Scurvy the Duffus

Once one climbs to the searing top of mount Duff he can rightfully claim the title of duffus. I shall now be called Scurvy the Duffus!

Monday morning after a night of squalls, thunder, and wind gusts, Capt'n Fraingck lifted up anchor and headed out. We sailed under Mount Duff and lined up for the north pass. But he chickened out and sailed into a little bay on Taravai north shore. There we spent the most uncomfortable night rolling like pigs in the mud.

On Tuesday Capt'n Fraingck lifted anchor and takes the boat further west zig-zaging between reefs like he knew where he is going. Well, I have to admit the night was not too rolly. The rain kept falling in sheets, in blankets, out of fire hoses, squirting thru the vents on to my bed.

Wednesday morning Capt'n Fraingck lifted anchor again and back tracked to the other side of Taravai. The entrance wasn't well marked. The map said it was too shallow, but Capt'n Fraingck heads strait for the reef. Big badaboum boum boum, we were inside the bay, and we were not going out of this one in a long time. It was high tide, on a gibbous moon, three days from the solstice. I was sure we'd be there till Christmas. We went ashore there were tons of coconuts , bread fruit, bananas and cassava. For the avocados and leachies we'd have to wait for Christmas.

Days passed slowly on Taravai, rain preceded more rain, and again rain, which is all good for the coconut trees. Every trip ashore I brought back a coconut.

Saturday Captain Fraingck lifted anchor and escaped from the reef of Taravai without a bump! Unbelievable, paradise lost! No avocados or leachies for Christmas! I know it's not a pretty sight when rats cry, my bedding will never dry at this rate.

As I type this email Mount Duff has sunk under the horizon and we are heading into an apocalyptic sunset. Echos of a rat's wails sail across the water.

-Scurvy-

Climbing to New Heights

I love backpacks! There are delicious tidbidts and crumbs floating around the bottom, you bounce gently along for awhile, then emerge for some amazing views. The other day, I saw Fraingck filling the backpack with water and snacks, so I hopped in for the ride, but this time when I peaked out, there was no ground beneath me. I think we were on top of the world - a bottomless world - blue above and blue below. And then I saw Silver Lining - a speck in the blue lagoon, and vertigo set in, my knees were a knocking to the rhythm of the tamure drums echoing up from the valley. To make matters worse, birds were flying upside down below us. This is a topsy turvey world riki tiki tea.

On our way home, we came across a hermit crab, climbing, I told him he should trade his shell in for a backpack, but he ignored me and kept climbing. He didn't need smart-aleck advice from a tourist rat. When the rain came down I realized he was looking for higher ground. Still a back pack can get pretty high if you pick the right pack animal. We got soaked alright even in the backpack. And this rain isn't Marquesian jacuzzi temperature, this rain comes straight from the winter slopes of the New Zealand ski resorts. No pineapple express, but a kiwi express. Hand over the sheepskin coat!

-Scurvy Rat

Surviving a Near Death Experience

When you think you have seen the worst of the sea... think again. The sea is unlimited in it's size, depth, appearances and motions. Who invented the phrase, "The rhythm of the sea." I'll barf in his shoes any day.

"Le mal de mer" is the most horrible condition. You wish you'd die from it!

Ohhh, I so wanted to die, quickly please! But no, I had to live with it like a zombie hurling every last bit of those coconuts. Disconnected, my brain slushed painfully in my skull, leaving me unable to move even a paw to wipe my nose. Living for hours with my tongue out, waiting in pain for my entrails to be expelled from my body. Convulsions sent blood rushing to my head leaving blood shot eyes as the blood-flow retreated. I moaned after each cramp. In its rush to get out first, my posterior (edited) fought other organs unknown to me before that day! "Ohhh please get the h_ _ _ out and let me die!"

In a near coma I laid in the trash can waiting for five days for somebody to dump the trash over-board. No-one was cleaning-up on this rig when the weather was rough. Five days later things calmed down. I was finally able to extract my self from my bath of rancid coconut puke and climb up on deck. We had entered the most magnificent lagoon with colors that made Amanu's pale in comparison. Crowned by a rainbow, I washed off the slime from my black coat. The cool rain dripping from the fisherman sail on my head rejuvenated my wits. At last I was Scurvy again.

-Scurvy-

The Willbury Twist

No doubt - Captn Fraingck is whacko.
Yesterday afternoon he puts out a second anchor. I thought for sure we would stay another couple weeks. This morning after his coffee and SSB radio routine, he puts the Travelin' Willberries full tilt "hop a round the room in your underwear" and pulls up the dinghy.

"fall on your ass, get back up"

What about me and Logan taking off for a week on the motu?

"put your teeth in a glass"

One anchor two anchors and go.

"Come on lets dance the willberry twist"

Now he sends the jib and the staysail flying.

"there ain't nothing quite like this it's the willberry twist"

Doesn't he know this lagoon is peppered with coral heads.

