Well, it’s been way too long since I’ve written anything on here… I’m currently working at Sears Home Improvement Products as a Financial Analyst. I aim to start editing my videos more so I can share/upload videos from my trip.
Latest Entries »
Well, as you can read from my last post, I’m back in Florida now (back and forth between Tampa & Orlando) looking for work. If you know of any Finance-related positions that are available in one of those two locations, please email me! Until then, I’ll be around… Hopefully I’ll get around to updating this website & adding pictures that are well overdue!
Well, sadly I must say that my time on Infini is coming to an end. It
has been an absolutely spectacular voyage; from the Marquesas to
Hawaii, and eventually to Tahiti, it has been nothing but constant
adventure. Getting to spend the last 10 months with my parents has
been such a wonderful experience and I couldn’t ask for more. While my
journey on the boat may be over for now, the next chapter of my life
is just beginning. I’m flying back to Florida, where I will be
studying for the GMAT and then applying for graduate school to earn an
MBA. I would like to study at UCF where I went for undergrad, although
I’m keeping my options open. Other than school (and getting a job,
yah… I don’t really want to talk about that) the kiteboarding will
continue whenever the weather permits. The adventures – that for those
of you who know me – so often fulfill my life, will continue to unfold
and hopefully turn into something worth writing about, and, more
importantly… something that you – whoever you are reading this -
find worthy of your time to continue to do so. I sincerely thank any
and all of you who have followed along with my stories up until now,
and hope you’ve enjoyed what you’ve found. Once back in Florida I will
be uploading a lot more pictures and in due time a lot of videos also,
so make sure to keep checking for them. Until then,
Fair Winds and Smooth Seas…
We arrived at Point Venus in Tahiti at dusk on June 12. We anchored
near the lighthouse on the point for the night, and in the morning
headed over to the Tahiti Yacht Club where we found a mooring and have
been here since. We’ve explored a little, we went to town and saw the
market and shops all around. We’ve rented a car and plan to explore
the island even more.
After 3 awesome days of kiteboarding in a row, then a day of rest, we’re finally departing Rangiroa to head for Tahiti. It’s been a great stay here in the world’s 2nd largest atoll. We’ve met some awesome people and made some great friends. We expect to arrive in Tahiti within a day or two. Hopefully we’ll have faster internet there & I’ll be able to upload a lot more pictures than I have been.
Wednesday, June 1: We left for the Blue Lagoon. It’s approximately 15 miles from our anchorage near Tiputa Pass. We motored the whole way there since the wind was pretty light, and anchored around 4:30pm @ S15.05.724 W147.55.29. There are tons of sharks swimming all around the boat, I spotted about 12 at one time around us.
Thursday, June 2: We went exploring in the lagoon. The morning was filled with squalls and clouds, but we eventually decided if we were going to explore the lagoon at all we’d have to do it with or without rain. We saw TONS of sharks inside of the lagoon, and a few stingrays. We pulled the dingy across the shallow reef surrounding the lagoon & motored around inside the lagoon to explore. There were numerous coral heads inside of the lagoon, and while not very colorful or lively they did have some fish. We snorkeled a few of them before departing the lagoon. Our friends on Slip Away and Loon III arrived in the afternoon once we were back on the boat. We had everyone over for dinner which consisted of chili, homemade pizza, and peach cobbler. Everything was delicious.
Friday, June 3: We left the Blue Lagoon in fear that the weather was kicking up, so we wanted to get a good anchorage spot close to shore back near Tiputa Pass. We left early in the morning and motored all the way back.
Saturday, June 4: My dad’s birthday. I went snorkeling with him in the morning around the boat, to check on our anchor and then swim around to some coral heads nearby. Later in the afternoon I went to “The Aquarium” with Slip Away & Loon III to snorkel there. We saw 2 octopus, and I watched/followed one for about 30 minutes. It was pretty awesome to watch it change colors so quickly. I was thankful that I got to watch it, without it just hiding inside of a rock or coral head the whole time. We saw an eel after the octopus but it was pretty shy & didn’t show itself too much. In the afternoon we had just about every boat in the anchorage over for happy hour to celebrate my dad’s birthday. I think we had something like 10-12 other boats over, and I think it was the most crowded Infini has ever been. My mom made some delicious spice cake & brownies. It was a lot of fun & a great way to meet the other boats in the anchorage.
