From Jared:
We arrived from Hiva Oa to our present anchorage on the paradise isle of Tuhuata. My apologies for not for not keeping up with the blog but I have a good excuse in the fact that we have been terribly busy with boat repairs and the like (April Fool's!). Well, in all honesty, we have been busy with trying to fix continued failing refrigeration, finding lost anchors (turbulent anchorage) in 40 feet of depth with 6" of visibility, hauling diesel from the station in 5 gallon jerry cans, provisioning after our eighteen day and 2950 NM journey from the Galapagos (go there, make it happen, nature lovers), fixing halyards, changing filters, giving and receiving help as being part of a team, and accomplishing myriad other details that keep us away from becoming complete bums (we are working really hard on that one). All you sailors out there reading this can relate to these things and can relate to why we keep on doing 'em :). In our 6? days (remember what I said, time is relative..relatively unimportant on a journey like this one..except for the racers in the crowd, they love to run, gun and keep time), the only land-fall downtime was spent walking up to Paul Gaugin's grave and paying "respect" to a guy who left behind his wife and kids to apply oil to canvas. Eccentrics are, well...eccentric. Luckily there are none of those around here (April Fool's!). We also had a nice lunch and dinner at Alex's, a family run ordeal run by a great guy who served 23 years in the French Foreign Legion. He decided to put down the rifle, marry his Polynesian love, and pick up the skillet. Excellent cooking! Tres Bon!
18 days. 18 days. Not seeing land for 18 days (and fortunately our winds were excellent) can be quite trying at times but I guess that is what makes landfall all the sweeter. Even with all the details of sailing, one still must manage a way to keep his/her mind occupied. Dreaming of monster fish that broke our lines helped me out. Thinking of loved ones does me better, though. The whales kept us company, though we are still looking for sperm whales, especially a white one. If we see him, we shall bid him a long, happy life.
Previous First Mate Tom Toohey, has decided to leave the Brown-Eyed Girl and help out our friends Jochemm and Jutta on the boat "Chessie". We wish all of them safety and happiness in their journeys. I would like to commend Jutta on her saving the life of her husband when he fell overboard in the middle of the Pacific (in transit from the Galapagos to the Marquesas) while cleaning a fish. These fish are dangerous business...even when expired! Jutta managed to toss line, drop sail, and lift her husband over the transom in inclement weather. She is quite a petite lady so it goes to show you that it is the size of the fight in the lion and not the lion in the fight that really counts. Divine intervention and skill played a major role, too. Way to go, Jutta!
Speaking of fish, First Mate Bucky Metz landed a beautiful 46 lb. yellow fin tuna on handline with much help from Captain and crew in backing down the boat and dropping sail. Without the mechanical advantage of rod and reel and me being too darn stubborn to put gloves on (helps me feel the vibration of the tail and the inception of the next run), I have lost some sensation in my right index finger. We caught that fish one hour before arrival in Hiva Oa last week after losing every fished we hooked over 2950 NM of passage (big bills, black and blue marlin we are pretty sure). Perseverance paid off and once in port, we fed ourselves and a lot of people in the World Arc with great sashimi, but my finger keeps telling me that the tuna really won. If I can find some time today, I will varnish the tuna tail so I can try to convince myself that I won that battle.
On a sadder note, our new friend Patrick (S/V Thetis) lost his entire left index finger in a coconut-chopping mishap while trying feed people at a beach party. He has been sailed back to Hiva OA where he will receive proper medical attention in Papeete. We all wish you the best, Patrick! We hope to see you again and soon. God speed! A proper shout-out to the Captain for responding in the dark of night and for trying to render as much medical attention as he could given the situation.
On April 12th, the fair lady and namesake of the boat will be joining us again. We gladly anticipate the day. Hi, mom! We love you and miss you. My fiancee, Mercedes, will be joining us in South Africa. Such a long time away. Te amo, bebe!
"Brown-Eyed Girl" out...
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Hi Jared and crew. Great to read (although with great envy!) your continued blogs. We are so glad that you are totally immersed in the real cruising life. Yes, it's a race but most important it's a way of life and true community of friends! Your blogs indicate how much you're in tune with this. After living 7 years aboard, we still think of the friends and anchorages we knew (and still know!). Take care and keep up the great blogs. Say hi to Cap't Joe for us.
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