Farewell, French Polynesia! News from On Board

Farewell, French Polynesia! News from on board. We are into our third day on the open ocean. The weather is favourable for doing chores aboard: the swell is slight, and the rain has taken a time-out. Lady Mary is heading towards the horizon at 3–4 nautical miles per hour. The day before yesterday, the most beautiful lagoon in the world—the island of Bora Bora—fell astern. At first, the wind was reluctant to drive us away from the paradise islands, as if asking, “Guys, are you sure you’ve decided to leave?” “Of course,” we say. “We’ve already been plying our trade here without visas for 11 days; time to know when we’ve outstayed our welcome.” The wind spluttered a little longer and finally began to blow. On board, we have a reading room and a games room. Our young sailor has learned secret operations with two-digit numbers: she multiplies all of them by 11, and also squares the ones ending in 5. Dad-the-captain-Pythagoras taught her. When she gets tired of numbers, she either pesters Nastya and me or plays chess, the only computer game we have. And she is already beating the level-one chess robot. Today she was testing who was smarter, the robot or Mum. Mum can still checkmate our young sailor, but has to play almost at full strength. Another month or two, and our grandmaster will overtake me. ..,, .. ,, ,, .., ..,,.. ..,, .. ,, ,, .., ..,,.. ..,, .. ,, ,, .., ..,,.. ..,, .. ,, ,, .., ..,,.. ..,, .. ,, ,, .., ..,,.. ..,, .. ,, ,, .., .., ,.. ..,, .. ,, ,, .., ..,,.. ..,, .. ,, ,, .., ..,,.. ..,, .. ,, ,, .., ..,,.. ..,, .. ,, ,, .., ..,,.. ..,, .. ,, ,, .., ..,,.. ..,, .. ,, ,, .., ..,, .. The weather allows us to inspect the holds, finish repairs that were never completed, and sort through our things. An excellent time for housekeeping. At anchor, you always want to be doing something else; it seems a shame to waste time tidying, mending, and repairing. We have finally got the hang of the new pressure cooker and are making borscht with minimal gas consumption. We got our sea legs somehow automatically; no one suffered a hangover from the sea. But something tells us this weather will not last forever. The captain accomplished something major today: he repaired the central heating, which had not worked for about three years. You never know what might come in handy around the boat ). The heat is still getting to us, though at least the wind has shifted from light and following to light and just forward of the beam. On this point of sail, we get a little breeze and the sails do not slat. Only one ship crossed our course. But it was enormous, and its lights shone very, very close in the night, broadside on. The port navigation light is red, the starboard one green. During the day, an inquisitive booby with a bluish bill and raspberry-coloured feet flew over and goggled at us: “Oh, and who are you? What are you doing out here?” And then it was gone. Not another soul: the whales and dolphins have all scattered every which way. The crew are in fighting spirits, the sea is blue, and the depth is 4 km. Unlike yesterday’s, today’s sunset is winking orange and scarlet. A huge moon hangs over the stern. A full moon is the time for making decisions :). We have covered about 200 miles in two days. ..,, .. ,, ,, .., ..,,.. ..,, .. ,, ,, .., ..,,.. ..,, .. ,, ,, .., ..,,.. ..,, .. ,, ,, .., ..,,.. ..,, .. ,, ,, .., ..,,.. ..,, .. ,, ,, .., .., ,.. ..,, .. ,, ,, .., ..,,.. ..,, .. ,, ,, .., ..,,.. ..,, .. ,, ,, .., ..,,.. ..,, .. ,, ,, .., ..,,.. ..,, .. ,, ,, .., ..,,.. ..,, .. ,, ,, .., ..,, .. Friends, tell us honestly: how many of you does the phrase The Children of Captain Grant mean much to? We have an unexpected request for you, so that all of us can be in on it together. If you have not read Jules Verne’s book, please do. And if you really cannot be bothered to read, watch the wonderful multi-part film In Search of Captain Grant. There is a good chance Nastya’s birthday will happen on the open sea. It would be a lovely present for her if you and all of us were in on it together. You have 10–12 days to read the book or watch the film as a family. We really mean it. Shall we? Happy discoveries, everyone!