Coral Sea Day 6

Vega
Hugh and Annie
Sun 23 Sep 2018 08:32
Still at anchor for what has been a frustrating day.
Annie is desperate to get onto the island which supports colonies of nesting birds. The reserve really is David Attenborough stuff and it would be wonderful to walk along the beach and to experience this wonder of the world. Unfortunately it is still blowing over 20kts with a fair chop of breaking waves which makes launching the dinghy, fitting the outboard motor and getting ashore tricky and we are not keen to repeat some of our hairier dinghy experiences. Nevertheless we were determined to have a go and Alex and Wendy on Ansoba were on standby in case we got into difficulties. It is difficult to imagine anywhere more remote than this and in the event the engine failed it would be too windy to paddle back to Vega - with the prospect of similar strength wind all this week. We managed to get the dinghy into the water and with me on board it was like (I imagine) riding a bucking bronco. To stand in the back of the dinghy while securing the outboard from its hoist with the front of the dinghy rearing up and waves breaking over was asking for trouble. Sense prevailed and we abandoned the attempt. Upon hoisting the dinghy out of the water and onto the foredeck it immediately became a sail and took some hauling to get it down to the horizontal. If it is really calm in the morning we will have another go before leaving.
At some point in the dinghy exercise I checked the snubbing line for the anchor chain and also the new bow roller. The snubbing line was fine but the roller fitting has bent sideways. The roller itself has pulled out of the fitting sides and disappeared. If it wasn’t for the fact that the line is led through a thick piece of plastic piping it would undoubtedly have chafed through on the roller fitting. Back to the bridle arrangement, that seems to be working, and the drawing board for the roller. Maybe the bridle is the way after all.
Our other main activity of the day has been passage planning for Bundaberg and checking weather forecasts. We considered staying here for a few days but it is going to be windy all week at Chesterfield while the weather for the three day passage is also windy, but not as much as on the way here. So, we are hoping for a fast passage and will be leaving at 0800 tomorrow, Monday.
Oh, and we also checked the large wood carving we bought in Vanuatu after the Rom dance. On closer inspection it has little holes in it and possible evidence of insect activity. We had previously been in touch with Australian biosecurity as they are concerned about wood imports and it looks like we will need to get it fumigated (if worth the cost) or destroyed. Much of the interior of Vega is wood, so any suspicion of a wood boring infestation will be a problem. We considered casting it into the waves but were worried it might pose a shipping hazard so in the meantime the carving is wrapped and sealed in several layers of plastic.