Sunday, June 5: Hung out most of the day. Went over to the boat Trifon to hang out with some of the other kids in the anchorage. I taught them how to play a game ‘Tonk’ or ‘31’.
Monday, June 6: It was another crappy, rainy day. It stormed all evening & morning and when the rain did finally stop it left clouds & an overcast, dreary day. I went to shore with my mom around 11:30 to go to the store before they close for their mid-day break. We bought a few things to provision & then went and had a cheeseburger on the wharf. In the afternoon I went over to Trifon again and Joey from Rhythm taught us how to play bridge, although I must admit it was most likely a pretty basic version. We watched Anchorman before I returned back to Infini.
Friday, May 27: 5 Mile Downwinder
I went over to the catamaran “Tiger” to talk with Mike about kiteboarding since there was 15-20 knots of wind. We then rode over to “Downtime” to ask Pete if he wanted to ride with us. We arranged to do a downwinder around 1pm. The 3 of us headed to the motu at 1 and launched our kites and took off. The wind was nice, and I rode my 10m with my 135cm board, although in hindsight it would have been fun to ride my surfboard for the downwinder. We had a chase dingy follow us down, and when we got about 5 miles downwind we all took turns self landing our kites in the water, with the people in the chase dingy catching our kites. We ended up in Avatoru Village, and had a beer before heading back by dingy. The 3 people who drove down and followed us in the dingy took a cab, while we had a bouncy ride back.
Saturday, May 28: Kiteboarding for the 3rd Day in a Row!
Finally! Some good, consistent wind! We had made plans the day before to ride at 7am if the wind was decent, but since we’re all on ‘island time’ we didn’t get to the motu until around 9:30am (I blame the others – I was ready to go at 6am). We got dropped off & the 3 of us launched our kites, and rode for about an hour until the wind started to die on us. I was the only one who was upwind of the motu when the wind died, and managed to get back on the island to self land. Mike had tied a line around a coral head before we took off, and at the end of the rope there was a loop with a buoy to keep it afloat. To self land I just hooked my safety leash onto the loop and landed my kite in the water. I then swam/walked over & grabbed my kite and walked it up onto land. Once my kite was secure I went and unhooked my safety leash and wound up my lines. Mike and Pete both had to water land, with the chase dingy coming to their rescue. After kiteboarding I went to shore with Mike and had a beer at the little snack shop while Mike ate lunch. Afterwards Pat (the owner of Tiger) said he wanted to go surfing, so he rode back to his boat and picked up his board. Mike, Pat, and I hitched a ride to the other side of the island, where Pat went surfing. Mike and I just hung out with the locals and drank some beer, and met another cruiser, Lars, from “Twister”. After surfing Pat took a taxi back and Lars, Mike and I hung out to drink some more beer before returning to our boats. We ate hot dogs for dinner at a local restaurant & mingled with the locals until it was time to head home.
Sunday, May 29: Snorkeling “The Aquarium”
The Paul Gauguin cruise ship came in today and ferried people to shore all day. Around 1:15pm my parents and I rode over to the motu to snorkel the coral heads around there. It’s called “The Aquarium” because of the abundance of fish there – and the fact that they come right up to you and eat out of your hands. There were ferries taking passengers from the cruise ship to the motu. They had glass bottoms so the passengers could watch the locals feed the fish underneath the boat. We got to watch from in the water while we were snorkeling, and we also fed the smaller fish leftover pancakes from breakfast. They certainly weren’t shy, they’d come right up to you to eat out of your hands. We saw a ton of eels, a few sharks, and some of the biggest trigger fish I’ve ever seen.
Monday, May 30: Another trip to Avatoru Village
My parents and I went to shore in the morning and hitched rides into town. I brought them to the other pass & the surf spot that I was at a few days before. Being a weekday there were not nearly as many kids there, but there were still a few. Afterwards we went to the store to pick up a couple of items, and then had lunch at a Pizzeria. Our meal was great, and afterwards we walked to the Paul Gauguin Pearl Farm and got a tour. It was pretty neat to see how pearls are made. It takes years just to get one pearl! We got a ride back after our tour.
Tuesday, May 31: More Kiteboarding!
In the morning I helped my mom wash some laundry in our big 5 gallon buckets. Afterwards the wind was blowing, so my mom and I went to the motu where she helped my launch my kite. I rode my 10m for a little over an hour before coming back in to land. My mom caught my kite and then I let it dry out a little before packing up and heading back to the boat. We played 3-way pinochle after dinner, my mom won.
