The Honeymoon Trip We have a contract to purchase Oystercatcher XXII, an Oyster 56 on its way to New Zealand to watch the Americas Cup. We will take delivery of the boat in March, 2000, but we will be aboard in September, 1999 for the Bora Bora to Fiji leg with Will, the captain, and Kristen, his partner and a fabulous cook. Bora Bora to Nuiatopatu, Tonga 9/1/99 – All wedding guests gone! Packed for the trip, took Mocha for a long run and boarded United flight to LAX. 9/2/99 – Nice flight to Papaete, then on to Bora Bora. We’re staying at the Bora Bora Lagoon with cabins right on the water. We can feed fish through a hole in the living room and snorkel right off the back deck. We found Oystercatcher and went aboard for a drink with Richard and Louise (the current owners).  We met Eddie from Ireland who will be with us on the trip to Fiji. 9/3 – We tried to run this morning but there are no roads or trails on this island. Went out for a snorkel trip with rays and sharks. Had dinner with Eddie. 9/4 – Went for a bike ride around Bora Bora – 32K and took 2 ½ hours. Talked to Adam, an acquaintance of Bradley’s, on the radio – he’s aboard Attu. Were supposed to meet up with him but never made contact again. Weather is looking a bit rough for our departure tomorrow but Will thinks it will be OK. Had dinner at Bloody Mary’s for Eddie’s birthday. 9/5 – Up early at 4:30. Went to mainland for a run. Finished reading The Caine Mutiny. Had a light breakfast, fed the fish in our room, took some Dramamine, and moved to the boat. By 1:00 we were underway and by 1:30 sails were up. Winds 20-25 knots, boat speed 8-10. Dramamine working well. Kristen made lasagna for dinner and I had a nice helping, but Bradley didn’t eat – a first! A bit of an abrupt start, but nothing scary. I steered for awhile, but a little too much for me – a big boat and big waves. After 12 hours, had covered 110 miles. 9/6 – Hard to sleep. Forward cabin too rough. Small aft bunk is the best place. Seems a little calmer today. Still making good speed. In first 24 hours, covered 214 miles, just 10 short of the boat record. Starting to read the Bounty trilogy. Will and Kristen treating and feeding us well, so doubt we’ll have a mutiny here. Eddie hit 15.2 knots today – fastest speed so far. 9/7 – Finished Mutiny on the Bounty. A monster fish tool the lure and most of the line before snapping the rod. Wish we could have seen what it was. Steered for an hour this afternoon. Wind is down to 12-15 knots and seas are finally calm. Covered 208 miles in last 24 hours. 9/8 – Exciting day. Caught two beautiful fish. First a nice mahi mahi. Bradley and Will filleted and Kristen cooked for dinner – very tasty. Then we got a nice skipjack tuna –very fat. Lots of blood too. Got five nice steaks and four huge fillets. Will grill steaks tomorrow. Both fish caught with line and reel only after rod was broken. Beautiful day today – sunny and smooth. Steered boat for 1 ½ hour on afternoon watch. .Covered 199 miles in past 24 hours. Bradley and I started backgammon tournament. He won first series 4 games to 3. We took a nap together this afternoon – first time since we’ve been on board we’ve slept in the same bed.  Due to watch schedules and rolling in forward cabin, I’ve been sleeping in aft bunk. Have not seen another boat since leaving Bora Bora. We’re now more than halfway to Nuiatopotapu  our first stop. It’s an island that’s part of Tonga. Had wonderful mahi mahi for dinner 9/9 – Slowing down – only 190 miles last 24 hours. Finished last of the Bounty Trilogy. Should visit Pitcairn Island someday. More backgammon with Bradley. Weather still nice. Had tuna steaks for dinner – cooked on the grill – great! The skipjack takes his last drink Mahi Mahi getting ready for dinner 9/10 – Finally saw another ship today way off on the horizon but it never got close to us. Read Dick Francis book Wild Horses. Also working on thank you notes – have about 35 done so far. Wind is dying – motored part of the day today, but it picked up again. Bradley spotted a boat on night watch but it was a long way off and never even showed up on the radar Saw the Southern Cross just after sunset. Still haven’t had a really good sunset – there are some clouds every night. 