Miti Miti comes to life…

Adventures, both ahead and gone…Miti Miti and Ripple, before parting ways.

In exchange for the use of photos of Ripple over the last 5 years, Achilles, Inc. bestowed a brand new inflatable upon the Voyage of Swell! Neither the maze of driving in L.A. from the warehouse to the air freight shipper, nor the 5 hours I spent talking the dinghy through customs in Tahiti subtracted from my excitement about this…

Ripple had been on her final leg of life for some time already… she was leaking air from here and there, requiring multiple daily inflations. While the air leaked out, water leaked in! I was constantly bailing and pumping…I could have made a great workout video with it, “…and 1 and 2, and pump and bail!” But after all the good times and amazing adventures we had shared, I still a sort of sentimental attachment to her…

The new dinghy sat in its box on the foredeck as I searched for a buyer for the 25hp engine…my new ride is smaller, so I was looking to downgrade for a few less horses…

But days went by, Ripple deteriorated further, and nobody bought the old engine…

So one afternoon, just before leaving the marina…I opened the boxes and unveiled my new ‘lagoon wheels’. She was essentially the same as Ripple, but 11ft long instead–the Achilles SPD-335 model. This would give me a bit more room on the foredeck and less weight to haul up and down…not to mention, sealed seams and a leak-less underside!! Yippeeeeee!

Pump pump pump pump…I wrestled in the floorboards…pump pump pump…she began to take shape. She was light grey, nearly white, and sleek and plump with a slight flip in the nose.

Pump pump pump pump… …soon it had come to life! …but what would I call her?

Returning from a surf a few days later, I stopped by to see some Tahitian friends. The grandmother asked in Tahitian, “Faahee, miti miti?” “Eh” my friend replied.

“What did she ask you?” I asked, eager to learn Tahitian now that my French was good enough.

“Miti miti.” He replied. “It means ‘little swell’. She asked if it is a small swell.”

“Miti miti!” I repeated…The new dinghy had its name!

***GOOD NEWS: The ripple now has a new owner, a surfer who plans to restore her and keep her adventuring for a few more years!!

************** THANK YOU ACHILLES!!!!***************************