With Tahiti firmly attached to Farr Gone the obligatory lat and long can be dispensed with for now, I hope. Yesterday was quite a day. I spent the morning driving the dinghy to Papeete to visit the sailmaker. Unfortunately I cant get permission to dock near him from the port authority so the mainsail will have to be removed on the mooring and they will pick it up on shore. This is quite a job as removing it isn't easy and it's time consuming. May have to ask a local to help as getting it in and out of the dinghy is just too hard for one.

After my dinghy ride I went ashore to get rid of rubbish and bumped into the Polynesians who had helped with the luggage. I spent a very entertaining few hours with them as they told me all about their island, the dislike of the French (seems they were a bit upset about nukes), and why their language is great.

Their language, as explained to me, makes you feel strong. They draw strength from the land and the words are melodic but slightly guttural and after they teach you a few words you begin to see what they mean. Most Polynesians prefer not to use French unless really neccessary as it doesnt have the same strength and they want the French to go home. Of course they did say that they only wanted the men to leave as they would prefer the beautiful French women to stay. Their kindness, generosity and humour though are their real strengths. Laughing is frequent and they can find a joke in almost anything. Age doesn't alter this.

Another Australian boat moored next to Farr Gone has decided to up anchor and sail to Bora Bora after having had two weeks here. They too have bought a boat in the US and are sailing it back. They are having a great time and it was good to hear the stories. One thing we discussed was the feeling that comes when landfall is made. On a good voyage it is almost a sadness as the voyage ends. On a bad one it is just relief. Amazing though how quickly we forget the discomforts of a bad passage and look forward to the next leg. It really is all about the sailing.