Homeward Bound (Update 54)
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Bula Viti, Rotuma kei Vuravura,

The Easterly winds have gradually decreased throughout the day and we now have less than 12 knots. The forecast is for the winds to drop even more over the next two days which makes us all nervous about arriving on time for Saturday’s welcome.

We departed Vava’u under Traditional Rig and Genoa averaging under 5 knots. At 2am when I came on deck the East South East winds had swung to true East so I decided to get the Gennaker up.

However first we needed to repair a torn leech that we did not get time to work on since Samoa. As we do not have a sewing machine on board, all sail repairs need to be done temporarily with an adhesive sail repair tape.

In Samoa we had managed to wash the sail and Moala had unpicked the stitching along the leech (trailing edge of the sail), which made my job a lot easier at 3am in the morning in darkness.

Using a torch and a headlamp, Sunny, Kai’afa, Oscar and I went to work. The Gennaker is made of very lightweight material so it needs a lot of patience to repair. The repair took 90 minutes to complete. Then we waited for first light to hoist the sail and drop the Genoa.

Once we had set the Gennaker, our average speed increased to 6.5 knots that will put us in the Oneata Passage at around 9am in the morning.

The fishing today has been a disaster. We have lost seven Mahimahi and only caught one very small Skipjack Tuna that was dead when we landed it or we would have thrown it back.

Three of the Mahimahi we got right to the stern of the canoe before they shook loose. The other four Mahimahi danced across our stern as we tried to reel them in but each managed to wriggle loose, one taking a lure with it in the process.

Ranui, one of the support boats continuing on to Vanuatu through Fiji, lost all the line on a reel after a Mahimahi took the line and they did not have enough drag on the line.

So with only a little light left we are hoping to get another fish on the line late so we can enjoy a healthy fish dinner.

 

 

In yesterday’s update, I failed to mention the warm welcome we all received from Aunofo Havea’s village ‘Talihau’. Thank you Wim from Vava’u for reminding me of this.

It was an unforgettable evening with great entertainment and wonderful Tongan food. I hope we are able to repay some of Aunofo’s generosity during her visit to Fiji.

I would also like to thank Clare and Andy Gardiner of the Foftein for all their help during the voyage. We have enjoyed a wonderful friendship with you both. We will miss Andy’s dry ‘Pommy’ sense of humour and smart remarks on the VHF. We will also miss Clare’s kind heart and constant worrying about ‘everything’… stop worrying Clare!

There were a few “no-shows” on watch last night as the crew tried to catch up with sleep after another heavy cultural and social programme on shore.

Those that did not show or woke up late were given a very hard time all day today by the rest of the crew. Once Ratu Manoa got wind of who had missed their watch, it became entertainment for the rest of us.

Now everyone has caught up with sleep, all are up on deck talking about our home-coming this Saturday. I don’t think many of us will sleep on Friday night and Saturday morning when we start to get close to Suva.

Digicel have agreed to top up credit on the crew mobile phones so many will be busy making calls once we enter the Lau Group and get Digicel coverage. Vinaka Digicel!

Please everyone pray for wind. Now more than ever we need strong winds to take us home quickly. We have been away a long time and can’t wait to see our loved ones.

Moce

Colin/Uto ni Yalo

Report by Satellite Phone courtesy of DIGICEL