" A LADY TRIP " Sailing around the World ----------- presently in Manihi, The Tuamotu's, French Polynesian Islands, South Pacific.

A Lady
Stephen Hyde
Tue 13 Apr 2010 17:11
MONDAY   12th   April.   2010
 
08.00hrs  A late relaxing rise for the crew, then the usual swim to shake off the sleep.
We had a phone conversion with Margaret How, who is joining the boat in Fiji for a while, and Donal will be leaving the boat in Fiji.
No connection , just coinsidence.
 
11.30   The skipper is having lessons in using his diving equipment with Mark ( the french resident diver with the resort )
He was excellent and put the skipper through all the steps,  One thing , we have no weights, It seems the skipper will need about 5  /  6 kg's
otherwise he can just stay swimming along the surface.
 
Donal did some scouting around the place in the rib while Stephen was taking his lessons,
S & A went for a long walk in the midday sun, ( just to burn off some of the excess food we have been having over the last few weeks )
Then , we had a light lunch at the hotel, before going for a 20km cycle around the perimeter of the Island, using hotel bikes.
 
The cycling was fun, we tried killing a few land crabs, but they were too fast  and escaped without much difficulty.
A Laugh,  Stephen explained to Aileen as they were bombing along , that the brake's were applied by back peddling. well
she backpeddled hard to test what I said, and of course the bike came to a sudden halt , but Aileen kept going, Ohhhhhhh shit !
Lesson 1 
 
17.45hrs Donal came ashore and we all ( except Aileen the TT ) had a beer or two, before going back to the boat
for a chicken dinner prepared by Donal,
What a place, what an evening, beautifull surroundings, warm, flat water with a nice breeze blowing to keep us cool, and the stars,
Those magnificant stars dancing in the sky.  and us ! there stuffing our faces in the cockpit,,  feck the begrudgers.
 
Good night,
 
Signed :-    Stephen Hyde    ( Skipper  )