Saturday, May 17, 2008

Ted's Log Stardate May 16, 2008

MESSAGE 6 MAY 16
LATITUDE 32 DEGREES 21 MINUTES SOUTH: LONGITUDE 149 DEGREES 30 MINUTES WEST MATAURA, TUBUAI

BONJOUR,

WE MADE IT!! DROPPED ANCHOR IN THIS LOVELY HARBOR IN FRONT OF THE SMALL TOWN MATAURA ON THE ISLAND OF TUBUAI AT 2130 HRS. (NEW ZEALAND
TIME) MAY 14 (TUBUAI DATE). IT TOOK US 18 DAYS 8 HOURS TO COMPLETE THE TRIP.

FOR THE LAST FEW DAYS AT SEA WE HAD VERY LIGHT WINDS RESULTING IN MOTORING VERY SLOWLY TO CONSERVE FUEL FOR ABOUT 30 HOURS. THE LAST DAY WE WERE ABLE TO FLY THE SPINNAKER IN 5-8 KNOTS OF WIND DOING 4-5 KNOTS OF SPEED.

WE ARRIVE AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE HARBOR AFTER DARK AND MADE THE DECISION TO ENTER INSTEAD OF WAITING FOR DAYLIGHT. THE ENTRANCE IS EXTREMELY WELL LIGHTED WITH FLASHING GREEN AND RED MARKERS ALONG THE ROUTE AND WE HAD NO PROBLEMS GETTING TO THIS ANCHORAGE.

WE CELEBRATED OUR ACCOMPLISHMENT WITH COCKTAILS, WINE AND A LATE DINNER OF BUTTERED CHICKEN.

TUBIA IS ONE OF SEVEN ISLANDS FIVE OF WHICH ARE INHABITED IN HE AUSTRAL ISLANDS WHICH ARE A PART OF FRENCH POLYNESIA. IT IS A HIGH VOLCANIC ISLAND ABOUT 5 MILES LONG AND 3 MILES WIDE AND IS SURROUNDED BY A BARRIER REEF MEASURING 9 MILES BY 6 MILES. IT HAS A POPULATION OF ABOUT 2000 AND HAS 6 SMALL TOWNS/VILLAGES THE PRINCIPLE ONE BEING MATAURA. THE TOWN HAS A COUPLE OF GROCERY STORES, ONE GAS STATION, BANK, POST OFFICE AND A RESTAURANT.

CAPTAIN COOK DISCOVERED THIS ISLAND IN 1777. IN 1789 THE MUTINEERS FROM THE HMS BOUNTY LANDED HERE AND ATTEMPTED TO MAKE A SETTLEMENT.
THE LOCALS REJECTED THIS INVASION AND VIOLENCE BROKE OUT RESULTING IN
66 NATIVES BEING KILLED. THE MUTINEERS EVENTUALLY LEFT TUBUAI AND ENDED UP SETTLING ON PITCAIRN ISLAND 1060 MILES TO THE EAST.

ON OUR FIRST DAY HERE DAN CHECKED US IN WITH THE LOCAL GENDARMES, AFTER WHICH WE DID A LITTLE GROCERY SHOPPING AND EXPERIENCED STICKER SHOCK. EXAMPLE: $12.00 U.S. FOR A FEW LEAVES OF LETTUCE! LATER WE JERRY CANNED ABOUT 40 GALLONS OF DIESEL FUEL FROM THE GAS STATION TO THE BOAT.

OUR PLANS ARE TO STAY HERE A COUPLE OF DAYS AND WHEN WE HAVE A FAVORABLE WEATHER WINDOW, HEAD TO PAPEETE, TAHITI ABOUT 350 MILES DUE NORTH.

TILL NEXT TIME TAKE CARE

TED
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1 comment:

The Poor Dad said...

hello ,
i worked on the m/s paul gauguin and we just recently went to Tubuai.....it was a very lovely secluded paradise

October 5, 2008 at 2:48 PM

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About Me

1291 Sanderling Island, Pt. Richmond, CA 94801, United States
Dan and Carol Seifers

Crazy

Crazy Caprice, or what

Like is so good to us. At 65, after 15 years of retirement, my wife, Carol and I have everything one could want Good health (for old folks), loving children ( one son and his wife Jenny is marvelous), wonderful grandchildren (one age 6 and one age 4, who have a remarkable ability to totally exhaust us in about 4 - 6 hours), a good home. Wonderful friends. What more could one want?

Then we were casually cruising in the Delta ( area between Sacramento and San Francisco) last summer with the Richmond Yacht Club Cruising Group. Life was serene, life was comfortable, and then it happened - WHAM - we saw a cruising catamaran tied up at the Rio Vista marina with a sign in the window which listed its adventures. Starting in Australia, across to New Zealand, up to Tahiti, over to Hawaii and on the the West Coast. What an adventure!!! That’s when Carol started thinking about the possibility of buying a new boat (we already had a Gemini 34’ cruising catamaran - life was good). Then sailing in Sydney basin for a few months, then either shipping it to California or sailing it across the South Pacific to California. Is she CRAZY?

That started our CRAZY file.

Over the next few months, she started feeding me articles about Australia, New Zealand, and multihulls. She even subscribed to Multihull magazine and would place various articles about sailing in the South Pacific under my nose while I was reading the morning paper.
She became obcessed. A devil (Tasmanian?) had her. Then around Christmas time, the bug really bit me. We were perfectly happy with our boat, but the idea of getting a new one (with all the new toys) and visiting “down under” seemed very appealling. A friend loaned me all his books on New Zealand and Australia, and the more read, the more I becaume enthralled with the idea