Category: June 2018

French Polynesia, June 2018, Pacific Puddle Jump 2018, The South Pacific, Tuamotus

Ahhhh Apataki!

Yesterday was one of those absolutely perfect days. You know, the kind of day you never want to end? We woke up in the morning and did our normal coffee & computer thing. Then it was time for a few chores. Dan cleaned the dodger and putthe dink in the water while I stayed below doing some cleaning and writing. Around noon we decided it was time to get off the boat for a bit. We pulled out our snorkel gear, threw a few beers in a bag and hopped in the dink. Ed & Linda were in their dink too and we all headed to shore.

The water here in the south end of Apataki is just beautiful. We could see lots of colorful fish swimming around the bommies we dodged on the way to shore. We beached the dinks, put out some chairs, popped open our beers and sat there for hours just chatting and laughing. We were the only four people in the anchorage! As we sat there on our very own private beach we saw a couple of small black tip sharks swim within a few feet of us. It’s awesome to sit there and be able to see so clearly in the water. We snorkeled and played in the water and had an absolute ball.

At one point Ed started trying to goad Dan into climbing one of the many coconut palms to get us a fresh coconut. Fortunately Dan didn’t take the bait. He did, however, go back to the boat and get his machete. Back on the beach he starts looking for some low hanging fruit. He ends up harvesting a couple of these magnificent gems. He cut one open and we sat on the beach eating fresh coconut while enjoying our beer and great company. It was absolutely fabulous.

As we sat there beside the gin colored water on the white, coral sand beach beneath the swaying coconut palms, the sun and the deep blue sky we all agreed that this is exactly what we dreamed of when we dreamed of sailing French Polynesia. I mean really, how much better can it get? We have our private beach, clear water, beer and amazing friends. Yes, it is truly perfect!

The sun begins to get low in the sky and we have run out of beer and wine so we load up our dinks and head back to our floating homes. We shower and rinse down all the gear and I go below and make spaghetti. We are making the overnight passage to Rangiroa tomorrow and leftover spaghetti makes a perfect passage meal. After dinner we curl up together around the table and watch a movie. Oh yeah, it was a wonderful day!!!

This morning I wake up feeling a bit odd…yes more odd than normal. My bottom lip feels numb and swollen and I reach around to scratch by back and I feel lumps. Not wanting to panic I slowly climb out of the bunk and slide into the head. I barely make eye contact with Dan who is sitting around the table having coffee. I look in the mirror and see my bottom lip is swollen on the right side. I lift my shirt to look at my back and find huge welts all over my back and my bum. I turn around and see long, 5-6” welts across my stomach and groin area. My entire torso is covered with them. Okay, now I’m panicking!

I step out of the head, “Honey, there is something very wrong with me.” I say in a high, trembling voice. Dan immediately sits up and asks what’s wrong. “I’ve got welts all over and my lip is swollen.” I reply. I lift my shirt to show him. Ever the calm in the midst of the storm, he looks me over and tells me to take two Benadryl immediately. He never raises his voice or shows any sign of panic. Thank God because I’m doing enough of that for both of us. You see, I have anaphylactic allergies that have been known to close my airway. They are not fun and while I have Epi pens and Benadryl on board, the last thing I want to deal with when we’re 100+ miles from a hospital is an anaphylactic reaction.

I take the Benadryl and Dan re-inspects my body looking for signs of a bite or a cut. He finds nothing. Now he starts drilling me with questions. “Did you touch any live coral? Did you get stung by a jellyfish? What did you eat?” You know, all the things a doctor would ask. “No, No” and “Spaghetti, Coconut and some cheese.” I reply.

Dan tells me to sit down and stay calm. Sure, easy for him to say. He’s not feeling the need to scratch his body till it bleeds while wondering at what moment he’s going to be jabbed with a three inch needle in the thigh as he gasps for air. And then there’s the thought of what happens if the two Epi pens we have on board aren’t enough? Oh yeah, that’s right. He has that airway thing he will cram down my throat after I go unconscious. Sure, stay calm. Yeah that’s not going to happen.

