Our passage to Samoa started off nicely with 15kts on the beam as we followed DOUBLE TROUBLE out of the pass. The seas were up a bit as the wind had been blowing for a week or more but it wasn't too uncomfortable. We were making good speed, so much so that we overtook DOUBLE TROUBLE within a few hours - very rarely does PANNIKIN overtake another boat! Unfortunately that was the good part of the trip as the wind slowly died off so we had to resort to the motor to keep us moving. We may have been able to keep the sails up if it wasn't for the swell coming from three different directions and making life very uncomfortable as PANNIKIN was tossed from side to side. This lasted for two and a half days before the wind finally came through. But so did the swell and the rain and for the next week we battled seas of 4 to 5 metres, rain and winds of 25 to 35kts with gusts up to 42kts. Life was uncomfortable and very wet to say the least. The wind was coming from the aft quarter & the rain was blowing straight into the cockpit and down the companionway so when we were on watch there was not anywhere to hide to get out of the elements. Getting into a warm bed for three hours has never been so good. Getting up again - not so!
As we approached Samoa the skies cleared and we had a nice sail for a few hours so we madly pulled all the wet gear on deck and tried to dry everything out in the sun.
We were happy to find the anchorage in the harbour to be calm and flat with only one other boat. We dropped the anchor and breathed a sigh of relief. The crossing took us 9 days and is the last major crossing until we sail the Coral Sea to Australia.
Once we had the boat back in order it was time to check in so Steve jumped in the dinghy and went to see the authorities only to find we are not allowed off the boat until they come out and inspect. Steve mentioned to the port authority lady that his wife had a tooth ache and needed to get to a dentist ASAP. She kindly rang the necessary authorities and within half an hour we were called on the radio to pick them up from the marina and ferry them out to PANNIKIN. There were five different Government departments we had to deal with and they were all lovely, happy and helpful people even though they had to come out to us right on their knock off time.
Finally time for a beer and relax watching the sun go down and everything happening onshore!