cyclone called "René" too... both headed towards FP before
dramatically sweeping away to the south west... Unfortunately René hit
an island in Tonga earlier today...
Apple Prep.. "Apple" the yacht is preparing to be launched back into
the south Pacific March 1st, which means she need's a lot of work to
meet that date.. & "Apple" the dog has finally started speaking to us
after being back 7 days.... I guess she's still a little pissed about
being left behind in Tahiti during out Vacation.. eekk! I'll say that
again "quietly" as she's listening... yes yes.. AWAY VISITING THE
DENTIST IN LA .. shooosh.. she hates the dentist... Had we taken Apple
to LA or Europe (where i might add, she's been many times before...
she's especially fond of chasing squirrels in Regents park!) she'd of
never been allowed back in French Polynesia.. basically, you can ONLY
bring a pet via a private yacht....
Why a private yacht? Because the Polynesian Government & French
Government's (yes.. 2x governments in French Polynesia?) they both
consider the long passage at sea as "Quarantined" ! ..It's a bit of a
catch 22, you can bring a dog to FP, If she is quarantined for 1
month, BUT there isn't any quarantine facilities in any of the
islands??... so basically... it's a private or nothing... especially
not a 747 jet which only take 8 hours.... but you try telling your dog
this!
Q: Last year two friends boats lost their rudders, what were their
name's? Hmmm.. You haven't been reading the blog..!! . We'll.. to
prevent a month of drifting around the Pacific at best or even worse
having to abandon everything... I've had an emergency rudder built
from my specifications, in stainless steel by a factory in San
Francisco its about 7' long weights about 70lbs & can be deployed in
any of the worst case scenario... but unfortunately "Air France"
didn't see it's significance & charged me $400 excess luggage...
worst case scenario's for deploying my new emergency rudder...:
A: Hitting a drifting log/ tree..
B: Hitting a Whale
C: Drifting containers
D: snagging on Fishing Net
E: hitting an uncharted reef
