Pacific Odyssey - Leg 3

It is very late; trainees are starting to filter in from their evenings in Avarua, on the island of Rarotonga.  It feels very good to be here; it´s a quiet but beautiful place, very similar to
French Polynesia, yet also, very different because of it´s link with New Zealand.  Skipper, Stephen and I just returned from a short walk, after putting boys to bed.  We heard very loud drumming and followed the sound to where an ´island night´ was being held.  I´d read about these in the "Lonely Planet´ guidebook; it is an evening of food and traditional dance.  We caught the tail end but it was interesting to see the dance and to compare it with the dancing we saw in the Marquesas.  These people are wonderful dancers; we pale in comparison, I can´t imagine what they think when they see how stiffly we dance.  Avarua is a small town, but the biggest on this very mountainous island. There are several high peaks, each very green and lush in it´s vegetation.  We´ve heard there is good hiking here. The main road goes around the perimeter of the island, about 30km.  It is a volcanic island with coral encircling it and passes where one can enter; there are no motus.  We arrived last night about 2200 hrs and anchored off the town in a small bay with swell.  Skipper contacted the port captain by VHF and he was wonderful; an Australian who was very welcoming both on the radio and when Skipper met him in person.  It was strange to hear someone speak English over the radio; Skipper found it refreshing to be able to get to know him somewhat.  When I was in town, I found that my first impulse was to speak French.  The people here speak with a beautiful New Zealand accent.  It reminds me of how they spoke on Pitcairn. The island feels very safe.  We slept well, a gentle lulling roll, something we are all very accustomed to.  We woke early, cleaned the ship and were looking smart in our uniforms by 0800.  We got word from the port captain that we could enter the harbour and that he had secured a spot on the dock for us.  Unfortunately we would be in the flight path of the International Airport, and our masts were higher than regulation height, so we would have to anchor at night and return to the dock during the day.  After some discussion, some sounding in the zodiac and some friendly international relations with a boat already docked, we were able to tie up stern to, to another dock, between two boats.  We are now positioned ´Mediterranean style,´ with our stern to the dock, tied with two stern lines, and with our bow facing out and anchored.  It´s a bit of a tricky maneuver, especially as we started the move already tied bow out to a fishing dock.  Skipper was thrilled with the skill the crew and trainees showed with lines and listening to commands; it was a beautiful docking. We have set up the zodiac on a ´clothesline´ which allows trainees and crew to move from the ship to the dock whenever they want.  We are now alongside a rather ungainly-looking deep sea fishing boat called the Mativa.  One berth over is another Canadian boat named the ´Mostly Harmless´ who apparently has someone sailing whose aunt, Cecille Wickert (I hope I have that right), sailed with us on the Robertson II in the 1980´s.  They apparently saw us sail out of Victoria Harbour June 2.  Late last night our flag crew finished a stunning replica of a Cook Island flag.  It looks good and is flying proudly up the starboard side of the main shrouds; Jen, Sam and Claire, Jacob, and Skipper spent hours coming up with how to make it, what to make it out of, cutting, machine sewing and hand sewing all the different pieces.  Gillian baked bread so people could take a packed lunch with them.  Before noon, trainees began their exploring of Rarotonga.  The crew was busy with several jobs needing doing and were successful in completing them or at least, scouting out materials and information to get them done.  Antony and Jordan are tightening the rig after the big blow.  I made a mistake yesterday; Skipper said that the wind blew at times up to 40-50 knots, not 30, as I wrote in the log.  Trainees found a good and relatively cheap place to have laundry done, internet, money exchanges (the money is NZ currency and is beautiful), a cafe which makes a great espresso and that roasts its own beans, car rentals, scooter rentals, delicious places to eat, a place to play pool, libraries, cultural centres, food stores to buy stash and cold juices . . . the normal run of things we look for on a first time ´go-through.´  I was surprised to find the cars driving on the left side of the road, though I shouldn´t have been, I´ve been to New Zealand.  Many of the products in the grocery store come from New Zealand and there are more visitors from Australia, New Zealand and England.  It is confusing at times because it looks very Polynesian, and feels very Polynesian, yet there is still some strong New Zealand influence that can make you nearly forget this is still Polynesia.  The people look Polynesian, very beautiful and friendly people, they remind me as well of some of the people we met on Pitcairn, who have been influenced by a visit to New Zealand.  It´s interesting.  The trainees enjoyed being able to understand more and ask questions easily and hopefully we will have some wonderful encounters with the local people at the less busy bays and villages.  One thing we have noticed the past few days is a change in temperature.  It is cooler and often we pull out a light sweater to wear in the evenings.  Trainees have mentioned that they are pulling their blankets out and I find that I am turning the fan off during the night.  We are about 5 degrees further south than Papeete, like the northern latitude of Hawaii, and those few degrees make a difference.  It´s quite nice.  The sun is still intense in the middle of the day, but the mornings and evenings are cooler.  This is it; all the trainees are ´home,´ I can go to bed now.  Until tomorrow, good night, Bonice.  
 PS.  Hi Sara W, we think of you daily and miss you.