-Hey Mo look at the Google is their any thing ahead?
-a head to port
-Can't see it, Ho yes here it goes by!
-How can you see anything in this rain?

On and on for two hours and then the pass - much calmer this time. All the kids from the village are here waving good by. The night has come we are sailing with the southern cross to starboard and the Scorpio is going to be run over if he doesn't get the Fraingck-out.

-Scurvy

Motu Logan

The other day Logan packed a bag of stuff like he was going to survive in the wild, and I figured he was going to go to another motu, so I tagged along for the coconuts.
Scurvy Visits Motu Logan

When we got there he started to clear out some of the low hanging fronds while I scurried up the nearest coconut tree to watch the show. After awhile Logan stopped and watched as a bunch of large hermit crabs started lumbering out from under an old frond. He looked across to see the same thing happening to the fronds around us, he looked creeped-out by this but you won't see me get scared by a couple of crustations.

Just as Logan was finishing putting up the hammock the rest of the crew came to check out our motu and then they left. Then we went to get some snails to eat but there were a lot of sharks on the reef so we decided to try to spear something instead. That was when I saw a grouper,I decided that this was my time,this was my opportunity to show Logan that I was good for something other than eating coconuts. I bypassed my urge to stay out of the water and leaped in,the fight was short but tough, I got out of the water with the fish in my jaws. I shook myself off and received Logan's compliments with pleasure. Logan tried catching an octopus but it was obviously more clever than him. I offered to go and get it but he said it could easily pin me under water. It just goes to show you how ignorant HE is.

When we got back Logan tried to start a fire to dry me off and cook the fish but our flint wasn't working so Logan called Captn Fraingck on the hand held radio. Captn Fraingck came with a lighter but it was out of fuel so Captn Fraingck dipped this stringy bark stuff in gasoline from the outboard and tried to light it with that but it wasn't working until...FOOP! I haven't seen gasoline consumed at that rate since I hitched a ride to downtown L.A. on the tail pipe of a Hummer but that's another story.

After dinner I went to my coconut tree and Logan went to his hammock to sleep. A couple hours later I woke up to the thump of a fallen coconut and scurried down my tree in anticipation, when I found my loot I chewed a hole in it and drank the contents. It tasted a bit odd but I'm not one to complain. After that I squeezed inside it and ate the meat. When I was done I poked my head out and saw that the hermit crabs were coming tentatively forward so I decided to high-tail it out of there, but when I tried to get further than my front legs I found I couldn't...that's right I ate so much I could not get past my bloated gut. So I rolled the coconut hole-down and went to sleep.

The first thing I heard the next morning was Logan playing his ukelele. I had a bad hangover,I wondered why. When I tried to get out of my coconut I found I was still stuck. I also found the reason for my illness,the coconut I had was old and fermented. As it hit me, I looked up to see Logan raise a nice green coconut to his lips, it was too much for me and I hurled. Now that most of my insides had left me, I found that I could get out and I crawled next to him as he jovially played his instrument.

"How can you play that thing so happily after such a bad night?",I asked.
He looked at the island before responding,"Sometimes it's good to know you're still alive".

Captn Fraingck came a little bit later and invited us for crepes. We haven't been back to Motu Logan since.

-Scurvy-

EIGHTY-TWO HOURS IN HELL!

I met some very nice rats in the ruins of the valley of Hatiheu. They told me of the ancient time, when there was plenty of leftovers to go around. Those rats stayed on their sacred ground longing for the old days. There are still mangoes, bread-fruits and coconuts enough for all, but they hadn't had a pig roast in a long time. There are still a few human bones to chew - but the flesh is long gone.

BEH BEH BEH!!!!!! Those goats drove me nuts all day from morning to night they BEHHHH. In the evening they climbed a rock spire so they could sleep closest to the statue of the Virgin Mary. Scaredy goats! Then we pulled up anchor for:

EIGHTY TWO HOURS IN HELL!

Or was it purgatory? Slam-Bam Slam bam bam slam bam slam slam bam etcetera...540 nautical miles of it! Can't they slow that boat down a bit? But then we sailed in the lee of this magnificent island; white sandy beaches forever, and coconut trees forever – no mountains, no goats. You can sail around and around 'cause the island is all round. Then we got into an inner lagoon thru a furious pass with currents raging creating whirlpools and rapids. Some kids ashore laughed, waved and shouted at us, "Goodbye! you're being flushed down a giant toilet you turds!" Well I don’t actually speak Puamotu, but I’d bet money that’s what they were saying.

We survived thanks to Capt'n Fraingck's skills. Margo says it was dumb luck. After anchoring south of the village, it was a bumpy night. The wind kept blowing squall after squall on us. In the morning we left our little piece of protective reef for the other side of the lagoon where a giant reef provided better protection. I was the first ashore and I stuffed myself with delicious coconuts, but there are some serious holes under those coconut trees. I'm not sure what mined such caverns - anyway, I won't be here at night to find out who the diggers are.

Good bye from a little rat in paradise.

~Scurvy~