Med Moored in Papeete and Marina Life

Hello :)

After two nights on passage, we had an uneventful trip through the Papeete channel to Marina Taina. We rejected their first offering of slip (too tight for us to manoever into) and now we are med moored near a number of friends along a big dock. It was stressful, but successful: a "Mediterranean mooring" has all the boats perpendicular to a long jetty, with anchors dropped out in the channel and lines holding the boats straight. Both Victoria and Johnathan were helpful - V kept B and J tied on fenders and then operated our "roving" fender. I put the anchor down, Max backed the boat in, then I tossed two stern lines to the marina staff. The boats only have a few feet between each other, so the tolerances are very tight (esp with 12+ kts of wind and lots of current). Very glad to be safely here.

Internet - we think we can get access here, but not likely til tomorrow.


More later,
Love,
Elizabeth
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At 7/27/2014 2:19 AM (utc) Fluenta's position was 17°17.00'S 148°00.00'W

Greetings!

There is hardly anything much to write about today ... nothing so idyllic as a bonfire or snorkelling or sharks ... just boat work and boat prep - the less than glamourous side of cruising in general and cruising in the tropics in particular :)

We are fortunate in our place in the marina - we are across the dock and three boats down from our Belgian friends, which means that there are four children to occupy each other rather than just two (a little taste of Berwick-like life as they make community with each other on the dock (blankets, crafts, snacks, playmobil) Max and I visited our yacht agent today; she has the paperwork to get our AIS through the courier, and we should get it from her in the next couple of days. She has also put us in touch with a refrigeration person and an exterminator ... thus the boat prep task of the day. We hope the fridge guy will come on Wed.

I was hoping to spend the day cleaning/stowing/preparing so that the exterminator could walk on board and say, "How on earth did you get bugs, your boat is so clean and tidy and well-swept!" Unfortunately, he did a pre-visit visit today and caught me in my normal state ... dishes in the sink, floors that needed sweeping, and cubbies that had spilled their contents on the benches in order to let someone find something inside them .. oh, well, such is life on a boat with a baby. Henri and his son were very nice, and gave us an idea of what to expect tomorrow. The son will do the treatment for us, and they basically suggested that we take the baby stuff and bedding away (the bedding was headed to the laundry anyway .. 800 French Polynesian Francs ($10)/load!) and make sure that any fresh food was put into plastic boxes or the fridge. Since our fresh produce at the moment consists of three pamplemousse and a few potatoes, this won't be too hard! They are quite confident that they can deal with our "little friends", but I will be so glad when it is over!!!

On the (very) bright side, Max did the seasonal windlass servicing today. When he did it (after a longer gap) in January with my dad, it took them a day and a half just to get the windlass apart (including much head scratching and the use of a borrowed "puller"). Today, Max had the windlass apart and back together again in less than an hour! Such a relief :) He also tackled our less-than-well-designed grey water system, which has a very flat hose run, and therefore has a habit of blocking itself up. With loads of high-pressure fresh water in this marina, he was able to force a stream of water through the shower drain, and it seems to be flowing much better now (of course, this required the saloon floor to be opened up and all the contents of the bilge storage compartment to come out, but at least this was after Henri's visit! The compartment was aired and closed again shortly after supper).

Max has quite a list of boat jobs to accomplish while we are here; my jobs are simpler - laundry and provisioning for the next three months. We are still comfortably using our stores from Mexico, but we will need more staples before New Zealand. The trick will be to figure out what we need and to not buy too much: they have strict rules about what we can bring in with us, and anything that can't come into the country goes overboard before we arrive (literally or figuratively).

Of course, the busier we are, the more likely it is that all the kids on the dock will gravitate to our boat. At one point (while the floor was open) we had three boys, three girls, and Benjamin aboard. Thankfully I was able to entice them back to the dock with the suggestion of swimming. It turned out that the pool at the marina was not the "marina pool" so that wasn't an option after all, but since the water is clear enough to see the pilings under the jetties, and we are on the end of the dock (without a neighbour on that side) the kids were soon convinced to jump in near the boat, then they realized it was at least as much fun to spray each other with the hose. Let's just say that that was the last we saw of them aboard for a while!

The Rainbow Looms have also been quite a hit with both boys and girls (it reminds me of Lego for older kids as they share supplies and ideas). I am now sporting a snazzy new ankle bracelet, with the promise of more to come :)

Despite thinking that I had nothing to say when I sat at the computer, I guess it has been a busy day after all :) I will close at this point, as we have an early start tomorrow to be sure our spaces are ready for the arrival of Henri's son mid-morning. Fingers crossed for a successful visit!

Love to all,
Elizabeth
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At 7/29/2014 12:06 AM (utc) Fluenta's position was 17°35.17'S 149°36.99'W
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At 7/29/2014 12:06 AM (utc) Fluenta's position was 17°35.17'S 149°36.99'W

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