Legally Challenged

I popped my head out of the hatch around 10am after another brutal passage east from Bora Bora the prior day.  Just then, the big gray French police boat pulled into the bay. My heart lurched. I had a letter from the yard stating that Swell was ‘unsuitable to take to the sea’ until the repair was finished to show to the authorities, but it did not explain why I was out frolicking around the islands rather than grinding fiberglass in the yard. Rather than fumbling my way though an explanation, I decided to avoid the situation entirely and hang out on land for the day. I packed a bag and went ashore to wander, read, write, and visit friends. At dusk I figured they were finished checking boats for the day and made my way discreetly back to Swell. I had planned to leave the following day to continue back east, so I hoisted the dinghy and made Swell ready to move as darkness fell.

…Up before the sun, I warmed up the motor and cruised quietly out the bay past the police boat. Not a uniform was stirring yet, so I contently set the sails and the course and headed out into the blue. The morning melted away into a glorious midday and I knew the surf conditions at my destination were going to be perfect! I dozed off in the cockpit, dreaming of the waves I was sure to catch in only a few more hours…

Lifting my head to scan the horizon, I spotted a boat far on my aft horizon, but approaching quickly. Twenty minutes later, that same police boat whizzed by with its course headed for precisely MY destination!

“What to do? What to do…?” I thought aloud. “Just when I thought I ditched them…but the waves are going to be…and I just wanted…why does it always have to be so…ugh.”

I was less than 5 miles from my destination by then and I could see the welcoming turquoise lagoon up ahead…

I couldn’t help it…

I entered the lagoon and dropped the anchor as close to the pass as possible, shoved a few bananas in my mouth, lathered on some sunscreen (www.smartgirlswhosurf.com) and fled to safer water with my 5’9” round pin to surf the rest of the day away.

I caught the last wave as darkness fell and paddled home with the rising crescent moon coming up over the island…

…I woke to a grumbling noise at 5:30am and peeked out the porthole to see the big gray boat exiting the pass…pheeeeeeeeeeeew. I’m free!!!!!