Sundowner (Taiohae, Nuku Hiva, Marquesas)

June 11, 2012

A long-standing tradition with cruisers is the sundowner – having a drink of some kind in the cockpit around sunset. Not only is sunset one of the prettiest times of the day, but it’s also a time when it’s cool enough to sit outside in the tropics without melting.

Cyndi brought a big case of Tecate and I thought she was being excessive with the beer supply. I was wrong, she was right. It turns out a Tecate with lime is a perfect drink for the tropics. You know how some foods or drinks just work or fail to work in some environments? Beer works. Now, as our supply runs low, we’re faced with the $3 per can price in the local stores. Ouch. Oh well, wine works and rum works and we still have lots left.

As we sleep and rise with the sun, we also find ourselves practicing the sun-upper in the cockpit but with coffee. (The coffee supply is also in jeopardy but it seems to be plentiful and not outrageously expensive in the local stores.) During this morning’s sun-upper, I heard what sounded to me like a gunshot. To Cyndi it sounded like a splash. She looked just in time to see a big shark thrash in the water behind us. Seconds later I saw the six-foot tall dorsal fin sticking out of the water and cruising along like a movie shark. (Rich, I think that’s six inches – not feet. Sorry, he has a tendency towards exaggeration. -Cyndi) We watched the shark fin cruise around the bay for a while. This is not a bay for swimming as there’s supposed to be quite a large shark population including hammer heads. We need to put a new zinc on our prop shaft but I think it can wait for clearer water and fewer teeth.   -Rich

Liked it? Take a second to support TwoAtSea on Patreon!
Become a patron at Patreon!