Worrall Wind Update - Living the Dream becomes a Nghtmare on this Voyage

DAY AND TIME: Sunday, September 4, 2011, 1800 UTC/1700 Local

Latitude: S 22 23.139
Longitude: E 166 53.832

First off, we have arrived safely but not soundly. We are at anchor after the voyage from hell. We are pooped, just about to duck into the closest harbor for some rest. So here's the rest of the story.

September 2, 2022, Friday Day 4 Oh Crap Day continued:

From 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. in the afternoon we worked on reassembling the engine, and dumping in new oil. We were so involved in the process we missed the Pacific Sea Farers Net Roll Call. I logged on late and it was over. Hopefully, they aren't sending out the troops for us.

We were on a starboard tack which made the whole process difficult for Russ as he was now having to balance himself from falling into the motor while working. We would be on this tack for quite sometime however in order to get the right angle through the Loyalty Islands and reefs. So while it was difficult for Russ in the engine room, it was a relief from the port tack we had been on the last couple of days.

When Russ originally assessed our water problem, he checked both the likely culprits: the anti-siphon valve on the engine thru-hole (starboard side) and the exhaust, muffler thru-hull on stern by the water line. Russ had installed a bottom drain on the muffler after our last miseries coming across the Pacific from Mexico. He had opened the drain and no water had come out the bottom. This looked like a good sign. He couldn't ascertain a specific problem with the anti-siphon valve, but since it was on the starboard tack and we had been on an extreme heel we had to make the assumption that this was where the problem lay. Going from port to starboard tack would reverse the heel and hopefully the problem as well.

1530 Ok. It's time to start the engine, but before we do Russ needs to open the thru hulls which have been closed. He goes down to check the exhaust muffler one more time, there now appears to be water dripping out of the muffler. As he his laying on his stomach across the engine to examine the muffler, his words were "There's trouble in River City!" He's always so even keeled and polite. He would have made a good astronaut. "Houston, we have a problem." Me?? Oh Sh@! pretty well sums it up.

Russ disconnects the muffler and buckets of water poor out. The good news is we found the problem. The bad news, too late. Upon examining the muffler, the bottom drain had gotten plugged giving Russ a false positive when no water had drained out. With that much water in the muffler, it meant that the new oil we just put in was now contaminated and there was undoubtedly water in the engine again, plus buckets of water in the bilge. He puts the muffler back on and decides to try the motor just to make sure. Maybe the water has yet to go into the engine and he can blow any residual out the exhaust.

1600 He turns the key. Whmf. Nothing. Yep, it's time to start over. Russ has been up since 1:30 this morning with only five hours of sleep. It's 82 degrees inside the cabin and he's looking beat. I'm right behind him. While Russ works on raising the anti-siphon hose and valve higher above the water line, I fix dinner. We need a little break. It's Chilorio, Spanish Rice, and salad. A cold beer would hit the spot, but no can do. We'd both get knocked out.

1700 Dinner and second wind. With the new info about the muffler and our current position, it was time to return to a port tack. We are between NC and the southern most Island of Vanuatu, actually closer to Vanuatu. We look at the gribs and decide that even sailing to Vanuatu might be the better choice if we can't get the engine started again, Russ assures me that he will get the engine started this time.

First, he would raise the muffler exhaust and siphon system even higher. We re-secured everything that would slide to starboard. Got on our life vests, clipped in, and out to the back deck, tacked and came back in. There is no moon tonight, it is inky black out side. The wind is blowing 20 knots, and the seas are about 1.5 meters high. All in all, good sailing conditions and good angle to our mark.

1800 We connect with friend on Skylight and give them a position report. Thank you Brian and Claudia! It's good to be connected with you.

1815 Russ begins to drain oil and disassemble the engine once again. He is exhausted but keeping up a good front so that I don't lose it.

2240 He's getting faster and faster at this process, less than 5 hours from start to finish, and we are ready to turn on the motor. We double check all the valves.

2248 It's finger crossing time! Russ turns the key. Huma huma uma. The lights dim. He switches battery power and tries again. Huma Huma huma uma. He tries again. Huma Huma Huma, Huma. I'm cheering, "Come on Baby!", Huma Huma Huma PURRRRRRRRR! YES! We're doing the happy dance.

We let the motor run for half an hour before shutting it down and immediately shut the valves. I'm turning the ignition off and Russ is standing by to turn the exhaust valve. We'll do the second oil change in the morning. Just in case we are still sucking water into the muffler, Russ leaves the bottom drain open for the night.

Running the engine has heated up the water tank. Hot showers are looking good.

2400 Day 4 is finally over but we are still up trying to get things back to a little order.

Saturday, September 3, 2011 - As if the windvane and engine weren't enough!

0030 Day 5 - It's about the time Russ would ordinarily be waking up from his sleep and time for me to be going to bed from my watch, but are watch and sleep schedules are really messed up. We decide that Russ goes to bed first as usual and will sleep until 3:00, then it will be my turn.

0630 We're both back up after having 3 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period. We are making good progress towards our waypoint to entrance of channel area between Loyalty Islands. The wind is consistently about 18 knots with 1.5 meter seas, with 100 percent overcast. It's noticeably cooler this morning as we are heading south.

After breakfast and the morning net, we are ready to start the next oil change on the motor. Russ and I clean out the bilge area under the engine. There appears to be a lot more water than we expected. The good news is that it doesn't seem to be coming from the muffler. The bad news is were not sure about where it's coming from. Not to worry though it's only a couple of buckets that we pump out. Then we have to dig out more oil from various holds. We need another 2.5 gallons.

By noon, we have the engine flushed with new oil and we are ready to turn it on as soon as it is obvious we are in the wind shadow of the island.

1330 It's time to turn on the engine. She starts and we are ready to start motoring down the channel to the reef entrance to NC. We still have 100 miles to go southwest.. The channel is 50 miles across so it is still open ocean. We will be crossing it on a diagonal, but would like to motor south as far as possible close to the easterly islands so that we can sail the 50 miles to the reef entrance with a good angle. First we need to take in the jib, tighten down the main and mizzen, relieve Hydie from steering, and switch over to auto pilot. We put our vests on over our tropical clothing and head outside. This should only take a few minutes. Russ is looking forward to relaxing afternoon. I am too.

1400 Well by this time we should be done with our little tack change, but noooooo, we've got another problem. Our jib doesn't want to pull in. It's starting to rain and we've got a line of squalls ahead of us. Instead of pulling into the wind and on course, I am now way off course keeping air in the jib so she doesn't beat herself to death and keeping the bow out of the oncoming waves so that Russ can resolve the furling problem. This means he is working right on the bobbing bow. The opening to the base of the furler is on the port side, so I need to maintain a port tack so he can get into the furler.

1430 I put the auto pilot on and come inside. We had set my wrist watch alarm as a reminder to tune in on the Sea Farer's Net and report our position. I'm cold and wet. Russ is still battling the furler and has come inside to warm up a bit himself and get a utility knife. It's too noisey to hear the radio with engine and autopilot. We temporarily sail and re-engage Hydie.

