"Love Song"

"Love Song"...

Finally! After my local Broker was able to assist Simon in clearing
customs, Simon boarded an Air Tahiti to Raiatea ( about 1/2 from
Papeete airport) where "Apple" (yacht) was awaiting her new regulator
in the boat yard... I guess the flight went pretty smoothly as he
arrived on exactly time... & literally, within a few hours of
Simon's arrival, "Apple" (yacht) was fixed & ready to depart... So
@ 7AM the following morning, we headed out of Uturoa boat yard, across
the coral shallow that divide Raiatea from Tahaa, before exiting
through the "Paipai Pass" which shelters both atolls from the giant
breaker that roll in across the South Pacific .... these surf breaks
are so large that the world surfing championships are held here, This
is where surfing began!! & to this very day there's a massive
migration of surfers from all around the world to take up these
notorious breaks.. So with a little help from the strong SE trade's of
a constant 25+ knots we quickly crossed to Bora Bora...

NB: both myself & Veronica are eternally grateful to Simon, who single
handily managed to locate all the correct replacement parts,
otherwise I'm sure "Apple" would still be sitting in a boat yard.

One evening whilst anchored out side the Bora Bora yacht club, "Love
Song" a 50" sailing sloop on route to "Tonga", (Tonga... Ummmm? A
strangely famous group of islands in the South pacific, because every
family "MUST" raise their youngest male as a girl? Thats a fact!!...
Made even stranger, because Tonga's citizens are the biggest race of
people in the world.. Just look at New Zealand's "All Blacks" rugby
team, most are from Tonga!!) invited both Myself & Simon & all other
yachts around to a Party aboard Love Song....

Anyways.. Knowing that it would be a late night, filled with excess
alcohol, I decided to leave Apple (dog) safely at home aboard
Apple( yacht).. Something i know she hates... So knowing from
experience, Apple would do all in her powers to join us... I literally
battened down all the hatches, filled her dish with fresh Tuna,
checked her fresh water was the correct 37 degree in temp, played her
favorite mellow "massive attack" music , accompanied by a DVD "
Wimbledon Tennis finals 1972-2007", dimmed the lights to a warm
glow.!.. .. then double checked that everything was fully closed-up,
except for a tiny tiny air vent in the ceiling, closing-up the galley
doors before locking the main entrance & sealing-up the rear transom,
before finally boarding the Mercury dingy for a night of fun.. ...

"Love Song" was anchored out in much deeper water & much choppier, So
after 15 minutes of navigation around an eclectic group of sailing
vessels which all shared the same anchorage.. We finally arrived!!

Cut to... After about 3x rum punches into the party.., I suddenly
caught a slight glimpse of white fur scurrying through people
legs...? ... & on closer inspection.. It was Apple?!! APPLE!!!! i
called her name "APPPPLLE" she stopped in her tracks... her tail
quickly wilted between her legs.. as she looked up with a guilts
expression... which suddenly changes to one of anger & distance, as if
i was spoiling her party... then she was gone.!! . quickly scurried
away into the party.....

Well, after 3 rum punches, i just though it was too much trouble to
return he back to the boat.. so i left her on her quest to find the
kitchen, she alway hang out in the kitchen at parties...... I guess,
Apple had some how got out the boat? jumped into the sea? waved down
a passing dingy!! ,& got asked them to take her to the party....
amazing!! shocking!! & to this date i still can't understand how she
did it?? .. Anyway, Simon's trip was great, really nice catching up,
even if he made me pull up & down the anchor 4 X s a day.. he simply
wanted to keep moving from one bay to the next... well times moved on
& he's long gone, Veronica came back with her mother, I took a brief
trip back to LA.. & now we're back on track, Veronica's mother gone
( see veronica blog beneath) & we're about to head out to Huahine..

MXX

Veronica's Entry:

Knowing that Mike's friend Simon was about to arrive, combined with
the fact that my mother would need to travel via LA to visit us in
Bora Bora, I decided to make the most of it and spend a couple of
weeks in LA catching up with friends! ..... after a few days of
"adjusting" (...well after all these months in the middle of the
Ocean even landing at LAX can be quite overwhelming!! ), sharing my
adventures with friends ...I meet mamma Laura, my mum.

She was excited about our trip... Bora Bora! A lifetime dream of
hers... I am very excited to see her too, but honestly a bit worried
about her staying on the boat... my mum might be a great skier,
hiker... great at anything that involves mountains but as far as
boats....Well... it's not really her thing. For as far back as I can
remember, she's always got sea sick...so... you can imagine my
concern. Still, this seemed too good of an opportunity to explore and
enjoy Bora Bora, so...off we went!

We both flew directly to Tahiti from LAX, where we begun our vacation
with a dinner at the "roulottes", the street vans... a great
experience to have, and...the most amazing fish! especially "poisson
cru". Then we enjoyed a morning at the colorful farmers market in
downtown Papeete... then off to Tahiti airport! Destination Bora
Bora ...first stop Raiatea.
We arrived with a raugh landing due to a passing storm, ...sorry
mum....very disappointing to arrive in French Polynesia with bad
weather! But we hoped for the better... the sun would have been back
soon! We decided to catch the ferry from Raiatea, which would allow
us a little time to explore, before our next destination "Bora Bora" .

When we arrived in Bora Bora, both Mike and Apple had come to pick us
up, Mike had arranged a water side table at the Bora Bora yacht club
for our welcoming dinner, where Simon was already waiting for us....
as he was due to depart the following morning...But...ummmm....
"apparently " he had tricked all his new friends into having a
goodbye party the pervious night, even though he wasn't gonna leave
yet ?! So a Double party for Simon, excellent welcome dinner for us!!
Apple seemed to be at home here... she even had a new boyfriend... or
should I say dog friend? A doberman pincher called Dumbo!
After a fun relaxing dinner followed by a little too much
alcohol......I offered mamma the option of staying in a water front
bungalow, owned by the Bora Bora yacht club!...
however she was still determined on having the true "Apple"
experience.... I was a bit worried, but as it turned out .. there was
no reason for my concern!! She stayed the whole week aboard
"Apple" ...without a second of being sea sick... feeling
uncomfortable...or being scared of anything!! And in all these
years, I thought she could not handle boats?!!...or... perhaps it's
just the pure beauty of Bora Bora that can make anyone forget about
sea sickness?!! I say... good job mum!

The week went by too fast, and even if we had a couple of days of bad
weather, I can honestly say ...."I truly had the best vacation with my
mother". I enjoyed sharing this experience with her, we both had a
wonderful time sailing around this paradise.... what more can you ask
for?... nice dinners, smiling mamma, chilling in the sun...swimming
and enjoying the south pacific! Thank you Captain!

VXX