1600 position 18-44S 174-05W. At anchor in the lee of Langito'o Island,
Vava'u, Tonga
Here's our daily routine. I wake up about 700AM and go on deck. I make a
couple of casts with the spinning gear off of the swim step just to
stretch, then I'm done with that for the day. I'll go below and start the
water for coffee, grind the beans, and get that made. The smell of fresh
brewed french roast usually gets Lounge Lizard Lori to start moving in bed
and she gets up and we start thinking about breakfast. Lori is a
fantastic and creative chef and is always coming up with something great.
Yesterday morning it was "Apricot Betty", or that's what she called it.
She found a recipe for "Apple Betty" in her grandmother's 1943 edition of
"Joy of Cooking" that we have aboard, but substituted dried apricots for
fresh apples, oatmeal for bread crumbs, and she added almonds. It was
fantastic!
Our breakfast is usually interrupted by the 830AM Vava'u Cruiser's Net on
VHF Channel 26 where we hear the weather, comings and goings of yachts,
who needs to find a new water pump impeller, who needs crew, who is trying
to sell a roll of fiberglass cloth, etc. It is hosted and sponsored by
all of the businesses that cater to the yachting community in Vava'u so we
hear what they have to offer as well. It is a great service to the
cruisers and we wouldn't miss it.
After breakfast we make a decision on where we are going to go that day.
The weather forecast has a significant influence on this decision. We
always want to end up in an anchorage for the night that will be
comfortable and safe for the forecast wind direction and speed. If we are
tired from too much relaxing, we might just stay put for the day,
otherwise we raise the hook and are off for our arduous journey of a
couple of miles to our next anchorage. I hate powering, so we usually
unroll the jib and sail as soon as the windlass has completed its job of
getting the anchor up.
The fishing line goes out, we mosey to our next anchorage, pull in the
fish line, turn on the engine, roll up the jib, and anchor. By the time
we are settled, it is usually after noon (beer o'clock in Moku pe'a time),
so we relax in the cockpit with a beer and a snack.
We try to get a hike in ashore or a snorkel by the boat if we are in an
area that is good for that. I also try to complete one boat project a day
while we are at anchor. Two days ago it was rewiring the forward running
lights that stopped working somewhere near Christmas Island. Yesterday I
moved my electrical system jumper from the positive side to the negative
side of the system. I'd had it there before and that did more good in
controlling the voltage surges we are still experiencing. Today I finally
got the mast head light working and replaced the topping lift that had
chafed where it enters the top of the mast.
Last night we went to a Tongan Feast on Lape Island. The villagers there
put on an authentic local feast for the cruisers every other Saturday
night. There were about twelve of us in attendance. It was a lot of fun,
we met some fellow cruisers from New Zealand and England, and the food was
great. The only problem was the wind was up, about 20 knots, and we had
to power over from our protected anchorage a mile away in the dinghy.
Fortunately, our trusty two horsepower Evinrude was up to the task and we
made it there and more importantly back to Moku pe'a after dark.
If we aren't doing something special, its reading, cribbage, or a movie
after dinner. My luck hasn't changed since Rocky left, and Lori skunked
me at cribbage in our first game. We are reading some great books. I am
just finishing a series of four novels that David Brown gave me about ye
olde British Navy in the days of square riggers, and Lori is reading a
novel her pal Steve aboard Rum Doodle loaned her about a destroyer north
of the Arctic Circle.
The air temperature is cooler here than in Hawaii, so the sleeping is
great, but I still get up a couple of times each night to check on
things. Two nights ago while anchored off of Mala Island in eighteen feet
over a sand bottom, the water was so clear it looked like we were aground
in the light of the full moon and zero wind.
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