We increase our cognitive abilities by permanently compensating for the ship's movements at the anchorage, which are caused by a fierce southerly wind, with a small note from the east, causing the swell in the bay to rise to 1.5 meters, with all parts of the body and at the same time trying to work through everyday tasks without any major accidents. Annalenchen would say now kokainive and Mr. Kubiki, koniaktive abilities, but that only incidentally. We have also developed the ability to understand our foreign minister better, no at all. So we now know what a 360° turn on the trampoline feels like and we can understand a 560 day year, at least psychologically. And let someone say again, sailing makes stupid, the opposite is the case, as in foreign policy the skills grow with the tasks. You see, I'm once again upset about our completely pointless foreign policy and try to give me a little air, it's almost over. Gaby just means that at some point they won't let you into Germany anymore.
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| Gaby, Rikitea Gambier Islands |
The week actually started off quite relaxed, with calm weather and a flat anchor field. We circled around our anchor ball all day and our Katinka shifted from side to side, limited only by the anchor chain. Every now and then, our blood pressure would rise a bit as the neighboring boat came within ten meters of ours. But here, too, the skills, at least in the skipper's case, have developed to such an extent that an estimate of whether or not there is a danger of collision can be made well in advance. The skipper is not so good with distances and has a much harder time. Unfortunately, the confidence in my abilities is far from being so pronounced that a stress-free dozing in the sun is possible. With the introductory phrase, "Look, now he's getting close to us," I've learned to at least lift my head and take a look at what's happening next to us. When I then say that's enough, I have half an hour of peace again until the next encounter.
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| Katinka Rikitea, Gambier Islands |
Unfortunately, that's not the only trouble ground. In calm weather, the boat and the anchor buoy keep getting into each other's way and have to be separated. An extremely annoying affair, but there is always something. Besides my favorite activity, dozing, I continue to develop my motor skills in my right arm. You remember, it was dislocated eight weeks ago and after Gaby had fixed it, it was in a sling for four weeks. After these four weeks the arm was no longer usable. It simply did not obey anymore. Lifting, scratching the head, let alone other parts of the body, just didn't work anymore. Starting with light exercises, I have now reached the point where I have activated the Kettle Belts on board and exercise with them for an hour every day. Since two days I am mostly free of pain, and with the scratching it works quite well again now. When the sun is shining, it gets quite warm here on the Gambiers, for this time of year. If it does not shine, we sit there with woolen sweaters and socks and try to get around the bad, the 560 days in the year, if possible without a cold. On a beautiful day at 25°C, warm and sunny, we visit the convent again to take some more nice pictures. In the late afternoon the weather holds, so that I can seal the püttings with silicone. Of course, it would be great now if it would rain the next day to report a successful completion of the Kapitana and to prove my ability to successfully complete such repairs. Unfortunately, the weather does not do me the favor and it remains dry. This gives us the opportunity to have a wash day and to visit "Fritz the German" from Trans Ocean again. Unfortunately he is already back in Tahiti, but we can wash the clothes anyway. We also manage to buy fresh fruits and vegetables after the supply ship arrived after two weeks. On the last day, the day before the shopping, I had to eat noodles with ketchup, because we had nothing more on board. It reminded me a lot of my training days, when spaghetti with ketchup was often on the menu. The ability to also experience such a meal, as a festive menu, has therefore developed at a young age.
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| Hiking on Mangareva |
In the meantime we have agreed on a date for our onward journey. At the end of September we want to go to the Tuamotus. Hao is about 450 nautical miles from here and is not one of the tourist attractions in the Tuamotus. That is why we want to visit the island. Amanu, the neighboring island, is also on the way. The destination will be the Marquesas. In December a traditional festival takes place here, which we want to see. There will be a lot going on and we will see if we can find a place to anchor. And finally this week we get some rain after all. Katinka does leaps and bounds, like Annalenchen in her best days on the trampoline, and I think about whether we should rename our catamaran, in honor of our foreign minister. But Gaby's statement that she could spend the same money as Annalena convinces me to leave it at Katinka. Be that as it may, the Schapps remain dry, after this heavy downpour, which confirms my ability to carry out boat work independently. In this sense, we wish you always fair winds and keep a stiff upper lip.
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