Wednesday, April 17, 2013

New beginnings

It's been a rough and tumble start to our first cruising session with our baby girl, but things are almost back to "normal." We were "stranded" in Apataki for two weeks with dead batteries but we managed to make the most out of a not-so-great situation.
We had a little bit of fun while waiting out the ship's arrival - snorkling the reefs cerca the NE corner, diving with thousands of fish outside the pass at the NW corner, feasting on fresh coconuts and fish, and hanging with our good friends. I trekked along the rugged oceanside coast, where the idyllic beauty of the atoll is marred by plastic washed up all over the windward side of the island.
Isabel is certainly adjusting well to boat life. Napping on the foredeck in her carseat that Chris' rigged as a swing, jumping around on her topside bouncy chair, and getting dreadfully close to crawling - which is going to change our life yet again!
After our new batteries arrived and Chris installed them successfully, we said goodbye to our dear friends, the Lau family, last week and sailed to the beautiful cove of Anse Amyot in Toau. It was an unexpectedly rough outing for Isabels' first sail on the open ocean. We encountered uncomfortable seas, higher than forecasted winds, and a handful of squalls. She, of course, took it all in stride - spending most of the day sleeping in her car seat we rigged to swing gently inside the boat by the mast, where she would be least likely to feel any effects of the tumbling seas. Namaste got a proper washdown moments before we entered the inslet, as a massive squall beared down on us, cleaning off the salty remains from a tough day. Things ended on a good note when we literally sailed under a rainbow to reach the mooring field.
We had an awesome stay, visiting with the locals on shore, snarring fish out of their traps, and snorkeling the crystal clear waters. We had a lovely 8-hour motor sail to the village of Rotoava in Fakarava on Monday. The cargo ship just arrived, so we'll spend the next day topping up on diesel, gas and fresh food for our trip down to the south pass of Tetamanu in Fakarava. Let the diving degin!!!!!!!

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