The "storm" has passed.
15 June 2012 | Musket Cove
clear and with some wind
Well, it's been 36 hours and the "storm" has passed. Tuesday, three boats dragged their anchors, one nearly hitting our friends on Teka Nova. hey had to rouse the owner by shouting from their bow. That's how close they were. The boat that hit them is the same boat I talked about that had the young lady on the bow in a dress as they tried to get their anchor up. One of the other boats was the one that took up one of the mooring balls in the midst of the blow.
Well, 36 hours have passed and the rains have gone. It rained on and off most of yesterday with the winds still in the hight teens to low 20. Today, sunny and bright with constant wind but not a huge speeds. Maybe 10-15 knots. Enough to keep the wind generator spinning on the stern.
Tracy did 4 loads of laundry which decorated our deck making it quite colorful blowing in the wind. Being on the ocean, it takes quite a while to dry so you have to start early in the day if you want to have any chance of getting it dry. Something about being on a boat in a big body of water slows the drying process down dramatically.
We made our first trip to shore this afternoon to get some more supplies. The islands supply ship had just come in so we'll try tomorrow and see if fresher veggies have come in.
We're set to take off on Sunday morning for an island north of here called Naviti Island. It's famous for the manta rays that swim in the bay. Our friends on Teka Nova will be leading the way. They have a new chart program called Chartaid that allows Google Earth photo charts to be overlaid on regular chart programs. I'll be working on the same program tomorrow to get us up to day. The winds are set to change back to 10 knots out of the southeast as of tomorrow so we should have a nice sail northward. Since it's about 42 miles to get there, we plan on hoisting the anchor about 0700 so we can get an early start. There are a few reefs we will have to navigate around. With these "new" chart program overlays, it should make the trip much less stressful.
Tomorrow, battening down everything for the trip and laying in the course in the chart plotter. Plus lay in more supplies from the local store. We have to be back in Lautoka on the 22nd to check back in with Customs as that is the day our "cruising permit" expires and the last thing we want to do is upset the government agents that have been so good to us.
Stay tuned for the next adventure.