab the mooring ball with, which bent in half from the pressure. This anchorage gave us a new location to explore Tahiti from where we walked to the black beaches and Peter got his “museum” fix.

We are now back at the anchorage in Marina Taini, where there are significantly fewer boats than there have been. They have all left for New Zealand, to get out of the hurricane zone for the winter. We will be sailing around Tahiti and then leaving our boat here in the marina for the winter, when we return again for another season at Silver Star to ski, watch hockey and most importantly visit with the kids and friends. We so love the contrast between the sun/sea and the snow/mountains.

Until next time…..I won’t do the next blog update until Monday, September 21st as we will be heading out of range again.
P.S. It is with sadness that we take a moment to reflect on this day eight years ago. Hopefully we have all learned something from the tragic event that rocked the world and all make a special effort to be kinder to people and to ourselves and to live each day with joy and unlimited possibilities.

Saturday 5 September 2009

Snow Days in Moorea



We’ve had a rather exciting week here in Opunahu Bay, Moorea, following in the footsteps where Captain Cook anchored in 1777. We celebrated Peter’s 55th birthday by going for a long walk and ended at the exclusive Hilton Resort. We decided to return to the over-the-water outdoor bar for cocktails and the sunset before having a romantic dinner on the boat.

Once back on QuickStar, our plans quickly changed, as it started to pour and the wind began in earnest. (so a box of frozen lasagne for the birthday dinner) This was just the beginning of what has been an almost weeklong episode of the worst weather we have experienced since leaving Vancouver two years ago. We are not complaining though, and are actually loving it. We are like little kids who have been freed from school on “snow days”. We’ve tucked in, snug as bugs in a rug, and have been doing lots of reading in bed, playing cards, dancing in the galley, listening to great tunes, catching up with people on Facebook and email, laughing over the absolutely ghastly Gilligan Island reruns, and simply enjoying “being” instead of “doing”.

Just before going to sleep on Snow Day Three, the wind intensified yet again, so Peter went up on deck to ensure that everything was indeed secure, and to also add a few more lines to the strapped down inflatable kayaks. Within moments, the wind gusted to over 50 knots and developed into a major storm that was not forecasted. Our anchor started dragging (as did a few others in the anchorage). We were unable to get the anchor up to move locations as we were now too close to the boat behind us, and the reef beside us, and Peter was being cautious about my lack of storm experience to risk moving in zero visibility. For the next two hours, Peter drove the boat, while still at anchor to hold our position. With the wind howling and the rain pelting, we had one of our kayaks ripped off the deck and swept out to sea.

The wind finally abated somewhat, so we decided it was time to reset. I failed miserably at holding the boat into the wind – which means that with me at the helm when a blast struck we were being hit broadside and pushed down on the other boats. So, we switched places and I hauled myself to the bow, to bring up the anchor, while holding on for dear life, in the pelting rain. We did manage to get free and re-set the anchor further out in the bay, with lots of room for manoeuvring. A definite adrenalin-pumping night, but no injuries, other than me sporting an armful of bruises from being bashed around on the bow.

The next morning there was a sailboat that limped in to our anchorage, with a broken sailbag and looking rather beat up. The Captain borrowed our bolsun chair to make some repairs up the mast. On the morning radio net, we heard of many more tales during the storm, including three boats being dragged on to the rocks/beach in Papeete (where we were just anchored before coming to Moorea). One actually smashed in to an over-the-water bungalow at the Inter-Continental Hotel. Another boat in the Tuomotus got his propeller wrapped while dragging, sails slashed by the wind, and if not for assistance from another boat would have been up on the reef.

While all this was going on here in the Pacific, there was also Hurricane Jemini heading in the Sea of Cortez. This is where we spent seven fabulous months last year, and got to know a lot of the cruisers who spend each summer there. We were able to be in contact with them via Ham Radio email, and learned that nineteen boats were all hunkered down in the Hurricane Hole, all preparing for it. We’ve been following it all week, with our fingers crossed for everyone. The good news is that as of yesterday, it turned direction and doesn’t appear that it will reach them, although it did blast La Paz and surrounding areas. We haven’t heard from our land-based friends in that area to see if they were hit, so we are still on pins and needles awaiting the final word of what havoc Jemini has caused.

In this neck of the woods, the Pacific High is expected to last another 20 – 30 hours, with a day or two break, then followed once again by another high-pressure system, so our itinerary for the next week is flexible and dependent on the wind. This weather activity has reminded us, that while cruising is for the most part benign and safe, it does come with unexpected twists and turns and that’s what makes it such a grand adventure.

On a totally different note, we were pleased to hear about Luongo – the Canucks goalie, although it is a bit of a funny story how we found out. I was on Facebook and my niece Courtney put in her status line that she was glad that Luongo had resigned just moments before. I wasn’t sure why she was happy that our star goalie quit, but I told Peter right away, who was buried deep in the lazerette organizing things. He jumped right out, and got on NHL.com and actually discovered that he had re-signed! Same spelling – totally different meaning.

We are very grateful to be out here and happy to be growing older together, especially when we get to act like kids without a responsibility in the world. I’m also looking forward to getting back to B.C. and going out to dinner to White Spot where Peter will be a cheap date since he now qualifies for the senior discount! I’m married to a geezer!

Until next Friday….”a reed before the wind lives on while the mighty oaks fall”
Glad Kylie’s luggage finally arrived – Hope my niece Nadine enjoyed her 25th birthday and Peter’s sister Caroline enjoyed hers – it was great talking to you – Tahiti to Texas on a computer – how very cool is that!!!!

QuickStar

QuickStar
46 foot Beneteau

The journey begins.....

I update this blog every Friday, so that you can share in our adventure and learn about new places and cultures.

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Thanks for dropping in to visit. Hugs from Diana and Peter.