Pacific Odyssey - Leg 2

It is late again; Tony and I just returned from an enjoyable evening
together at a restaurant situated high on a mountain overlooking Papeete and
the island of Moorea. We were sent there by the crew. They organized the
ride up the mountain, made the reservation and gave us the funds to go out
for a wonderful fondue and salad dinner.  What a gift, what a supportive
crew.  Today was the final day of leg 2 but fortunately we still have many
of them around us as their flight leaves tomorrow night. Katie made a
wonderful breakfast with baguettes, cheese, pineapple, watermelon, and
scrambled eggs.  The next few hours were spent packing bags, writing
addresses and best wishes in each other´s journals, taking photos and
generally trying to hang out with each other as much as possible, ignoring
the inevitability of having to part. Simon hovered over the packers, seeing
if their was any good ´stuff´ to be left behind, either because it was no
longer needed or wanted, or didn´t fit into the bags.  In the afternoon
Carolyn, Stephen, Tristan, Becca and Arwen started taking their scuba diving
certification course.  They learned some basics and were then taken out in a
power boat to a wreck site where they swam around 2 sunken airplanes and 3
old boats.  They said it was amazing; they also saw lots of brightly colored
fish, in many various sizes and types.  On Monday they will finish the
second half of the course with 2 or 3 more dives.  We now have quite a group
of qualified divers on board.  Once the trainees had emptied their bunks and
moved their gear on deck, the crew gave the boat a thorough clean.  It looks
good. Many of the crew and trainees went out to the ´trucks´ together for
supper.  Breakfast was the last meal made for us by the cooks until the new
trainees arrive.  Gillian and Katie have 2 days off, as does Skipper,
starting tomorrow. The crew met this afternoon to evaluate the last leg.
They had a chance to discuss details of the running of the program, to
listen to how each one of them is doing, and to see if changes need to be
made. It was an excellent meeting and crew feel less tired and more able to
predict what to expect and to work with these expectations. The group feels
strong and is motivated to make the most of the offshore experience for the
sake of the trainees. Yesterday was our final dinner. For appetizers,
Gillian and Katie made toasted baguette slices with sauteed mushrooms and
parmesan, and cucumber slices spread with goat cheese and grated carrot. We
then had salad, followed by bacon-covered roast beef, potatoes, and
broccoli.  There was cake with ice cream, either chocolate or vanilla, for
dessert.  To drink we had fruit punch with real blueberries and raspberries
in it.  The crew started mid-afternoon to transform the deck into a fancy
5-star restaurant.  Karen pulled out the craft box and decorated the main
boom with marquesian dancers, balloons, and streamers.  We pulled out the 5
gallon oil buckets, the fenders, and the fender boards and created seats
around the after cabin house, which became our table.  Clean maroon bed
sheets covering the entire top surface were our tablecloths.  We made name
cards and used my pearl and shell structures from Apataki, as centre pieces
on the table.  We strung up lights.  Arwen and Bec wrote out the menu in
poetic language and presented it at the ´entrance´ to the eating area on a
large sign board.  Jordan and Antony were the attendants bringing guests to
their seats after the initial mingling and chatting while the crew passed
around the appetizers.  The crew were the waiters and waitresses,
dishwashers, table clearers etc.  Trainees and crew were smartly dressed.
There was a wonderful feeling amongst everyone; we are a tremendous group
together.  Lots of laughing, eating, joking, and sharing stories.  After
supper Jordan lead the awards ceremony.  Everyone receives an award and they
all have something to do with their character, something unique we have
learned about the individual during this leg.  Most of them are very funny
and because we´ve all lived these last 5 weeks in close proximity to each
other, we understand why it´s funny and why the award was awarded.  Lots of
laughing; Jordan does an excellent job at being MC.  After the awards, we
moved onto the dock and watched a slide show of our leg, projected onto the
foresail.  It was wonderful to relive all the different aspects of our trip.
We stood there together, not needing to say anything, we knew the situation,
we´d all been there.  There were many beautiful photos.   We tried to show
some of the video footage as well, but the city lights were too bright.  You
at home will be able to see the photos as well as the footage once the
office has a copy and puts it onto the website.  The video clips of the
dancing in the Marquesas and the clips of life on the ship out at sea are
incredible and I look forward to you being able to see it. My logs will be
beautifully supplemented with all these images. Jenna G. spent some time
with Noah and Simon, dying their hair pink.  There is a streak on the back
of their heads that will remind me of her for several weeks, until the dye
washes out.  The boys love it and I like the idea of Jenna G. floating
around the boat a bit longer.  We haven´t had to say good bye yet to any of
the trainees, a nice thing.  Tomorrow will be the separation day as 10 of
them fly on the same flight.  I will miss them; we all will.  In 5 weeks we
have become a community; Darcy said it well tonight when he said, " I feel
as if I´ve gone to high school with these people, we are all so close."
It´s true, we feel we´ve known each other for much longer. Tomorrow Skipper,
Stephen, the kids and I will be looking for a beach where we can play,
snorkel, picnic, perhaps even read; a place to have a bit of a rest, a break
from the boat for Tony and some family time for all of us.  Thank you for
all your positive comments in regards to the log.  Until tomorrow, good
night, Bonice.