Thursday 29 June 2017
Port Resolution (last night)
So much happening on so many fronts, it’s hard to report on them all.
Gerry trucked it to Lenakel to find the generator parts, which is a blog in itself as he persisted with his fruitless inquiries at the post office only to end up at the airport itself where he found the small bag of capacitors.
I remained the day on Chimere and with the assistance of local man Stanley we carted 320 litres of water onto the boat in drums- effectively as a Plan B in case we can’t make water in the short term.
We said good-bye to the Germans; they came over for coffee and to see my onboard Bunnings warehouse!? They jokingly suggested we might be riding higher in the water after the amount of stuff used on their boat.
While at anchor they experimented with their new tiller and from the smiles in their faces they were very happy with the result.
In the end, the farewell was quite an emotional thing – within the blokey unwritten code of practice of course – and through bear-hugs and handshakes all round, both expressed again their deep thanks and appreciation for being plucked out of a … “no hope situation” to use the owners words as he mentally re-lived the experience of just 5 nights ago and the very real prospect of eventually abandoning his sinking vessel and retreating to the life raft.
The medical team wrapped up a successful day and tour to this part of the country-hopefully more detail from them soon.
We currently have three large bulker bags full of dental, medical and eye care equipment on the foredeck with the medical team coming aboard in the morning- at 5:30am to be precise, for the 40 mile excursion out to Futuna island. The medical team won’t have to stay on the foredeck, they’ll be given a bunk and afforded all the comfort we can provide.
Due to the early start – and it’s already 10pm I’m deliberately signing off now- before I involuntary fall asleep and because I really need to catch up on my sleep.
Smooth seas, fair breeze and tomorrow we go
Rob Latimer