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The next morning we went into town to provision the boat for
our jour-ney ahead. We sailed from Raiatea to Tahaa and Tahaa
to Bora Bora in the Societies. Then we embarked on a 52-hour
upwind pas-sage to Tikehau, an atoll at the top of the Tuomotus.
We enjoyed the exotic atmo-sphere of Tikehau, then cast off
on our final night's passage to Rangiroa. The 12 days flew by.
Throughout our journey, John taught constantly, testing
our knowledge, questioning us and forcing us to observe our
surroundings - the wind, the weather patterns, and sail shape.
Things happen on sailboats which present endless teach-able
moments, like what to do when some-one lets go of the bitter
end of a second anchor rode - and it all dumps into the sea.
We also had to figure out the distance and time to a destination
given local wind conditions, how to deal with a water pump malfunction,
how to kedge off if you accidentally go aground. We learned
knot tying for specific uses, the basics of diesel operation,
how to successfully handle a man overboard single handedly,
how to identify types of ships and the direction they are traveling
by their navigation lights at night. We had real-life practice
in planning a passage, coordinating night watches, understanding
the wacky French cardinal marking system for navigation (red
left return), actually using lines of position (LOP's) to determine
a fix, and determining our position using noon sights and star
sights, then comparing them to our GPS coordinates.
John loves to teach. His passion is sharing his love
of sailing and the sea. The combination of his infectious enthusiasm
and his "human-ness," coupled with the perfect sailing
destination, made for an experience far beyond my expectations.
John's style is such that he leaves plenty of scope for
self-exploration. He :doesn't give you all the answers, but
enough to go further on your own. Sure, there was plenty of
time for 'vacationing' snorkeling, reading, exploring, napping.
Yet, every moment seemed to offer opportunities to learn more.
I loved the night passages the most, even though the final leg
was a relatively hard beat to windward. On the midnight-to-4
a.m. watch, the sky was magnificent with more constellations
than I knew existed. With everyone except my watchmate asleep,
I felt alive, in the ocean's embrace, a mere speck on the vastness
of the oceans of the world. And my spirit soared. Seeing the
Southern Cross up high in the sky, and the Big Dipper (pointing
down) along the horizon, in the same sky, is mind boggling.
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