Written Sep 2002

From Aitutaki to Palmerston

You know how Good Byes most often come with mixed feelings. Well, one, the feeling of Relief, is one that I more often encounter is added to the list. Not the bored Relief: "Finally, I can go", but one which is a Relief with gratitude: "Thanks, for letting me go". The latter has applied a couple of times recently. First in the Tuamotus where we danced with sharks, and were grateful we left with all out limbs intact. Second in Aitutaki (Cook Islands), which we left yesterday, happy that the Gypsy Soul didn't end up a stranded ship wreck!

The charts and guide books all say that the entrance is 1.8 m at high tide. The Gypsy Soul comes with a 1.8 m draft without beer...
We arrived 4 days ago and anchored on the outside reef, waiting for the tide to allow us in through the channel in the reef table. The channel was reported to have pure sand bottom with a shallow part between beacons 7 and 8... I was standing on the bow keeping lookout while Ben poked his head out from under the bimini top reading the soundings out loud as he steered. The torqoise water turned lighter as the depth grew shallower and finally it was all pale sand colour, as the readings went negative and speed dropped...

Hello sandy bottom

Point of no return - the channel was anyway too narrow for cowardly retreats. Ben gunned the engine at full power and we slowly but surely plowed into the inner bay accompanied by the roaring sound of the engine and the deafening beat of our own heart rate. Our depth sounder is now recalibrated and we have dug a new channel, about 5 cm deeper...
Once inside, we consulted the palm pilot about the next up coming tides, and discovered that each day the high tide would lose a few cm due to it being the first quarter after new moon. Despite these news, the uncommonly decent prices of beer, made us stay to reprovision and stock the boat with a few cases for our friends.
On one evening, coming back to the boat after a couple of drinks and with dinner guests, we found the Gypsy Soul strangely non-rolly - in spite of our selves - and in fact, steadily leaning at a 6 degrees angle to starboard. She presented our land-born guests with a rather peculiar scene for a late dinner on board, and seriously reminded us of our fore coming retreat.

Stay tuned for the sequel to the coming event!

Updated Sep 18

New: Update from Tina!
The continuation of the story:

So, when every cm counts, we started to empty our water tanks (showers, dish washing, shell rinsing etc) in order to raise her water line. We figured we'd rather lighten the load of water rather than beer... (although in the end I think the water line stayed the same...)
We carefully monitored the tides to figure out the exact moment to head out through the channel. Should we get stuck, there would be no tug boat and we would be blocking the entrance for two weeks until the moon would bring the tides up higher again. The boat was fully prepared to leave, loaded with emergency plans... Ben was watching the water-stick every two minutes ("every cm counts"), and so came the moment when the tide wasn't raising any longer - Time to go! We would have 15 min before the tide would start sinking again (every cm...).
We headed through the channel along the pass which Ben carefully had scouted... Then came what we had been fearing; speed dropped and the depth gauge became accessory as we stood hard aground (well, softly so in the sand). In no time, plan B was set in action: I was left behind the helm while Ben took off in the dingy. From a distance of a couple of boat lengths, Ben healed the Gypsy Soul over with the halyard running from the top of the mast. At and angle of 45 degrees and clinging on to the steering wheel, I ran the engine at full throttle and felt how we slowly started moving forward... Tataa - we were afloat again and as the tide went dropping we were safely on the outer side of the reef, setting sail heading to Palmerston...
"Good bye, Aitutaki" and thanks for letting us leave! See if Palmerston will be as kind...?

Updated Sep 20

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