I’m doing my best to follow Captain’s orders but I can’t stop scratching and I’m getting a little teary eyed at the thought of what could possibly be in my future. Dan tries to act like everything is fine but I see the look of concern in his eyes as he “nonchalantly” looks over at me every minute or so. That alone raises my panic level.

Fortunately after about twenty minutes I start to feel the effects of the Benadryl and I’m becoming quite loopy. Thank God the water is still and the boat isn’t rolling or I’d be like a pinball bouncing off of everything. Dan takes another gander at my body and decides the meds are working even though I’m certain my lip is getting fatter by the second. He suggests that I lay down for a bit and take a nap since I’m head bobbing at the table. With no energy to argue I go back to the bunk and within seconds I’m out like a light.

A couple of hours later Dan wakes me up to see how I’m doing. I’m groggy but he insists I get up so, you know, Captain’s orders. Once out of bed he checks me again. Almost all of the welts are gone and my lip is almost back to normal. Thank you Lord! I’m going to live!

We decide based on my still dopey condition that leaving for Rangiroa must wait another day. Not sure I’d be ready for night watch later. So, we let Ed & Linda know and we all agree to wait for tomorrow. Darn, we’ll have to spend another day in this amazingly beautiful spot.

By 1300 I’m feeling good enough to get out so we take a dinghy ride along the beach checking out the beautiful shore. The view and the fresh air wake me up and make me feel somewhat normal again. We stop back at SV One Fine Day for a couple sundowners before heading back to Dazzler where my sweet man makes me dinner. Yep! He’s a keeper!

I think we watched a movie tonight but I was so wiped out by the day I slept through most of it. Here’s hoping tomorrow and our trip to Rangiroa are less eventful than today. As Dan says though, “Even in paradise it can’t always be perfect.” so it’s anybody’s guess.

Until next time,

Jilly

Fakarava, French Polynesia, June 2018, The South Pacific, Tuamotus

Fakarava Pass … OH LORD!

So we awoke early this morning to an absolutely beautiful, sunny day. It’s time to bid farewell to this wonderful atoll, Kauehi. It’s been an amazing few days. We enjoyed our peaceful time and even got in a bit of snorkeling. Unfortunately the snorkeling wasn’t as good as we expected. There is quite a bit of dead coral here but it is still a beautiful spot and we’re so glad we stopped. It was absolutely perfect getting to spend a few days alone in this magical paradise.

But, our friends are waiting for us in Fakarava so it’s time to haul anchor. It’s just a quick day cruise to get there but it will be a long day and we need to arrive early enough to see the bommies as we come into the anchorage. We have our morning coffee and prepare Dazzler for the trip. It’s the usual routine. Dan takes off the sail cover and prepares the deck and cockpit while I’m below closing the port lights and stowing things to keep them from bouncing about etc… After about an hour we are ready to go. I bring up our headsets (as some call them, marriage savers) and we get them online. Dan goes to the bow while I start the engine and get the electronics up and going. You see on Dazzler Dan does the hard, “manly” stuff like dealing with the anchor while he lets me run the boat. He hates seeing women being forced to deal with the heavy anchor and chain. And, with our headsets he can tell me exactly what to do so it all works perfectly. I love our headsets and absolutely hate it if we have to do it the old fashioned way…you know, using hand signals and yelling from bow to stern.

Exiting the pass at Kauehi is very uneventful. We are third in line heading out of the pass behind two catamarans. We don’t know them but as is so often the case in Water World we are on the radio with them as the lead boat, SV Wind Dancer, radioes back to give us info on the conditions. We have since met the Captain of the second boat, Price. He is on SV Panache. His friends are on SV Wind Dancer. We basically buddy boated with them all the way here. It was actually nice to see other boats around us for a change.

