Notes From Out There

What’s the souvenir that takes up no space and lasts forever? For South Pacific cruisers, the answer is easy: a tattoo. Having recently ‘jumped the puddle’ from Mexico to French Polynesia, Debbie and Bill Schmid of the Washington-based Corbin 39 Anakena and many others feel they’ve earned their stripes, so to speak, and are proud to share a cultural tradition rooted in centuries-old Polynesian culture.

Cruisers often say the experience of getting a personalized tat is a highlight of their visit to Polynesia.

Can cruisers learn to dance like Tahitians? Well, what we’ve found during years of ‘research’ is that female sailors can usually hold their own. But sailor men struggle to keep up. Nevertheless, we’ve got to give these guys credit for trying.

Can kids have fun while cruising? Perhaps not 100% of the time, but when they are actively engaged with other boat kids — such as during last week’s Tahiti-Moorea Sailing Rendez-vous — they tend to be all smiles.

Our final question is one that has puzzled us for years: Do Polynesian women have extra joints in their hips that allow them to do rapid-fire gyrations? Watch this video and you’ll see why we’re so curious. (Shot last week at Moorea’s Club Bali Hai in Cook’s Bay.)

How do they do that?

latitude / andy