Thursday 22th August 2013
15 31.36S 167 09.92
Today is what’s called in the newspaper game as a ‘slow news day’. These sorts of days can happen at sea when you are becalmed. They can happen when you are at anchor waiting for someone to come. That someone comes tomorrow evening.
Today has been a hot, sunny tropical day. All the other yachties went off on the millennium cave tour at a discount rate negotiated one of the yachties if they got a group together. Unfortunately Dave went earlier in the week and so missed out on the big savings.
We did go into town to buy a few presents for our respective love ones. Denis bought some beef for dinner and we came back to the yacht.
In the taxi today was another man (other than the driver). This made the taxi rather crowed and the three of us packed into the back seat. The man in the front said “Its OK. Once you are in shut the doors and open the windows and hang out like this” showing us how to make a very small car bigger by his example. After a while he said ‘haven’t I seen you before?” We couldn’t think of when we might have met him. Then he said “Yes, I saw you in SW Bay. I am the skipper of the trading boat anchored next to you in the bad weather” That’s not bad for recognition. He should be a detective. We had a good chat.
Around 4pm I suddenly remembered the gas bottle which should now be refilled and returned. So off in the dinghy I went to collect it and back again.
A new yacht arrived today crewed by Brian and Jan Dodds of Pacific Yacht Ministries. They do similar medical outreach work to us. We hope to catch up with them for a longer chat tomorrow.
Around 5pm the most hughmungous sailing yacht came into Luganville. It looks like it will tie up at the commercial wharf rather than slum it over here with us.
A notable achievement today has been the clearing of the blocked scupper. The scupper was blocked a while ago by a decorative LED candle which set the mood for our dinner in the cockpit one evening and which is just the size to fall into to the scupper pipe and not come out. Dave and Denis managed to push it through.
There was one other thing we all said this morning should go in the log but none of us can think what it was now! Things are slow today.
Smooth seas, fair breeze and slow news day
Andrew Latimer
To read older Ships Log posts go to …
http://msm.org.au/category/
To see additional photos of Mission 2 go to …
http://msm.org.au/2013-