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American Spirit II - Day 127; Fueling, Dingy Race & Green Flash #8; Sunday, May 11, 2014



Up 8 AM. Slept in. Unusual for me. Must be all the drugs I'm taking to fight the infection.



Before breakfast, we added 5 jerry jugs of diesel (25 gallons) to main tank so we can fill the jerry jugs back up again later. Easier to add diesel into jerry jugs using the dingy than to more the boat to the fuel dock. Easier when you don't need so much fuel.



Breakfast consisted of 6 extremely small eggs and an orange.



After breakfast, pulled the bandage off and Joel added a new one. Infection continuing to look better every day. Still ugly, just better. Smaller amount of drainage this time.



We checked out the new ICOM VHF radio. Our Raymarine VHF radio is less than 2 months old, but the remote mike in the cockpit doesn't work. Again. We tried the refurbished mike and it didn't work either. We're done with Raymarine VHF radios. We already have an ICOM SSB, which works great. I'll send back the new Raymarine radio with my daughter Angela when she visits us in Fiji and Vanuatu in 7 weeks.



At 2:00 PM Folie a Deux and I took our dinghies to the fuel dock and loaded up with diesel into our jerry cans. As before in French Polynesia, we received a huge fuel discount because we were international users of fuel and the permit allowed us to buy fuel without all the taxes the locals paid. A big savings. It costs us $4.00 per gallon for diesel. A great price.



At 3:15 PM we towed Folie a Deux crew to the dingy dock. They were in our dingy and we were towing them in theirs. They were entered in the dingy race along with Nexus, Civetta, Trillium and Avocet. Tim was wearing a long blond wig that covered his face. He looked like the 'Thing' on the Adams Family. Tracy had on a long, black wig and looked like Cher (Joel says) or Morticia from the Adams Family (my guess). Brian had on a monster mask and carried a fishing pole with a white paper fish on a line attached to the pole. And Lucy looked like Butch Cassidy due to the hat she was wearing. That's Joel characterization, not mine. I don't have one.



The dingy race started and all 4 dinghies had to row around Trillium in the anchorage, then another boat, and then make it back where they started and jump in the swim pool. During the race you can capture other dingy crew members. Right from the start team Nexus with Russ and Laurie; and Brian and Lauren, sprinted out of the blocks with expert precision and a high rate of speed. They looked like Polynesian paddlers. Impressive. Four people digging their dingy oars, used as paddles, into the water in unison. It was apparent that they had practiced for days doing this on the other side of the island before coming to the anchorage.



Before reaching the finish line back where we started, Paul Tetlow, Suzana and others jumped into the water to try to pull Nexus crew off of their dingy into the water. Once they reached the dock, Joel sat down and used his feet to push the Nexus dingy and crew off of the dock so they couldn't get on the dock and into the pool. Overcoming great odds to stop them, team Nexus won. Good job! Best dressed had to go to the crew of Folie a Deux.



At 5:35 PM I made a Public Service Announcement on the VHF Radio, Channel 72,that there was a high probability of a Green Flash occurring at sunset. At 5:44 PM just before the sun set Joel and I noticed that there was also a turquoise aurora around the upper limb of the sun. Rare to see it so prominently. At 5:44 PM there was a Green Flash, #8 for us on our circumnavigation. And it was an above average one in that it lasted 2 to 3 seconds.



Dinner consisted of blackened steak cooked on the grill and baked potatoes. Dessert was chilled pear halves. Lot of stars out tonight.



After dinner we watched 3 more episodes of The Americans. The season is already over half over.



Lights out at 11:15 PM.



Days until home 357.



Brian Fox


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