July 2011 2011

Hello everyone,

Hello everybody,
Just a few words about a quiet stay in the Tuamotu archipelago, where we enjoy the beauty that surrounds us, the peace, but also a few pleasant meetings: an old friend, Maurice, and his wife Evelyne, on board Feng Shui. We had met them in the Caribbean in? 1976, on board Taravana, one of the Queen Mary?s lifeboats, which he had bought for about 100 dollars, and which he had turned into a simple and seaworthy boat. In 35 years, they have owned three boats, and are sailing for the third time around the world; their children have grown up, (one of them is presently nearing the Marquesas on board his own sailboat). What a pleasure to meet again in our favorite spots people who have remained faithful to a life comparable to ours !

From time to time, we leave our peaceful anchorages to go to stock up in Makemo or Fakarava atolls, where we also enjoy an Internet connection that?s fast enough to exchange with Fanchon, our publisher at Gallimard?s, texts, photographs and pages of our next book, dedicated to animals. Another project also passions us: an application for Ipads, Iphones, and hopefully also for other tablets, smartphones and PCs, which includes close to 250 excerpts of our videos, accessible by navigating a beautiful map of the World.

In Fakarava, a few other meetings : a local ?paumotu ? family who have come to salute me and offer me flower leis on the quay; my friend Jacques Lainé and his wife arriving from Tahiti on his sailboat Extrapôles : while sailing around Moorea, they have met with my previous sailboat, Voyage; after 23 years of good service, it has been sold by its owner Jean Smith, and it?s leaving for new adventures.
The main village of Fakarava is really beautiful, we crisscross it on bicycles, between the quay, the little ?Marama? guesthouse, the small bakery, and the shop of the girl who sells fruits and vegetables; on our way, we say hello to the local equivalent of ?gendarmes?, the ( town policemen and women).

In two days, we?ll embark for a few days my son Teiki and his girlfriend to give them a glimpse of a few of our favorite atolls.
We give you all a big hug, and wish you wonderful summer holidays.
Antoine