"A Lady Trip" Sailing around the World ( presently in the Tuamotu's French Polynesia )
A Lady
Stephen Hyde
Mon 12 Apr 2010 20:27
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SUNDAY 11th APRIL 2010
Again, another beautifull day at sea, with a
15 / 18 knot breeze over our quarter.
Very flat seas by comparison and the colour, just
wow !
We could see another yacht about 8 miles behind,,
interesting, she was only 1 mile off our starboard bow last night as it
got dark.
funny thing, we could not see her at all on the
radar. !
We recieved sad news that " Maura Twomey" from
Crosshaven died yesterday unexpected. may she rest in peace.
10.15 hrs We could just see the palm trees on the
horizon of Manihi, The first of the Atoll's and also it was the
first
of the Islands to produce cultivated black pearls
.......
We sailed down the east coast , about a half mile
off , and the depth was still 3500feet deep. ( dont think we could anchor
there ! )
Rom sent us an account of the rugby of the rugby
matches, Munster and Leinster, Both are through to the semi finals,
Could they ever wind up playing one another in the
final in Paris ? Yhat would be some match.... come on MUNSTER
and remember we will be flying the flag in the
South Pacific.
Rom's accounts of the games are excellent and very
entertaining, Thanks for that.
14.00hrs We arrieved at the entrance to the
lagoon on the south side of the Atoll. Many of the books about these Islands do
not reccomend this place for stopping, ( they cited
, Too shallow, entrance too dificult, tides too strong, etc, etc )
Well we decided " feck the Begrudgers" we are going
in anyway, and that is just what we did,
mind you, we had a 4 knot tide with us and at one
stage in the narrow entrance the dept under the keel was less than a
meter.
If we grounded with that strong tide,,, ohhhhhhh
feck, we would have torn the ass off the boat, but the funny thing, the
skipper
never thought for one second that we would touch
bottom,, A good case for positive thinking..
When we got inside, the dept went to 16m and we
nibbled ( a Hugh Gibson _expression_ ) our way between the coral
outcrops
across the lagoon and finally dropped the hook just
outside the " Manihi Pearl Beach Resort " with all its bedrooms on
stilts
in the water,
Oh my Gawd ! what a place, Paradise X
2,, everything we expected and more, so no more talk and all into the beautifull
crystal clear blue water
for a refreshing dip... It would take a lot of this
to kill you....
Another thing,,,, NO riff raff or Lager Louts
ever make it to these places, Worth its weight in
gold................
Donal went for a nap, while S & A went ashore
and explored the Hotel. also booked dinner for later.
19.00hrs We all went ashore again and had a good
dinner, ( not as good as our own restaurant on board the boat )
a night cap and all off to the bunks for a good
night ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
thats it from Paradise today..
Signed :- Stephen
Hyde ( skipper )
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