‘Raaou Tahiti’: Respecting Our ‘Roots’
When the Lau family caught wind of my ciguateric state, they quickly reported the news to âMamiâ, their Tahitian grandmother who was rich with knowledge of traditional Tahitian medicine or âraaou Tahitiâ. Twice the first day, and once for the following three days, âMamiâ prepared the local remedy for me to drink. Despite its unappealing […]
Practice makes perfect: the T-Cup Regatta
Chat about the T-Cup Regatta had buzzed around all week. It was a yearly, just for fun, local regatta, but still up to my gills with projects, I ignored the other sailorsâ taunting and tempting. I had no intention of putting the extra work on my plate for some silly race. I explained that I […]
Henoa, Polynesian Gentleman
âLeeeeeeez!!â I heard from behind me as I wandered back toward Swell at the end of a long day in the yard. Little Henoa came running over with an icy cold pineapple juice in hand. Dirt was smeared across his left arm and sweat dribbled down his cheek. I imagined how fun life must be […]
Fred, Fin, and Doug…
With the tube removed, there was no more time to waste. I had to find someone to help me do the fiberglass work. Iâd conceded to the realization that it was NOT going to be Laurent. It was beyond me why he didnât want to do the job, but that didnât matter anymore. I didnât […]
GET OOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT!
Adrian, the cheery 6â 2â Canadian, was low on cash but full of spirit. He had been borrowing my bike for the prior week to ride to town for parts and pieces to fix up his newly acquired steel sloop. He dropped by just as Mikeâs overtime charges were about to begin accumulating, so I […]
20-ton Hydraulic Jack + Tsunami + Hollywood Director + 6â2â Canadian + Butane Torch= GREAT SUCCESS!
I woke in the middle of the night to a pounding on Swellâs hull. I shook myself from a dream and looked up at the clock. It was 3 am. âWho the heck drops by for a visit at this hour?â I thought. I peered over the side and saw Taputu standing below with a […]
No More Chirps in Boatyard Purgatory
For a week after Poe died, it felt strange when I’d return to Swell–no more chirping, no more fishy stink, and no more fuzzy head popping up? Instead I found only piles of progress-less projects staring at me. Despite grinding off the recent epoxy job and making a more precisely-fitting steel washer, the âextracteurâ continued […]
Extracteuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuur!!! Say it with a french accent…it’s kinda fun.
So…I carried the broken parts back across the yard. Everyone looked over at me curiously. âExtracteur!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!â I yelled. They just wrinkled their foreheads and went back to whatever they were doing…I’m like a bad rash around …impossible to get rid of… So next, Make the washer out of a thick piece of steel. Reinforce and […]
The âVIP yard’
After a weekend spent indulging in the rare angle of wave energy produced by the latest cyclone that turned southwest, I busily made the final preparations for Laurent, the yardâs in-house glasser, to get started cutting away the shaft log the following morning. The week prior, the mechanic had helped me remove my transmission, to […]
