pos 6:51.28S 154:34.98E

Solomon Sea, Planet Deep

Monday 22nd of June, 03.30

 

Friday and Midsummer Eve. Everybody is busy from the morning with preparations for the Midsummer party. Food is cooked, flowers are picked and Schnapps is mixed. The girls make a midsummer pole and decorate with flowers most everywhere. At 17.00 the party starts, all the four girls have flowers in their hair and the boys get a hat made from a serviett. We dance around the Midsummer Pole and try to teach everybody our silly Swedish dances. Later we eat all the food that everybody had brought and had a great party, which did not end until early morning.

 

Saturday morning we take the boat out through the inner reff while the tide is in and get ready for our departure. We sail north for a few hours and anchor at Baga Island. Swimming and snorkeling (perhaps the last for this crew) follows. We all have an early night to catch up on some sleep.

 

Sunday we leave Solomon Islands for New Britain and Rabaul. We soon have a great downwind sail to the north. We will bypass Bougainville Island which we have been strongly adviced not to visit. There is apparently civil unrest there. We will head straight for Rabaul some 340 NM away.

 

Early Monday morning. It is pitch black and the rain is pouring down,  we are now entering an area on the chart that is marked “Planet Deep”. I can only see that it is more than 8000 meters deep on my electronic chart!

 

All is well,

Lars and crew