9/11 – Weather not as good. Clouds and rain most of the morning. Read The Color of Water – a book given us by Jeannette Philips. During rainy morning hooked a fish but lost it. Should be in Nuiatopatapu by early tomorrow morning. 9/12 – Crossed international date line so this day is lost! 9/13- Arrived Nuiatopotapu at 8:00am. Customs and immigration officials came to boat at 10:00am. Very friendly people but inefficient process. Gave them a bottle of champagne and that helped. Asked them about a local drink kava, made from some kind of root. The said to check with the boat called Laura L anchored nearby. They had arranged to have kava sent to them at 7:00pm. We dingyed over and met them. Two couples and a skipper. Owners wereDon and Donna Gibbs from California. Went ashore for a run. Island is very poor but people are very friendly. Pigs, goats, dogs, horses, and chickens all run loose on the island. Ran/walked to “town”. Found telecom office and bank/post office, but that was it. Saw a man butchering a pig on the way back. Many people greet you with “hello”, “what’s your name”, “where you going?” or “where you from”. Will and Eddie got a ride back on a school bus. The driver – also a teacher –came to the boat with his daughter to show us some mats and tapas. Eddie bought a tapa – wood bark cloth with a dyed design. We wanted one too and agreed to meet the guy at 6:00am at the dock to look at more. At 7:00pm, went to Laura L for a kava party. We took a bunch of beers – Laura L had been here 5-6 days and had run out. The island has no electricity and no alcohol. There is one store but not much in it. They were happy to have beer. The Tongans came with stuff to make kava. It’s a drink made from a root. Tastes strange – one guidebook describes it as dishwater. Gives your mouth a sensation like novocaine but it’s not alcoholic or narcotic. He four Tongans included some of our friends from customs and immigration. A fun party and Don and Donna seemed happy to have company. Their boat will be in NZ starting in October. Don and Donna won’t be back on it until mid-Feb. They volunteered that Bradley may be able to stay on  it with Simon (the skipper) before they arrive. The boat is very interesting – about 85’ and custom built. Design by Ron Hollland but Don is an architect and wanted certain things. Big wood cabin structure with lots of windows and tons of varnish. Below is very spacious. Great party! 9/14 – Went to dock at 6:10am but the guy with the tapas didn’t show up. Went for a run to the telecom office to make a phone call. Had four Tonga girls run with me for about half a mile on their way to school. Saw a newborn horse just across from post office – no more than a couple hours old. Made phone call from telecom office. There was a banana tree outside with some green bananas on it. Bradley asked if we could buy some of them since we were out of fresh fruit, A guy came out cnad chopped them off with a machete and gave us a couple bunches. They also gave us two large pawpaws (papaya). They’re green too but should be ripe in a day or two. Got a ride back on the school bus then went out to a nearby reef to snorkel – not bad. Went to a beautiful beach and Bradley found a coconut with we finally opened and ate – yum! Will and Eddie had run in the tapa guy – he had been waiting at one end of the dock for us and we had been at the other. He said his wife was hoe and gave us the location of his house, which was more like a shed. Bradley and I went ashore and located it but after a few inquiries found that his wife was out – so no tapas. Returned to begin preparations for leaving. Had to dis-assemble dinghy. What a pain – it’s not easy even with four people. Left about 3:30pm. Saw a few whales on the way out – none very close. A beautiful night of sailing  - nice winds, smooth seas. First nice sunset of the trip and a great starry night. Set a new speed record – 16;3 knots. Started reading the story of Shackelton and the Endurance in Antarctica. Will & Bradley display dinner The first kava ceremony