Don and I spent Monday and Tuesday in a flurry of chores readying the boat for the arrival of our friend Bill Wednesday morning. He came in right on schedule, traveling pretty much non-stop from Tampa (no LA layover for him), but fortunately got some sleep n the plane. Good thing because, after a welcome breakfast at Copra Shed's Captain's Table, we kept him hopping all day.

When Bill finally dropped at eight that night, Don and I huddled around the computer and watched the first of our home DVDs of our grandson Kai. How much he has grown in just three months!

Our schedule never let up over the next couple of days, with final preparations for our quickie passage to Futuna and back filling every hour…well, every hour that we weren't eating and socializing with friends. We also did take an overnight out to Lesiaceva Point, ostensibly to clean the boat's bottom, but at least in part to give Bill an chance to test out his snorkel gear on Split Rock!

Still, by 3:30 Friday afternoon, all the official paperwork was done, Bill was officially signed on as crew, and old Tacky Two was checked out of Fiji. By plying my winsome feminine ways, I persuaded the officials to grant us permission to spend the night out the point prior to our planned 3 am departure. We may have regretted that for a few hours when, after a great grilled lamb dinner (making the seasonal debut of the BBQ), the wind unexpectedly backed into the west, and blew like stink, piling up the seas on the lee shore behind us. I suppose the smart skipper would have cast off and made use of the westerlies, but in the dark of night after a long day, nobody was mentally ready…on our boat or on our friends Steve and Rachel's boat, Apogee, making the trip with us. The good news is that despite the rocking and bobbing, we all did get some rest.

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Labels: Fiji 2007, Savu Savu area