Get Lost On Purpose

Author: Margie

  • Okay…now we can believe it!

    It's official...Shortbus has returned!!!

    cleaning our "new" gas can we purchased Fillin' her up well i be damned.... Drew thinks it might even run a little better than it did before it floated off! looks pretty darn good for 2 weeks at sea under water! son of the fisherman who found it is a mechanic so he cleaned it up nice!

  • Luck be a Lady…

    You couldn’t wipe the grins off of our faces right now if you tried. We just heard s/v Gillaroo is turning the corner into the harbor here in Neiafu and as far as we know Shortbus is on there somewhere! It’s a believe it when we see it (and hear the outboard rev up) kind of deal but it’s here nonetheless. Drew’s dad posted on our Facebook fan page yesterday that if only the dinghy could talk what a great story she would have to tell, huh!? Drew and I…we are some lucky, lucky folks!

    It didn’t take news of our dinghy finding it’s way back to us to make me realize that I’m a pretty lucky gal. I’d be a blind, deaf, dumb dumb not to know that I have it good. On a daily basis I’m experiencing and learning things I never thought possible. Drew came back to the boat the other day after his close encounter swimming with the whales as excited as an eight year old boy at Christmas. A little bummed I had already gotten out of the water…well of course. Seven months on a boat together and aside from better women’s restrooms, no experience out here is completely complete if Drew’s not right there next to me. A day or two later it was like the whales were tuned into my disappointment so they decided to throw me a bone. Heading out the pass in their dinghy with Tom & Monique from Zen, we were gearing up to set anchor to do some reef fishing and snorkeling. Drew and Tom (twins separated at birth I swear it), being the eager beavers they are, were already paddling away looking for their first “victim” of the day. Monique and myself, well we barely had our fins on. Cheers to our slowness because out of nowhere a short distance away a mother whale breached almost completely out of the water. Our view…its only equivalent would be seats on the 50 yard line, about 40 rows up, to watch either my Dawgs vying for a National Championship or Tom Brady playing in the Super Bowl. Oh my gosh…don’t ever make me choose…
    Drew spear fishing the reef in Tonga Marge snorkeling the reef in Tonga

    Anyway, my fear of whether or not there were hungry reef or tiger sharks below waiting to take a bite out of my wet suit covered tush quickly subsided and I was overboard. While we never were able to catch site of the whales in the water their presence was definitely known via sound. High shrills could have only been the calf saying “mom, look at me,” as s/he flipped and splashed around. Deep, rumbling I could literally feel in my chest must have been the mother saying “dear, stay where I can see you please.” I mean, mother instinct is mother instinct, right? Whale or not? Call it what you will, it was astounding. It is those memories that I have to tuck away somewhere deep and carry with me forever. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again that prior to my time here on the water, I would have responded to the idea of swimming with whales like, “Nice, that must be pretty cool,” but never would have really taken time to grasp the concept. Out here, when you’ve traveled hundreds of miles on the open water without seeing land for six days, it’s only then that you grasp just how MASSIVE its waters are.  Then, to see something that can look THAT big in something you already know is so huge, it’s mind blowing. It is something I wish I could share with every single person that I know and love. There are literally times where tears spring to my eyes consisting of a 50/50 mix of happiness and longing to be surrounded by f & f.
    Anchorage #30 in Tonga

    The two month countdown to our trip home for the holidays began on the 24th of this month. I told someone the other day that I am trying so hard not to rush through these two months. Trying very hard. I know the time out here in precious and will be very longed for in the future.

    For the time being I’ll continue to relish in the families we are surrounded by…the cruisers, the villages, even the whales. We are beginning to talk more and more about setting our pace for the long haul to New Zealand. Slowly, but inevitably surely, cruisers are beginning to make their way south. We’re not far behind. Our search for departure times will begin in a few weeks, mid Octoberish. Stay tuned!

