Hello to all,
Yesterday we anchored in the calm water of Ai Bay very close to where the American and later the Australian Survivor reality TV show was shot. The full moon rose while we were listening to a CD of Hawaiian music. Nothing but the reflections of of the moonlight on the water and the occasional fish jumping going on around us. We’re getting in lots of great snorkelling, we just dive off the boat and swim over endless beautiful coral reefs with such a variety of amazing fish and stunning corals.
In the afternoon Nelson,a Melanesian guy from a nearby village, paddled to us in a dugout canoe and sold us some bananas and chatted to us for ages. We hoped that he would bring us some fish – he mentioned red snapper – but it never showed up. We’ve been eating really well. The boat is well stocked and we bought lots of vegies and fruit from the markets in Vila. Pam cooked up a delicious curry and Jim’s spaghetti sauce was a hit the previous night.
The sailing life seems to agree with the new crew, Cathy says she has taken to it in a big way. She says that when we sailed in the open water with a 4-6 ft swell rolling around us there wasn’t anywhere else she would rather be. MAGIC STUFF!!!!!! Jim’sa very patient teacher and she is enjoying learning the ropes. She could take a lot more of this and will be sorry to leave the boat in a week’s time.
This anchorage is reputed to have some of the best fish and coral reef off Efate, so we decided to stay another day. The day started badly with the first crew mutiny. Pam announced in the morning that she hadn’t slept a wink. and that if the bells weren’t switched off pronto she was back to Vila (the bus stop was close by). The night before Jim had decided to give his crew the full nautical ambience and had turned on the bells. Traditionally 8 bells for each 4 hour watch and they ring out, far too loudly for Pam to sleep, every half hour. To cut the story short – the bells ceased pronto.
Today, Sunday passed all too quickly, a slow start with Jim’s special french toast, excellent snorkelling again and some boat chores. Cathy and Pam are getting to grips with flaking the stiff new jib and getting it into a sail bag that is (like tent bags) made a fraction too small to make it easy. During the heat of the afternoon Jim and Cathy snorkelled and walked up the beach to the Survivor base and met Gideon George, who was one of the security staff during the filming. They chatted for a while and he generously fed the hungry and cashless snorkellers steak sandwiches and lemonade. Sounds silly but the highlight of the day was in the late afternoon doing our laundry and washing our hair in a gentle fresh water stream just a few metres from where it ran into the sea.
Love to all,
Jim, Pam, & Cathie