Our fuel arrives first thing in the morning, almost as arranged. We have it put into jerry cans so that we can filter it into the tank in case it is dirty fuel. The deck is filthy when they have finished, as a result of diesel spillage and dirty feet. Another cleaning job!
After seeing how beautifully clean and tidy Malikalalou was the other day, and expecting Rolando and Sara to come over to Jeannius and look at our new rigging, I set to in the morning and did an overdue spring clean. The boat wasn’t perfect when I finished the inside by any means, but definitely looked a hell of a lot better.
I talk to Marie-Anne from Noeluna on the VHF. She may be going to the US for a couple of weeks rather than doing the Pacific crossing and may be able to get me a replacement camera. I hope so.
Mike goes off to yacht A Lady to see if he can find out why they are having problems their SSB antennae and returns with Donal in the dinghy so that they can take Brown Eyed Girl’s dive tank into town to get it filled. This is the probably the last time I can get to use the internet in town and I wait patiently for Mike to return, then not so patiently.
When he eventually arrives back, I am furious as it now the middle of the afternoon, although I know I am being unreasonable. He had to wait for ages for the dive tank to come back.
We get a water taxi into town and find an internet cafe, spending the next two hours there. It takes me well over an hour to actually send the last five days of the blog as there are so many pictures (something that won’t be happening on the Pacific crossing) and then I get to use Skype, but it is so late in the UK that I don’t get to talk to most of the people I want to. The connection for Skype is bad and terribly frustrating but at least I get to talk to Mike’s parents and Victoria. I was desperate to wish her bon voyage for exciting trip to Abu Dhabi and Dubai in just over a week.
While I finish on the internet, Mike goes in search of an electric hotplate and gets one for $26. He is slightly concerned that we will run out of gas before we can replace it. We have more than enough for the Pacific crossing but probably won’t be able to re-fill it until we get to Tahiti.
We race back to the boat as there is the prize giving event in an hour, shower and then out again, meeting Marie and Charles from Dreamcatcher in the taxi. Their boat was badly damaged in the tsunami as it was unable to be moved due to the fact that it had no working engines. The repairs are now fully under way and they should be able to start with the rest of the fleet on Sunday.
At the hotel, the drinks are free, at least that is what we think until I order a glass of wine and they try to charge me $8. It turns out that only beer and a particular cocktail are free so I have one of those instead (the cocktail not the beer – heaven forbid!).
Jeannius wins a prize for being third in the multihull class. Well done, Captain! As we are not standing together during the prize giving, Mike goes up alone and I can’t even take a photo as he has the dry bag with the old camera in.
When the presentation ends, and I have said my goodbyes to other crews in case I don’t see them before the crossing, we go to dinner with Donal from A Lady, and Mike and John from Eowyn. We go to one of the street kiosks that has been recommended to us but he is shutting – it’s only 9 pm! So we try the next one, and the food is really good, plentiful and cheap.
We get back to the boat around 11 pm and the sea is heaving. Some of the water taxi drivers are better than others and the bow shape of some of the taxis make it easier for them to pull up against the transom and hold it in position when you step off. Today, we have a nasty combination of bad driver and pointed bow. Mike gets off OK but in his eagerness to help me because he knows I’m scared, he doesn’t quite leave me enough room to grab onto the sides after I leap. Instead, he grabs me but I am so unbalanced that I fall backwards, taking him with me. He still has our old camera on his shoulder (thankfully in a waterproof bag) and in we both go. Luckily the taxi driver reverses his boat immediately to stop us being crushed and waits until we have clambered back on board before driving off. This takes a little while as the swim ladder is not down and Mike has to heave himself up onto the boat without it, then put it down for me. I cannot believe that I have gone in for a second time, never having fallen in ever before. The only good thing about it is that it has proved that Mike is capable of getting onto the boat without the swim ladder, and I have proved to myself that, even though I hate going under the water, I do come back up!
Frustrated, angry and rapidly losing confidence, I go for my second shower and hair wash of the evening then go straight to bed, It’s a full day of food shopping and boat preparation tomorrow.
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