  • Update from the 2009 Regatta Vava’u Cornhole Champs : )

    The passport prizes have been rewarded, the free internet available during the regatta is long gone, and the harbor here in Vava’u is slowly beginning to empty. This morning we said farewell and wished safe seas to our dear friends, Geoff & Julie, on s/v Flashback. I knew it was going to be hard to say adios to them but it was especially hard to hug Julie goodbye. For me, having Julie around was like having one of my greatest friends, Courtney, right here by my side. Their advice, their ability to listen, and this incredible sarcasm that they both possess is like one in the same and I have told Julie so many, many times. I will greatly miss talking, laughing, sharing glasses of wine, and just being girly for a bit with her. They’re both just amazing, amazing people and whether it be New Zealand to ring in the New Year or another year further down the road, I know we will see them again and I am already looking forward to that reunion…
    Jules' favorite pic of us : ) Geoff, Drew, and Richard at Monique's Bday bash Jules and Marge
    For those of you who have not heard the news yet, by the grace of the sea gods watching over us, our dinghy has been found! A local fisherman found our beloved water craft off the coast of Niue, an island we had sailed away from just a few days before. The dinghy was upside down and we assume it flipped over the reef leaving Beveridge, making the entire journey to Niue’s coast with the outboard underwater. For roughly 15 days it traveled approximately 140 miles and luckily for us, right into the hands of a very honest, local fisherman. (added by Drew…here he is! The hero! His name is Ape (pronounced Ah Pay) and he is from the village of Vaiea on Niue.)
    tender2 tender1
    Once turned over to the Niue police, our dinghy was impounded and placed in its own jail cell. Literally locked up for misbehavior. The good news reached us via Marc & Jane, s/v Imagine, who heard about the dinghy while they themselves were in Niue. Drew and I have learned in our time here on the water not to ever get your hopes up about anything so until we made contact with the commodore of the Yacht Club in Niue and exchanged serial numbers, we weren’t believing it. Low and behold, turns out it was ours, in good shape, and the local fisherman was even able to get the outboard engine up and running again! A reward was sent via Western Union here in Tonga, obviously to be handed over to the guy who found the dinghy, and a ceremony took place to officially release the dinghy from the Niue Police Department into the care of the Yacht Club. Drew and I have bailed out the dinghy before but we’ve never had to bail it out in this way! Now we sit and wait in hopes that a sailing vessel will come through Niue large enough to throw our dinghy up on board and bring it the 250 miles to us here in Tonga. Jokes were even made that they could throw it off the wharf in Niue and it’d find it’s way back to us here and of course now we can laugh at that. Need be, we’ll return to pick it up but chances are in our favor that someone will be able to bring it with them. Drew and I would like to extend our sincerest thanks and gratitude to the fisherman, the Niue police, the “Imaginary” family, and especially Keith Vial, the commodore of the Yacht Club who spent a lot of time going back and forth with us via email to get this all straightened out. We cannot begin to tell you the relief you have brought us and we are so incredibly appreciative!

    So for now Drew and I will sit patiently in Tonga awaiting news that the dinghy is on its way. As I write I sit and watch as Drew slowly picks through cabinets and cubby holes taking pictures of all that will be sold both separately and with the boat. I have to admit his last post about the boat going on the market drew mixed feelings for me. As I read it for the first time, alongside all of you, it brought tears to my eyes. There has never been a single moment in our relationship, even when we weren’t living aboard, that I was unaware of Drew’s love and passion for this particular vessel. I will never be able to comprehend the amount of time and energy that went into making her what she is. I do, however, live in the results of his labor and can physically see the details of the love that went into each inch of Dosia. In even my most frustrated moments aboard, I try so hard to think about the future, when I’m sitting behind a desk or on a couch, and would trade anything for my butt to be on a beach instead, and do all I can to use that as a reminder to live in this moment, relish in it, and take all from it that I possibly can. As the final months of our trip begin to unfold, I am torn on how I feel about the journey coming to an end. I know that Drew and I have an incredible life with great adventures ahead of us and I definitely see another boat, more islands, and more sunsets in our future. Something tells me Drew’s going to make sure of that!

