Tahiti again

July 7, 2014

We had not expected to come back to Papeete after the festivities on Moorea but we have been offered a deal on batteries too good to refuse, 6 almost new batteries for $100 total.  Usually they are several hundred dollars each.  Alan has been worried about the batteries for some time.  They just won’t hold a charge so we constantly need to run the engine or the generator to charge them.  The solar panels which are supposed to keep them topped up stopped working in Mexico.  All in all, we are having a hard time with power.  Luckily we don’t use much but we need to be able to charge the computers to run the navigation programs.  And it turns out that the stove also will not light with out power.  And of course it is nice to have light. 

So we are back and of course all does not go smoothly.  While he is working on that, I go exploring downtown.  Clothes are expensive and I really do not have room for any more but it is fun to look.  Fabric shops are always a delight.  There are pearl shops everywhere.  Black pearl are one of the major industries in French Polynesia.  You can buy single pearls on as necklace or earrings for around $50.  More elaborate jewelry creations run into the hundreds of dollars.  Street vendor sell mother of pearl jewelry and you can even buy loose pearls and make your own.  Every woman that I see is wearing at least one pearl.  I wander and browse and eventually spend a delightful hour choosing one pearl to wear as a necklace.  Lovely as the others are, It seems silly to have hundreds of dollars worth of jewelry on the boat. 

Besides the batteries there are other projects to work on.  The mizzen boom has started to split, due to too much banging and is held together with clamps at the moment.  If you don’t duck low enough you are in danger of getting a gash in your scalp and in fact Alan has taken several hits.    Eventually we will need to replace the boom but after extensive consultation, the inter rum solution is buy a new set of clamps with rounded corners and shorter shafts.  We also need to replace the main sheet.  Once he finds the correct rope it needs to be spliced on.  Things that seem like they should take a few hours always take several days. He finds a good deal on a gas outboard motor for the dingy which will make our life much simpler.  Unfortunately it does not fit right.  When he tried to take it back the next day, after using it once, he is told that it is “used” and he will only get half of his money back.  There is also no alternative engine.  Eventually we figure out how to make it fir using a piece of wood that clamps between the motor and the dingy.  Again, an easy project takes days. 

I spend my time provisioning, cleaning out the cupboards and checking to see which supplies are low.  We still have plenty of rice and oatmeal left from my vacuum seal project before we left home but everything else needs to be restocked.  I also tackle several sewing projects.  My little sewing machine is refusing to work.  It needs a new bobbin case.  After spending a whole day chasing around downtown looking for the part, I resign myself to hand sewing.

And so, what with one thing and another, it is the end of July before we leave Tahiti again.  Instead of having a week to explore each of the other islands, we will only have a few days on each one.  Not right.  Not how this trip were supposed to go.