Hot Showers

0800 position 16-55S 179-45E. Underway for the Cousteau Resort, Savu Savu, Fiji

The Van Diemen crew spend most of yesterday relaxing at the Paradise Resort. In addition to free use of their moorings, the resort management invites the crews from visiting yachts to use the pool, dining facilities, and hot showers. I took full advantage of the hot showers. We have hot water for showers aboard Van Diemen, but necessary water conservation rules means getting wet, soaping up, and rinsing off using as little water as possible. There are no nice long luxurious hot steamy showers aboard like I enjoyed yesterday at the resort.

Eric had a hot shower as well, and I told him how my love of soaking in hot water led to the best investment I ever made. In 1986 my wife Alison and I spent eight months cruising in the South Pacific aboard our 33 foot sloop Eleu. This was a cheap, basic little boat with few creature comforts. We only carried thirty gallons of fresh water so we showered in cold salt water. We had been four months away from any significant civilization when we arrived in Bora Bora and picked up a mooring off the Oa Oa Hotel. Just like the Paradise Resort, the Oa Oa offered cruisers free moorings and showers, and I will never forget my first hot shower in four months. I was in heaven.

That event led to my deciding to buy a home when we returned to Hawaii. We'd rented up to that point, but I decided in Bora Bora that I wanted a hot tub, and it wasn't practical to install a hot tub in a rental unit. Our timing in late 1986 couldn't have been better. It turned out that the US tax laws were changing in 1987 making it advantageous for investors to take capital gains before 1 January. Every investor who even considered getting rid of their investment real estate was trying to sell before New Years which greatly depressed real estate prices in Hawaii. I did the arithmetic, and it was cheaper at the time to own than it was to rent. That was a no brainer. We bought a nice house on a hill overlooking Kaneohe Yacht Club and the first thing I did was install my hot tub. By mid-1987 the price of real estate in Hawaii had more than doubled, and it's been going up ever since. I still live in that house... all because of a hot shower. I'd rather be lucky than good.....

We had lunch yesterday at the Paradise Resort as well. It was all very nice, but came at a price. Eric mentioned that it was the most money he has spent on food in a single twenty four hour period in his life.

Rob found a butcher just down the street and the resort sold us some vegetables from their garden. We couldn't find everything we wanted nearby though. It turned out that the closest village with real stores was a forty minute bus ride away, to far to be practical.

We decided to stop off at Savu Savu today to finish up the provisioning before we continue on to the Yasawas. We are currently zipping along on a broad reach at close to ten knots with a full jib and single reef in the mainsail. The current plan is to anchor off of the Cousteau Resort at the entrance to Savu Savu Bay and take a taxi into town to finish the shopping. The anchor should be going down at about noon.

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