Impetuous four....

Here’s an interesting and novel tale,
About a couple who loved to sail.
They bought a boat made strong and stout,
And proceeded to sail her West about.

Of course there was difficult work to do,
But that didn't phase our Impetuous two.
Sanding and filling were most of the task,
But in woodwork they found joy, even built their own mast!

Having a boat they'd rebuilt gave them confidence and style,
They had pride in her lines and basked for a while...
In frequent admiration over what they had done,
Though lining up to do all that work there'd been none.

From there to here, from here to there;
Wonderful things could be found everywhere.
Texas to Mexico, Belize, Guatemala;
Always in time, they found a safe harbour.

Working betwixt their adventures was sure…
To make them appreciate their life all the more.
They found that hard work was what could be said,
To bring about the ‘luck’ in the life that they led.

Cuba was a joy that could not be overstated,
Though seasickness all the way there; Ruth hated.
Panama beckoned; perfect islands, wondrous art.
Through the canal they traversed; frugally every part.

Late in the season, the cruisers' boat party was downhearted,
Stocked to the gunwales a few days later they departed.
The Galapagos, of course, to visit would have been nice,
‘Expensive', ‘uncomfortable', ‘over regulated’ came the advice.

So five long weeks at sea they toiled,
Two slow, three fast, faster still the seas boiled.
There many young sailors, some with startling boat failures;
Adventurous new friends, they found in the Marquesas.

Jacques Brel; Gauguin; Herman Melville found a home,
On these glorious rich islands, which truly stand alone.
Among waterfalls and mountains where dreams are fulfilled,
Pamplemousse; mangoes; breadfruit; chillies all found in the wild.

The Tuamotus and Societies could never disappoint;
Iconic and exotic, their excitement was joint.
Through the Cooks on to Tonga where whales could be seen,
They made many firm friends at that party for Halloween.

The land of the long white cloud rose out of the grey,
After a terrific New Year's party they decided to go play….
Down the bottom where only the most Impetuous go,
they found out just why when it started to snow.

Into Milford they bouldered the wind on their tail,
All computers were damaged, but they'd weathered the gale.
All around them the mountains rose out of the gloom;
They thanked their lucky stars they were graced by the moon.

The Fiords are all beautiful and thrilling in their way,
Ample fish when they ran low on food saved the day.
The weather was wild with no folks to be found,
But the scenery; untamed nature, could not fail to astound.

Foveaux straits dolphins were worried and so were they all,
When the wind was so strong, Impetuous started to stall.
In the lee of Stewart island she could heave-to in peace,
How they wished they'd found time to sew in that fourth reef.

Over the years they had sailed many atolls and isles,
And always were met with genuine smiles.
They learned much about both the lands and the sea,
And started to think that they'd like to be three.

Money had to be found to fund all of their plans,
So Impetuous; left again lonely, in far away lands.
Ruth nursed; Duncan taught, so back they could go...
With a bump in the tum; so happy they did know...

Lovely Ravi arrived in beautiful Fiji,
As mangoes dripped from the trees bright and leafy.
They were sad to move on from all the friends they had found,
But truly they loved to sail all around.

His first Christmas was spent at sea bold and breezy,
Ravi never seemed fazed as he chewed his first lychee.
The timing was perfect as round other boats they did weave.
Arriving in Sydney amongst the rockets; New Year's Eve.

They sailed on around Tasmania, to again feel the cold;
People were friendly, and there were great mountains to behold.
Then they sailed again north up the land of down under,
When the seas rose up, poor Ravi would chunder.

On and on they traversed along the Barrier Reef Great;
The Louisiades had to be postponed; they were late.
Across the Arafura sea, and into Indonesia...
With still many miles to go before the delights of Malaysia.

But now our family are having a difficult time;
The sun in Indonesia refuses to shine.
The winds are against us and the currents inclement.
Pip the engine is protesting with new problems fervent.

Delay after delay has put them at odds with the weather,
To be this far into the North West monsoon is not clever.
But sailing is what these sailors do,
Otherwise they wouldn't be Impetuous Too.

Whilst sailing onwards, we've kept a secret,
With New Year's day, we thought we might leak it...
Before too long there's going to be more;
Before too long they will be the Impetuous four.