Boat preparation day. With departure set for 'tomorrow', we had an extensive list of things to do before we would be ready to leave. Windows had to be taped, diesel tanks filled, dinghy deflated and packed away, engine checked, rig checked, inner forestay rigged again, everything outside strapped down, inside stuff stowed and surfaces cleared, passage food prepared (incorporating as much fresh stuff as possible) bread baked, cupboards reorganised for easy passage access, route prepared, batteries charged, sheets changed, Customs alerted... the list goes on.

Taking a break from preparation, we went ashore to visit the school with our remaining bags of school supplies. St Ann's is quite a large and developed school with almost 200 students, but barely staffed with only 4 teachers! Classes of at least 30 children each were in full swing when we arrived, although some of those were working independently with the teachers having to divide their time between classrooms. We met the head teacher, Matilda, and Martin, the school chaplain. They seemed pleased with our interest in the school, and our donations. Martin showed us the church too, which was the most modern we've seen, built on a concrete slab and with paintings hung all around the walls depicting the Passion of the Christ.

During the children's lunch break, Andy and Kelli were mobbed when they started giving out lollies and balloons. They almost needed helicopter extraction!
Soon, it was back to the boat to complete our passage preparations. Andy cooked a butterflied lamb roast in his barbeque for dinner, which we had with baked veggies, none of us able to face fish or lobster (or able to think of any new and exciting ways to prepare them). It was our last dinner in the Louisiades, as the sun set in shades of orange and lemon, and we contemplated a return, after all this, to normal life.

Next stop: Australia.