The alarm goes off at 6 am and we start to get ourselves ready for leaving. I get the blog published and check my e-mails from the comfort of my bed one last time, then after my two cups of tea, I heave myself out reluctantly knowing that I won’t see this bed for at least four days until we reach Niue.
At 7.15 am both Jim and Bob from Ocean Jasper parked next door are on the quay and ready to release our lines. They untie us and as they feed the lines out I take up the slack in the anchor chain. All goes well until about half the chain is up then the windlass starts to whine and slip, turning round without pulling the chain up.
I turn worriedly to Mike and raise my hands in exasperation. Now what? We have been told that the sea bed here is awash with old anchors, chains and lines. Could we possibly have our anchor caught on one or more of these? But to me it doesn’t feel like that. I am able to pull a bit of the chain up by hand, but it just won’t feed through the windlass. Mike allows Jeannius to swing around (we are now well forward of Ocean Jasper and in no danger of hitting her) so that we can pull the anchor out from behind if it is caught, and it quickly becomes obvious that the anchor is free from the bottom as we don’t tip forward like we did in Manihi when it was caught on the coral head. It is therefore a problem with the windlass. I take over the helm and Mike goes forward with a winch handle and tightens it each time it slips, gradually pulling all the chain up, until with a satisfying clunk, the anchor slips into place on the bow.
We wave goodbye to the boats left on the quay and motor out through the harbour entrance with Dreamcatcher close on our heels and Ronja following behind her. With A Lady having left yesterday afternoon, that leaves just the three American boats - Brown Eyed Girl, Crazy Horse and Ocean Jasper - in Rarotonga.
I am sorry to be leaving. Our time in Rarotonga has been magical. What an unexpected little treasure this island was with its beautiful mountains, beaches and reef and the friendliest people I have met so far. I am so glad that Mike made the decision to break away from the pack and head here and I wish we could have stayed longer.
As we head out of the shelter of the harbour, I am even more sorry to be leaving – the wind is 20 to 25 knots, more than was forecast, and we are going against the waves which hit us hard on the starboard side. I instantly start to panic that I will get sick again, which of course is a sure fire recipe for actually making me sick and I know I will make myself worse if I don’t do something to take my mind off it. Luckily, glancing behind at Dreamcatcher and seeing Marie removing their fenders from the side of the boat, I realise that we have left ours out too and go forward to retrieve them. In the pitching and rocking of the boat, I have to stay low and cling on tight but soon they are all stowed away and I feel a bit better.
As we leave the shelter of the island and get into deeper water, the wind dies a bit to the predicted 15 to 20 knots and we get the two genoas out, goose winging them on either side. The waves and wind are now both coming from almost directly behind us and with everything suddenly becoming comfortable, all thoughts of sea sickness quickly evaporate.
We have a lovely sail, ambling relatively slowly at 5.5 to 6 knots. Both Mike and I are able to lie down and read, prepare lunch and sleep when required. We get two bites on the line but both times they manage to get free, although our new lure takes a hammering and is now bitten in half. The third bite results in a fish, a yellow fin tuna, but it is small and would only feed us both for one meal, so Mike releases it to grow into a bigger meal for someone else.
I get well into my new book which Maggie has lent me. Laura has been going on about the author Stieg Larsson for ages, and I am finally reading his first book, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. It is brilliant. I read half of it today, happy in the knowledge that there are another two books to follow this one – if I can find the rest in the fleet as book swaps!
The day passes easily and comfortably. When it’s finally time for me to go to bed to sleep before my watch, I actually fall asleep and feel refreshed when Mike wakes me at midnight for my turn. Let’s hope the rest of the passage is as good as today.
Our position is: 20 deg 51 min S, 161 deg 27 min W
Distance so far: 7487 nautical miles
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