He needs to hand unwrap the furling line. He has found a frayed knot on the end closest to the tie down end. He needs to cut the bad part, about 20 feet, off the line, and re handwrap while dangling over the bow. DANDY! So much for a relaxing afternoon. Russ has been suffering from shoulder problems and this is torture. Not only does he have to work on this now it also means that for the remainder of our trip to NC we will need to go to the bow every time we need to unfurl the jib as the line will be too short to run back to the fantail deck.

1530 Two hours after we started our tack change, we have now solved another exhausting problem. On our way in, our friendly little Fijian gecko is looking very sad. He is on the bottom step going up to the deck and has lost his tail, but has a little life in him. He doesn't mind that I pick him up and bring him inside. I put him in a basket and turn my net colander upside down over the basket so he can't get out. We put a lid of water with a hard candy and some apple to see if we can attract some of the little ants we have on board into his little home. We don't think he is going to make it. Sad, he's been a chirping delight to have on board.

After getting Gecko set up, we both take hot showers to warm up. I fix hot drinks and an early dinner. We alter course and plans once again. Since the seas and winds are lighter than we expect tomorrow, and we most likely will not sail using our jib as she is, we have decided that the angle of sail won't matter. We are going to motor diagonally across the channel to a way point just in front of entrance reefs. We are already 2 days behind in our weather window and large seas and a more southerly wind are forecast for tomorrow and Monday. As I finish up this report, we have about 60 miles to our NC entrance way point, and probably another 50 miles through more protected waters to Noumea. If all goes well we hope to be in protected waters by early afternoon tomorrow, and an anchorage tomorrow afternoon or evening.

2200 Russ is sleeping. Poor guy. He's exhausted. We are bounding into the waves which isn't too bad this evening. We are taking it slower than we would like, to keep the ride a little more comfortable and to not jiggle the wind vane steering post too much. Occasionally a huge wave comes along bounces over the bow and right over the cabin top. Just before Russ went to bed, a wave popped over the cabin.

I heard a thud, thud, thud on our cabin top. It sounded like a winch handle or something had come loose. Russ went outside and looked on top. Nope, without even trying we had caught ourselves a big fish. Not sure if he flopped off or we will find him on the back deck in the morning. We are both so tired, we weren't about to go outside and check it out.

Today, marks the 2nd anniversary of our cruising life. We left on Labor Day Weekend 2009 and are now seasoned sailors and official commodores of the Seven Seas Cruising Association. We've have sailed nearly 10,000 miles in many types of seas, most rougher than we expected and rewarded with incredible experiences and countless little adventures. We are living our dream most of the time. Sometimes the dream gets a little nightmarish, and we try to keep it all in perspective.

Since our initial crossing in 2009, this has been one of the most mechanically challenging trip we have been on. Overall, the weather window we picked has been pretty good. Hopefully, by this time tomorrow, we will be sleeping peacefully in a marina or calm anchorage. In the meantime, a new crescent moon is keeping me company on my watch this evening. It's been a dark journey and the light is most welcome.

0100 Sunday, September 4, 2011

I decide that I'll let Russ sleep another hour. We are still bounding into the occasional big wave. The engine is purring away. We still have all the engine boards off that usually mute the noise, the auto pilot is making its continuous course correction whines, and the waves are thudding on the bow. I've had current, waves, wind, and traffic to contend with so I've been busy the whole evening.

0200 I wake up Russ and go to the back stateroom and head to wash up and brush my teeth. I've had only about 3 hours sleep in 36 and am looking forward to the pillow. I do one last look around. I've gotten in the habit of periodically checking out the stern windows to see how the dinghy is doing. My heart stops! Our right davit has snapped off the back of the boat, the dinghy and solar panels are hanging precariously and bouncing around after every wave. I don't know when this happened and I can't even hear anything now.

I tell Russ. He looks at me as if I am making this up. There's no whistling or calm reassurances, just stubborn resolve. SH@! SH@I, I am almost afraid to beg the question, "What more can go wrong!"

We take our time getting into our foulies (as it is now colder here and the salt water is still flying over the bow.) In inform Russ that I don't care if the solar panels and davits and dinghy all go over board, he is not going done any ladders down the stern to try and do a rescue. If he can't do it from the stern, it isn't going to get done. He's too tired to argue. We cut the motor to idle. Our main is still up so we fore reach for the next two hours. We go out to examine the damage.

Not only had the welds on the starboard davit broken, the dinghy and solar panels are bouncing in the waves and OH NO! Our Hydrovane steering system is GONE! SH@! SH@I. I knew I shouldn't have asked what more could go wrong. Either the davit collapsed and took out the windvane or the windvane post released and knocked down the davits. Since we had just tightened all the bolts and gotten the windvane back in working order just a few days ago, we find the latter cause and effect the lesser probability. We won't know until we can get a closer look.

In the meantime, putting our chagrin aside, we worked for two hours hoisting and winching up the solar panels and dinghy with our jib winches. We are double harnessed and have created this crazy spider web on the fan tail to secure what we can. We get back on course, and we have the davit, solar panels, and dinghy highto pick up our speed. Since we no longer have a hydrovane to concern ourselves with, we can crank up the engine need to be efficient without overdoing it. We have only until two o'clock tomorrow to make it through Havannah Pass into New Caledonia before the tidal current turns against us.

4:45 I am laying in the sea berth exhausted and am having difficulty going to sleep. It's just been too, too much. Even the Zen meditation music I am playing on my Ipod isn't helping.

6:30 I must have dozed but am rudely awakened as I feel cold water dumping down through dorad on to my feet. The waves are honking big and are backwashing down into the dorads. We get towels and stuff them into the dorads as extra protection, but a lot of water has come through. We eat some breakfast, have some coffee, and are too tired and cranky to even talk to one another.

1330 Finally, we make it to Havannah pass. The clouds are brewing. We see rain in front of us, but we have just made it through before the current change. And the big waves that are coming this way in the next few days. We pushed this weather window to the limit. We have contacted the Pacific Sea Farer's net to let them know we have arrived and spoken with Noumearadio control to get permission to duck into a harbor for a night's rest before going into Noumea (another 50 miles away up the west coast) to check in. Permission is granted. And the solar panels are still producing amps!

1600 We anchor in one of the first protected little bays we find. Russ informs me that the anchor windless isn't working, and he may have to winch up the anchor by hand in the morning.

1630 Russ is working on the windlass. It seems to be a switch problem. The water is still, the birds are singing. My body is still moving even though the boat isn't. I examine the damage in the back. It does look like Hydie's post torqued out again, flipped up, breaking the right davit, and then sank to the bottom of the sea. Our gecko died too. It's just been the pits all the way around. We may be in Noumea longer than we planned to get a new Hydrovane, dinghy davits fixed, etc. They have far more facilities for yacht repair than Vanuatu. It's awfully pretty here (but also expensive), so it might not be a bad place to be for awhile.

Signing off, fixing dinner, cleaning up, and going to bed.

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The 2 Sail R's on Worrall Wind are grateful to be here!

Uh?! Where's the Boat?

Thursday, June 21, 2012, Airlie Beach Anchorage

After dropping Garyn and Jess off at Hamilton Island for their flight home on Saturday, Russ and I spent one night at Hamilton Marina and  two nights in Cid Harbor.  We were finally able to catch up with our friends, Derek and Bele on SV Pandana whom we had met in Vanuatu.  


