The best part of a rainshower
We have been hearing that the weather in B.C. has been quite wet, with a good friend saying she will build an arc any day now. Of course, I’m sure no one there is thinking of the weather anymore – with the great win the other night sending the Vancouver Canucks to the Stanley Cup playoffs. It was so exciting for us to listen to the games over the internet via Radio 1040.
Private beach for us to explore from
Immediately after sunset (6:00 p.m.), it gets pitch black especially on a cloudy night. We were having a gin and tonic in the cockpit a couple of nights ago and the whole ocean seemed to light up. When we stood on the bow to have a closer look, it turns out that the movements of the jelly fish was causing bioluminous in the water. These are fluorescent green “lights” which are created with movement. It was amazing to see hundreds of jellyfish “lit up” surrounding the boat.
Looking out at QuickStar while on our hike
To get us back in to full island mode, Peter has participated in the Kava ritual. Kava is a local drink that looks and tastes like dirty dishwasher. It is primarily drunk by men (sometimes served by women) and with large amounts consumed it creates a buzz. A Kava ceremony is performed any time a business deal is to be concluded, a potential groom asks the bride’s father for her hand, etc., or pretty well any time that an excuse can be found.
Beginning the Kava ceremony
Partaking of the Kava
We headed out sailing to the outer islands where there are endless white beaches, azure seas and gently swaying coconut trees. All clichés, but true. My favourite part though is meeting the locals and the best way to do this is to attend their village church on Sundays. I managed to drag Peter out this past week and for 45 minutes we literally had to climb through the bush and wade through mud on a dirt track to get there. The service is an hour long, all done in Tongan, but the singing is amazing. We were the only “pale-faces” there and the bonus is we spent time talking to one of the church elders. She explained that most of the women and children that live on the island also live on the main island during the week to work and attend school– leaving behind the husbands to tend to the pigs and crops. Sounds like a pretty good system to me.
Di covered with mud on arms, legs and feet (with some new tears in the dress)
Village church
We are now back in the main harbour and re-connected with our friends from the sailing vessel Bubas who had us over for some sundowners on their cat. They left this morning for Fiji. Scott on BeachHouse had a rough 7 day trip to Fiji from New Zealand with 3.5 meter seas right on the beam – however, they are there now safe and sound, with just a few boat repairs to attend to. Oddly enough, although things do happen out at open sea, it is usually the accidents on land or while at anchor that are the most problematic. A couple on a boat here had their 84 year old parents come out for a visit. The mom fell while getting out of her berth, however, the worst for her was falling down a set of cement stairs while on land and hurting both knees, getting a huge black eye and almost cracking her head open. She is okay after being thoroughly checked out at the hospital here (and also at home once she got back). We haven’t had any accidents so far, although we are covered with bumps and bruises, which seem inevitable while maneuvering in small spaces. Doing balancing Yoga poses on a sloped deck while swinging on the mooring adds to these. I also have developed some kind of severe itch – which is mostly annoying and seems to be kept under control with anti-histamines. More drugs…just what I need.
Early dawn Yoga practice
Tomorrow I begin a new adventure as Captain Peter is flying back to Vancouver for just over three weeks. He is going to be participating in the two-week Van Isle 360 race which begins on Saturday, June 4th at 10:30 a.m. – Saturday, June 18th from Nanaimo and goes all the way around Vancouver Island. – hence the name Van Isle 360. (So - Shorry, Ian and Bob – he is heading your way). Peter will be racing on Opus, which is owned by his great buddy Joe DaPonte. Feel free to join me in following their progress on the website www.vanisle360.com.
One of the many incredible views
I am really looking forward to three glorious weeks all to myself. I thrive on solitude and am excited about sleeping outside each night in the hammock under a sky blanketed with the stars of the southern hemisphere. Peter is, of course, quite concerned about me and has been trying to teach me how to run the dinghy (since I’m on a mooring ball and not on land). The kayak is blown up and I anticipate using that mostly for transportation as I find my dyslexia causes the dinghy to go in funny directions, if I’m lucky enough to start the engine (with has a few kinks in it). Okay so being mechanically inclined is not one of my gifts!
All of you that know Peter well, will sympathize with me about the “drilling” he is giving me to ensure that I don’t blow up the boat and that I know how to turn on the water-maker, change the water tanks, run the generator (and how often, and for how long), master the VHF radio, turn on the wind generator, blah, blah, blah. I keep reminding him that I’ve been sailing on this boat for well over eight years - so I can’t help it if I start to drift off when he goes on and on. My girlfriends on the Bowen Lake canoeing circuit may well remember Peter lecturing me before we left about how to change a flat tire and then when it actually happened I did somewhat wish I had paid attention.
Day anchorage
Oh well, I’m sure everything will be fine. I’m looking forward to doing lots of writing, getting back to my daily Spanish lessons, doing my share of daily Yoga and exercise and most importantly, getting to know more of the locals. It will be blissfully peaceful!
Until next week……unless I do indeed blow up the boat....Cheer on the Canucks!
A lazy day sailing
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