Day 81 Huahine

Avamoa pass to Fare
By 3 AM, the wind had picked up so Mark and Andy turned off the engine and put up the mainsail. We completed the last half of the trip under sail power and anchored near the village of Fare. Everything is closed on Sunday in French Polynesia and this is a holiday weekend so they appear to be doubly closed.
Unfortunately, surfing was curtailed because the South swell that was expected had not yet arrived.
Next to our anchorage was an aluminum sailboat with the words www.toptotop.org painted on the side. We went over and introduced ourselves and found a Swiss couple with two children, a girl three years old and a boy of seven months. The couple are traveling on behalf of a not-for-profit foundation and a club. Their overall purpose is to increase the awareness of solutions to global warming - mainly to school children around the world. Coupled with that is their goal of climbing the tallest mountains everywhere they go and using volunteers to clean up the landscape. Darius was a climbing guide and ski instructor before this so he and his wife Sabine seem to have a lot of experience climbing. One of his clients gave them the boat to use as long as they wish and they have gotten many sponsors and gifts of boating equipment along the way. Another boundary they have is to try to use human or renewable energy everywhere. Their boat has 15 high-tech solar panels and two wind generators and can generate 1.2 Kw - enough for several boats.
They started their trip in Switzerland in 2002 by riding bicycles to the Mediterranean where they picked up the boat. From there they sailed to North Africa and then crossed the Atlantic to the Caribbean. They transited through the Panama canal and attempted to sail South to Cape Horn. Off the coast of Chile they struck a submerged container and damaged the rudder so that they had only the sails for steerage for two weeks until they reached Valpariso. While the boat was being repaired, they bicycled to the highest mountain in the Andes which Darius scaled. Sabine was 5 months pregnant so she did not make the climb.
The club provides volunteers for portions of the trip. Peter was on board when we met them but would soon be replaced by Ann Marie. Everyone seems very dedicated to the mission and they were anxious to visit schools in Huahine to spread their message.
Their kids seem totally at home on the boat and the three year old is also comfortable in the ocean. Certainly an interesting way to grow up.