Last night we had dinner on board and watched a movie, GOAL! The Dream Begins, which was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone. Some of us were so tired we did not think we could make it through a movie, but we did. Everyone was in bed by 8:30 PM. The sun sets early here, around 6:30 PM. With the day so long at home in Reno where the sun sets after 9 PM, you start to think of it as early fall in Reno. I awoke briefly only once during the night to hear the wind blowing through Bella Donna's rigging. The sound would build like the sound of a large cruise ship about to run us down. As the sun came up I got up and started the first pot of coffee. The wind is blowing 20 knots; the sky is a cloudless blue. The temperature and humidity are near perfect. Even though the wind is blowing strongly Bella Donna is perfectly still just hanging on a much taught anchor line. The sun is so bright so the shallow water nearing the reef is clearly a lighter blue than where we and the other boats are anchored.
The day may have started lazily, but soon everyone was busy. First John and Susan from Silky arrived to visit with us. Both looked very fit, healthy and relaxed. The last time I saw the two of them was in Galapagos and all of us were nervous and a little stressed out before the 3,000 mile passage to Marquesas. It was apparent that they were determined to get weight off of their catamaran. They gave John a bucket of nuts and bolts; always good to have handy I guess. They wanted to know if we were interested in taking a symmetrical spinnaker off their hands. It was basically a 2 ounce fabric and sized for a 55 foot catamaran which Silky is. We decided that we would take the sail and use it to at least test our ideas about the size of a new spinnaker we should get in New Zealand during the southern summer. We could then consider passing it on to someone else who has a need for it. This is what cruisers do, they barter and trade things. During a long around the world cruise you find much you no longer want and need. Then there are things you need and want. Right now John and Susan are getting rid of things, something John, Deborah and Ant did on Bella Donna before I arrived. They unloaded hundreds of kilos of "stuff" that we no longer used. We are making room for toys. Yes toys for enjoying the water when we are at anchor.
Just as John and Susan left, Mark the WIFI man arrived. He set my computer up on the internet for high speed internet and voice over IP, VOIP. Now as long as we are in the French Polynesian Islands we can surf the internet for a fair price. Mark is a young Frenchman who speaks beautiful English even mastering western humor. He and his wife have a baby and another one on the way. His internet business is thriving and should support a good life for his family. He spends long hours supporting his users.
We are going ashore to walk and see things. I will let you know tomorrow what we see.
God Bless Bella Donna.
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