I learned more about last night's kava drinking session. The event occurs three nights per week among the three villages on the island as fund raisers for the three Catholic churches. It's sort of like bingo night but is for men only. The cost is $2.75 for all you care to drink until midnight. The kava itself is a concoction made from the root of a pepper plant grown locally. The men sit in circles of about 10 people while a hostess pours the kava into coconut bowls and passes them around. There were perhaps 80 people in attendance. I honestly don't think it will catch on in the U.S.

Early this morning I took the inflatable out through a small pass in the reef to troll for dinner. The sea was a bit lumpy for my small dinghy but what really bothered me was the pod of humpback whales in the neighborhood. All of a sudden one surfaced about 100 ft. away in shallow water. That was all the encouragement I needed and I scurried back inside the reef. I caught no fish and am beginning to think that the waters around this island are fished out by the natives. Nevertheless, I will keep trying.

All else is well onboard. There are now 11 boats in the anchorage, all being pestered for cigarettes.