Sent: Thursday, October 06, 2005 11:36 PM

[Posting by Paul Elliott]

Just received: More photos from Intention! These come to us from Karla
Jacobs who visited Jim and Intention in Bora Bora.

On passage from Bora Bora to Riatea with Karla at the wheel

Jim, just before surgery–in the good hands of his French Doctor, right

We shared a truck ride with some 12-year-old Bora Bora Soccer players
who were drinking Heinekin!
I think the driver was too!

From: Elliott [mailto:ubik@sonic.net]
Sent: Saturday, October 01, 2005 10:36 AM

[A message from Paul Elliott]

Now that Jim, Intention, and crew have arrived in Niue (see charts
below), they have access to regular internet service. This means that
they can send us the pictures they have been saving during the voyage.
Here are a bunch I just received. Jim has sent me some captions, which
have been added. By the way, from the chart it seems that Niue is also
called “Savage Island”.

Photos to follow.

Sent: Saturday, October 01, 2005 10:35 AM

Aitutaki

Brimman on deck with Aitutaki

Aitutaki Pass from anchored INTENTION

Aitutaki road out of town

Oldest Christian Church in the Cooks Islands

Beach Resort

View of Motu from hill

Motor bikes and trail to top of highest hill

Aitutaki Pass from highest peak

Brimman on Motor bike

Sent: Saturday, October 01, 2005 10:34 AM

Bora Bora and Boat Pictures

John & Brimman

Intention at Blody Mary’s dock just before getting crashed by Moorings 47

Rick and the faulty mooring at Bloody Mary’s

Bora Bora Church

Sunset

Friends on Bora Bora

Bora Bora

Bora Bora Fish Seller

Bora Bora

Bora Bora

Jim is Stylin’

Intention at Anchor

Sent: Saturday, October 01, 2005 10:33 AM

In Raiatea

Jim

Jim

Jim in Hospital before operation

Riaitea’s sacred Marae
Over 3,000 skulls and skeletons found in side. Many over 8 feet tall

Different view of Riaitea’s sacred Marae

Jack on fleetwood starting up the river

Polynesian Navigators sacred marae

Further up the river

Jim and John at the end of the river

Bathing pool on the river

View of mountain up the river

Our Guide through the Botanical Garden Tour

Bird of Paridise flower and our guide

Jack and John & I being towed back down the river by our guide

The bay from the mouth of the river

Sunset the mouth of the bay

Sunset the mouth of the bay

Looking toward the mouth of the river from our anchorage

Sent: Saturday, October 01, 2005 10:33 AM

Maupiti

View of the Treacherous Maupiti Pass

Maupiti Sunset

Ui and Johm working on the swinging patio lounge

Close-up of Treacherous Maupiti Pass

Intention anchored off the Quai under the mountain

Ui taking us out to the Motu

View from the motu to Maupiti

Maupiti Island

Arrival in Nuie

Sept. 29th – Arrival in Nuie

Nuie is an elevated coral outcropping perched on top of a seamount
rising from very deep water. Its 100 square miles makes it the largest
coral island in the world. We arrived just after noon in exactly 4 days
for the 570 miles traveled and picked up a free mooring just off the
main city of Alofi. After handling Customs and Immigration procedures we
celebrated with milk shakes and nochos at a local restaurant and fresh
water showers. Here the local time shifted another hour and we
attempted, but didn’t get far, to explore the 2 block long town as
stores began to close so we will continue today.
It rained all day today so we spent most of our time at the the internet
cafe . Nuie caters to the cruising boats so much they asked our
permission if a French Navy vessel could moor here tonight. Also they
have an interesting procedure when going ashore you use a crane to hoist
your dingy and outboard up on the sea wall so the serge does not damage
them. It works very well and could be easily done in other places. If
the weather is OK we will all rent bicycles and ride around the Island.
Love
Jim

Sept 23rd & 24th -

Sept. 23rd – Aitutaki

We’re still anchored in an open roadstead out side the reef of Aitutaki,
the Cooks Islands. Great friendly people and they all speak English so
communication is much easier than my broken French. Brimman and I are
renting motorcycles today to tour the the island. We have checked out of
the Cooks and Saturday we will probably leave for Nuie 470 NM due west.
Yesterday was a very successful day as after many conversations by phone
with Rick at BALMAR I was able to fix the engine charging system. After
doing many tests it seemed to be burnt out Diodes but during the
disassembly of the alternator it turned out to be a wire from one of the
brushes that had come unsoldered from its connection. For the pass 7
days we had been relying on the only the solar panels for supplying our
electrical needs and recharging our batteries. The last two days of our
passage it required our using our windvane to steer the boat as the
autopilot required too much electricity. We celebrated our sucess by
watching two DVD movies last night loaned to us from some other cruisers
in the anchorage.

