Staying Put
Beez Neez now Chy Whella
Big Bear and Pepe Millard
Sun 21 Jul 2013 22:57
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Mrs. Baker is Away So No Bread
and Staying Put
At eight on Wednesday morning Bear
went for French sticks, he set out in Baby Beez after a shower had passed. He
knew he had to wait outside the post office for the bread van to arrive. The
nice lady who runs La Poste told Bear that the bakers wife had gone to the
airport yesterday and wouldn’t be back until Monday, she thinks Mr. Baker will
wait for her return before firing up the ovens.
On his way home the heavens opened
and a dripping captain came home empty handed.
I found it difficult to listen to his
story with a straight face watching the rain drop dangling
from his beak.
Spirits not
dampened, everything else was, time for a hot shower. Nothing for it but
to hunker down to a few chores, films and games. I think I’ll attack my ITunes
library, it needs a bit of editing and IPod shuffling.
On Friday Bear downloaded new GRIB
files to look at the weather. We would prefer
a big blue to pale yellow area like the one off the west coast of
Australia, definitely not the red area. We like the arrows to have one or
two tails not three.
We are anchored
by the red arrow, Tubuai (next stopover) is just in front of the black
arrow, one hundred and four miles away and Papeete, Tahiti is a further three
hundred and fifty miles. Today Sunday, the day we had originally planned to
leave sees us sitting in the shelter of the bay in 20 knots of wind with gusts
24 to 37. Hmmm, wonder what its like out there.
The GRIB says wind speed 24 to 25
gusting 27 knots. Swell coming from 171 degrees, 7 feet high every 9 seconds.
Waves from 124 degrees at an average of nine feet to a maximum of 16 feet every
7 seconds. In our experience the sea condition is usually accurate but the wind
is often under by 5 knots. So it can be said it is like a washing machine out
there = we are staying here.
Hopefully we’ll leave on Thursday but
we’ll take another look at the GRIBS then. We try and start out in reasonable
conditions, if things deteriorate we get on with it but as time is written in
sand we have the luxury of waiting out rough stuff.
Bear does GRIBS, I do the traditional
stuff like watching the barometer (changed from 1018
to 1024).
And my trusty Weems Storm Glass.
Currently showing fernlike crystals building up – Stormy.
At seven this morning I stood in the
cockpit and watched the rain coming at
us.
Lashing down on
Mount Tapioi. So hope it clears by tomorrow as the festival
begins.
For now we are as snug as bugs in the conservatory.
The thing about heavy rain in these
parts is it knows how to bucket down for a long time, but it does make for some
lovely sunsets.
ALL IN ALL A LOVELY PLACE TO
GET STUCK
WORSE PLACES THAN
PARADISE |