Departing Ua Huka the forecast promised a deep downwind sail from Ua Huka's Haavei Bay to Anaho Bay on the North Side of Nuku Hiva. An opportunity to play with the Parasailor - our super deluxe creamin' high tech spinnaker-like object! Pat and I scurried about on the foredeck rigging lines and verifying nothing was twisted while Isabel started worrying about everything that could go wrong. She isn't fond of spinnaker things in general and neither is Celine. The boys pressed on with their preparations nevertheless. We motored out from the anchorage and away from the lee of the island to where we thought we'd have unobstructed wind, and things were looking great! Ten to 12 knots true wind on the stern and light seas - up went the Parasailor and Voila! Well we got the guy and sheet set, adjusted the halyard a bit, tweaked the guy and sheet a bit more, then about that time the wind pooped out and the Parasailor became a useless flaccid blob of nylon flapping about and threatening to snag on something and tear.
Isabel declared it was time to snuff the beast and (begrudgingly) she was right, so down came the sock. As I was securing everything so we'd be ready to achieve another Parasailor erection once the wind returned, the wind did return but blast if it wasn't now just aft of the beam. Perfect sailing conditions for a nice gentle reach, and Isabel immediately began the campaign to stow that darn Parasailor and get back to some good ole common sense sailing.
She won. Sometimes I really hate it when she's right, but, well, she was right.
Well, at least we know it's really the Parasailor in that sock, and not somebody's old laundry. Also, Pat and Celine got to see it fly, and I got to prove that I could still rig it properly. It's been a bit of a locker queen for quite some time, and honestly, if it doesn't start seeing more use somebody's going to get a great deal on a gently used Parasailor, just like we did. Thank you again, Thad and Kristin.
Anyway, we had a lovely reach over to Anaho Bay, and along the way were joined at first by a few large dolphins who elected to frolic just forward of our bows. We all went forward and stood on the tramps to enjoy the show, and remarkably in the distance we could see more of their kin leaping out of the water and making a beeline for JollyDogs. Guess word got out that the whole clan should come over and entertain the humans for a bit. It was great for us, they seemed to be having a lot of fun - everybody won!
Finally stowing sails and motoring into Anaho Bay Pat and Celine were thrilled at the stunning scenery; Isabel and I were reminded of just how beautiful this place was. We found a spot, dropped the hook, and began to celebrate another day in paradise.
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