Pacific Odyssey - Leg 3

The first day of the third leg is over and there are a lot of very tired
people sleeping on deck.  The last few days for those arriving and for those
of us who have stayed behind to say good-bye, have been very busy, all good,
but nonetheless busy, and we are starting to feel it. Most of the new
trainees are trying their hand at sleeping on deck, something we will be
doing lots of on this leg as there is less offshore sailing and more island
hopping.  The rule is that if we are at anchor or tied to the dock, we can
sleep on deck.  If the ship is underway, everyone sleeps below.  Trainees
boarded between 1000-1400 hrs, with most of them at the boat well before
mid-day.  Initially trainees check in with the mate, Jose, go over
administrative details with him and are assigned a watch.  They can then go
below and choose a bunk and begin to make themselves at home.  At noon we
all had a magnificent lunch together of baguettes, meats, cheese, lettuce,
tomatoes, cucumbers, cookies and dried bananas, given to us by the women at
Tuahata.  Once the last trainee arrived, an afternoon of information from
the various crew members began, interspersed with fun, group activities that
begin creating the community and help us start to get to know each other.
There was a bit of time off before supper to grab a cold drink or a slushi.
Supper once again, was delicious.  There were some final good byes from
trainees and their parents from the last leg, siblings who sailed last leg,
dropping off siblings joining us for this leg.  I had a chance to spend some
time with the parents on the dock while the boat was undergoing final
preparations.  It´s exciting to see new faces; it always feels somewhat
strange to see a foreign face on the boat after we´ve spent so much time
with only very familiar faces, people that we´ve become to know so well. I
know though that given two weeks, we will be a tight group and will already
know each other better.  Most of the new trainees have sailed with the boat
already, but there are also those for whom this is the first time.  It will
be wonderful to experience with them, this new way of traveling and living
together.  At the market yesterday we saw a fruit we thought was the larger,
softer skinned, and purple passion fruit from Pitcairn.  It was not what we
thought, it was a ´pomme d´etoile,´ a ´star apple.´  We tried one today and
it was very tasty;  a combination of a pear, a banana, and an apple with a
custardy consistency.  It had big, flat, black pits, somewhat like large
watermelon seeds.  Tomorrow morning we finish off with a few more
information sessions after breakfast and dishes, and then we´ll head off to
Moorea, about 5 hours away.  I´m looking forward to visiting Moorea, I´ve
heard some wonderful things from trainees, parents and crew who have rented
a car and spent a day there.  Welcome home, trainees from Leg 2.  We are
thinking of you and missing you.  Enjoy being home with your families,
friends, the ones you love; enjoy sharing the stories, the details of our
lives here together on the ship.  Tonight we had to say good bye to Sara who
has been with us since Victoria.  We will miss her terribly; her presence on
the ship is that of one who cares deeply, works quietly and loves truly.
Thank you Sara for everything you´ve done to make this trip the wonderful
experience it has been.  Tonight, Jordan, Antony, Carolyn, and Sara´s
friends came by again with gifts and good byes.  We spent another 2 hours
talking while our kids played with their 4 kids.  Jacob blew up some soccer
balls, a volleyball and a basketball for them to take with them.  Noah
brought out his new drum and played for the kids as well as let them drum
out a tune.  It was a good visit, they are completely attached to our four
and have made plans to come and visit Canada to go four-wheel driving and
fish for salmon in 2009.  Also, they said if we ever return to Tahiti for  a
vacation, we have free accommodation at their home.  They presented us with
beautiful gifts; shell necklaces, sarongs and bed sheet sets made out of
cotton with their local motifs printed on them.  Very beautiful; ours has
sea turtles floating.  These people are amazing in their gift of themselves,
their honesty and frankness in wanting to spend time with the trainees they
met 10 days ago.  This is it, it´s very late, good night, Bonice.