Safely Tucked in.

Lochmarin
Fri 16 Oct 2015 03:11
15:22.4092S 167:11.4501E

We got up nice and early, checked the weather again (yep, it was still a tropical depression, and yep, it still might come our way) and set off to beat into the wind. Pretty disheartening to have to push back against the wind after having sailed up two days before but it’s always better to be safe than sorry where possible cyclones are concerned!

We made good speed and got in through the first pass too early - it was still low tide and we couldn’t clear the reefs across the inner pass before half tide at least, so we tucked in behind Aese Island to wait for the tide The holding wasn’t great and after a couple of hours we started to drag so we lifted the anchor, put out a jib about the size of Calm Rhino’s jib and drifted back down the four miles or so as slowly as we could so that the tide would be high enough when we got there. What a change from the pounding we took on the way down that morning, a gentle down wind drift, at one or two knots, smooth blue water besides us barely rippling - much more pleasant!

So we’re back in, saying hello to friends we’d made before we left, greeting others who arrived whilst we were gone. We’re tucked in quite close to the island, if the winds do come we’re in a good position. We can run lines ashore to the mangroves and put out an extra couple of anchors if we need to. The holding is excellent - when we lifted the anchor two days ago it made the winch work really hard and it came out with a sucking sound: sandy mud - perfect!

Lets hope the tropical depression doesn’t come North, and that it doesn’t turn into a cyclone, but in the mean time we’re safe and comfortable, back on holiday.