can we help
+44(0)1983 296060
+1 757-788-8872
tell me moreJoin a rally

Menu

Starblazer - 06/07/2015 – Not quite ‘Champagne Sailing’



We were very fortunate to be allowed to clear out of Fiji on Saturday morning, having arrived in Musket Cove far too late to be cleared out on Friday. There were several problems we still had to sort out, the most important being the electric bilge pump in the saloon. One mucky hand confirmed it wasn’t blocked however one of the wires was dangling. This is a sealed unit and the wire had failed where it entered the body of the pump so John wired in the spare and we were up and running.

We reached the start line about one minute late, I’ll gloss over the state of Starblazer down below; let’s just say it was lucky that it was almost a flat calm and lots of items could be stowed as we picked our way through the reefs surrounding Malolo and Fiji. Usually being late at the start means you just see all the bigger boats in the distance, not so on Saturday morning as the wind instruments read zero and only a favourable current helped everyone over the line. The breeze filled in a little enabling us to work our way out of Fijian waters, including short tacking between two reefs. We managed to sail until late afternoon when the wind dropped to 2.5 knots. At about 2300 the wind backed about 180 degrees and built quickly, Starblazer responded magnificently. Our 24 hour run 1800 Saturday to 1800 Sunday averaged a little over 7 knots.

All day Sunday we sailed fast, keeping up with Kharma Wins, a catamaran, and staying ahead of several other boats. Life on board has been a bit uncomfortable as we met some quite big seas but the wind has backed further
and the seas have flattened. We have also slowed down, which we don’t mind because we would rather make landfall in daylight.

We continue to eat well on board. On Saturday I treated John to egg, bacon and baked beans for lunch. He had intended to have breakfast in the Musket Cove resort but ran out of time. Dinner was sausage, potatoes, carrots and tinned peas followed by homemade Greek yogurt with honey. Sunday’s dinner was a roast, a large chicken breast I wrapped in pancetta and subsequently sliced with roast potatoes, baby aubergine and tomatoes followed by yogurt and honey.

Starblazer is going very nicely, we are well and happy, so why the title? It’s cold! Saturday was shorts and T-shirt weather until about midnight then it got a lot cooler. A blanket is needed overnight and all day Sunday I kept my long trousers on, by mid-afternoon we needed our dinghy spray tops and overnight it’s T-shirt, jumper and spray top, long trousers plus shoes and socks. I know it’s winter in the southern hemisphere but we are in the tropical latitudes!

Now that we are back on WARC our Yellowbrick Tracker is again active.

Vanuatu, here we come!

Joyce

Previous | Next