Blood on the decks

Maybe later in the trip this could be the headline for a mutiny. Indeed, I have no doubt my faults and quirks will eventually and justifiably incite a latter day Fletcher Christian to consign me (at best) to the dinghy for a long row to Batavia. But that will be another story.

For today it means that after many patient hours, and a lot of ribbing, Marco landed a fish. Not just any old fish, this was a beautiful Yellowfin tuna.  

After a couple of dicey nights we left Haapiti this morning, when it was obvious that the complex weather system was only going to keep delivering a messy swell to the reef. It was time for somewhere new. We agreed Cooks Bay would make a nice change. 

The high mountains on Moorea create unpredictable weather patterns. We had an interesting time exiting the anchorage, bashing out through the very small-feeling reef pass into the junky short period wave-on-current swell. As we headed north around the north west tip of Moorea, we realised that the prevailing wind was not the light sou-easter we'd been experiencing, but in fact a developed 20+kt  nor-easter.  

Just as this became apparent, the boys saw the birds dive bombing off the port bow. In no uncertain terms I was duly instructed to change course to head there. This involved rapid changes to course and mainsail angle as I tried to manage the dynamics of motor-sailing while bashing into the waves and wind. 

The first strike on the hand reel resulted in a broken trace... Now that must have been a big fish. 

Then the rod had a hit. Marco and Paul sprung into action. The rest of the narrative is perhaps more easily explained visually.

Easso showcased a small part of the skillset that earned him multiple hats running top end restaurants top prep the late lunch of Sushi in Cooks Bay. We enjoyed this while taking in a radically different landscape to the previous anchorage. The dramatic volcanic spires showcase the bay,  and the rain-forested slopes, obscured by mist, all dominate the landscape.  

The heavily pregnant clouds have been cascading over the ridge to the east all afternoon, like the biggest breaking wave in the archipelago. The accompanying rain has been a welcome change to the relentless heat of the last few weeks.  We deployed the side panels to the Bimini and enjoyed the view from the cockpit after ducking ashore for some shopping at the Super U. 

I spent some time on the phone organising our next guests. Stay tuned 

It will be a wrench to farewell Finny tomorrow. He is already one week in arrears on his next semester. We all have our journeys. 

Speaking of which: I'm wondering how to convince Cathe that flying back for a South Pacific cruise is better than working on a PhD. 

Bon Soir

Steve