Well, I am back from my stint as a cruise lecturer on the wonderful mid-size luxury ship Paul Gauguin. And, as expected, it was all perfect. The crew remembered us and greeted us with joy and affection, and the ship was as sparkling clean as ever. A bonus was the crowd of passengers who shared the voyage with us, and who attended my lectures with interest and attention. They all loved hearing about Tupaia, Captain Cook, the Mutiny on the Bounty, Shipwrecks and Castaways, and the discovery of Tahiti by the first Europeans ... particularly the bit where Captain Wallis had to take his departure in a hurry, before his ship fell apart, having lost so many nails to give to the girls.
The passenger list included a fifty-strong group from the Dana West Yacht Club, who all seemed to know each other for twenty or more years, were cheerful and friendly, and had a blast of a time. Each year, it seems, the current commodore gets to choose the destination for a club holiday, and the man at the helm this year, George Bloomfield, had the wit and wisdom to choose the Paul Gauguin.
Who knows where they will head next year? That's up to the next commodore. Meantime, I hope to publish George's account of the group's experience on this lovely ship, from the club's newsletter, "Lines & Bits."
There was also a big group from the friends of the San Francisco Opera. And so the ship had a couple of opera singers on board, along with a magician (the rising star Nicolas del Pozo), ocean expert Denis Schneider, and (briefly) archaeologist Mark Eddowes.
Add wonderful food, superb wines (including whites from New Zealand), and luxurious surroundings, and I know that everyone had a great holiday.
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| Paul Gauguin at Bora Bora |
5 comments:
Kia ora Joan I met you on the plane to Tahiti and I am keen to get your book on Tupaia. I am looking up book places who may sell as it is not on the Penguin Website or the Random house website.
Ngā mihi
Tahuri
Thank you Joan. It was a pleasure to meet you! Kathie Bloomfield.
We had hoped to be aboard but circumstances prevented. The Gaugin was cruising Tahiti et ses isles back when Bob and I were cruising the same waters in our Luders 36 sloop. Fond memoires and interesting history/culture. Glad to hear you had an appreciative audience!
Hi, this isn't really a comment on the blogpost. I'm trying to find a way to read the Judas Island trilogy (loved Wiki Coffin) without purchasing through Amazon (the Evil). Do you sell hard copies directly?
Unfortunately the "evil one" rules! However, with the revival of real bookstores, it should be possible to get the books stocked. I will investigate! And am so pleased you liked Wiki Coffin.
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