Headed to Roratonga of the Cook Islands. We expect to arrive there just after dark tomorrow night, so we will stand watch and heave to all night so that we can make a daylight entry into the harbor.

George’s log of Touring the Society Islands.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

10/1/01: We had a very nice sail to Tahiti. We arrived, just off the island, shortly after dark on the 28th of September. We spent that night hove-to, watching Tahiti sleep. This was the most pleasant watch I have ever stood. Tahiti stays lit up all night and is quite attractive when viewed from 10-12 miles away. We entered the Papeete harbor early the next morning, anchored in front of the Temple as directed by the Harbor Authority, and then had a pancake breakfast in the cockpit.

Before we left Rangiroa we had to prepare the boat for going to sea. Some folks might find it interesting to know what that involves on a small vessel like Cosmos. After pulling out the appropriate charts and checking the route; waypoints are entered into the G.P.S. and the charts are left on the navigation area counter for plotting our progress throughout the passage. Then, if the weather is favorable, the boat is prepared as follows: Stow all snorkeling and diving gear, including the Super Snorkel. Dismount and stow the barbecue. Remove, and stow, the outboard engine, fuel tank, thwart, and other equipment from the dinghy. Rig the dinghy on the stern davits, or, as on rough or long passage, deflate and stow the dinghy. Disassemble the Wind Generator and set it up as a Water Generator, ready to be deployed. Breakdown and stow rain catcher, awnings, and wind scoops. Prepare personal gear and set out snacks. Check out engines, bilges, running and standing rigging. After weighing anchor (or anchors), secure anchor, stow anchor snubber harness, stow shorelines and fenders. The reverse of this process takes place when we enter a new harbor. I have probably forgotten something or included too much, but it varies, and you get the picture.

Don will readily admit, and it has become quite obvious to the rest of the crew, that he likes to eat well. You wouldn't know it to look at him because he keeps himself in good condition. The result of this is that he has honed his culinary skills to the point of making bread, pizza, omelets, and is not afraid to experiment; much to the appreciation of the entire crew.

I forgot to mention earlier, that we had an opportunity in Rangiroa to Email replies to the messages on the Website Message Board. I think I speak for the whole crew in expressing our appreciation for the input from everyone.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

10/5/01: We have managed to locate the last two issues of Time and the last issue of Newsweek magazines. These, along with information from family, have brought us up to date on what happened during and since the terrorist attack. Being in French Polynesia, all the news media are in French, so we don't get up to the minute information.

Last night we went to a four-hour show that included singers Pascal Danel, John Gabilou and his wife, and a whole lot of Polynesian dancing. The day before yesterday we took a van tour of the island, Tahiti. It was a good tour and we learned a lot, but not nearly as exciting as the tour we took of Hiva Oa. It has been raining here since the day after we arrived, so we haven't gotten any outside chores done. We've been doing a lot of shopping and dining; we are enjoying Papeete. The main industries here are tourism and black pearls. Tourism, the larger, has been greatly affected by the lack of tourists; due to the terrorist attack. There are, currently, three huge cruise ships lying idle in this harbor and many others elsewhere. This is just one of the effects of the terrorism; reaching so deeply and so far away. Those responsible for that act of terrorism, obviously, haven't the wisdom or the conscience to have envisioned or cared, just how far and how deeply it is reaching. Will it go full circle, and reach them?

10/10/01: Only ones and zeros in today's date. I guess that makes it a special day for computer people. We moved Cosmos from Papeete to the Punaauia Lagoon about four days ago. It's much quieter and just as convenient to ground transportation and fresh food. We are also enjoying the snorkeling here and the water is very clean and clear.

With tourism being the number one industry here I am sure that we should expect the locals to be nice and courteous. However, we have had some special treatment where folks have gone out of their way to help us. One very rainy day in Tahiti, we had walked several miles in search of a marine chandlery (store for boat stuff) that we had read about. Having no luck and being soaking wet, we ducked into a roadside diner to wait out a heavy downpour. We asked for directions and the owner of the diner decided to wolf down the remainder of her lunch and drive us to the store herself, free, and enjoyed doing it. I know we looked pretty pathetic, but that was an unsolicited act of kindness from a very busy individual and it really made our day. We also enjoyed meeting her and talking with her on the way. There is always a wave, a smile, and/or a word of greeting when passing a stranger. I have also experienced the children being more willing to speak English.

