" A LADY TRIP " Sailing around the World
A Lady
Stephen Hyde
Wed 2 Jun 2010 19:30
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Tuesday 1st June
2010 ( presently in " NUIE " South
Pacific, )
We got an email from Rarotonga's newest member of
the Cook Islands Tatoo Club, ( Fats )
A short message to say that he was 85 / 90 %
and well on the way to a full recovery,
He was also well on the way to Vava'u to meet us on
arrival. Aileen and Margaret will also be there.
07.30hrs, Skipper brought John the Scot ashore as
he was off Diving for the morning, skipper decided to
skip the diving this time ,as it took him so
bleedin long to recover from his prized " Paddy " experience in Rangiroa,
The Tuamotu Islands.
09.30,hrs Skipper, with his golf clubs, got a
lift to the Golf club a few miles down the road where he met" Ian Hupa"
Ian is originally from NZ , but now lives in NUIE
with wife and family,
As he says himself, he is a " house
husband" he basically minds the kids, while the wife goes to work..and
loves his golf.
The golf was exciting and came down to the wire on
the last hole. we were all square as we teed off and we both had great shots,
but sorry to have to report , the skipper missed a
putt and Ian won the match.
13.00hrs Skipper got a lift back to the Yacht
club, and had a light lunch with the crew of " Ronja " The
Norweegans,
14.30hrs, We all took off again in a people
carrier, Hiace, this time to do a tour of the Island, the transport was driven
by " Sue "
wife of the Commodore of the Y.C.
The interesting here is " Sue's " glasses, they are
a sort of red colour, and are specially designed for Migrene (
headaches)
She said since she got the glasses in NZ a few
years ago, she has never had another attack. thats a new one for us
!
16.00 hrs, We cleared Customs and paid out exit
tax, in advance of our proposed departure tomorrow morning at
06.00hrs
We
also bought some " Red Label" beer, at 9 euros per dozen, seemed
like good value.
Skipper returned to " A Lady " and finished
cleaning the cooker, the bloody thing was in an afull mess, ( the oven, that is
)
but we must remember , it get a lot of use, and
cooking things like the Boss's Belly Pork, shags up the polished sides big
time.
Hours later, the cooker looks much better, but the
beautifull timberwork under the cooker took an afull hammering from the blinking
" Mr Mustle "
It dripped down on the timber..and stained it
badly. Ohhhhhhhhh my god , the poor boat ..Whaaaaaaaaa,
Whaaaaaaa..
At times like this, you would begin to think
"" God, can I do anything properly " Whaaaaaaaaa.
Whaaaaaa
As said on previous occasions, the wear and tear on
the boat is huge on this trip, well after 16287 miles, any LADY needs a
make over.
Before going ashore for the prearranged Dinner, we
had a little swim, among the sea snakes, yeah, sea snakes,
They are about 2 feet long, coloured black and
white hoops, and swim / wriggle along nicely.
they are very poisnous, but their mouths are so
small, it is impossible for them to bite a human.
The weather had taken a turn for the worse, it
started to rain, but we managed to get ashore in between the
showers,
all be it with wet arse's.
We all met in the Y.C. where the lovely " Susanne "
from rally control, took control of us all to an adjoining
restaurant,
We had to bring our own wine, as the place was
owned, and operated by a family of MORMANS,
The godfather of the family , a Morman bishop, said
a " grace before meals " well it was the longest grace we ever heard in
our lives
and of course it was said in the local lingo....so
we did not understand a word.
BUT,, But, the food was fantastic, the usual
raw fish in coconut oil, stuffed rolled chicken, baked fish, soup, pasta,
roast baby pig,
and lots more that we cannot remember, all wrapped
in coconut leaves and cooked in hot stones and charcoal.
Dessert was a selection, but for the skipper, they
had a steamed date pudding with hot melted toffee,,,, Ohhhh to die
for... yum, yum,
The lovely " Susanne" got this one right,, well
done girl.
The grub was followed by a terrific dance by the
girls, mostly the family, and every one loved it to bits. It was traditional,
but with a slight twist that made it real
interesting, Its like a " River Dance " version of the local
stuff.
Of course , the girls then took all the men and
danced them to death.
Then we had a young man do a fire dance, once
again, he did a great job.
All in all, we had a great night, despite the
occasional downpours.
A night cap on board before going to the
scratchers,,zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz ( no Fats, so all lower case zzzz
)
Thats it for now,
Signed :- Stephen
Hyde, ( Skipper )
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