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Sweet Dream - Day 261 October 3, 2019



The wind came up in the morning, frothing the anchorage with white caps, sending the boats dancing on their hooks. We decided to take advantage of the twice a week ferry to Home island, and leaving our Sweet Dream tethered on a 7:1 chain with thirty feet of two nylon snubbers and heavy compensators on each snubber line, we took the 08:30 ferry. About 50 tourists got off to spend the day here on the island, as well as Manel, we bade them good day, and enjoyed the 30 minute ride to Home. About 450 people live on the tiny scrap of sand in government subsidised housing that is depressingly bleak. They are mostly of Malay descent, the children of the old Copra plantation workers. It took us about 15 minutes to see the whole settlement. We met the resident doctor’s lovely wife and her two children. She amazed us by saying they had been here FOUR YEARS! Wow! There is a small grocery store, a couple of teeny variety shops, and one cafe that made a delicious poached eggs and cheese breakfast. We enjoyed this snack, then walked all around the island. It was like a picture postcard of paradise, turquoise water, white sand, cool breezes offsetting the hot sunshine. Best of all...nobody else in sight until the very end of the island, where a friendly young man was fishing for giant shrimp in the sand. We took the ferry back to Direction island. Now I truly understood why it only runs twice a week. On a boat licensed to carry 94 passengers, there were four of us! Mark, from Wavelength, Dave from Chao Lay (and he missed the boat and Lars convinced the crew to go back for him!) And Lars and I. On the way back we saw Mark’s crew sailing his little sailing dinghy. Crazy guys....when the cats away the mice will play! (There is a mouse on the sailing dinghy’s sail!). Back at the beach on Direction island where we are anchored, we accessed the internet for a few minutes, then went back to the boat for an early dinner and an evening of reading as we galloped gently on the wind waves whipped up by the 20-25 knot wind. In the night we actually stood anchor watches as the wind was so wild, and the motion so erratic.



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