More chores and projects to keep Cosmos 'well found' include the completion of the larger hatch drains, replacement of the port engine sea water pump, fitted the mast with a new main halyard. We also cleaned the refrigeration cooling water pump strainer and replaced all the anti-chafe tape on the standing rigging and desalinated the water maker. In pursuit of the cause of the port engine vibration, we removed and inspected the rear engine mount and bled air from the fuel injectors.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

10/18/01: Last week we sailed over to the island of Moorea, a short sail from Tahiti, and anchored in Cook's Bay. We rented and rode bikes all over the place. A bunch of local folks were selling crafts and souvenirs on the grounds of one of the hotels. Here, we met a German woman that updated us on the terrorist attack back home. She even went so far as to bring some German magazines that had a lot of pictures in them for us to look at the next day. She also told us of the bombing we were doing.

We had nice weather in Moorea so we did some snorkeling and some chores. I managed to modify a wrench so that we could adjust the ventilation hatches, rebuilt the water pump I took off the port engine, replaced the chafed topping lift and outhaul lines. We sailed back to Papeete, Tahiti, on Sunday, the 14th, to pick up Captain Joe's son Aaron and his friend Anton. They flew in at 0230 Monday morning. We spent Monday and Tuesday in Tahiti, then sailed back to Moorea on Wednesday. Having walked around the town at Cook's Bay and snorkeled at the reef on Wednesday afternoon, we decided to leave for the island of Raiatea, this morning. This will be an overnight sail. It is a treat to have the extra crew aboard to spread out the chores and watch schedule. They seem to be enjoying themselves and are experiencing all aspects of the Islands and Cosmos. I notice a lot of Honeymooners on the Islands, and we had two pair on the tour of Tahiti with us. I sincerely hope that these marriages last as long and as well as mine. I've been thinking about my marriage, today, and celebrating it for the 39th time.

10/23/01: We arrived at Raiatea early on the 19th. After anchoring we dinghied into the Raiatea Marina for a look-around. We met two cruising couples and we all hitch hiked to the Moorings sailboat charter facility to have lunch and share information on cruising experiences in the Pacific. One of the couples had decided not to sail on to New Zealand, as is typical at the end of the season, but to continue cruising throughout the islands. There are 118 Polynesian islands. It will take quite some time for them to see them all, and we understand the lure.

These folks also mentioned a mountain that had a trail for climbing, told us where it was, and how to access it. Well, of coarse, we had to climb it. We hitch hiked further into town, climbed the trail to the top, took pictures and enjoyed the view, walked back down, hitch hiked back to the marina. My legs are still sore. Living on a boat is not compatible with mountain climbing. It was fun, though. I got back to the boat in time to call my bride, at home, to wish her a happy anniversary.

We sailed from Raiatea to Bora Bora on the 20th. After anchoring, the whole crew joined in a spontaneous swim off Cosmos. We dived off the boat and swung from the halyards to 'cannonball' each other. Dinner that evening was at Bloody Mary's. The construction, decor, staff, atmosphere, food and drink, may well serve to qualify this establishment as the ultimate Bloody Mary's. It was a special evening. The next day was to be our last on a French Polynesian island; I'm glad it was Bora Bora. Captain Joe, Aaron, and Anton went snorkeling and diving. Don and I rented a hilarious little one-cylinder diesel car and drove all around the island. We stopped frequently to take pictures and eat lunch.

I guess we won't have to speak much French from now on. We managed to get by, and survive throughout these French Polynesian islands, receiving various responses from our efforts to communicate, the most pleasant being with the children.

We are now on our way to Rarotonga the largest of the Cook Islands. It is a five-day sail and, again, we enjoy the additional crew to share watches and chores with. I haven't had much time for 'boat work' as we've been jumping from Tahiti to Moorea to Raiatea to Bora Bora, and now to Rarotonga, with little time in between. Captain Joe's latest order from West Marine arrived in Bora Bora. This will result in improvements and repairs that will make Cosmos safer, reliable, and more pleasant to sail. It just keeps getting better and better.