Rush Hour

In New York, the 7:30 a.m. rush hour looked like this: 

1. Try hard to remember where I parked my car and hope there isn’t a ticket on the window
2. Get in and toggle the dashboard buttons to National Public Radio or Z100, New York’s #1 hit music station depending on my mood.
3. Turn left onto Route 9 to begin the 30-minute commute, but get stuck behind a school bus and a garbage truck, making it a 40-minute commute.
4. Arrive at my office parking lot, snag the last space, and feel happy that I didn’t have to park on the street and run outside in between patient visits to pay the meter
5. Stop for to-go coffee at the corner bodega on the walk up the hill
6. Say “Good morning” to a great group of colleagues that I truly miss

In  Tikehau Atoll, the 7:30 a.m. rush hour looked like this:

1. Mop the cockpit floor in my pajamas because it didn’t drain well from the previous night’s rain, and I don’t want to slip after breaking my ankle in September
2. Startle when I hear someone say, “Good morning!” because I know there are no roads, cars, offices, or other people anywhere near me, so, I must be hearing things, which would mean I’m crazy, and I don’t want to believe I’m insane this early in the morning. Then, realize the voice came from the water behind the boat. It’s only Ralph from SV LilleVen, the catamaran anchored about 500 feet away, zipping by on his wingfoil.
3. I call out to him, “Good morning” and relax until another, “Good morning,” makes me jump higher than the first. It’s the other Ralf, from SV Flora, riding his wingfoil.
4. I decide I need coffee if people are going to be whizzing by like it’s Grand Central Station in Tikehau Atoll, but there are no bodegas for about 6,000 nautical miles or so. Therefore, I make a French press pot.
5. I settle down for some writing and watching. 
6. The water calls to me three more times. It’s Jerome, from SV My Motu, on his windsurf, and what’s this? Michael is out there, too! I have to laugh because, indeed, it’s the morning rush!

We had a slew of good days in Tikehau filled with birthday parties, kiting, snorkeling, and paddling. The company was great with new and old friends we were so happy to see again.

It’s different from Tahiti or anywhere else, where there are boats galore, parks, stores, rental cars, and cafes. There are no firi firi donuts with coconut milk cappuccinos or gelato wagons in Tikehau. And one sees few flowers compared to the jillions imprinted on clothes and worn in headdresses in Papeete. In Tikehau, everybody makes their own food, fashion, fun, and daily structure. As my friend Wiebke said, “In this place [The Tuomotus], you have to discover yourself. You have to get to know yourself.” And I think we did just that.

At least, we thought we did until we started sailing east again. How could I have forgotten that we only truly know what we’re capable of when we sail? Nope, that’s not right. We only truly know what we’re capable of when we parent, but that’s a book, not a blog, and this here writing is a blog. So suffice it to say that sailing east in easterlies is challenging. Reviewing our ship’s log, I see that forty-seven minutes into the ocean, we hit our first set of squalls to the north, south, and west.  Then, this: 11:37 squall, 12:04 squall (AWS 34knots), 16:54 squall, 17:39 squall, 23:19 squall. And I think I missed recording a few because, all the while, we were tacking upwind. Phew! It was a lot of work (mainly for Michael), but honestly, it was a good sail by basic measures: sort of fun, nothing major broke, and nobody vomited.

We didn’t have the energy to keep that tacking up for much longer. So, eventually, we stopped and anchored Gerty in the Toau false pass to rest. There, we were graciously welcomed by Stig and Ana on Zinganka and yet another rush hour experience. This time, instead of people speeding by, it was schools of tropical fish!

Last remarks

• Yay, boat friends! Simone and Joren SV Vlinder, Wayne and Barbie SV Hope, Jeanne and Dan SV Lucky Dog in Tahiti, AND Ralf and Wiebke SV Flora, Barbara and Ralph SV Lille Venn, Jeroen and Rajesh SV My Motu, Mareika SV Moana in Tikehau, AND Stig and Ana SV Ziganka and Rachael and Volker SV Tomorrow in Toau false pass.