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Sailing to French Polynesia

     We sailed from Puerto Villamil, Isla Isabella, on Saturday, April 7, 2001. Actually, when we left we were closer to Phoenix (2380 miles) and Minneapolis (2760 miles) and than we were to Nuku Hiva, Marquesas, French Polynesia, which was 2975 miles away. We joined a betting pool with 3 other boats about how long the passage would take each boat, and the total number of days for all boats. The range of betting ran from 20 days to 26 days per boat. Of coursed, most of us had not yet decided which island in the Marquesas we would choose to make landfall, so the wagering was speculative to say the least. Each boat put a quart of rum at risk. Once again we placed the Big Dipper to starboard and the Southern Cross to port and sailed southwest.

     Mike and Stacy were in charge of getting our last 20 gallons of diesel fuel in 4 five-gallon cans. They talked a truck driver into taking them to the gas station, as there were no taxis on Isabela. The gas station ran out of diesel yesterday. None expected until April 25. They then tried a construction site and then the national park, all to no avail. Then they tried the 65-foot fishing boat moored right behind us. Come back "ala cinco" the crew said. At 5:00 pm sharp Mike positioned Stacy on the bow of the dinghy holding up a bottle of rum where the fishing boat captain would be sure to see it. When they returned to High Drama they reported that they had negotiated the following terms: 20 gallons of diesel fuel for 1 bottle of rum, $20 U.S. in cash, and permission to anchor closer to High Drama to get a better view of Ann taking a shower in the aft cockpit. As you may know, Mike is a banker, and one wonders whether the loans in his bank's portfolio carry such interesting conditions.

At Sea En Route to French Polynesia

We put our bow straight into the sunset.

And filled High Drama's sails.

Downwind sailing 101:Wing and wing with poled out jib.

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