It is so rough where we are anchored that Mike decides to move the boat back in to where we were. Now that the huge tidal surges have stopped, there should be no danger of us hitting the bottom. We move the boat then I stay on board while Mike and Jim take advantage of the calmer sea to go ashore, Mike to buy a new stern anchor and Jim to sort out his flights and hopefully check in.
We get a call from Rolando who owns a Privilege 445. He had been talking to Mike a few years ago on the Cruisers’ Forum about buying a Privilege and was in the BVIs last year when we were there but we missed him. He invites us over to their boat tonight for a drink and to meet face to face. He also offers us a huge length of chain for our stern anchor which he has lying around on board. We gratefully accept.
I potter around and so some little jobs (OK I sleep a bit too) and it’s not until the middle of the afternoon that Mike and Jim arrive back. Mike had apparently been trying to call me on the mobile VHF but I had changed channels to talk to someone earlier and forgotten to switch it back. Bad girl!
We prepare to go over to Malikalalou, Roland’s boat. It means we have to launch the dinghy and getting in is pretty unpleasant as the sea is rough again, and unfortunately they are over the other side of the bay so it’s quite a long and bumpy ride. We arrive at the boat and are greeted by Roland and his partner, Sara. What a lovely couple. They are going around the world too but not as part of an organised thing. They aim to spend a few years in the South Pacific and Australia. They give me the guided tour of their boat which is an owner’s version – one huge cabin at the bow. It is a lighter wood than our (and I thought ours was light) and the hessian is also lighter. It has beautiful touches everywhere – recessed lights, cream furnishings, stainless steel fittings everywhere – and it has never been chartered and so is in fantastic condition and pristine and tidy. And there is a plumbed in washing machine. It is a fabulous boat and I am green with envy. I can’t believe it when Mike looks at his watch and realises it is 11.30 pm – we have been talking to people we have met for the first time for five and half hours. Obviously Mike and Rolando can talk Privilege boats easily but Sara and I have so many common feelings and interests too, even though she is twenty five years younger than me. They are on their way to the Marquesas too so it will be great to meet up there.
We get back into the dinghy with difficulty. It has rained during the evening, the wind has picked up and the sea is very confused. I hate it when it is like this. Getting back to Jeannius, we realise that getting back on board is going to be harder than earlier in the evening. Jim has gone to bed, and even if he were around, with his injured arm he wouldn’t be able to help. We decide to leave the anchor chain in the dinghy for tonight as it is just too dangerous to try to transfer it.
Mike gives me the dinghy rope to tie on but then tells me not to bother as it is too rough to stand up in the dinghy. Instead of giving it back, I hang onto it, Mike catches hold of the grab rail on the steps and I step from the dinghy rim onto the boat. Just as I do this the boat lurches, the bow of the dinghy swings hard away from the hull and I am left with one foot on the dinghy and one on Jeannius. As the dinghy is slightly deflated (as it always is at night when it gets cooler) I am not able to propel myself forward, and with a scream, I plunge into the water between the dinghy and the starboard hull.
Now, those of you who know me will know how petrified I am of going in water unexpectedly. Tonight is no exception. I go straight under and bob back up a few seconds later shrieking about my camera which is in my handbag round my neck. I manage to grab hold of the dinghy handle and give Mike my handbag. Somehow I get my leg over the side of the dinghy and Mike hauls me in. He gets out, ties the dinghy on and I get off without incident this time. I stand there dripping while Mike rushes inside with my bag and quickly rinses the camera with fresh water but he can see immediately that it is buggered. Dripping, I go down and shower, bursting into tears while I stand there. Falling in is one of my worst nightmares. It’s a true phobia and no amount of logic works on me. But more than that, I am upset, almost distraught (actually quite out of proportion) about my camera, partly because we are heading off to somewhere where I won’t be able to get a replacement and I wanted a record of the Pacific crossing. I have my old Pentax but it is crap in comparison.
We dry the camera out, even putting the hairdryer on it for a while, but it stubbornly refuses to come back to life. Thankfully the memory card is unharmed although I had transferred all the pictures to my netbook anyway, as I do every day.
What a miserable end to a lovely evening.
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