tall ship, lightening & whales

I can honestly say that this is the most interesting anchorage we've been to. Our original plan to stay for four days, has now turned into a 2 weeks. The weather gave us our first excuse not to leave, not to mention the involvement with the locals. Then word came that the "Picton Castle" a 180 foot tall ship would arrive on the weekend. Pete wanted a tour, so we waited. Due to weather she was delayed several days, so we hung out, doing projects on shore, eating fish and enjoying the motus. The PC arrived on Tuesday to much fuss from the locals. She is a training ship for people interested in old fashioned ships, an adventure and a reason to take a 13 month sabbatical. Straight out of Pirates of the Carribean, her three masts, rope ladders and canvas sails seem totally unreal next to our modern cruising yachts. Fifty people live aboard. Twelve professional crew run her, train the crew and manage the business. As part of her duties, she carries cargo to remote islands like Palmerston. This time the islanders ordered timber and supplies for new buildings. If you've got $36,000 cash and a yearning to be an old time sailor, check her out. www.picton-castle.com

An important part of Cook Island culture is the music and dancing. Drums beats give the dancers their rhythm and remind of times past. Originally drums also acted as telephones to send messages from village to village. Unlike any modern drum, they are carved from local mahogany logs, hollowed out in the middle with a slit down the side. One of the host families is interested in setting up a craft store. We got his business underway by ordering drums. Each one is personalized for the recipient. Not many souvenirs have appealed to me on this trip, but I think our drum will be a great reminder of our time in the Cooks.

Rain squalls, swirly winds, thunder and lightening have all contributed to the interest here. Never a dull moment on the boats as we swing around in the wind, roll in the swell and watch how close we're coming to the reef. Lightening strikes on boats are a serious concern, since all our electronics would likely get fried. Tuesday night a series of squalls dumped torrential rain and thunder boomed right over our heads. Not much sleep in the anchorage that night.

Southern hemisphere winter is the time of the humpback whale. All through the South Pacific, the huge whales come to bear their young in the warm tropical water. The other day I was reading in the cockpit when a loud whoosh noise sounded behind me. The boat next to us thought their propane tank had exploded. I turned around to see a humpback not more than 50 yards behind us. It surfaced maybe 4 times very close by. Ellie said her favorite thing is seeing their tales. As if it heard her, it rolled it's back across the surface of the water and fanned it's huge tail up towards the sky. We gave it a standing ovation and clapped for more.

Our departure again seems to be postponed again. I have been down and out for the last 3 days with a headache, so have not had the energy to face a 5 day passage. Now that the Picton Castle is here, the islanders are planning feasts, dances and parties. They've invited us all to stay and participate in the fun. It didn't take much to convince us all to stay until Saturday. All the yachts are running out of fresh food, since we didn't plan to stay so long. I'm down to half a dozen eggs, very little milk, 2 oranges and some carrots. Luckily they are keeping us supplied with fresh fish, so dinners are not a problem. Contributing something interesting to the meals is getting tougher. The most common request is for chocolate cake. I'll see what I can do.

I guess it's time to officially say that we have made up our minds about the near future. My "one island at a time" plan seems to be working, but as the cyclone season approaches we need to decide where to take the boat. The winner is New Zealand. For a number of reasons, we've decided to go to New Zealand in early November, sight see for about a month, put our stuff in storage and put the boat up for sale. We plan to fly home in early December for a couple month break. If the boat sells, we'll have our stuff shipped home. If not, we'll go back for it in the spring. A lot of details are still up in the air, but we always said we'd make it to New Zealand, so hopefully it will be worth the hassle.

Thanks for all your support, prayers and thoughts, Kellie