Back Home 10 Dec 19 – Part 2

Monday we lunched with Isabel's Uncle David at his new place in Bishop's Waltham, then made our way gently to London Heathrow to rid ourselves of the rental car (no damage) and have a last curry.  Restaurant Kaniz dished up an Indian curry I would just about kill for, and our pals Stas' and Ewa joined us to make it a great evening.  A short night in an airport Hyatt and back on British Airways for San Francisco, where old college roommate TJ collected us for a night in Walnut creek and some last minute shopping the following day.  BART got us back to SFO where former coworker and sometime JollyDogs sailor Bryan met us for dinner and our last craft beer for quite a while (sniff).  We threw down for the "premium economy" upgrade at the check in counter and were glad we did.  A long night's flight, a couple hours in the Papeete airport and Air Tahiti whisked us off to Nuku Hiva, via Hiva Oa where we swapped some folks and took on fuel.  Upon arrival at the Nuku Hiva airport our taxi drive waved us over, and about 1 ½ hours later we arrived at the dock where SV Taipan captain Dave carried us and all our stuff out to JollyDogs.  Aside from the reef growing on the hull and props she was looking great!

 A trip to the local hardware store for a wire brush equipped with a small steel scraper helped make short work of the barnacle covered props.  A small plastic scraper and a scrap of carpet got the rest of the hull looking pretty good, and a fast motor to nearby Controller's Bay did the rest, washing away lots of the lighter fuzz.  Jib back on, main halyard reconnected, and we're now sailing at 6 knots for Hakahetau Bay at Ua-Pou where we hope to find safe harbor for the upcoming cultural festival.  It's a big deal, with singing and dancing groups coming from all around the South Pacific and beyond.  While we did sail back to the Marquesas to enjoy the dry season and a hopefully cyclone free experience, we were also keen to attend this event which is held every 4 years.  With any luck it'll work out, fingers crossed for benign weather and so far the forecast looks great.  The designated crusier anchorages aren't optimal for the predominate wind and wave conditions this time of year, but if the weather is calm we should be just fine.

We're also taking care of typical business such as finalizing 2020 health insurance, renewing passports, and taking an initial look at US Federal income taxes.  There's no escape from death or taxes, and the risk of serious illness or traumatic injury (it is a sailboat) forces us to shop health insurance each year.  Surveying the sailing community here, it's something more on the minds of Americans than most other nationalities who have national health insurance.  They don't seem to worry about it, while it's always on our minds and evident by the large deductions from our checking account each month.

 We're home!  It was a great trip away, with important visits with many old friends in various stages of their lives.  Families with everything from young children to teenagers to the peak of their careers to well into retirement.  We're somewhere between all that but felt comfortable with everyone.  It was wonderful to spend time with Isabel's family members and it seems her 85 year old dad is in a very good place to spend his remaining years. 

Cornwall was great, but perhaps next visit we'll all rally and rent a villa in Morocco to get Paul a bit of sunshine during the often wet and stormy Cornwall winter.

Here in the Marquesas we're easing back into our own life, remembering how to sail JollyDogs, checking that all systems are working and up to snuff, and trying to decide just where to stow all those darn cold weather clothes!  With a few weeks of life aboard, a bit of yoga and stand up paddle boarding hopefully those cream teas and pasties won't still be evident on our waistlines.