Marquesas to Tahiti-verse
We have now lost a second propeller blade
And so we depend on our sails
We hoping for good constant easterlies
There`s no motoring now if the wind fails
It blows for 2 days but then it dies out
So we´re creeping along in the swell
A tow into Manihi seems like a good plan
A good place to rest as well
But some wind springs up and carries us past
Manihi, but then drops away
And comes round against us, right on the nose
This is not our most memorable day
No doubt given time and the systems here
The wind will come back to the east??
We need good wind now to carry us past
All the Tuamoto reefs
It arrives, thank
heavens. We bundle along
But this wind again proves to be callow
We are caught for 4 hours in a tropical storm
The radar screen`s covered in yellow
Our track wobbles east and then wobbles west
Does the helmsman deserve a breath test?
It is tiring not knowing how long this might last
And by now we both need a good rest
Then at last a present arrives from south east
And it builds. Will it last the whole day?
It does. We are lucky. We bundle along
And make it to Point Venus bay
We creep south along the Tahiti coast
Then in through the gap in the reef
Then quite by good chance we`re at Technimarine
And they lift us out. What a relief.
June 2012
