Condesa pulled into the Port Denarau Marina on a calm and sunny Wednesday afternoon and was moored in amongst some of the biggest boats we have seen. It was boaty business as usual with the ritual of jobs like cleaning down the salty decks, covering the sails, finding someone to buff and polish the hull, mend the sail and adjusting below the decks after the lovely 4 day hop. So we were off to provision and check out Nandi town before we finalised a weather report and the plans to head to Muskett Cove. Being Race Week I was keen to catch up with other boating friends and hear their stories.
BUT 6am the next morning as the sun broke our world lit up with the knocking on the hull saying "Hey get up -this time it is not a dream!". And from that surreal moment on, the stopover with our two boys and their girls (Dustin, Kate, Mitch and Leticia) began. As the sand slipped through the '5 day hour glass' every grain was special and accounted for. I forgot how much fun those boys are. Instantly there were bags of fresh bakery, groceries and lots of alcohol loaded onto Condesa with ease and precision. Pedro at last had some drinking buddies and some speed freaks to take him skurfing. So the sail to Muskett Cove was a very different picture with the boys now scanning the upper decks and its workings, checking the sails and rigging and the colourful bikini girls instantly sunning their wintered-selves on the striped towel deck chatting and laughing. All of them, living the top-secret rendezvous that they all enjoyed keeping from me. You know the sun shone extra brightly for those 5 days allowing us all to join in the Race Week celebrations held on Musket Cove. It all began with the opening night party where we all got up on the open air stage to join the other Australians in the fleet to sing out national anthem (what more could you ask for). 7 months and 1 day away from home and this combination was enough to well...spring another tear. Every star lit night was spent at the buzzing tiny island bar. And the days were filled with "Muskett magic" from the moment we woke until we drifted back to bed. Captain Humming was different and I guess so was I, I noted a spring in my step and I got the nic name 'smiley' from boaties I don't know well, but it was hard to contain. Until, it came time to send them through the customs doors... Then that ride back in the same 8 seater cab was a reminder something awesome was missing. The radio blared words that became real for the first time something about looking through theses tears, you know worth your weight in gold..... and at that moment I was especially glad the silently humming captain was sitting in the big back seat with me. We were too subdued to return to the empty cabin boat so we stopped at the cafe and debriefed the 5 days and nights that filled our hearts. Even the fairy lights drooped around the cafe. Once he got me laughing about how we (the 4 of us) swiped the prize pool at the Muskett Cove golf championships and have come away with a mini holiday to come back to one day, I could then see my way down that dark and quiet dock. He who hums says you couldn't ask for a better 'turn' and I know he was right but it didn't stop the snapshot moments popping into my mind along with 'you with the sad face come up to my place and live it up'.