Wednesday 28th May
It’s a grey overcast day – and it’s
a bit chilly! We get the laundry picked up as arranged , Ian and Stewy go off
to organise the duty free booze dropping Annie at the supermarket on the way.
We do a big shop.get it all aboard and stowed. Stewy has a frustrating
morning with his computer – Skype delight – not! Brian is off
hiking again,having agreed to take Petra
from Viva on the cross country walk.. We lunch aboard, then have a look at the
charts and weather – we’re thinking of going to Palmerston Atoll.
It only extends our journey to Nuie by 56 miles so, if the conditions are right
we’ll go there. When the laundry man returns Ian gets chatting to him
– he’s a 70 year old New Zealander who arrived here on a yacht with
his wife 20 years ago. They never left . He tells us to go to Palmerston as
it’ll be an experience and we’ll be made very welcome. We do a run
round some shops – it’s pouring with rain now – then stop in Trader
Jacks for a few drinks before returning to the boat. The wind’s up
now – we check our lines before heading out to the Tamarind Restaurant
for a meal with Tallulah Ruby and Andreas from Strega. Tamarind is in one of
the oldest colonial houses on the island, boasts the islands best chef and is
right on the beach. Due to the weather , the screens are down and we watch as
the wind builds – the palm trees getting a battering from the NW.
We’ve just ordered when Paul and Ian decide they better go and check the
boats. Cuko goes too. They find that the wind is blowing straight into the
harbour (again!) and there’s danger of the sterns banging off the
harbour wall. They take up a few metres of anchor chain and tie on some
additional warps before heading back to the restaurant. As Jens and Johanna are
aboard Strega, they agree to call us on the VHF if conditions deteriorate.
We’ve just finished our main courses when Jens and Johanna call to say TR
now very close to the harbour wall. Paul and Cuko run off immediately, then
there’s a call for Jus Do It so Andreas runs Ian and Annie back to the
boat. There’s a huge swell in the harbour - all the boats are
bouncing around and it’s fun and games getting onto the bouncing boat off
the bouncing dinghy! The wind has now increased to 25 knots and there’s
torrential rain. We start the engine, Annie takes up some more anchor chain and
we plan an exit strategy should the anchor start to drag. Stewy and Brian soon
arrive back and we agree to keep an anchor watch on shifts until things calm
down. About 1am, while Stewy and Annie on watch , the wind starts to swing to
the NE and abate. By 1.30-2am the swell has lessened, the wind has dropped and
we all go to bed.