January 2010

Hello everyone,

Thank you everybody for all the New Year greetings you have sent us for 2010; one of the most symbolic message has been for me the one sent by a couple of sailing pals, whom I met for the first time... 33 years ago! A that time, Maurice and Evelyne used to cruise through the Caribbean on board a Queen Mary lifeboat that they had bought for a few dozen dollars, and that they has turned into a comfortable sailing home. We had celebrated together the New Year 1977 in the Grenadines, and Maurice had picked up from the bottom of the bay, straight under his boat, enough sea urchins to cook a delicious blaff d'oursins. Since them, I met them again in the Comoro islands, in Paris when returning from various regions of the World; their present sailboat, Feng Shui, has taken them this year to the glaciers of Alaska. One third of a century! I wish the same longevity to each one of you, in all domains, the realm of travel, life, artistic passion, fighting for any cause you have chosen (in the environmental field for instance), or in the field of Love.

For Francette and I, the year 2010 begins in one of the most beautiful anchoring spots in the World, and very strange as well: at 23 degrees south, shores are still bordered with palm trees. But the mountains that tower over them are, strangely enough in this island of Taravai, in the Gambier archipelago of French Polynesia, covered with magnificent fir trees, which I have watched relentlessly grow for the 7 years since I have returned to the Pacific on board Banana Split. We take advantage of the cool hours of the morning or the evening to lively climb these modest mountains, always fascinated by the breathtaking contrast between tropical seashore and alpine summits: last night, a blinding full moon suddenly appeared behind a line of summits silhouetted in pine trees; it suddenly looked as if were Transylvania, and a sharp toothed vampire was going to emerge...

I send you a few pictures of our return on board (after two very busy months in Europe, where I appeared in a surprisingly high number of TV programs): A sunset over one of the islands in the archipelago, a few gifts from nature: an enormous, spectacular Hibiscus flower; fruit and vegetables cultivated in their garden by a couple of friendly Mangarevians in Angakai Uta (we plan to spend New Year's day with them and a few sailing friends); a young growth of coral bravely attempting to grow despite a very invasive seaweed called turbinaria ; and then, to show you that not everything is rosy pink in life, you will certainly appreciate a photograph of my starter motor, burnt to pieces by a violent short-circuit : that means many hours of work with hands deep down in grease. But, as an American friend of mine used to say " Why do we do that? " "Because we Love it!"
To you too, I wish a year Two Thousand and Ten full of events, things and people that you Love!