Dear F&F, July 13, 2010 Clam Close-Ups Day #18 Aitutaki, Cook Islands I was awake at 6:30 a.m., but it is pretty dark then still, so lingered next to Scott until 7. I asked if he was up for a return trip to the lagoon. We decided it best to get our work done there …
Dear F&F, July 12, 2010 Wine & Friends As Scott was focused on uploading the morning weather report via ham radio, as he does nearly every morning…and I am scurrying about making breakfast, making the bed, generally tidying up…I glance out the stern window & see a new catamaran just off our stern. They are …
Dear F&F, July 11, 2010 Giant Clam Photo Shoot #1 The day started with Scott re-cementing Natalie\’s loose crown. The procedure was painless & successful. The retired dentist has not lost his touch. During this time (about 8 a.m. local) we were able to glimpse a partial eclipse of the sun. Thin clouds helped veil …
Dear F&F, July 10, 2010 Teking Lagoon Excursion This morning began with Scott assisting Laurel & Hardy to get unstuck from the shallow sand where they were marooned last night. As the water depth grew with the rising tide, Scott was able to give them a nudge with our dinghy to steer them into deeper …
Dear F&F, July 9, 2010 Aitutaki – Generator Success We got the long awaited generator parts 2 days ago, but surprise, surprise it was not as “plug & play” as Scott hoped or was told. Today he received a tech support email from Florida telling us how to re-program the digital brain (replacement part) of …
Dear F&F, June 29, 2010 Aitutaki Diving We had a lovely calm night inside the lagoon. What a pleasure to be still! There was a bit of rain in the early morning. We got up early to get out our dive gear & put fenders out so the dive boat can get close for gear …
Dear F&F, June 28, 2010 Aitutaki – Pass Entry Scott & I made another depth test run of the channel via dinghy into the harbor. We did not intend to make the passage today, just heading to shore to check in with Customs & Immigration. But we could see it was a rising tide & …
Dear F&F, June 26, 2010 Aitutaki – Outside of Lagoon I think I fared better than Scott overall on the passage. Besides the scopalamine patch, I took anti-seasick meds 2x/day. Lucky for me they all work with minimal dry mouth side effects. So I rotate between Bonine, Phenergan & Cinerzine (given to me by Mazatlan …
Dear F&F, June 24-26, 2010 Passage from Mopelia to Aitutaki June 24 One year, three days in French Polynesia….Cook Islands, here we come! Similar conditions to our Galapagos crossing: good conditions to fly spinnaker, but it is high maintenance. Full concentration steering, using long wire remote for the auto pilot. I can move around & …
Dear F&F, June 22, 2010 Martha Stewart of Sailing Mopelia Day #18 Tuesday morning a boat came into the pass & anchored amidst the 4 of us here in Mopelia atoll. We were quite surprised that any cruising boat would venture here with the weather we have been having. This was not just any Joe …