Manta Ray & Pot Luck! Saturday, Aug. 4, 2018
05 August 2018 | Suwarrow, North Cook Island
Helen & Mark
After dinner, we watched the movie, Casino Royale (James Bond). We didn't get to bed until almost 11. No on is sure if our time pushed back an hour. It's very close. We are also very close to the date line. Slept well for the first time in a long time. Had breakfast and Mark started working on a few boat projects. The first one was checking out both engines. Along the last leg, Mark noticed a hose clamp was loose and vibrating. There were two clamps. One was touching the motor mount which worked it loose, of course it was at the very bottom of the engine and hard to reach. Just an issue on the one engine. He checked both and added oil to both engines and addressed a small leak on the starboard engine. There was an issue with where the boom attaches to the mast. This is called the Goose Neck. The pin was missing which allowed the shaft to work out of the casing. That has been corrected. Mark also replaced a broken rivet at the head of the main sail, which held the leach line block. Lots of great work. We headed out in the dinghy to check for manta rays. Another boat joined us. And yes, we did spot one. Mark took underwater pictures. We enjoyed our snorkel. The coral structures are beautiful with so many different colors. Lots of smaller fish, but lots to see. Came back to the boat and showered and changed. I started cooking up a hot pasta dish for the cruisers' pot luck gathering at the beach. We had a quick bite for lunch, which was good. The pot luck was supposed to start at 2 pm. Only one other boat was ashore at 2 pm when we got there. Mostly everyone else was on Island Time. The weather was perfect. There were many coconut trees to provide ample shade. Someone set up a table and some chairs. We took our stools to sit on, but they stayed in the dinghy. It was a large group gathered. Met a lot of cruisers and had a lovely time. Ernie brought out something like a kettle drum and started playing. A few others joined in and made some lovely music. My stomach started acting up and I felt nauseas, so we headed back to the boat. We were both tired. The sun has just sunken into the ocean as it set for another day. Thanks for the many satellite messages, especially ones with news. Happy birthday to Mark's brother, Jim and also, happy anniversary to Jim & Deb! We are checking weather, which has been unusual for this time of the year. We may be another couple of days here in Suwarrow which won't be hard to take.