Well, it’s been WAY too long since I’ve updated this blog.. That being said, here’s what I’ve been doing since the last time I wrote an entry.
Tuesday, May 17 – Happy birthday to my brother Tyson & my niece Sophia!
We took a trip to go visit Xavier, the ex-Commander-in-Chief to the Pacific Fleet of the French Navy. He owns his own motu (island) which is part of the ring of the atoll. He has a sailmail station at his house and we got to use some [slow] internet for a few minutes. His house & property are very nice, he has his own wind generator, some nice solar panels, and even a hydro pump that charges from the current. Once we got back to the boat I cleaned the bottom of the hull. I have a bit of an earache so I won’t be swimming for a few days, hopefully it’s nothing serious but we’ll see. In the evening Fernando came by and dropped off two fresh fish that he speared, so we cooked them up and had a nice dinner with our friends from “Slip Away”.
Wednesday, May 18 – A pretty lazy day.
We went into town to pick up our laundry & to use the internet that Fernando has at his house. We also ate some sandwiches while we were there for lunch. I managed to upload a few pictures, but they’re all on Facebook so if you’re trying to view them you’d have to see them on there. There weren’t a whole lot I managed to upload, but I’ll try to get some more added when I get a chance.
Thursday, May 19 – Another lazy day.
We’ve officially been here for a week now. Our friends on “Soggy Paws” will be arriving tomorrow morning, so rather than leaving and heading to Rangiroa we’re going to wait for them & also for some wind. The forecast shows that by this weekend the wind is supposed to pick up a little, so we’re hoping that we’ll be able to sail over to Rangiroa rather than motoring the whole way. Might head into town for a little while today, otherwise just hanging out and reading.
Friday, May 20 – Lunch in town
Soggy Paws came into Manihi in the morning & joined us in our anchorage. All the boats in the anchorage went into town around noon for lunch. It was a fun gathering and sandwiches were had by pretty much everybody. After lunch we got the boat ready to head out for Rangiroa.
Saturday, May 21 – Leaving Manihi
We pulled the anchor up around 7:30am. We got to the pass & noticed the tide wasn’t too strong, so we went on out & hoisted the sails up. We were running dead downwind in about 10 knots of wind for most of the day.
Sunday, May 22 – Arriving in Rangiroa
We went through Tiputa Pass & were anchored in Rangiroa around 8am. Coming in the pass was pretty uneventful; the wind wasn’t too strong & the current was pretty slack. We’ve since seen some pretty rough conditions in the pass with some boats having quite a rough time trying to leave the pass. I had watch last night (underway) from 12am-3am.
Monday, May 23 – Getting to a doctor
I’ve had an earache for quite some time, and today finally made it into Avatoru Village to see a doctor. He said that my ear drum was a little swollen & gave me some ear drops and an antibiotic to take, which has helped a little. To get to the town we rented bikes (since it’s about a 6mile trip) and asked where the doctor was along the way. He was a nice guy, and spoke pretty good English. On our way back we stopped at the “snack” for a cheeseburger for lunch! Been a while since we’ve had one of those!
Tuesday, May 24 – Trip to Tiputa
My mom & dad went snorkeling around 8:30am – I couldn’t go due to my ear. Afterwards around 11-11:30am we went to shore to take the water taxi across the pass to Tiputa Village. It’s a nice, clean, quaint little town with 2 stores that we found. We walked around for a while before taking the taxi back & having lunch at the little snack place we ate the day before. We had happy hour aboard “Slip Away” with our friends from “Sea Flyer” & “Marianette IV”.
Wednesday, May 25 – Lazy Day
It was a pretty lazy, uneventful day. I laid around & read most of the day. Around 2:30pm we went to shore to walk around a bit. Shortly after we started walking, a HUGE squall came through, so we sought shelter under one of the stores close by. We didn’t spend too long on shore, but we did manage to buy an ice cream while we were there
Thursday, May 26 – KITEBOARDING!!
