The First Annual MaiKai Regatta was completed and there was no clear decision with Slick and Obelisk arriving within seconds of each other. We decided it was a tie since we both spent too much time invoking the 5 knot motoring rule. In any case, the passage over was not a particularly nice one. We were escorted out by Tieva and Kiki from the Maikai through teh pass at Bora Bora and where on our way. The wind was not really blowing and we were motoring at 5 knots for about 5 hours. We tried sailing but there was just nothing. When we were just getting relaxed in for the passage the Penn 9/0 on the aft pulpit started whirling, Fish On! We landed a 38 lb female Mahi, she was huge and beautiful, but then she got clubbed to death. She was delicious though and fed us for sometime, even some of the people here in Rarotonga once we arrived (Obelisk also caught one and this really eased clearing in). The next 3 days of the passage where spent with 8-12 foot beaming seas and about 25 knots of breeze, but it was so uncomfortable that we went pretty slow. Obelisk, who started 12 hours later, passed us on the second day, but they sailed out of the wind so we caught back up. Eventually the wind died and we arrived in the middle of the night, taking 3 days and 13 hours or so for a 535 mile passage. Same average as crossing the Pacific. Nate was certainly missed though, had he been here, I am sure we would have easily one the race. We laid hove to off Rarotonga till morning and came into the marina, luckily getting to raft up with an old long liner behind some good protection. The harbor here has a tricky entrance and with the wind it was some of the most challenging docking I have done in Slick, ever. There is a ton of dredging going on in the main harbor area, but Andre, the harbormaster, has done a great job accommodating visiting yachts.
Rarotonga is quaint and beautiful and a little boring, but the really great part is that everyone speaks English. For the first time in several months, we can understand everyone! The morning of our arrival was the start of the independence day festival with a parade and then the whole week is dedicated to the dance competitions for the entire Cooks, hopefully we will be able to get to see some of that. Two days after our arrival, Baten Anna arrived, so the 7 of us went on the cross island hike which involved some really steep hiking as well as a very intense pinnacle. This was a really great hike and it ended at a pretty nice waterfall with a pool that we could swim and dive into. That night we put Sean on the plane home, so now it is just Zach and I.
Other than hanging out and seeing the smallish island we have been doing boat maintenance. I have a small diesel leak that is getting bigger and I can’t find it. It is very, very frustrating. We also broke a ton of stuff during the passage, so most of that is fixed now. We checked out yesterday and wanted to leave this morning but there is no wind. Since Nuie is 585 miles away, we cannot motor the whole thing and need some wind. Maybe tomorrow, we will see.