The pass into the lagoon here at Fakarava is a whole different ball game. Again, SV Wind Dancer leads the way followed by SV Panache, then us. They are two pretty big cats with twin engines and both close to 25’ wide. The pass is pretty doggone choppy but we watch them and feel confident we can make it too. It is at the end of the outgoing tide and while we could wait for slack tide there is the fact that we need to get the anchorage, a little over 5 miles from the entrance, before the sun starts going down. There’s those dang bommies you have to worry about and you need the sun to see them.

As we enter the choppy water it doesn’t seem too bad at first. Yes there are 2 meter swells about a second apart and yes there is some current coming at us and we are getting tossed side to side quite a bit but it seems like it is not nearly as bad as it looked. I am on the bow taking video and keeping a look out for shallow spots while trying to keeping from being tossed overboard. I have my arm under to the tie down straps for the dinghy and that is all that is keeping me tethered to the boat. In hindsight I realized it was pretty dangerous for me to be up there without a jack line and we made a rule that says, no one on deck entering or exiting a pass without them in the future. But, the fact is I was there before the water got bad. Trying to negotiate my way back to the cockpit after the rocking and rolling started would have been potentially more dangerous so hooking myself into the tie downs on the dink was actually the safer option.

The pass is only 1/4 mile wide so at this point I figure if this is the worst it gets, we’re good…soooo good. Well, of course you know everything gets worse before it gets better, right? Just as we get to the lagoon side of the pass and the water starts to settle down we are hit with 5 full knots of current right on the nose. Behind us are those pesky 2 meter swells that are now catching up to us because we are only going .8 knots and they are coming in much faster than that. I’m still on the bow attached to the dink looking back to the aft of the boat and all I see are these crashing waves coming toward the stern. Dan pours on the throttle and we keep pounding through. The last thing we want is one of those waves to crash over the stern. It wouldn’t necessarily sink us but it would be a mess down below. With each wave I’m holding my breath and saying a prayer. I can hear Dan talking to Dazzler through the headset. I can see the look of determination on his face and can hear him as he somewhat forcefully encourages her to keep moving forward.

Fakarava Entrance Collage

Yes, it is a rather stressful fifteen minutes getting through the pass and just when we thought it wasn’t going to let us out we popped through on the inside of the lagoon. Way to go Dazzler! She rocks and her Captain is a hero for his amazing seamanship skills! We’ve since decided that next time we’ll wait for slack tide. And the good news is that we know Dazzler is capable of doing it if needed. Let’s just hope she doesn’t need it again anytime soon.

Once on the inside the water goes almost completely flat. It’s crazy. You go from churned up two meter, square waves with whirlpools to dead calm. That’s one thing that is so wild here. Just 1/4 mile of land separates us from the Pacific Ocean. Outside of the lagoon you can hear the giant waves crashing on the shore yet inside it’s flat as can be. At anchor the boat hardly moves. Yes, Mother Nature is pretty awesome.

Before leaving Kauehi we had an issue with the main refrigerator. It stopped cooling! This is NOT something you want to happen when you are hundreds of miles from a marine supply store. Fortunately for us we also have a 42 quart Engels refrigerator/freezer on board. Sometimes we curse it for the power it takes to run it but it gives us a lot of extra freezer space, it keeps beer ice cold and it’s a great backup.

After our ordeal entering the pass we celebrate with a couple of our traditional anchor down beers and then Dan goes to work. After two hours of work he finally got the main refrigerator and freezer back online. Yippee! I know I say it all the time but I’m convinced there is nothing this man can’t fix. Of course getting it fixed was only half the battle. Then we had to put the boat back together because with any boat project there’s parts everywhere and stuff that’s been taken out of storage lying about. Once that was done we showered and ate a can of soup and chicken salad before crashing. It was a long day but we are here and the fridge works!

Until Next Time…

Jilly & Dan

P.S. Dan said to be sure I tell you the fridge is now at 10° and we are making ice!!! Of course I was making ice in the Engels anyway but now maybe we can make some banana daiquiris with the fresh bananas we have hanging on the stalk on the arch out back.