Kelcey Chandler-Yates and Jim Yates present...

UnderSeaPhotoVideo.com

July 3, 2003

Lauren left Friday night and almost missed her flight due to two flights going to Los Angeles-one flight 22 and one flight 2!! We got he on however with shell leys and a big smile on her face-It was a short month but I think she is pleased with what she saw and the images she was able to capture on film. Mary Ann-Jim's mom and his brother's daughter Amy arrived Saturday eve loaded down with tons of supplies. As I have said previously -things are really expensive down here so everyone loads themselves down with things from the states.

 The next day Sylvia showed up with a cute little mangy dog she found abandoned in the woods. I immediately gave it a bath, shampoo and conditioning and while drying the sweet thing fell in love-It didn't take much talking for Jim to agree with the boys and I. Now we are the proud owners of a dog-named Hinano! (Hinano is the local Tahitian Beer - Doesn't she remind you of a Polynesian version of the Bud Light Dog!) Off to the vet she went and our free dog we had now spent $150 dollars on.!! She is easily trained due to her intelligence however so we feel the money was well spent-she even barks at strangers after 2 days!! After exploring Tahiti for a couple days and scooting to Moorea for a day to enjoy the stingrays the wind picked up so fast in the anchorage that we decided mid-day to leave for Huahine where we sit now in an unspoiled lagoon on the east side. Snorkeling is not great but it is wonderful to be in a brand new place with Lady Starlight, as so far since returning to the boat we have not really explored much. Tired from the over night passage I suppose we will not be doing much exploring till tomorrow but the scenery is candy for the eyes!

 July 7, 2003

West side of Huahine. The fourth was spent in Fare, a small village just north of where we are in a beautiful little bay which if you adventure to take a dinghy under the bridge you can go to the east side of the island where we anchored when we arrived! It is no less than spectacular. Having been a resort area before the cyclone of '97 took it out, there are remnants of the swimming pools and streams, which must have meandered in and out between the 42 bungalows, which now are nonexistent. All that remains of them is a few platforms that are carved out of the mountainside giving us a perfect place to photograph our boat! Quite spectacular is the view. The weird thing is that when Jim and I first visited Tahiti and Moorea there was a bad storm for 3 days. Not being concerned with weather at the time other than not being able to dive, we ignored the storm other than to enjoy viewing the large waves and multiple lightning storms. This was the storm that ravaged this bay! July 9, 2003-Fare Huahine For the past two days we have been in Fare again as we met some fabulous people on a beautiful boat named Dragonfly. With 4 kids and one circumnavigation under their belt they are headed from England to Suva, Fiji to set up house. I guess enough of those cold English days, eves and afternoons!!-Anyhow we all enjoyed each other and Sara wanted to see how to do jewelry so we spent a day and a half doing jewelry, exploring town with Mary Ann and Amy and watching spear throwing contests which the latter I found fascinating. They place a coconut up on a pole 40 foot tall and then the local men with their wonderfully tattooed bodies, huge muscular arms tanned bodies and all dressed in pareos and palm frond head dresses-well gals you get the pictures-the Polynesian women are not the only ones who get the looks!! --- Back to the contest-then the contestants begin throwing spears into the air aiming for this coconut----and surprisingly about 5% meet the mark! It was a great opportunity for photographs but naturally I was being lazy once again but Jim took some remarkable video. After the contest it was off to Raiatea for a few days before Mary Ann leaves and my brother Brian arrive. We are anchored as I type off a beautiful little motu at the pass just off the north end of Raiatea. The kids are all polishing stainless so they can collect their allowance due them upon completion, Jim is updating the website with new images and Mary Ann is cooking her bacon and eggs as she can't handle the seafood chowder I have prepared. We will spend the next two days diving the pass and surfing one of the Society Islands best breaks.

Sunset at at Port Bourayne Anchorage, Huahine