We enjoyed a nice meet up with them on Sunday evening for dinner,  and were all planning on a geocache hunt on Monday morning.  There is a small island off of Cid where there is a geocache.  When we awoke on Monday, the wind was howling and a one mile dinghy ride in the wind and waves looked unappealing.  So we decided to give that activity a pass.  Next time!


Bele and Derek left Monday afternoon for Airlie Beach, and after completing a few boat projects, we left Cid on Tuesday morning, June 19, arriving at Airlie Beach by lunch.  We had a strong wind and tidal current moving us along at 7 knots with a double reef.  The trip which usually takes three hours, only took us two.  That's a record for us!


Airlie Beach is a large shallow bay that extends from shore outward for a mile or more.  We dropped our anchor in 14 feet of water about a half mile off shore. We would have liked to have been closer but were afraid we would be sitting on the bottom when the tide went out.  The anchor (our new one that we bought in Mackay) didn't set the first time in the muddy bottom.  So we pulled it back up and dropped it again.  This time it seemed to set. 

Because the anchorage is a mix of mooring balls and boats at anchor, we did not lay down as much chain as we usually do because we were afraid that if we did our swing diameter would be too great and we would run into the moored boats.  We stayed on the boat and set the anchor alarm.  The wind was strong and we could hear the anchor pull, but we didn't move.

Looking out on Anchorage

Lovely, Free, Saltwater Swimming Lagoon at Airlie Beach

By the following day, Wednesday, June 20, we felt confident enough to get off the boat for a short walk around Airlie Beach.  We had lunch ashore and returned to our boat, stopping to see Bele and Derek on Pandana.  Unfortunately,  Derek had an infected tooth and was running a fever.  They were hanging close to their boat until Derek could be seen by a dentist.  We returned to the boat.  Worrall Wind was right where we left her.


Gina and Paul Ray on SV Solace, whom we had met at Whitehaven Beach just a few days before, were anchored in front of us.  We invited them over to play dominoes.  Gina won the game.  Instead of a grudge match, we made arrangements to meet up again the following evening on SV Solace to learn a new dice game called Zilch.  


Thursday, June 21, we decided to explore a little further.  Gina and Paul had already left their boat for some land exploration, by the time we left WW at 10:00 a.m. in the morning.  Once again the wind was blowing like crazy, but we had not strayed from our anchor perimeter circle, so we felt confident enough to leave the boat.   We dinghied ashore and took a bus inland a few kilometers to a shopping mall.


We stopped at a sport store and bought a full length wet suit for me and at a pharmacy for some over the counter meds, contact lens solution, etc.  Then we had a nice lunch in a little restaurant and headed back to the bus stop.  


We had purchased an all day ticket, and were planning to stop at a large super market on the way back to the boat and do some provisioning.  While we were waiting for the bus (1:50) which was due in about 10 minutes,  Russ checked the cell phone. We had received a voice message from Gina.  She wanted to know if we were still planning to come over to their boat that evening as it looked like we had left.  Our boat was no longer behind them.  WHAT?!


Russ immediately returned Gina's call.  They had returned to Solace and were busy watching another boat in front of them dragging anchor as the winds were gusting to 30 knots.  It had hit another boat.  She thought that while they were away, we had sought out a more protected spot out of the wind to re-anchor, as our boat was no longer anchored behind them.

UH?  WHERE'S THE BOAT?!  Uh? NO!  We had not re-anchored.  Oh S#@%!  Where was Worrall Wind?

Gina and Paul got out their binoculars and scanned the horizon.  They thought they spotted Worrall Wind about a half mile away as the wind blows, and here we were sitting at a frigging bus stop, miles from the beach while our boat was sailing away!  


Fortunately, our new and now best friend Paul said he would go out to the boat in his dinghy and see if he could stop Worrall Wind's escape to the sea.  Within minutes our nice leisurely day was turning into an unwelcome drama.


Russ and I looked around to no avail for a taxi.  We jumped on the bus for the agonizingly slow ride back to the dinghy dock at the Whitsunday Sailing Club.  Would Paul be able to stop Worrall Wind? Did the new anchor fail?  Did she hit and damage any other boats or people in the anchorage?  Was she damaged?  How much insurance do we carry? And for goodness sake, lady, just pay the bus driver and take your seat!


We arrived at the dinghy dock about 45 minutes after the phone call with Gina.  We hopped in the dinghy and headed for Solace.  Sure enough there was a big open space behind Solace where we had left Worrall Wind.   


We saw a ketch in the distance and headed in that direction.  As we got closer, we could see Paul on the bow and his dinghy tied to WW's side.  It is hard to believe that WW drug anchor as far as she did, through an anchorage of several other boats....and didn't hit one of them!  

Anchor Drag....half mile and no hits!  Amazing!

Fortunately, the anchor finally caught hold in the shallow bay and had stopped on her own accord.  Paul assured us that she hadn't moved since he had boarded.  He inspected the boat and there wasn't any evidence of a scratch that she had hit anything on her way out to sea.  Luck, lucky, lucky!


If the bay had not been so shallow so far out, we could have lost the boat because the anchor would have just dangled in the water as she blew north.  Geez!  We are so fortunate to have met Gina and Paul only a few days before and they were able to contact us and watch over WW.  When we boarded Worrall Wind, we pulled up the anchor.  The anchor shaft and chain shackle had a weird twist in them that Russ had to fix before we re-anchored.  We motored back to the mooring field and set the anchor in a different position, farther out from the rest of the boats.  If we broke loose again, we would have fewer worries with no or less boats behind us.


In a phone conversation later in the afternoon with other cruising friends, Dana and Mark, on Northfork, I joked that they were lucky Worrall Wind didn't smash into them as they were entering the Marina.  Dana said they had seen Worrall Wind way out in the Bay as they were coming into the Marina and wondered why we had anchored out so far?  I guess WW has a mind of her own.


Gina and Paul came over to our boat again this evening as we were reluctant to leave.  We broke out a vintage bottle of wine as a thank you, and enjoyed a nice evening playing Zilch.  Just as we think life is getting a little ordinary, we are reminded that life is never ordinary when you live on a boat, and cruising friends really look out for one another.  We are so thankful!


We had some plans for more exploring tomorrow, but I think we'll stay put until the wind dies down.  If were feeling really brave, we may venture into the Whitsunday Sailing Club for dinner tomorrow night.


Even though we are a little shaken,


All is Well With the 2 Sail R's on SV Worrall Wind

Worrall Wind Update - Day 5, Arrived and anchored in Vanuatu!

UTC/Local Time: 0217 Saturday June 25, 20011/1317

Latitude: S 20 14.275
Longitude: E 169 46.606

Update: So Glad to Be Here!
According to our weather forecasting information, the winds are supposed to pick up to 25 or more knots later today and last through tomorrow. Our plan was of course to get here before the winds. Well, guess what? They came a day early. Along with the 25+ knot winds came 2-3 meter rolling seas. Last night was just darned uncomfortable as we were between a beam and a close reach with the angle of the wind.

