It's now just over a week since we arrived back in Majuro, a bit jet lagged after the overnight flight from Brisbane, and, as always, feeling disoriented. Air travel is so disconcerting, not quite as quick as teleporting, but certainly feels like it after the slow seductive pace of sail travel. After days or weeks enroute, mind and body, although exhausted, know they have arrived somewhere different, having experienced each slow mile. Air travel delivers our human bodies, but hearts and minds take longer to catch up.

Imagine our further disorientation to arrive hot and bothered at Shoreline, to see the normally placid Majuro lagoon whipped into a heaving white capped mess by an unusual southerly wind. Lovely Irish Melody was bucking up and down, and we pondered how we were going to get our 60kgs of Australian goodies safely on board, as our dinghy was still stored on IM's foredeck. Ever helpful yachties pitched in and dinghied us out to IM, and before long we were aboard, with all our luggage, and stripping off clothing in the 30 degree heat. Our sea legs were given an immediate reminder of the need to always have one hand for you and one hand for the boat.

We had barely unlocked the boat when all of a sudden 6-7 dinghies converged on the neighbouring boat "Steven". We couldn't believe our tired eyes, Steven had broken free of her mooring, the strong winds and waves having chafed through her lines... could it be that this 50 foot steel monster was going to collect IM before we even got our bags unpacked! Steven is a salvage boat that was found abandoned in the open ocean and towed back to Majuro about a year ago, the owner lost at sea. She had been causing concern to yachties in the northern mooring field for some time, as we all feared she might slip her mooring, and with nobody aboard, drift off through the fleet, crashing into our precious homes. A yacht in her immediate path quickly slipped their mooring and motored off, to allow the assembled team to halt her inexorable progess towards the lea shore and hook up to the vacated buoy. We could only sit and watch, wondering if we too would have to fire up the d iesel and move out of her way. Luckily the combined experience of the dinghy flotilla managed to get Steven safely secured and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

After that excitement, a quick inspection of IM revealed she has survived the three months without us with little ill effect other than a bit of a musty smell, and mould on most of the surfaces, after Majuro experienced one of their wettest Aprils since the 1970s. The wonderful Majuro yatching community, including friends on Imajica, Astarte and Navigator had kept a good eye on IM, checking for chafing on her mooring lines, and making sure no-one had broken in. Two other yachts had unfortunately not been so lucky, and had been broken into, although apparently not much had been taken.

We have spent the last week cleaning, sorting, provisioning and commissioning (water maker, fridge systems, diesel). Tony's been up the mast and lubricated and checked everything, and we spent a wonderful day at WAM (local canoe organisation) making great use of their Sail Rite machine to fix the colour strip on our headsail which had unravelled after a year in the sun in Tarawa. Weather is looking good for a Thursday departure to Tarawa, but will keep you posted.