  • Regatta Vava’u 2009

    my first nephew, Reo Wesley Kopp
    This past Tuesday, September 1st, for the first time my brother became a daddy, my parents became grandparents, my other two brothers became uncles, and my sister and I aunts for the first time! My oldest brother, Rhett, and his wife, Kellie, welcomed a beautiful, healthy little boy named Reo Wesley Kopp. I will have to vicariously relish in my role as Aunt Marge (even though I’m hoping to come up with something a bit cooler than that) via pics for the next two and a half months. I haven’t even met this little person yet and already my heart is flooded with love for him and I can barely look at pics without crying. As I get older and my siblings begin to have children, for the first time in my life I am able to understand what I’ve heard from so many all these years that there is nothing greater than one’s love for their child. If pictures tug at my heart like those I’ve seen of my nephew, I can only imagine, and greatly look forward to, the amazement, admiration, and love that must come from having one of my own. Drew’s looking at me like…hold up there missy. No worries honey I’m not saying it has to be now!

    The first annual Vava’u Regatta is in full force and even the rain hasn’t been able to dampen the spirits of all those involved. The committee who heads this event must be incredibly pleased with the turnout as almost every boat in the harbor is partaking in the festivities. Each boat involved received a “passport” and at the end of the regatta prizes will be awarded to those who have the most stamps. To get them you visit all the local businesses and of course, spending money there will get you a stamp worth more points and then there have been tons of events going on as well. There was the pub crawl, a Fun Day for the kids, the Governor’s Cup Race, a Full Moon Party, pot lucks on several of the outer anchorage beaches, and today….dun, dun, dunnnn….the cornhole tourny! I have to be honest with you. I have never attempted to play cornhole at 10 o’clock in the morning as my past experiences were always at UGA tailgates before football games. Seeing how Drew and I are two of the very few who even know what cornhole is here, a short description might be necessary for some of our readers. Cornhole is nothing more than a slanted piece of plywood with a hole in the middle and the goal of the game is to toss a beanbag through the hole from about twenty or so feet away. A dead ringer will score you the most points and anything other than that is judged based off of closeness. In my mind I know that this game has become nothing short of a phenomenon for fans of teams in the SEC because it another ploy to have an excuse to drink. Even on island time ten in the morning is a little early for beers, at least for me, so this will have to played for nothing more than sheer, heart racing, exhilerating fun. We’ll be sure to let you know how it turns out!
    Boats lining up for the start of the Governor's Cup Drew and Cole doing play by play on the Regatta Race Elizabeth, Devyn, me, and Carlee at the Full Moon Party
    The foul weather sidelined Dosia for the Governor’s Cup Race this past Saturday so Cole from s/v Zen hopped on board with us and we motored along next to the race and pulled three dinghies for other racing boats. Ironic that we don’t even OWN a dinghy right now but we had three with us that day. Zen came in third for the catamaran category and it was fun listening to Drew and ten year old Cole’s commentary and play by plays. That night the race was followed up by the Full Moon Party and they really out did themselves. I expected nothing more than a bonfire on a beach and was surprised to find a bbq, dinghy VALET, music videos on a large projection screen run by generators, a DJ, and lots and lots of dancing. The moon finally poked through the clouds a little after ten and the glow lit the dance floor. We heard rumors that the last people standing were there until 4:30 in the morning. More power to ’em! Tomorrow wraps up the regatta and tomorrow night is Aaron from s/v Wayward Wind’s 40th birthday. His girlfriend, Lauren, has arranged a pig roast so yummy eats will be in order for sure. It’s been full steam ahead, birthdays galore, non stop socializing since we arrived a little over two weeks ago. My parents have always told me that I need to learn to just say no sometimes but out here, the time you have with a lot of these people is all you’ve got. Chances of seeing most of them again are going to be slim to none. So while we can we’ll enjoy, partake, and continue to make memories with our cruising “family,” and then come Wednesday we’ll be able to get back to the outer anchorages, have some down time, and really do some exploring in the waters of this great island nation.