The reach kept us well heeled, but when those rollers would hit us on the beam, we were rolling into the exiting waves and getting a lot of water on the lee deck, squishing through the doors.
As we approached Vanuatu, we also started getting some traffic. I kind of like having the big old ocean all to ourselves and get a little (very) tense when I spot traffic, particular fishing boats with bright lights as it is difficult if not impossible to see which way they are running. I woke Russ up just as he was drifting to sleep around 8:00 o'clock because there were some big white lights in front of us getting closer and closer. There was no AIS identification signal coming from their boat. We could see them on radar and had a visual.
Because the large waves, the radar image was bouncing and we couldn't see a clear direction of their course overground.
Visually, if we see a green light on their bow, we know they are moving across our path from port to starboard (left to right). If we see a red light on their bow, we know they are moving across our path from starboard to port (right to left). If we see both a red and green, they are coming at us. If we see white lights, we know we are coming up on their stern.
Fishing boats are so lit up with white lights, it blinds the eye to any other colors. We know they are either standing still or moving, but don't know which direction. When the waves are big like they were last night and we are on a close reach and moving fast, the approaching boat lights disappear while they are in a trough or we are in a trough, then they reappear and are bigger than the last time we saw them. We know we are closing the gap quickly.
Since were on a close port reach and the traffic was about 1:00 on our starboard side, it would be a close squeeze by if they were moving towards us. We decided to give Hydie a rest and hand steer. After watching them on radar for awhile (they were within 3 miles of us), Russ thought we could probably pass safely and stay on course, but it would be a tight pinch. Every time I tried to angle away from the vessel and more into the wind, the sails would luff, we would lose boat speed and not accomplish a good measure of distance.
Since I was at the helm and a nervous wreck thanks to our friends on Trim who had just written an article for publication of a near-death experience with an out of control fishing trawler, I chose to fall off so that I had more course options, and we would pass them on our port side with a greater margin of space. Little by little, their lights got smaller and we passed them to port. Better safe than sorry.
After that, we started to see more AIS traffic signals, but none that came any closer to us than 20 miles. When Russ got up for his watch, we needed to make some sail adjustments. The wind was shifting around and we were moving too fast. We would reach our destination too early in the dark hours of the morning. We reduced sail and eased off the trim.
An examination of our trailing dinghy presented us with another little Uh oh! The metal loop on the front of the dinghy to which our painter line was tied had snapped off. Now the dinghy was being trailed by a thinner anchor line which was the backup. We said our goodbyes to Avon as we were sure she would be a goner some time during the night. The waves and wind were steadily increasing. We had hoped from our weather information that we wouldn't see these winds until the following day. No such luck.
When Russ woke me at 6:30, I looked out the portholes through sleep blurred eyes to see mountains of water, and oh yes, a real mountain in the distance. We were getting close to Anatom, but had still been moving so fast that we overshot our entrance mark while it was still dark and Russ let me sleep in. Now we had to reduce sail some more and do some back tracking. Russ's first plan was to do a controlled jibe. My plan was to turn on the motor and come about. We decided to go on deck and see how bad the waves really were. It might be too risky to jibe. Our little Avon, believe it or not, was still tethered to us. Jibing would temporarily put the wind and following waves at our back. I was afraid the Avon would wind up on top of our bimini if we jibed.
Once we were on deck, we realized the best thing to do was to bring the boat into a fore reaching position, nose into the wind, slow her down, and still trail the dinghy behind away from the propellor, and prepare the rigging for a sail change. When we were ready to go, I gave the motor just enough throttle to get us out of the fore reach and make the turn. Done! Now we were ready to go on in. Russ called for port control on the VHF. Ha! No one on the island has a VHF. The only response was from a fellow cruiser, Emily Grace. He gave us some encouragement getting through to the harbor and where we might want to anchor.
By 9:30, we were in the bay and anchored with our yellow quarantine flag flying. The bay is a horseshoe of sorts with low lying reefs protecting it from the swell, but not so much from the wind. At 10:00 our first official came out to the boat. He was the quarantine official and we were lucky that he was here. He had just checked out a cruise ship the night before and would be returning to Tanna in less than an hour by way of plane and the small landing strip on the atoll side of the island. We weren't sure whether the officials worked on the weekend. Some do and some are only on the island periodically. The quarantine man was very nice. He asked asked about fruits, vegetables, meats, on board. Nothing seemed to be a problem except he asked us to keep our food on board and not take it ashore. Also, please take any garbage to Tanna and throw nothing over board. He also assured us that the mosquitos on this island did not carry malaria. Nice to know as we had read in an older cruising guide that malaria was a problem in Vanuatu. Seems as if this may now be better controlled. Our quarantine fee was 3,000 Vatu (appx. $35.00). Not sure if this is the standard fee or the weekend fee.
While our "We're here!" adrenalin was still in gear, we cleaned up the boat. It really gets thrashed on a passage, ate some lunch and were finally just laying down for a rest when the customs official came aboard. We chatted with the official, offered him some cola, and got our paper work completed. We have to pay a customs fee in Tanna and go through immigration at that time. Anatom has just recently become a check in port. The custom official is a trainees and not all of the procedures can be completed here yet. Since we are planning on going into Tanna anyway, this won't be a problem for us. As long as we have now cleared quarantine and part 1 of customs, we can come to the island....and yes, we still have a dinghy to get us there.
Snorkeling in the marine reserve and hike to a 50 meter waterfall are the big attractions. This is a very remote little island with no motor vehicles and no grocery store. We'll probably be here 4 days or so resting and enjoying before heading north. Now that we are here, I may not do a daily report, but will keep you posted. Thanks for sailing with us.
All is well with the 2 Sail R's on Worrall Wind.

Worrall Wind Update 5 - Marquesas Islands

Marquesas Islands - Day 5

UTC/Local: 0200/0430 May 10, 2010

Latitude: 09 48.224 S
Longitude: 139 01.918 W

Update:
We got up early this morning and headed into Autona by 8:15. It would have been sooner, but once again we were worried about our stern anchor that seemed to have drifted a bit. So we watched and waited, and debated whether to go in to shore or not. Our neighbors on Khashyan (Happiness in Hindi) who had been so helpful the day before were departing, and a small shift to our starboard would not make a big difference, so we headed in to Autona.

We had heard that the Gendamarie was only open to clear in cruisers until 9:00 a.m. So we hustled to get into Autona, a mile or so walk before the purported close time.

We got to Autona, just before 9:00 a.m. Once we got there, they told us they were open until 10:00 a.m. Some of the cruisers relayed that only the captain needed to go, other cruisers reported that everyone needed to go. In the end because we want to leave tomorrow, everyone went and got there before 9:00 a.m. The check-in went smoothly, and we were out of there in 20 minutes. I think they were glad to see all of us. The story seems to change daily.

Anyway, we checked in. After check - in we had to go to the post office and buy a stamp to affix and send our doucmentation to Papeete. Jess and Garyn went to the Gaughan cultural center. Russ and I explored the town and bought some fresh food as we went. Each store has a little different inventory.

Stop 1 - no produce, but snacks and variety items. Russ got a coke and 4 gallons of oil.

Stop 2 - met other cruisers with a truck. Windryder would take oil back to Dingy Dock. We met Ed and Cornelia on A Capella who said to say hello to us from Dave and Marcia on Juniata, and Patricia and Jack on Whoosh who asked if they could sponsor us as commodores for the Seven Seas Cruising Association. They said anyone who made it this far should be sponsored. we are delighted of course.

