Fun Solid Beating

You're scratching your head going "what on earth is she talking about?"  This post actually covers these 3 words as separate topics, but I'm in a weird mood this morning and thought I'd jumble it all up.

There are several instances of everyday sayings being derived from nautical terminology, "three sheets to the wind", "posh", "tie one on", etc.  But there's at least one time that I believe sailors borrowed from the general public.  When you sail upwind or worse, dead on-the-nose (whatever the direction the wind is coming from is the precise direction you need/want to go), sailors call it "beating".  I imagine a crew long ago got their hineys kicked in a bar brawl on the night before heading out to sea.  They were made to sail into the wind and as the ship bashed about into the waves one of them says, "Man, this feels just like the beating we took last night."  Tahiti is southeast of Raiatea.  Forecast:  30-35 kts of wind out of the southeast, 2.5-3 meter (7.5-9 feet) seas out of the south.  This, friends, made for a proper BEATING.  Thank god for two big engines though.  We're trying to make Tahiti during business hours on this Friday so that I can track down my shipment of Accutane.  I run out today.  And, though I'm 4th on the waiting list for a flight to the Marquesas tomorrow, I'm still going to go and sit at the airport and try and get on the flight.  But I can't do that unless i get my pills.  And if I can't get my pills, I have to get them Monday, but Air Tahiti tells me the next available flight isn't until Wednesday. 

I'm heading to the Marquesas to rejoin the <i>Spirit of Nyami Nyami</i> in an effort to try and have some FUN over here.  I think I may have mentioned this before.  Apologies if so.  I am simply not having a good time and haven't since making landfall.  We have gone from Rangiroa to Bora Bora to Raiatea, all quite populated busy islands.  With the exception of 2 delightful days with some Americans on a nearby boat, I've been in the company of French speaking people who generally do not feel compelled to try and include me in the conversation at all.  I've been choking on the prices of each and every little thing, and frustrated with not being able to get a SIM card so I can at least whine to my mom about it all.  Bora Bora, while beautiful, is an island full of pretty unhappy people with a lot of negative energy.  This is confirmed both by Jean, a former resident of 12 years and his friend Terry, a current resident.  It took me a couple of days just to get my mood to a more reasonable level after leaving there.  Raiatea was better, especially because we were at a dock and I had the freedom to come and go, and that's where I met my new American friends.  But I hear other cruisers talk of going to itty bitty islands and going spearfishing with the locals and trading for pearls and awesome scuba diving.......and I'm getting none of that, just the price tag of French Polynesia.  So I'm hoping <i>Nyami</i> will help me experience these islands as they should be experienced, and to have some fun. 

Whether it's the lack of fun, or the news of Bob's death, or the fact that I've accomplished my goal of crossing the Pacific, or just cosmic forces at work, I've been experiencing an increasing desire to go home.  I was thinking about it for a little while without saying anything.  Then I started mentioning it to a few people.  Now I've begun kicking around ideas for what going home would look like.  My friend Mota helped frame the feelings for me.  He said, "Jen, you seem to be ready for something SOLID.  Sailing around on other people's boats may be fun, but it is anything but solid."  I think "solid" in the cruising lifestyle means you're with a partner or family, or you have your own boat.  I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't hoping I'd find said partner out here and we'd sail off together into the sunset (oh comeon I had to say it).  But so far there doesn't seem to be any 35-45 single men singlehanding and looking for a lady out here.  And doing it on my own?  Well folks, I'm kinda lonely.  I've had an awful lot of alone time for the past year, in fact, about 11 months worth.  I miss my friends and family.  I miss my Godson who apparently only cries now when there's something actually wrong (or so his mother tells me).  I miss phone calls.  I miss hugs.

I got it into my head during one of my watches last night that if I can't get this plane to go back to Don's boat, that I'd just catch one to L.A. instead (then S.F.)  I don't know if that's what I'm going to do; that's pretty rash, even for me.  And I do believe I really should give fun a chance.  But home is calling, and it's getting louder and louder.