GHOST

After a quick stock up on internet & fuel in the town we headed out to explore some more anchorages around Vava'u. Unfortunately the weather changed and with rain streaming down we headed to anchorage #11 in the centre of the island group. This is the anchorage where Delos will spend the hurricane season on extra strong buoys and it certainly is a very sheltered place. We were glad of the rain as it gave GHOST a good wash and us an excuse to watch TV all evening and the final series of Lost!

The following day we headed to anchorage #21 where there is supposed to be good diving, but with the weather now coming out of the South there was a lot of swell so we contented ourselves with snorkelling and exploring the beach before finding a more secure anchorage - #8, next to the island of Kapa, where we would spend the night anchored next to Delos. By now the weather had improved and we spent the afternoon collecting firewood and preparing for a fire on the beach. Our friends on Lady K pulled up just as we were getting started and Ayla (a professional chef) made their freshly caught tuna into delicious chorizo and tuna kebabs. Along with the yummy sausages we bought in Niue, some potatoes wrapped in foil, and the jerry can of rum we had a fantastic evening with one of the most beautiful beaches in the world all to ourselves.

Drunken plans from the night before meant we headed into town the following afternoon to compete in the weekly yacht race on GHOST with the crews from Lady K and Delos. It's a pretty relaxed affair with a course that meanders through the moored boats and around the main harbour. GHOST had a flying start and maintained a strong lead throughout the race, though we were nearly disqualified for flying the gennaker, disallowed under a secret rule we didn't know about!. Luckily we heard the organisers on the radio just in time so dumped the gennaker and carried on under white sails alone. All too soon we crossed the finish line for a resounding win. It was great fun and surely something we'll remember for a long time - made especially easy with all the extra crew with lots of race experience! Thanks to the Mermaid Yacht club for our prize - we'll be heading into the Aquarium soon for a free team breakfast, once all the crews get up after the victory celebrations last night...