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Paw Paw - Log Day 187: Pick Your Poison



We woke up early this morning to voices on the VHF radio. Two yachts were hove-to outside the Surwarrow lagoon awaiting daybreak so they could enter. For us though, it was with a big sigh of relief that we were no longer trapped inside and could exit having weathered two winter storms over four days, knowing that the anchorage isconsidered dangerous in anything but calm conditions. 

Since the holding is not good and the anchorage is littered with reefs, we were very grateful that the rock our anchor chain was wrapped around held.While we have no regrets about visiting this very special place, where one gets a good sense of what life could be like in a world free of all the issues of our societies today, it brought home the fact that, in this sailing season, we're having to pick our poison.

The two yachts that entered the lagoon had spend the four days of the storm at sea and, after chatting to them,they apperared to be worse for wear.>We have always thought it prudent to make our passages with the best weather window possible.

However, since there has been a high frequency of these winter storms, we barely make our next destination before the next one hits. As a result we are spending our time in marginal and less than ideal anchorages in the bad weather vs being at sea.With this in mind we have decided to change tactics and take a timeout until the weather stabilises significantly. Once we've completed our business in American Samoa,  we'll head to Samoa and stay there while we wait.  In the interim we'll make "lemonade from the lemons" - Washing the deck in the rain and researching pastures new.

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