Blog

We are back out at sea. We have been traveling from French Polynesia to Tonga. Day in and day out we ride these endless waves up and down in and out gradually moving towards our destination. At times it feels like an  extension of our month long crossing and we think it will never end. At other times we are having such a relaxed time I want it to go on and on. Having a few storms and few thousand miles of experience under our belts I feel much more confident of our skills. We have good feel for this boat and what she likes to do and what she does not like to be pushed to do. Even as I type we are sending photos out to agents to sell our boat once we get to Australia. This is kind of heart breaking so we try not to focus on the fact that we only have four months left.

Because we have never spent any time in any of these next islands we are heading to it is kind of exciting. I always wanted to visit Tonga. On the way to Tonga we will stop at Niue. But before that we will stop at a tiny atoll plunked in the middle of the Pacific with virtually nothing around it. About 150 years ago a man named Marsters arrived there from England with two Cook island wives. He soon added a third wife and before long he had housed each of his three wives on different islets in the atoll. He had  about ten kids each per wife and to this day only Marters descendent’s live on these islands. Apparently, he gave them rules about  how to inter marry. This island is so remote that you cannot even enter the lagoon because there is no pass into the lagoon. There is a sketchy anchorage outside the reef that if the conditions are settled it is safe to anchor. If the wind picks up at all or pushes toward the reef boaters need   quickly pack up and leave before they wreck on the reef. I guess there are several wrecks there. The story goes that if you anchor there an islander will come out and offer to take you into the lagoon when it is safe.

It is customary to offer flour and sugar or any staples and they will take care of you while you are there. There are no stores or anything on the islands and everyone is still one family. The crew has voted to stop in for a visit so we will see if the conditions are perfect tomorrow. It almost feels like cheating to stop in the middle of this twelve day journey.

We do all kinds of funny things to entertain ourselves here at sea. Yesterday it was “Orin’s Day”. He got to be king for the day. He was given a roman candle to celebrate at night. He chose pesto alfredo for dinner and everyone pitched to do his jobs and give him all kinds of little treasures. At night we played different art games as a family and then we ate banana cream pie (we thought of Grandpa Mckay) and watched an old family movie together.

Dailin feels sea sick most of the time but I did notice yesterday he perked up as he constructed a banana canon out of left over bits and pieces of plumbing pipes etc. We have hundreds and hundreds of bananas ripening faster than we can bake them, stir them, freeze them or fry them. No one complained as he stole a few of the really ripe ones and blasted them out to King Neptune.

Today was Teyauna’s Day. She was so excited to wake up at 6:00 am to find out what the day could offer her. You can imagine her delight when just as the sun was peaking over the horizon her first offering was a brilliant rainbow just for her. Against the darkened sky it was stunning.  She could see the entire perfect bow displaying every color she could imagine.

She got to eat leftover banana cream pie and garlic twisty bread for breakfast just because it was her wish. Early on she woke the entire crew asking them all to assemble to start her day. She beamed as everyone went around the circle  and told what they loved most about this little princess. She sweetly asked if everyone had a gift for her. It took a few moments but before long everyone returned from searching their private treasures and presented her with a pillow case of treats and games and bracelets. She chose for everyone to watch Little Mermaid. Even her brothers get to join in tonight. Alyssa is kept busy as ever keeping up with everyones dinner requests. Tonight she is making Teyauna her favorite pizza. It is nice to have fresh supplies. They won’t last forever but for now we are still laughing and eating great food and enjoying our journey to Tonga.