Tuesday, 16th June, 2015
Luna Quest
W. Eric Faber
Tue 16 Jun 2015 01:36
Daily run: 81 miles
Last night at 2am we passed from the western hemisphere into the eastern hemisphere and we have therefore sailed halfway round the world. We are on the home run. We are hoping to make Suva tonight before some high winds set in tomorrow. It is just as well we are heading for Suva as Julia’s Macbook Pro yesterday refused to come on. It is a real setback as there are many photos and videos still to be downloaded, while many photo Ibooks remain unfinished. We are hoping there may be an Apple store in Suva.
The ICA had organised a cave hunt around the Bay of Islands in three long boats, an interesting expedition, but perhaps more so because of the stunning and desolate scenery of tufts of islands, thickly overgrown, some teetering on their eroded pedestals. They are all volcanic with the lava immensely sharp and hard, but where the sea, tide and wind have eaten away their foundations. The largest cave that can only be entered from seaward was not unlike a mini cathedral with a lofty stalactite steeple. Outside large fruit bats, disturbed by the commotion swirled around overhead, but the majority of them seemed happy to remain hanging upside down in the trees. Back on our yachts and after lunch, we set off with another yacht called Exody to find our way out of the reefs from Vanua Balavu. A fresh southeasterly gave us an exhilarating beam reach towards Viti Levu, the largest Fiji island, where Suva is the capital. We made good progress overnight, but early this morning the wind fell away and we have been on the engine since 06.45am. We expect to make landfall around 9pm.
Eric