Hello All,
We are in Fiji. Thank you all for your patience. Internet is a luxury that we dont always have. It took us 12 days to get here from NZ including a stop over at Minerva reef. Amy was a champ. She had some drama getting her sea legs but nothing major. I was happy to take care of her and she came around at Minerva. We had epic sailing. It was quite fresh for a few of those days, but from the right direction. We caught lots of fish, mostly Mahi Mahi unless some of our escapees were different species. We made land fall at dawn on a Tuesday at Savusavu. Amy was on watch before our approach and kept the throttle down a little too hard. I came on at 300 and had a few hours to kill before daylight so I hit the breaks. The landfall was magic. The people are great. We have been hanging out with cruisers that I have met before in the Pacific, and have made many new friends. Amy and I are net controllers for the cruisers net on Friday and Saturday. I have a lot of experience on the radio and it is very fun to see her learn the ropes and do her own radio show in the morning. I have been coaching sailing at the local club. (lasers and optis). We were out yesterday in 15-20kts and had action. A laser with a Fijian named "pete" driving was dismasted at the deck... and later, I got in a laser myself and gave their champ a run for his money. I gave a chalk talk afterward (as the guest instructor from America) It was extra special for the kids because I was able to point out my boat in the anchorage tell them my story, and light up their eyes. I hope we are still around next week for the racing. Amy and I have been playing our guitars a lot, and have indeed rocked a party. We even played a show at a local restaurant. It was just her and me. The band took a break, she played guitar and sang and I just sang. We put on a clinic of how to rock a party and brought the house down. The Fijians appreciated the change of pace. As of lately, we are waiting for a weather window to get east to the Lau Group. It is, and has been, steady and reinforced trade winds for the past two weeks. We need to sail east so we are staying put, refusing to give up the Lau, but are enjoying immersing ourselves in Savusavu in the meantime. All n' all, things are well and fine aboard and I miss you all and hope you are all well and happy.
Eric