Thursday 31 July 2008

Rahula to the rescue

Helen: Since the last post, you'll be glad to know that we have swapped the evil old witch for a couple of hippies and life has turned out rosie! After a 'union meeting' in the dinghy, Charlie, Anton and I decided that we really had had too much on board Sonadora so we jumped ship and the good ship Rahula came to the rescue once again. We did feel awful leaving a little old lady stranded at anchor...but the final straw was when the generator blew up and she wanted to go back to Tahiti. Nothing in the world could make us want to go back there. So we didn't! We did a 'Rahula Tours' whislestop whizz round Huahine (they like to travel the same way we do - see it, 'Tick', and move on - Anton was a bit bemused by all this and could have happily spent several days talking to the tame eels...). Then we visited Raiatea and Tahaa (honestly, there are way too many vowels in this language - and you have to pronounce them all, so Faaa is Fa-a-a. What a mouthful!) Tahaa grows 3/4 of the vanilla in French Polynesia and the whole island smells of vanilla. Yum. We went to a vanilla plantation - it is so expensive in the UK it was really wierd to see so much just lying about in the sun!Anyway, here we are, on Candine, finally relaxing. We're in Raiatea, and plan to leave for Rarotonga the day after tomorrow. Should get there in time for their Independence Day celebrations - sounds like an excuse for lots more scantily clad ladies to shake their bottoms if you ask me! And, the best news of all, it seems we have a lift all the way to NZ with their friends. So...all is well for now. :)Lots of loveH&Cxx

Wednesday 23 July 2008

Evil old witch

Helen: It's official. The only people who need crew are either incompetent or complete arseholes. Our current skipper is both. She is rude to us every day and takes advantage of us and has us working for 10 hours most days without paying us. She pretends like she's some helpless sweet old lady, but really she's a vindictive, manipulative bitch. We've all had enough and will jump ship just as soon as we can. Although, judging by our past experience there's no guarantee that the next boat will be any better.
Oh well, gonna have a bonfire and some beers on the beach tonight, as we have the last 2 nights, so can't be all bad. Navigating through the reef with headtorches after a couple of beers is quite a feat! C is getting pretty good at the guitar now and can play lots of Levellers and Wonderstuff songs. And I'm learning the words to Anton's 50s folk songs. C taught me D and G chords the other day too.
Right, have to go, time's ticking by on the old internet counter.
Hx

PS We finally made it to Moorea! Yippeee...

Thursday 17 July 2008

STILL IN TAHITI. ARRRGGGGHHHHHHHHH

Helen: Not much more to add really. Think we're leaving on Tuesday. Can't wait. Was supposed to be Sunday though, so not holding my breath that we'll make it on Tuesday. New boat is ok...but it's a bit like sailing with your grandmother - we have to lay places for every meal, she makes up the rules of games as we go along despite what the rule book says, and she can't use 'the internet'. Added to which she insists on instant mashed potato, even when I offer to peel and boil and mash the real things, and we've just divvied up the jobs on the boat and C and Anton get engines and sails and rigging and I get laundry and provisioning. Better go buy some marigolds and a pinny. Grrrr. How am I ever gonna learn.
Humph.
Think I'm just grumpy cos it's late. And cos I didn't go to happy hour today for the first time in two weeks. And I've lost my hat. From Panama. And our package from the UK STILL hasn't turned up.
But, we have done cool things too though - we went for a super long hike on Monday - up to 2000m - that's 700m higher than Ben Nevis - took us 8 hours (paying for it now!). And I just bought a load of material with hibiscus flowers on it to make a dress - nothing like a sewing project to make me smile.
And, ultimately, we are still in the South Pacific, so it can't be all bad. As Anton says, just don't sweat the small stuff...
Hopefully, next post will be from somewhere other than Tahiti!
Night night
Hxx

Tuesday 8 July 2008

The big Three-Oh, Being Homeless and Ill and Sonadora

Helen: Haven't written for a while as we've spent most of the last couple of weeks being homeless and arguing with C. It's not much fun being a sailor with no boat and having to try to make your worldly possessions fit into bags which are blatently too small every couple of days and then go begging to the next set of friends to see if you can stay on their floor/sofa/deck for a couple more days. C really doesn't like being dependent on people, and Tahiti is such an expensive place to find accommodation that we couldn't afford to not stay with our friends. So. Not fun.

But now we have a new home. :). You'll laugh when I tell you it's on a yacht (Sonadora - dreamer in Spanish) that we met across the Pacific and that C and I swore we'd never crew on as we thought the owner was v strange! But, we were desperate so we came to say hello...and it turns out we were wrong. The skipper is, as we thought, a little dotty, but she's lovely. This is her second time round the world on this boat (big roomy catermaran) - first time was with her husband, but he's unfortunately dead now so she needs crew. It is a bit like sailing with your grandma (she insists we make our beds in the morning and set places for breakfast, and the kitchen smells like my great aunt's flat in Hove) but she really looks after us and, most importantly, she's really sociable. So unlike Stuart. We've had folk over for dinner a few times already, she says we can invite our friends round for drinks and she's always at Happy Hour. And, best news of all, our rudderless hippie Swedish friend from Panama/Galapagos (Anton) has joined us as crew. With his guitar and harmonica. So we've been keeping the neighbours awake singing English folk songs all night. Should be fun all the way to NZ.

Two other things to tell you about - I'm now officially OLD. Turned 30 over a week ago. Actually, it was a lovely day - in the midst of our homelessness nightmare we got rescued by friends on a v luxurious 63ft ketch and taken to Moorea - next island along - less stress, less traffic and people. Turns out one of the owners is (we think) English aristocrat with cordon bleu training. She was wonderful, showed me how to make salads I actually like (yup, that's SALADS I LIKE you didn't misread - she has such a well stocked larder - artichokes, capers, crab, balsamic vinegar, Fortnum's tea...) and she baked me a cake for my birthday (didn't even get a card from C :( ). Her partner is a v laid back American with a Southern drawl. Also lovely. We got totally spoiled for 3 days. Won't forget my 30th for a long time!

And then we had to re-enter the real world...and we got sick! First time since leaving the UK for me, and C has only had a cold in that time (also since we've been on Tahiti - must be all the germs from all the PEOPLE!). Carole (new skipper) had asked us what our health is like - we told her in good faith that we're generally pretty healthy...and then first night on board we were both throwing up and running to the loo all night! She's a nurse though so looked after us with tea and boiled sweets til we were better.

Right, that'll do for now - better go and help with boat chores - the boys are down in the engine room getting grubby changing filters - poor Anton - not something you want to be doing with a hangover. I get to check the stores and make a shopping list - pink for girls and blue for boys. Going out to see the opening of the Heiva this evening - the Polynesian cultural festival - C says it'll be rubbish and why does he have to go and see a load of dancing anyway - I told him not going would be like being in Edinburgh during the festival and not going to see a show. So I won and we're going. (Think this decision will come back to haunt me though and be used as justification for him buying a(n expensive and unnesseccary) diving knife that I think is a waste of time).

Looking forward to it as our friends Rahula are in town and Marco (from the Canaries) might pop by too...

Hxx

PS met some truly awful Brits the last couple of nights - ex pilots who are now ex pats in Malaysia/Indonesia. All they wanted to do the whole time was tell stories about how many women they'd slept with whilst getting very undignifiedly drunk.