Stop 3 - ATM

Stop 4 - Veggie truck in front of the park. We got some tomatoes, cucumbers, egg plant, and green beans.

Stop 5 - Tuna truck in front the of the park. We got a kilo of fresh tuna.

Stop 6 - Another little grocery where we got hot freshly baked bread and two dozen eggs.

Stop 7 - Another little grocery where we got onions.

Stop 8 - Another little grocery where we got celery, 4 potatoes, and a frozen chicken.

We didn't see any lettuce or bananas but were pleased with our purchases. No we needed to walk back the mile + to the harbor in the late morning heat lugging our goodies.

We met Garyn and Jess at the post office at 11:00 and hiked back stopping at a little pension/restaurant along the way. We enjoyed fresh vegetable salads and an island fruit compote for dessert. It was nice not to have to cook a meal. Thirty plus days is a long stretch for me.

When we got most of the way back, Garyn and Jessica wanted to strike out to find some petroglyphs. I wanted to get back to the boat, cool off and take a nap. Russ and I returned to the boat, took cold showers, and were putting away the groceries when Jess and Garyn returned...hot, tired, and hadn't found the petroglyphs. As I was putting away the groceries, I discovered that one of our refrigerators had not been turned back on and the pancake syrup had leaked all over! What a mess. There went the nap!

Russ returned to shore to pick up the oil and do some laundry in the communal sink. We didn't want to use our water supply to wash the sheets. He returned with the wet laundry to report that the dinghy anchor had gotten stuck in the rocks. Garyn, Jess, and Russ returned to shore to unsuccessfully dislodge the anchor. While they were gone, I hung out the laundry and am pounding out this update. Russ has returned to the dinghy dock to see if he can employ a local diver to retrieve the anchor.

Never a dull moment. We could all use a little rest and relaxation. We plan to leave tomorrow and sail to the north side of Hiva Oa, so it will have to be after that. Russ just returned. Happiness! Another dingy had dropped his anchor on ours and they had tangled. Fortunately, the other boat owner was willing to dive to retrieve his anchor and ours. So once again,

All is well on Worrall Wind.

Worrall Wind Update - Marquesas Bound

Day 7 - Tuesday - April 13, 2010
UTC/Local: 0400 / 9:00 p.m.
Latitude: 15 57.364 N
Longitude: 112 48.086 W
Conditions:
We are approximately 550 miles from Puerto Vallarta and would only have 2,180 miles to go if we flew a straight line. Last night the sea swells were about 9 feet and 10 seconds apart and the wind was 12-14 knots which made for a very rocking rolling night. We single reefed the main, eased off our course to slow the boat down a bit and to heel less. Most of the night we were on a beam to broad reach and made pretty good time until early morning a few hours before dawn when the wind died. We still had the big swells so we did even more rocking until the wind came back up at dawn and the sea swells died down to 1.5 to 2 meters (4-6 feet). With the sun up, we brought the boat back to a close reach to get back on course and pickup speed.
We listened to the morning net and talked to some boats that were within 100 miles of us, some that had been behind us and had shot ahead, and some that were ahead of us that has less wind and were hoping for more. The conditions vary within just a couple of miles. Even though we knew that the one boat that passed was a fast racing J-Boat, we were feeling pretty sluggish, and more determined than ever to trim the sails and get Worrall Wind moving faster. Fortunately, we had 14-18 knot winds which helped a lot. By "breakfast" we were sailing 6.5 knots sometimes seeing a 7.
"Breakfast" was really early this morning as we decided to turn our clocks to Pacific Standard Daylight Time when we realized it was 8:00 a.m. Puerto Vallarta time and still pitch black. So we turned the clocks backwards two hours so we are currently on same time schedule temporarily as the folks at home. If you think turning the clock forward or backward in one hour increments is confusing, try two. By 10:00 a.m. our bodies were saying lunch. By 3:00 p.m. we were wanting dinner. I was ready to start my 8:00 watch at 6:00 p.m., but had to wait another two hours which also means that I won't be really going off watch until 3:00 a.m. Lucky me. Are you confused yet? So when does our 24 hour day really end in the long book, at midnight, 10 p.m. or 2 a.m.? Let me know.
Our day was pretty uneventful. Garyn worked on trying to adjust the refrigerator. The electronic sensor/thermostat started to act up just before we left. Using our rubber ducky thermometer in the refrigerator, we were able to compensate for the correct temperature, ast couple of days,some of the food in the refrigerator has started to get too cold and freeze. Garyn noticed that the electronic thermometer ss trying to reset itself and go back to normal. The compensation is no longer working. In fact, the refrigerator never seemed to be turning off…..part of the mystery of why we have been burning up the amps. Anyway we think we are getting that worked out. In the meantime, the Honda is on again tonight.
I also got to talk with Marcia from Juniata today. You may or may not know that Dave and Marcia are friends from Colfax who were the catalysts for our cruising. When we met them 15 years ago, we had just bought our little 22 foot Catalina up at Lake Almanor. They had a 25 foot Catalina and dreams to go cruising. In know time at all we had a 25 foot Catalina and dreams to go cruising with them! Boy did we have fun in those little boats and with those dreams.
She and David , currently cruising in the Sea of Cortez were listening in on the Pacific Puddle Jump Net this morning. When I asked for a radio check of boats that could hear our transmission, I was delighted to hear Marcia call in. Our Pacific Puddle Jump boats are scattered across the Pacific Ocean. Many of the boats that were in the first pack to leave are also some of the same boats that are serving as net control and it is getting more and more difficult to hear them. As we approach the middle zone, we may want to serve a turn as net control, but we need to be sure that our transmission range can do the job. Since I only heard three boats comeback to us as having heard us, I think we don't have enough range.
With the boat on a strong starboard tack, I felt pretty safe cooking in the galley today. I'd rather have the hot stuff sliding away from me as I cook. I got a little more creative than mac and cheese tonight. I made ginger sesame pineapple almond chicken over brown rice. I think it was a hit.
Hmm. So what time is it? My body says my watch shift is over, but the clock says I have two more hours before I can nod off. Garyn and Russ are sleeping soundly. Russ was curled against port cushion on the lower saloon settee which is a great place for a starboard tack sleep. Garyn was sleeping in the V-berth also on the port side. We are traveling about 5-6 knots depending on gusting winds.
About midnight, I noticed that the winds were picking up and gusting. We were traveling between 3.5 knots and 7 knots. They were also shifting around and coming more from our starboard stern quarter. Heidi was having difficulty holding course. She would round way up in a gust and fall way off in a slack wind. I wanted to depower the main a little so, I went outside, eased off the main and tightened the preventer. We came off a swell and when we did so fell off the wind enough to gybe, backwinding the jib, cutter, and the main and gybing the mizzen. Heidi got pushed over by our gybing mizzen and stuck between the lines and the bimini top. I had to wait for an opportune time to try and free her. By the time I freed her, we were off course and the cutter was sliding back and forth on its self-tacking bar. By now both Garyn and Russ have awakened to see what was going on. Clark and Nina, our friends and crew on the Baja Ha Ha can testify about the horrible clatter the cutter makes. There is no sleeping when this is going on.
By 12:30 p.m. we had everything back under control "kind of" given the changing sea state. The swells were getting larger, steeper, and faster. The wind was gusting to 20 knots. With each gust, we would round up and head into the swell. Not only were we rolling, but pitching like a hobby horse. It wasn't dangerous, just uncomfortable. Garyn went back to bed for a little while as he was due to come on watch at 1:00. Russ was wide awake and decided to stay up with me for a while as we monitored and adjusted for the changing conditions.
By the time Garyn got back up and on watch, it was about 1:30. I stayed up with everyone until 2:00 then Russ and I decided to go downstairs and see if we could get some sleep. I was just drifting off when Russ woke me up. Garyn wasn't feeling well. He was light headed, cold and clammy almost like shock. Below his belly button he was complaining of a painful lump. We examined it and it looked like some sort of insect bite. It was quite red and hot. We gave him a benedryl for allergic reaction which we think he was having, put some anesthetic/antibiotic on the bite. He rested with head down for about 10 minutes and recovered from the light headedness and claminess. Thank goodness. We'll have to check out the V-berth when the sun comes up and the waves calm down to see if there is some suspicious insect lurking in his stuff.
Once again, I went back to bed at 3:00. Russ decided to stay up with Garyn a while longer. It was quite a ride. My Grandma Ogden would have said, holy Christopher Columbus! Very appropriate. I awoke at 5:30 as dawn was breaking, made coffee, and have been on watch so the guys can get some sleep. But now I'm into Day 8, but will continue this later this evening. Just know that between yesterday at 1500 Zulu and today at 1500 Zulu, we made a gain of 123 miles, and despite the early morning events,
All is well on Worrall Wind.

