ShyDavid at Saint Bartholomew's (Saint Barth's). This picture was taken hundreds and hundreds of years ago, as I still had some black hair, and I wasn't as fat. Goddess, it is no fun getting old! We anchored well out of the bay, safe from harm's way and an easy exit. Ron and I stole a wooden pallet here, to chop up for firewood. Shame on us! I should go there again just to return it.

Captain Ron in a tree, where he belongs. This was at the Tonga Tapu's Nukalofa airport. We waited a long time here, waiting for the aircraft's wheel to be hammered back on--- and I'm not kidding! The mechanic pushed the plane behind a house and took a hammer to the axle, then hammered on the wheel, then pushed it back onto the runway--- hoping no one would go see what he was up to (I did). We took off and landed okay.

Cafe' wall at Saint Barth's. Food was expensive, and I didn't speak the language (French). A woman in a store there asked me, in French, how much an object was, but I just looked stupid and smiled back. Two young women (okay, teen-aged girls) on a moped talked with me here. The girls are friendly; the women are not (and for good reason).

So what happens when one puts three VERY LARGE people into a dinghy, climbs in after them, and motors cautiously to shore while water now and then laps over the gunnel... and then someone STANDS UP? The dinghy goes ass-up (see the prop in the air?). Shoes floated away, cameras went to Davy Jones, eye-glasses vanished. Ooops. The large guy who stood up and caused the mess is a medical doctor--- seemingly well-educated.

ShyDavid taking a lunar sighting, upper limb. I lost this hat at Cabo San Lucas, after drinking some tequila and lusting after a lithe, taut, young woman (er, girl actually) who dances there. The hat just sort of vanished, and I didn't miss it until the next day. I was heart-broken!

Tongan woman shopping, aparently in a hurry. The woven mat around her skirt is to keep the dress clean when she sits down.

Captain Ron, eating a bean burrito. Simple hand-food is great. In Tonga Tapu, The Moorings (whom we chartered with) provisioned the boat so well, I ate better than I do at home. (This picture was actually taken in Southern California.)

Mara at the American Samoa air port, wasted from too much sun, too much work, and medication side-effects. The airplane trip to Tonga and back again is a long, tiring ordeal. Still, it beats rowing!

So. It's very hot and very humid, here in Tonga Tapu. No one wants to go below and fetch stuff out of the salon. So what does Captain Bill do? Goes in head-first, staying in the cockpit. Perfectly logical. But Toni grabbed her camera and took this photograph. It's his best profile, after all.

Mara and Toni. Captain Bill had the hots for Toni (the lass on the right), but then so did I. I nearly fell overboard when she (belatedly) strutted around in a bikini. Mara (in the Ireland shirt) is pictured here with bruises and scrapes--- life aboard a sailing vessel. I tried to see Toni after the cruise, but she wouldn't have anything to do with me. That happens every time. Otch.

The three vessels we chartered from The Moorings in Tonga. The smaller one is an Endeavor 36; the two larger ones are Moorings 44s. The former had more character, but the latter had much more room. The Moorings did an excellent job prepairing the boats and provisioning them. We foolishly brought cardboard aboard, and the boat was lousy with bugs when we left it 8 or 9 days later.