Now you see them and now you don't.
12 July 2012 | Musket Cove general store and restaurant.
Sunny and still blowing.
It's truly a case of "now you see them and now you don't". Close to four years ago, we pulled into Namaimo Harbor dropped our anchor and settled in for a few days of sightseeing and (of course) fixing things. After getting settled in, we noticed a dingy going back and forth behind our boat. We started up a conversation with the two people in the dingy-Lene and Henrik off Dana from Denmark. They were checking out the gear(DuoGen) on our stern. Cruisers are curious creatures always inspecting what others have on their boats to see if it might work for them. We're just a guilty as the rest of us out here. I can't pass a boat without seeing what they have on board and asking questions if something peaks my interest.
Lene and Henrik hung around for a while and we had a nice chat. They had sailed all the way from Denmark on a boat they had made themselves(ferro cement). They even went around Cape Horn on the southern tip if South America(one of the "holy grails" of cruisers). They had then crossed to Hawaii and up to Alaska and were heading back down the coast for Mexico.
Well, in the next four years, we have come across each other in California, Mexico as we came down the coast, French Polynesia, Tonga and now in Fiji. Of all the people we have met in our travels, by far, these are our oldest friends. Normally, you might run into the same boat from time to time but not in all the miles the two of us have traveled. They arrived on Tuesday evening and anchored right behind us. With all the wind, they have now moved closer to the marina taking a buoy since they have to bring diesel out to their boat in 5 gallon cans. It will be much easier since it's still blowing in the high teens to low 20's and is forecast to continue for the next few days. We met for drinks last night at the $5.00 Bar at Musket Cove. It was great getting back with them again.
When we parted in Tonga, they had made their way to New Zealand for the cyclone season while we stayed in Fiji. About a month ago, they left New Zealand and made their way up to Fiji to explore this island nation. It was a great evening of swapping stories. Unfortunately, it ended as it started to sprinkle and then rain.
When we had left Zephyr several hours before, it had been very nice and with little sign of any rain. We'd left all the hatches and ports open. We all scrambled for our dingies and headed back to our boats. With us being so far out(no one is our past us) it took a while to get back. Luckily, very little water had made it's way inside. Most had blown right past the hatches. It made for an easy cleanup. We waited for the rain to stop before bringing Puff back on deck. If the winds are really going to hit the 20 knot range, we feel better having her on deck rather than hanging off the side.
Lene and Henrik plan on staying around for a couple more days so we know we will get back together again for more conversation and a friendly drink or two.
It's now Friday the 13th with it blowing nicely making the DuoGen happy on the stern and we may settle in for the day. I'm going to try to make some hamburger buns. You can get them here but they just aren't the same so I've got the time and the materials so I'll let you know how they turn out.