01/13/2010, Photographic Locations throughout the South Pacific
Just a short note - Our pictures on the photo link on the right side of this page has been dramatically updated. Its still not completely updated and wont be for a while because we will be exploring inland for many months ahead, but we will return with lots more pictures, and hopefully some updated blogs too!
|
Comments [0]
11/15/2009, Enroute to New Zealand
Our sail to Minerva Reef went exactly as we expected .heavy winds on the beam stretched taught the jib sheet, the main being lowered to the second reef. Larger waves splashed spray over the deck adding another layer of salt as the water evaporated. What a mistake removing some of the teak hand rails to install not so stainless hand rails. Salt water and painted wood is a much compatible than salt and bright steel which quickly turns yellow and drips the discoloration onto the white deck. Moving at 7.5 knots, it was a remarkably comfortable ride with not much of a heel to the boat. Moving at this rate our ETA into Minerva was deceptively soon. It is amazing how on a long passage one knot or even a half knot of boat speed can greatly affect an arrival time into a destination. But like a runner who starts out strong and gradually looses his wind, so did Brick House. For 24 hours Brick House continued its fast showing on the 255 mile trip then began to fade. When 95 miles north of Minerva, the wind died to a light puff and Brick House dragged it feet.
We sailed in close proximity to Sam on "Yanti Perazi" and some other boat we could see on the RADAR the entire time, with our running lights staying equidistant throughout the nights. Rather than the midnight arrival we first expected, it was 9 AM when we made our approach to the white foaming breakers on the north side of the circular reef of Minerva. There is no land at Minerva, which apparently eliminates it from being called an atoll, only exposed rocks and bare reef at low tide
A few miles outside of Minerva, we started to see masts, and hearing boats hailing each other on VHF. We were speaking to Sam on VHF, and then we got a call from Migration who could hear us talking and knew we were approaching. They asked us if we got the email. I explained that we had not gotten email in a few hours because it became apparent late yesterday that we would not arrive at night after all. They patiently waited for me to justify why I hadn't checked email, and then announced that they had sent an email saying we had to get here this morning because they were getting married at NOON today!
After congratulating them over and over again, we pushed up the throttle to full RPMs to get in so we could start preparing an appetizer, get our snorkeling gear out for the reception, and think of a gift! I felt like FLYING across the huge atoll .I was soo happy and excited for them! They had gotten engaged 2 days before when Alene picked up a corked bottle which happened to be floating by. The weathered message inside said "Will you marry me?". There was a boat with 2 captains who had done another wedding in Surrarow atoll this winter, on another boat. When they fly home in 2 or 3 weeks they will bring their paperwork and their whiteness list of which there were many, to the registers office and make it all official, just like when you get married at home.
Tied behind Migration were 10 or 12 dinghies which bounced in the little wavelets as the ceremony got underway on the bow. Alene had on a flowery pink, red and white sundress, with a festive pearl necklace she had borrowed. She was 100% a blushing bride! Bruce was robed in a tasteful tropical shirt with elegant matching shorts, and was smiling from ear to ear. IN fact he never stopped smiling the entire day. They exchanged their vows, and their very long kiss, and were pronounced husband and wife. Many of us in the audience were tearful remembering our own wedding days, and rejoicing in this wedding. A champagne toast ensued, and then we got underway to the reception. Migration, a big red trimaran, their home, carried us to the pass a few miles away, where we anchored and all went snorkeling. Some brought spearguns, since lobsters were the only item on their registry, and most just dressed in heavy wetsuits and admired the most spectacular coral we have seen to date. A few big shy fish, but no lobsters. Patrick came back to the boat with a small grouper, and like a very bitchy wife I exclaimed that I wanted no more fish only lobsters. Our freezer is still pretty packed with fish but Patrick hates getting skunked so he had to bring me back something. Kind of like a hunting cat bringing a mouse home for mom and dad. Its not like he wanted to eat it he just wanted to play with it.
A sailboat came in to the pass while we were all snorkeling. It must have been quite a site to come in to a pass where you wonder if anyone will be there, and you see bobbing snorkellers and a half dozen dinghy floating on both sides of the pass! SO much for a desolate atoll
Back on the boat, Migration had warmed a hundred gallons of hot water for us all to rinse off and warm up with. They have a shower on the back of the boat so everyone took turns filling their wetsuits, stripping out of the wetsuits and then running under for a few more drops of hot water. After 19 people had taken hot showers, there was only 12 gallons of water gone! Only sailors could be so frugal with water!
Two beautiful cakes were made for the wedding, and after Bruce and Alene did the cutting and feeding of the cake - too kindly may I add - we all feasted on cake, and made our way back to the anchorage on Migration. Bruce and Alene opened our homemade wedding present - a book that I had quickly pasted together for them as we were coming to the anchorage. It was a story of their life - how they met, what they liked about each other, all the fun things they do together they seemed to really appreciate it. The party continued for hours in to the night. When we finally left at 1230am, we crashed in to our beds and slept very very well. We had finally arrived at Minerva Reef!
The next 6 days were spent scouring the reef for lobsters. Day time snorkeling, night time reef walking led us nowhere. Today we found out that a lobster boat had been here 2 weeks before us and had cleaned out the reef. They didn't kid around. There is not a single lobster here to even look at, never mid eat. Maybe they are down at 50 feet or something but down to 30 feet or so they are gonzo! No one, on the at least 20 sailboats which have recently come and gone, have caught any lobsters. There aren't even that many fish to eat. If you HAD to survive here, it would be very difficult. It would be a lot of hard work every day to eek out a sustenance. It's not the aquarium we had hoped for. We are starting to wonder if the entire world is fished out.
We head out in the morning to go to South Minerva Reef, about 20 miles south of here. Fewer cruisers go there by far, but there is a commercial boat there right now, capturing sea cucumbers a nicer sounding name for sea slugs. The pendulant, absolute last in line bottom feeder which very slowly slithers over a sand bottom picking up waste from the sand and filtering it. If these things were good to eat, don't you think every other fish out there would be picking them up? When there is absolutely nothing else commercially viable to catch, you pick up gooey sea slugs, slit their sides, remove the snot thick entrails then send them to China..
|
