Intermission

0800 position 17-46S 177-12E. On a mooring in Musket Cove, Malolo Lailai Island, Fiji

Yesterday morning was filled with boat projects. Eric and I hoisted Rob up the mast for a rig check which was long overdue. Everything was fine up there. We cleaned the boat and Eric polished stainless steel deck fittings. The second dinghy got wiped down and stored away, probably for the last time. By noon the crew was tired and it was stifling hot so we all dinghied ashore to find lunch, shade, and something cold to drink. We ended up spending the whole afternoon shuffling between the cafe, the pool, and a couple of bars.

We'll take Van Diemen over to Port Denerau, ten miles away on Viti Levu, tomorrow morning. Rob and Renee will do some provisioning there and the airport is only a ten minute taxi ride away. Eric is flying back to LA tomorrow night and I will be heading for Honolulu. I get to spend two weeks at home with Lori before returning to Fiji and rejoining Van Diemen for the last third of the trip to Hobart. This is probably the last blog until I return to Fiji.

Rob has a list of projects he wants to get done aboard Van Diemen over the next few weeks. He has also talked about taking Van Diemen back to have a second look at some of the Mamanucas. The annual Musket Cove Regatta, a week of not too serious racing and partying, takes place September 15-20 and Van Diemen may participate in that as well. It looks like the regatta will be lots of fun. As of yesterday there were already seventy boats entered.

The crew for the next leg of the trip to the coast of Australia will be trickling in over the next couple of weeks and will likely all be aboard by the time I return to Fiji on 25 September.

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