Hi
from Clare,
SUNSHINE
AND MUSIC
As
suggested in our last newsletter under ‘So What’s Next’ we came
down to Avea Bay on the south end of Huahine. We enjoyed
snorkeling, swimming, walks, sundowners with new friends on
‘Whisper’ and generally relishing the relaxed lifestyle that
cruising provides.
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| Clare's favourite fish |
Three
days later and with some regret we went back to the main township of
Fare as Steve on ‘Liward’ was playing with local musicians at the
Huahine Yacht Club. We had a very good evening celebrating Steve’s
last gig for the season along with the crews on ‘Alcyone’ and
‘Golden Glow’. The music was terrific, the company good, the food
great, and the Club was fairly jumping.
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| Lili with Steve and the band |
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| Cruisers having dinner |
AND
THEN THERE WAS SILENCE
‘Liward’
was heading back to Tahiti and Steve very kindly took the radio that
we had on loan from ‘Acapella’ whilst Martin and Ellen were in
the Netherlands for a few weeks. It looked like we would be without
a ship’s radio for the remainder of the season as our radio has
failed and needs repairing when back in Oz. Anyone who knows Andrew
and his love for the radio will understand that no radio on board is
almost a fate worse than death. Actually it is a wonder we weren’t
on the next plane home and heading to Icom:)
WHAT
A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES
Fortunately
or maybe unfortunately the following day Mike on ‘Pangea’ lent us
his second radio, but it too has a fault. Andrew installed the radio
under the navigation deck and has spent many an hour down on his
knees trying to fix the problem. The audio is distorted and people
sound like Donald Duck. Sometimes the conversation is totally
garbled. We cannot transmit and we receive intermittently. So now we
either hear the radio net or we don’t.
TEN
DAYS IS A LONG TIME
At
the same time as ‘Liward’ left for Tahiti, the other cruisers in
Fare were anxious to move on as the forecast was showing more strong
wind heading our way. We returned to beautiful Avea Bay and our
friends headed off to different islands and one step closer to their
final destinations. One thing is for sure, wherever they dashed off
to, there is a very good chance that they are still there. The wind
has been twenty odd knots with frequent gusts up to 30 knots which
push the boat sideways. Things fall over inside the boat and the
kitchen drawer flies open if not locked. We’ve had rain squalls
every day and the sea outside the reef is 3 metres or more. There
was so much water coming over the reef that our peaceful anchorage in
Avea Bay was untenable. The ship wreck on the reef,(that we spoke of
in our last newsletter) moved 0.7 kilometres onto shallow ground
within the anchorage. The salvage people came and put an anchor on
her.
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| Shelter in Haapu Bay |
With
no respite from the wind in sight, we moved to Haapu Bay which is
known as a hurricane hole, the sea floor is sticky mud and so we were
anchored securely. So there we stayed with the wind howling through
the rigging, vicious gusts every few minutes, grey skies and
persistent rain. We managed a few walks ashore with our wet weather
coats on. I commented to Andrew on day eight that this was the
longest windy period we had encountered in our twelve years of
cruising. But he reminded me of the nine days we spent sheltering
behind one of the Greek Isles. In that particular blow, because the
island was so bare, the boat was completely caked in dust. At least
here we have had plenty of rain, the boat is squeaky clean and water
the tank is full. That’s the silver lining on this big bad cloud.
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| Tanda Malaika where she lay in the shallows |
TO
SAVE A WRECK
Yesterday
we returned to Avea Bay. The sea has abated and the water is quite
calm here. It is still windy and raining but it should start
settling. In a few days there is a calm patch showing. How lovely it
will be to see some sunshine and have the hatches open.
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| Tanda Malaika under tow |
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| Andrew on the right trying to keep away |
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| Well, he failed to keep away - they needed help |
Today
is nice and sunny and the wind is dropping. The salvage crew
returned this morning to tow the wreck of ‘Tanda Malaika’ back to
land. We took the dinghy out and watched the proceedings. Towing it
to shore was easy but getting it out of the water was made difficult
by weight of the additional water captured within the hulls. At the
moment it is half way up the beach. There is some talk that the hull
will be transformed into a house. A good project for the Tiny Homes
program we have watched on Austar. There is a hull of a catamaran on
the other side of the island that is now a home. I have seen a photo
of it, and it looks pretty good.
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| Inching up the beach |
SO
WHAT’S NEXT
Well
we stay in Avea Bay for a long as we can. This will be determined by
our diminishing fresh food provisions. At this point we are prepared
to go without just to enjoy this our favourite anchorage.
Love
Candy xx