Worrall Wind Update July 24-25, 2010 Huahine Bound

Arriving in Huahine, end of the rainbow, after another white knuckle adventure.

UTC/Local Time: 2000/1000 July 25
Latitude: 16 51.210 S
Longitude:151.05.117 @
Course Over Ground: 314
Wind Direction: East, South East 18-25 knots of wind
Sea Swell: 10 feet East
Starboard tack, beam reach
Sky: partially cloudy
Barometric Pressure: 1019

Update:

July 24 - 7:30 p.m.

We are currently at sea sailing between Moorea and Huahine. We have traveled 20 of the 80 miles to our first outside mark which according to our sailing calculator we should reach around 7:30 a.m. tomorrow morning. We have a stiff breeze of 18-25 knots of wind on our starboard stern quarter, broad reach. The sea swells are 9-10 feet, coming more towards our beam. The boat is rocking from side to side, and every few minutes a set of rollers pass under the boat heeling us to port where we are taking some water over the bottom rail. Our hydrovane (Hydie), windvane steering system is working well.

We have less than 50 percent of the jib out, and a triple reefed main, no mizzen because of our almost downwind sail. Even with the sails reefed, not only for comfort, but because we are trying to keep our speed down to 5 knots, we are coursing along between 5.5 and 6 knots. We are moving well, although the rocking is a bit uncomfortable...so what else is new? After having been in port and on land, this is our first overnight passage in 2 months, and just the two of us again. We were both a bit anxious with nervous energy. That always seems to be the way of things after having stayed in one place for so long. The sail to Moorea on Friday was a nice warm-up.

Moorea had a beautiful moonrise last night and clear skies this morning.

I have first watch this evening. It's pretty early for Russ to be sleeping, but he is trying. We didn't sleep too well last night because there were some party boats in the bay last night playing music and talking loudly until 2:00 or so in the morning. Also our anchor alarm went off a few times. When we got up this morning it appeared that our anchor had drug a little, getting us a little to cozy with Pincoya, so we pulled up the anchor and repositioned ourselves for the day. It was a good thing because the wind really piped up by 10:00 a.m. and we were firmly anchored.

Our sea life entertainment today included flying fish, a pod of 4 dolphins swimming through the anchorage, and a white spotted ray jumping about 4 feet out of the water within 10 feet of the boat. Went ashore to find a geocache, but unfortunately we did not find it, not for the lack of trying though. I think the cache was gone. The last cache seeker also could not find it on July 9, according to the online log.

Dragon of the West & Out the Golden Gate and Hang A Left Travel Bugs outside the geocache that had disappeared.

Too Bad!  But they got a nice view from the beach of Worrall Wind.

July 25 - 12:30 a.m.
 The wind and waves have gotten progressively stronger. Some of the rollers are moving incredibly fast, one right after another, mounting up to be super sized and breaking as they roll past, under us, in front of us, or worse from the side. One of the large rollers that hit us from the side popped open the v-berth door and it slammed back against the galley wall making such a racket that it woke Russ about a half hour before I would have awakened him.

We discuss our progress. Even though the seas are rough we're doing fine, but about 4 miles to the right of our course line. I've been having to hand steer the last two hours because of the shifting winds and the rolling seas that keep taking us off our wind line and Hydie is having difficulty recovering. We need to tack, but for right now, we'll stay the course we are on. The moon is still out, but there are more clouds coming up behind us.

1:00-3:00 a.m.
I'm sleeping downstairs in the main salon trying to keep from rolling from side to side with pillows squished behind my knees and back and in front of me. Russ holds the course for two hours then the wind really starts to pickup and shift around. Yes, you guessed. A big honking squall is on our port quarter and starting to obscure the moon. The boat is rocking wildly and we are recording gusts of 40 knots, 30 being the sustained winds. Sure glad we are triple reefed. Even with that we are now moving at almost 8 knots and the waves are well over ten feet, and we are rocking toe rail to toe trail with water coming over both sides and streaming down the deck. By this time, I am up with PFD, gloves, shoes, and long pants.

3:00-3:30 a.m.
We don't like it. There is no end in sight of the black squall line behind us. It's scary as hell, but we're dry inside and the boat is taking it like a champ, even if we are white knuckled. Hydie is needing constant help now.

3:30-5:00 a.m.
 During a lull of 25 knots, (ha ha, seems like it is hardly windy), we clip in and go outside on the fantail (back deck) and take over steering from there. I go out first and secure the upper helm. Russ follows. We sit for a few minutes getting a read on the situation. We have a cruise liner, the Paul Gauguin, coming up on our rear. He should be crossing behind us less than 4 miles. Russ calls him on the radio and he sees us on the radar. We pull in the jib and see if we can get a bit more on course as we keep rounding up pulling us farther off course. This helps a bit, but it slows our speed down considerably and in the end slows us too much for us to either gybe or come about, which we need to do. So we rest a little as the wind howls around us, and we basically fore reach (into the swell and close to the wind).

We wait for the wind to subside. It doesn't. Paul Gauguin passes behind us. The black squall line is still there with no light coming from the horizon It's a dry squall, only a few rain drops. We decide to turn the motor on and power around. It take Russ a few minutes to go in the engine room and open the thru hulls. The engine comes to life...such a reassuring sound. We power the boat through a gybe, put the engine in neutral, reset the jib, and adjust the windvane. At last we are moving back to our course line.
The wind and seas are now consistently on a broad reach on a port tack. Eventually we will need to gybe again.

5:00-7:00 a.m.
I go back to bed. The boat courses along at 5-6 knots, wind around 25. At 7:30 we gybe again. The seas and wind are still strong, but it always look better in the daylight and the sun scares away the squalls. We can see Huahine in the distance.