Sept 24th – Impressions of the Cooks Islands and their people

We departed for Nuie this afternoon flying a spinnaker almost dead
downwind heading due west at 4.5 to 5.5 Knots.
Yesterday was full of exploration for Brimman and I on our motorcycles.
We traveled to the highest peak on the island 124 Meters or about 400
feet. The final part required a hike to the top. Brimman left his mark
by scratching his name on a rock at the peak and me leaving my mark by
laying the bike on its side and scratching my right arm and leg and
leaving some of my blood on the rocks on the way down. After exploring
narrow bumpy forest roads we separated. I managed to find two Maraes
hidden in the island’s jungles and Brimmann managed to find and hangout
with a beautiful Australian girl on the beach for three hours.
The island’s population is about two thousand and decreasing as people
are moving to New Zealand for more opportunity. Maybe it is different if
you were born, raised, and have lived here all your life but many of
these people do not see the exceptional life they have here on this
small 30 mile long island.
The landscape is green forests and jungles fringed with mostly white
sand beaches with aqua green lagoons all surrounded with waves crashing
on coral reefs and is extraordinarily beautiful. Ho hum, just another
outrageous island in the Pacific. But it isn’t that way. Each one is
different, unique. Has its own character.

Love
Jim

Sept. 20 – Arrived Aitutki, Cooks Islands

Arrived in Aitutki after a three and a quarter day passage of 450 NM.
Met lots of wonderful friendly people, Explored the main city by the
harbor which is too shallow for us to enter so we’re anchored in a very
rollie open roadstead. Going to take on water & some fresh provisions as
well as go to a buffet with island dancing tomorrow. It’s nice to have
everyone speak English as it is a New Zealand protectorate. Lots of very
long white sand beaches.
The alternator stopped charging the batteries the second night of the
passage so I want to thank the people who got them for me as we are
getting by so far on what out solar panels are putting out and
conserving every amp/hour possible.

Love
Jim

Sept. 6th through 18th

Sept. 6th – New crew arrived today, Brimman

My new crew,Brimman, is from 15 years earlier when we cruised out here
with his family on their 50 foot aluminum boat. He was 5 years old at
the time and is 20 now. A great guy and a great crew.
Brimman arrived two hours late by inter island steam ship. We hitchhiked
back to town and Intention to get him settled aboard. After Brimman got
here we all went to the Gardarmes to get him added to the crew list and
they said don’t bother. So we tried to follow the rules all to no avail.
If I’d have known that I’d stayed in Maupiti and let him take the Mopeti
Express to join us. But our provisioning at the grocery store would not
have been as thorough and extensive especially regarding fresh fruits
and vegetables.

We did have a little mishap today. An unattended 47′ Moorings Catamaran
broke free from its Mooring in front of Bloody Mary’s Restaurant Dock
where we were taking on water. We saw her coming but could not keep her
from T-boning us on the port side just aft of the gate. It did serious
damage to the cap rail teak and badly bent the stainless steel rail. The
side of the solar panels maybe damaged. I’ll find out tomorrow.
I want to commend my crew for doing a great job of saving the big
catamaran from drifting stern first down on some rocks and a coral reef
which would have caused serious damage to her rudders and hulls.

Well It’ been an eventful day and everyone else has crashed so I’ll sign
off for now.
Love
Jim

Sept 8th – Maupiti again

We took a big pot of chicken curry and a pot of rice to a catamaran for
a pot luck with 3 other boats last night. It was a great success and we
all had a wonderful time eating, drinking, and visiting with other
cruisers. Brimman went out snorkeling at the motu across from the Bora
Bora Hotel with a couple from one of the other boats that afternoon
while John and I were at Bloody Mary’s talking on the phone with
Moorings.
This morning we started early and came through the Mautipi Pass easily
around noon with Brimman up in the spreaders watching for coral heads
and shallows. I wanted Brimman to be able to have a unique experience
like Maupiti.

Sept 12th – Continuing Adventures

Brimman hiked to the top of the mountain with some locals and got some
great pictures of an extraordinary panorama of the island. Upon
descending he met another local and was invited out to a motu (island)
to drink beer and eat many helpings of dog. He now claims it is one of
his favorite dishes. While eating dog the mosquitoes got revenge by
eating him.
I’ve been writing lots of emails back and forth to Moorings and Rick at
Bloody Mary’s and the charterer, Ward. So far no response, Moorings says
its insurance doesn’t cover my boat unless the damage is over $25,000,
the charterer says it was Bloody Mary’s mooring that let go, and Rick at
Bloody Mary’s says I don’t charge for the moorings so you take them at
your own risk. So there you have it. How’s that for an adventure? I
guess it’s just the price of being in paradise in French Polynesia. I’m
in their country and I play by their rules.

Sept. 14th – Activities and Trapped in Maupiti

Brimman has been playing lots of chess with the locals and winning most
of the time. They feed him corned beef and breadfruit between games. For
exercise he’d swim to and from the anchored our boat and doing two hour
secessions of Kung Fu some times with an audience of 20 or more.

John and I have been keeping ourselves busy by continuing to help our
friend, Ui, construct a hanging out door bed for his pretty German
neighbor lady, Sylvie who wanted John to stay and be her companion.

We are trapped by high winds and seas the Maupiti Pass and High water
from Antarctica. The locals say it is not a good time to leave. We are
having so much fun and I think maybe they just don’t want to see us
leave.

Sept. 18 – Escape from Maupiti

I been doing most of my emailing to Moorings regarding the accident.
It’s been a very frustrating interaction.
Speaking of frustrating we just escaped from Maupiti after being trapped
for a week by the unacceptable conditions at the island’s only pass in
or out. It’s a wonderful unique experience to go into those little out
of the way islands and I learned a good lesson. You can’t always get
back out when you want. The good news is that we did an over 7 knot
average on the log for the first 24 hours run and just 163.1 NM point to
point on the GPS.

Well that about catches you up
Love
Jim, John, and Brimman