The morning started off pretty much like all the others, except for the site of kites not too far away! With ~20 knots of wind, we all had the same thought – lets go fly a kite! One was up in the morning, and then once he called it quits another guy from a different catamaran launched his and started riding. I went to talk to the second guy from the catamaran “Downtime” to ask him about conditions, etc. Later in the afternoon I joined Mike aboard the catamaran “Tiger” and we went to the little motu (island) not far from where our anchorage is. It isn’t the most ideal launch spot; it’s an island made up of small broken coral pieces, with big coral heads surrounding the small island. Mike launched & rode off, and then I launched afterwards. It’s a trick to get outside of the coral right next to the shore of the island. While doing so the wind died and my kite dropped out of the sky – leaving me in about chest-deep water drifting downwind away from the island. I grabbed hold of the dingy close by, and tried getting my kite back up, only to notice one of my lines had wrapped under a coral head. Once finally free from the obstacles, I got my kite relaunched and took off. I had a great session for about 45 minutes with wind blowing about 20-25 most of the time. Thankfully, the wind didn’t die on me again and I had plenty while I was riding. I didn’t try too many tricks, I was a little worried about my kite crashing & getting dragged downwind away from the island, and anyone. Even though my dad was close by in the dingy, I figured I could avoid a rescue by just not trying anything too crazy. I had a couple jumps & flips, but that was about the extent of it. I got a few scratches on my shins from the coral, & put some antibiotic ointment on them when I got back to the boat later that evening. All-in-all it was a very successful kiting trip & I can’t wait to get back out there & ride some more. Hopefully tomorrow will bring more wind again.
We’re currently at Rangiroa, I managed to upload a couple of pictures onto my picassa album. I will be updating & editing some of this site soon when I get a chance. Thanks for all of you who are following along & for your patience. Much love to you all.
Sunday – We arranged with the other boats that were anchored with us to go snorkel through the pass around 1:30pm. My parents and the boat “Slip Away” have done this before, but the other two boats along with myself have never done it. It’s not that complicated; mainly you make sure you’ve timed your tides correctly (you DON’T want to do it on an outgoing tide), so an hour or two after the beginning of an incoming tide, you motor outside the entrance of the pass. There you put on your gear and hop in the water. You drag a short line (you don’t want a long one that has the chance of getting snagged on the coral) and hold onto it as the current sweeps you along. You end up drifting all the way through the pass and, well technically, as far as you want to be allowed. We did it twice, and saw many things along the way: sharks, moray eels, octopus, trigger fish, parrot fish, and so many others I wouldn’t even be able to name or identify them. It was a great experience. Afterwards we got the four boats together for a happy hour on the beach, where each boat brought a small appetizer/finger food to share, and we all enjoyed talking and sharing stories.
Monday – Our local ‘guide’ Fernando came by the boats in the morning to drop off some freshly baked baguettes (YUM!) He said that he had to go to work for a few hours, so while he was working he would drop us off at the hotel and we could hang out there until he was done. So we hopped in his panga and crossed the lagoon (this time to the nearby side) where he has another house in a nice secluded inlet. He loaded us into the trailer attached to his John Deer tractor & we set off. We drove past the airport & stopped at a local sandwich shop to pick up lunch. Afterwards we headed to the hotel (which sadly, I cannot remember it’s name). We were a little disappointed to learn that the internet was down, but made the best of it anyways. It was a beautiful resort with beach huts built on stilts out in the water. An infinity pool dropped off into the water behind it, and the thatched roofs above all of the buildings really helped give it the authentic feel. We hung out and read by the pool until it got too warm, when we decided to seek some shade. There was a miniature golf course, volleyball, badminton, bicycles, and I’m sure many other things available to the guests of the hotel. The gift shop was closed while we were there, a shame because it seemed pretty nice. When Fernando was done working he came and picked us up to bring us back to the boat. Once we arrived back at Infini he invited me to go spearfishing with him – he said grab my snorkel stuff and lets go. So I quickly grabbed my mask & fins, my dads wetsuit, and our speargun & headed off. We ended up going outside of the pass on the outside of the atoll, and went about 1/2 a mile west along the coast. There we found a mooring ball that we tied onto, and began hunting. I speared probably 3 or 4 fish, while Fernando himself caught just as many, if not more. There was another boat there when we arrived, and the locals were free diving to depths of probably at least 80 feet, so far down that I couldn’t see them from the surface once they got all the way down there. More often than not they would always return to view with a fish being dragged up from the depths on the end of their spear. It was a great experience and I’m very thankful Fernando invited me to go along.