10:00 a.m.
We are within a few miles now of Huahine and our outside mark. We are looking forward to a quiet anchorage on the lee side of the island and a little rest. It's been an exhilarating ride. I need to post this while still in open waters as I don't know what the radio signal will be once we are in the Bay.

12:30 p.m.
I am unable to send the log at 10:00, so I postpone until I have an Internet connection in port.  We are now at anchor in Huahine.  There is a large mountain at the base of the  bay creating clouds and winds.  Because we are behind the reef, there is no swell, but the winds here are pretty stiff.  We don't care, we drop the hook.  We're done for the day.

All is well on Worrall Wind.

New Friends, Old New Friends and Back to Vuda

We have been in the Yasawa Islands now for two weeks.  Most of that time has been in the Blue Lagoon, Nanuya Sewa Anchorage.  The natural beauty of these islands is spellbinding and the friendships we have made here are very precious.  It has been difficult to say goodbye.

We are now headed back toward Vuda Marina where we may make a brief stop to do some re-provisioning before heading out to the Mamanuca Islands, Musket Cove. It depends if we can pick up some fresh vegetables somehwere along the way.    Our plan will be to stay in Musket Cove a few days before checking out of Fiji in the port city of Lautoka and heading off to Vanuatu.


Tuesday, June 7, 2011 - Baked Brownies

In anticipation of our dinner with  Tui's family in Matakawa Levu Village on the opposite island from our anchorage, I decided to bake some brownies to bring over for dessert.  I spent most of the morning on Skype with Adobe Software talking to a very nice man in India who led me through some pretty complicated procedures to get my licensing to work again with my design suite software.  When my old Mac crashed and I migrated all my software and documents from my clone drive to the new Mac, the Adobe stuff didn't work right anymore.  It's taken several weeks to fix this particular aspect of the migration.  Anyway, it was all a success.  It's quite amazing that while I am in Fiji, a man from India can take remote control of my desktop through a Skype call, and get the computer fixed up.

After brownie making and computer fixing, we decided to go for a dive on the reef shelf at the end of the island.  It was our second dive without an instructor.  There was a gentle downward slope that dropped down to 18 meters.  We saw some beautiful soft corals, huge clams, puffy stars, purple stars, parrot fish, lion fish, and powder blue damsels.  At the end of our dive, we were feeling more confident with our skills and our equipment.  As we were leaving the dive site, a man was waving us down on the shore.  His name was Sosi.  He had heard that we had reading glasses and was wondering if he could have a pair.  Dr. Russ and his eyeglasses are a big hit.  We told him, we would come back the following day and bring him a pair.

After our dive, we scooted around the anchorage to welcome a couple of new boats, Verite and Pickles.  We haven't seen Pickles since we all went to the Nuapapa School in Tonga together.  It's nice to see familiar faces.  We returned to the boat, took showers, gathered our gear, turned on the anchor lights and headed toward the opposite shore.  It would be dark when we returned in our dinghy.  Fortunately, the wind was almost non-existent our ride was very smooth across the lagoon.  Tui and his niece Kuna met us as we pulled our dinghy on the shore.  He welcomed us and reminded Russ as we headed toward the village to remove his hat.

Tui introduced to a few of his neighbors as we walked toward his home.  When we reached his home, we met his family, his parents Ralulu and Livia, and his wife Kelera.  We took off our shoes, or I did, Russ has gone so native he doesn't wear shoes anymore.  We walked through the kitchen to the living room where we sat with Ralulu and Tui and learned about their village and Tui's school days.  He had once attended the Somo Levu Catholic Mission School that we had visited a few days earlier.  From his home to the school was a daily walk and swim.  It would take him over an hour to get to school, 20 minutes of it was swimming across the bay with his school uniform held high over his head.   While we waited for dinner, we brought out a few gifts for the family.  We gave Kuna a balloon and a wind up music box,

 reading glasses for Ralulu and Livia, brownies, and some fishing hooks for Tui.

We enjoyed a lovely meal prepared by Kelera and Livia.  We had snapper in a coconut sauce, skip jack wrapped in Taro leaves in a coconut cream, breadfruit, and kasava root.  Everything was delicious.   The family and people in the village grow all that they need.   After dinner, we returned to the living room where Kelera spread a cloth on the floor mats and set up after dinner tea with fresh sliced bread and brownies.

Kelera, Tui, Tui's cousin, and Kuna (the young people) sat up while we were instructed by Ralulu that the older people lay down on their stomachs.  We were given some pillows to make this easier.   It is a little challenging to drink tea from this position, but we got used to it and had a great time.

Livia presented Russ and me with some jewelry that she had made.  Russ's necklace is made from shark's bone and mine is made from hematite.  Tui said he, Kelera, and Kuna would bring us some fresh scone bread in the morning before our shark dive.  We said our goodbyes and headed back to our boat.  The water was calm, the moon was shining and the sky was filled with stars.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011 - Shark Dive
We were up by seven and the tea kettle was boiling just as Tui, Kelera, and Kuna arrived at 7:30.  They brought a basket filled with papaya "popo", limes, and the brownie container filled with a moist scone bread.  We enjoyed a nice breakfast with them before we said our goodbyes.  The Ralulu's headed back across the lagoon and we headed toward shore and the dive boat.

The Wednesday morning boat was filled with divers.  A university class, organized by the University of Utah, was aboard the dive boat.  About 15 students had taken the open water diving course and were earning credits in sustainable, ecologically friendly tourism.  The shark dive was the grand finale to a weeks worth of learning and diving.

Everyone was just a bit nervous about this dive, who wouldn't be, diving with sharks?  When we got to the dive site, we were instructed to descend down the buoy line, then swim to a horizontal line stretched between two coral heads.   We all wore enough weights to sink us to the bottom so that we could stand easily and not drift away.  We formed a wall of human bodies behind the line.

Once everyone was settled, the dive masters started bringing down big garbage cans of fish parts, chum, which they emptied out about 15 feet from where we were all standing.  Before they even emptied the cans, thousands of fish were gathered for the feed.  We saw wrasse, bass, snapper, and lots of little fish.  After the chum hit the ground, a frenzy of feeding began.  Pretty soon the sharks started to circle.  First the black tipped and white tipped reef sharks appeared.

We could tell when the big boys were coming because the smaller fish would split off and away from the chum like a synchronized swim team.  The  lemon sharks were huge. I'm guessing they were at least six feet long and weighing 250-350 lbs.  Some of the other divers with under water cameras have promised to send us copies of their photos or links to their photos, but in the meantime, here is a photo from Wikipedia:

There were a couple of times when I nearly swallowed my whole regulator.  The big guys would pickup a large piece of fish they couldn't quite get with a single swallow, and toss it about a bit until their jaws could get it positioned for a gulp.  As they would do this twitchy little dance with their teeth flashing, they would swim right towards the human body line and would get within a couple of feet of us before turning.

Fortunately, the sharks really do prefer fish, and if there wasn't enough dead fish for them, there were plenty of nearby appetizers with fins, dorsal not swim fins.

