Pacific Odyssey - Leg 2

Another exhausting day in paradise.  We are just underway, with the 2 courses and the trysail up, making  wonderful time.  It is quiet and the sky is full of stars.  The motion
Is side-to-side, a gentle, deep swaying of our ship through the  water.  We are all feeling very tired and are ready for a few quieter days at sea to recupperate.  We just had an amazing send-off from some of the  people at Apataki.  They came at 1800 hrs. to hear some songs and to do some dancing with us.  Some of them remembered the last send-off 17 years ago, singinand dancing on the dock with Johnny Leupold, and wanted to repeat
it.  Unfortunately not as many young people still play instruments so the majority of the instruments were ours.  A woman named Martine, who is now 28 yrs. but was 10 at the time, remembered Tony and I, and especially, Rebecca.  Becca was only 8 months old and Martine fell in love with her and called her ´her baby.´  She and I spent time together and somehow it really affected her and she´s been waiting for us to return, ecstatic that we
finally did.  I was quite overwhelmed with how important our last visit to Apataki was for some of the young people.  She loved the song "Hotel California,"and while Johnny sang, she says I wrote out the words for her.  She asked if we could sing it while she played it on the guitar.  It was a dream come true for her to play the guitar and have us sing this song in front of her fellow islanders.  Another couple who also had a young baby at
that time, was at the send-off tonight and brought a baby photo I had given  them of
Elske, who was 3, and Becca, who was 3 months.  Again I was overwhelmed.  We had a great visit with them and intend to stay in touch.  The trainees spent the day moving around the motu, playing with the island kids, who followed them everywhere and just wanted to play.  We gave soccer balls to the kids and several trainees played a
game that went on for quite awhile in the heat of the day.  We were taken to a traditionally thatched building where the  women display their craft; assorted items made of pearls, shells, coconut fronds and coconuts.  At about 1530hrs, small children started hanging off the sides of the ship, wanting everything to do with us.  Sam and James set up the rope swing and brought groups of 5 excited little boys at a time onto the ship to have a turn.  Kids were playing tag on the dock with our trainees, kids were giving us rides on their large, 3-wheeled bikes, kids were hanging all over our mooring lines, trying to climb up towards the boat, kids were on deck having turk´s head or beaded  bracelets
made for them . . . there were kids everywhere . . . for about 1 and ½ hours.  The young people of the island started another game of very good soccer on the dock with the ball needing to be fetched from the ocean regularly.  It was truly something to be amongst; all this action, energy and sense of happiness and joie de vivre.  Several of the trainees received gifts from islanders, pearls, palm leaf crowns, shell necklaces, and hair pins. The islanders are a very generous people. This morning another supply ship entered the pass.  We were not told of this one until we saw a large man waving his arms, and passionately urging us to move, pointing at the ship which was quickly approaching.  With crew and a few trainees who were still on board, we untied lines once again, and went out through the pass.  We set the anchor and waited about 2 hrs. until the ship left, taking trainees to snorkel at the reef in the zodiac.  Skipper feels the pass is like his own backyard he has gone through it so many times.  Last night at 0400, the first cargo ship left and he had to untie mooring lines to let it out, and then tie back up to the dock again.  We will travel to Tahiti, where this leg will finish.  We don´t talk about it much, as we don´t want our time together to be over.  Until tomorrow, good night, Bonice