Concluding Remarks(Claes)

South Pacific Familyadventure 2008
Claes Brodin
Mon 11 Aug 2008 09:15
Some concluding Remarks(Claes)
This has been an immensely intense year for me,working as a private
surgeon combined with preparing Tarita for a year in the Pacific.As usual
when you invest a lot of energy into something it has also been very
rewarding.
The passage from Curacao to Galapagos went so fine according to
schedule,but one of my worse fears before the trip,came true when my
father died.I´m grateful for managing in time reverting from Galapagos to
Sweden and the funeral.
Sailing with my family has in many ways been all that I dreamed of,with
beautiful nights out at sea,some fantastic scenery when visiting different
anchorages,diving together the whole family in some of the worlds finest
diving areas.
Were there no drawbacks?
No everything has been paradise all the time, all of us living close to
perfection…………
Of course we have experienced periods of hard time for various reasons.In
some aspects the trip has been heavy and in a way I didn´t expect.I have
sometimes felt it to be quite a burden with all the responsability it
meens to bring your children out on a thing like this.Obviously this is
different if you are 25 years old and sail with your friends,compared with
being 49 and bring your children,charing the responsability with your
wife.In the more remote places(eg. Marquesas,Tuamotos) daily practical
issues can be quite heavy like finding drinking water (our watermaker made
only 5lit/hour),finding descent food,diesel/gasoline etc.In the anchoring
bays of the Marquesas,the swell can sometimes also be quite annoying.
The sailing I consider more difficult than expected at least in some
perspectives (or is it the age?). The passes in some of the atolls of
Tuamotos can be rather terrifying,and the anchorages sometimes difficult
with scattered coralheads (you wrap your anchorchain around them,
something that happened to us solved by diving).Moreover the anchorages
are quite exposed to other winds than tradewinds, and under such
circumstances perhaps creating a dangerous situation.
The weather has been more unstable than at least I expexted,with several
gales occuring, and periods of persisting rain for up to two days (not
like the Caribbean with short squalls).
On the positive side is the cruising society with such a lot of nice
people.Contacts are easy since you are all exposed and share the same
problems and experiences.
The Polynesian people has been a very positive experience,with few
exceptions,being above all happy and generous. On the contrary to the
Caribbean,criminality is not a big issue.
The children have been amazing. All my fears of them being frightened,
boored, longing for home and so on, have not occured at all and I feel
sometimes that they perhaps enjoyed this trip more than me and Bertha (we
being the ones carrying the major burden of all responsability).
The islands mainly in the Tuamotos and partly in the Societys, present a
scenery consistent with my visions of ”paradise”,and the diving has
certainly been world class.
Relations is another important issue. Bringing crew is difficult (an
experience shared by many cruisers).Within the family we have had some
periods of difficulties,but allways managed to solve it by sitting down,
and talking it all through.When being under pressure from outside matters
like bad weather etc,it has allways worked fine,more being a problem when
we have been tired,boored,and so on.
Would I do it again?
The ”milk run”-no,but further blue water sailing yes.This has in a way
been all I dreamed of,but sometimes to the price of hard work and high
anxiety levels.
The Future?
We need to come home and get some perspective.Tarita will be on the hard
now at Raiatea Marine until April 2009.If we get a good price for
Tarita,then perhaps selling is one option.Other options we have discussed
would be to remain with Tarita in Polynesia,and return to spend another
season there.We have also discussed to join the Canadians by sailing over
Hawai to Alaska/British Columbia(this is the typical ”Canadian Route”),and
then perhaps the US west coast down to Mexico?
The only thing we are sure of is that no one knows what the future has to
offer…