Our dive and shark show lasted for about 40 minutes and then we headed back up to the dive boat.  All in all it was very exciting, and the best part....we lived to tell about it.  We returned to the boat, ate lunch, and did some reading.  Russ took the dinghy to shore to deliver a pair of eyeglasses and to drop off some garbage.  We returned later in the evening for a glass of wine and dinner with new friends, Denise and Thomas.   We had lovely last evening at Blue Lagoon.

Thursday, June 9, 2011 - Goodbye Blue Lagoon, Hello Soso
We got up early and started to stow things away for our departure.  Our plan was to hang around until at least 10:00 in the morning when the sun was higher in the sky, better to see reefs.  We heard a boat approaching around 8:00 a.m. and thought it might be Tui, but it was Sosi and several other men from the resort.  They were bearing departure gifts from Va and her family.  She sent out a beautiful bouquet of flowers, a coconut bowl and woven stand that she had made the night before, a bag of limes, and lemon leaves for tea.  I think she thought that we would be leaving without coming to shore again.

Once we had almost everything ready to go, we went into shore one last time.  We needed to pickup our dive gear at the dive shop, pay our dinner bill from the previous night, and say our thank yous and goodbyes to all of the lovely people at Nanuya.  And of course, we wanted to stop and say good bye and vinaka  to Va and her family.  Va was delighted to see us, and we both had tears in our eyes as we gave each other parting hugs.  Yes, we would definitely come back to see her if we come back to Fiji.  As we left, she wanted to give us one last gift, a beautiful snail sogasoga shell.

We lifted the dinghy up on the davits, weighed anchor at 10:20, and headed south towards Naviti Island and Soso Bay.  We had met some other cruisers in Blue Lagoon, Ernesto and Vera on Libertee, who had given us some good waypoints for the eastern side of the island.  Worrall Wind spent the rest of the morning and early part of the afternoon playing connect the dots until we threaded our way through the reefs to Soso Bay on Naviti Islands.

This bay is not as protected as Blue Lagoon and the wind has picked up a bit blowing in some clouds.  As I write this blog this evening, we are getting gusts up to 20 knots and we are bucking about a bit.  We were planning on just spending on one night here, and heading out early tomorrow for an all day motor sail to Musket Cove, but it looks like that won't happen now until Saturday morning.  We went into shore this afternoon to  bring kava to the chief and do a sevusevu with him, and were invited to come back tomorrow to visit the village and school.  Somehow, we can't pass by a school without a visit.

The Chief and his family were thrilled to receive the kava as well as several pairs of reading glasses for the elders.  As we were leaving the village today, a man came up to the shore in a boat and called us by name.  "Do you remember me?" he asked.  Of course, we did.  It was Leve, the man who called his ancestors the Manta Rays and made it possible for us to see at least one.  He is now an old, new friend.

Friday, June 10, 2011 - Naviti School, Village, and Popo Scones

This morning we motored over to the village in our dinghy so that we could visit the school. Taru, one of the chief's granddaughters escorted us to the school.   Two of the teachers were either ill or out of town, so classes 3 & 4, 5 & 6, had no school.  Class 1/2 was in session as was class 7/8.  We spent an hour at the school visiting the two classes.  The school in Naviti is one of the best equipped schools we have been in.

The children in class 7/8 ranged in age from 12-14.  They were working on geometry and coordinates.  Talking latitude and longitude with them fit right into their studies.  And as usual the globe was a big hit as they found their island.  Just like American tweens, the boys were pulling their pens apart, poking one another, and were balls of energy confined to a classroom.  The girls claimed that they worked harder than the boys and from the looks of it they were much more attentive to their studies.

Class 7/8 in Naviti

The children in class 1/2 were very sweet.  They too loved the globe and sang several songs to us.

After our visit to the school, we walked around the village with Taru taking photos of the church and buying some bananas and papaya (popo).

Taru and Russ in the Methodist Church

 A larger group of visitors was expected after 2:00, and we were invited to return to the village in the afternoon as the ladies would have their handcrafts on display for sale and the village entertainers would provide some entertainment.  Russ and I returned to WW for lunch.  I took a short nap as the southeast tradewinds blew through the boat.

Preparing for Lunch Party in Community Hall

We returned to the village around 2:30 and tagged with a group of 10 or so other visitors from a touring schooner who had paid for a sevusevu ceremony with kava and some entertainment.  We passed on the kava ceremony, but did enjoy the singing and dancing provided by the local entertainers.

After our entertainment and the large tour group left, Russ and I hung around and got a lesson from Taru and her Aunt Aggie on how to make papaya scones (cake).  After you husk a coconut, you grind up the white meat, mix in a bowl with soft papaya, add water and squeeze out the milk.  Pour the wet coconut/papaya through a strainer to separate out just the milk.

The coconut/papaya milk is mixed into a dry mixture of 4 cups flour and 8 teaspoons of baking soda until a sticky batter is made then spooned into a buttered pan.  We were given a pan full of batter to take back to the boat and bake. Taru had been such a gracious guide to us all day, we were happy to give her a ride out to our boat as she had expressed an interest in a visit.

Taru and Roz

Before I baked the papaya scones, I still had one very ripe papaya that I wasn't sure what to do with.  I don't particularly like the taste of ripe papaya.  I cleaned out the seeds and scooped the soft papaya flesh into a sauce pan, added some sugar, butter, cinnamon, and vanilla.  I used half of the hot papaya mixture as a chunky sauce over the cake mix.  The other half, I added some potato flakes and made a mashed potato papaya mixture to serve with our bar-b-qued chicken kabobs.  It was delicious and so was the cake.

Tomorrow morning we will take bake the cake pan with half of the cake for Taru and her family along with some photos we have taken of them.  We were planning on heading to Musket Cove but are now planning a return to Vuda Point tomorrow.  Apparently the buoys are booked for an incoming NZ race group.

Saturday, June 11, 2011 - Goodbye Naviti - Back to Vuda
We got up this morning and prepped the boat for a long day back to Vuda Point.  The sky was clear and we had a nice breeze.  Before we hauled up the dinghy, we motored to shore to say goodbye to the people in the village and to return the cake pan.  We had printed off some nice photos of some of our new friends and wanted to give them as parting gifts.

After our goodbyes, we made our way back to the boat, raised the dinghy and weighed anchor by 9:20.  We were on our way back to Vuda.  We motored, we sailed, and we motor sailed all the way back, following our waypoints like a faithful dog with his nose to the track.

Have you got a Big Mac to go?

It was a beautfiul day. Our only surprise was the little man in a homemade corrigated metal canoe who paddled like crazy to intercept us a couple of miles off shore.   We were undersail moving about 6 knots, but his intent was to catch us.  We slowed the boat and pulled into the wind so that he could paddle along side.  Had Russ and his eyeglasses traveled this far?  No, but did we have any food he asked?  He had been out fishing all morning, hadn't caught anything, and we looked like the drive through window of a fast food restaurant.  We happily handed over some crackers, cheese, cookies, bananas, and water.  He was very cute and most appreciative.

We returned to Vuda about 4:00.  The marina office was closed, but our friends on Trim said there was a space open next to them, so we glided in, tied off, hooked up the water, plugged in the electricty, took showers, and headed to the bar!  Nice to be back in port for a few days.

That's it for now.

All is well with the 2 Sail R's on Worrall Wind