This will be a catch up post. Not sure where I left off as I can't see the blog but...after 3, Tuesday days of solid rain dawned bright sunny and down right hot!
At 16 degrees south of the equator, the sun is very intense and the need for shade and tons of water are on your mind full time. As there was no wind, tried out the furling main sail, in mast, before we left CNI, to move to town. Stuck! I worked on it for a couple of hours with little success, then Sylvain and I worked on for another 3 hours with a 90% success rate. Enough to run with so Wednesday am we moved over to the city dock, almost the exact spot on the blog, where John had the boat a few years ago. Provisioned using the 3 stores in town, then that afternoon Jim left us to fly home. Three days of rain, trapped inside a closed up boat with 3 guys, stuck in a boatyard far from town, made for a nasty cold that he could not shake. Fever, chills, nonstop coughing made up his mind that he better go home. So now it is George and I. Makes for a longer watch but we are both good with and have a excellent working relationship so all is right with the world!
Next, fine 5 gallon/20 liter gas cans! Since we only carry 36 gallons on board I need at least another 30 gallons to see us through the first 1,000 mile to the equator as the winds are light or non-existent! Problem! There ain't any on the friggin' island, new or used! So for the measly amount of $607.00 usd, there are now 2 12gallon outboard fuel tanks strapped to the cabin roof! Plus there were 2 5 gallon gas already on the Buckaroo and we living the good life! (fingers crossed)
Then the bilge pump switch decided to go on a permanent leave of absence, took about 3 hours or so to trace that down and rig up a temp. switch, as in jumper wires. So got food,check, full of fuel, check, everything appears to be working, check. Thursday at around 0730 we left the dock for an island east of Raiatea called Huahine , cleared the reef at 0820, and motor sailed the 20+ mile to village of Fare. Those of you reading this be warned! You DO NOT want to come here! I'll post a couple of pics and you'll see why.
It is now Saturday morning and George and I just got back from the Farmer's Market in town, full of fresh fruits and veggies. Ready to head north but....last night the anchor light and the big tri-color running light at the top of the mast are on vaction. On the list after I post this, to fix/McGyver. At 1st light in the morning, we head north as I'll be posting via sat phone, blog post will be short. Out here in the anchorage, there is wifi, so we have internet and e-mail and we are making the best use of it for our last day before we reach Oahu. Once underway, you can e-mail us, please no photos,attachments as sat time is not free!!!
Time to close this and go for a swim!
Lynn