Update from Minerva Reef
Macushla
Mark & Sue Owen
Thu 23 May 2019 01:25
It would appear that the weather gods will not be releasing me from this lagoon any time soon. The wind is still gusting up to nearly 40 kts and the swell outside the reef is reportedly running at 4.5m, which would be from a beam on direction for a pasage to Fiji and incredibly uncomfortable. So I remain anchored firmly with 80m of chain laid, doing my upmost to keep deligently occupied to prevent the onslaught of cabin fever. Although there are twenty odd yachts in the anchorage, socialising is limited to vhf radio chats only, as launching a dinghy in these conditions is too precarious.So, we have twenty little isolation pods with very little contact with the outside world, where even just sending an email is a luxury that needs to be rationed, it sounds like the start of scientific study, or maybe even a reality tv show, "who eats their neighbour first".
I am really enjoying reading Milkman by Anna Burns, so very kindly donated to Macushla's library by fellow yachties Katrina and Graham, you always meet the nicest people in boatyards! For despite having a extensive collection of electronic books on board, the decadence of a real paper novel is an immense pleasure, and I try to resist reading more than one chapter a day in the hope it will outlast my enforced stopover.
It's not unusual to be stranded in remote places, sometimes for several weeks on end, and it has happened many times in years gone by. One such occasion led to the start of the tradition, where with my very limited artistic talent I would produce a Birthday card for Sue. Previous years would have seen me secreted away in the fore-cabin with my pencils and paints for the last couple of days, trying to capture a memory of the previous year's travels, some where more successful than others and the odd one even recognisable.
But today I celebrate her Birthday alone, but I feel her presence here, and know that friends and family everywhere are thinking of her.
Happy Birthday Hun, oh for one more chat, one more all enveloping hug.
I miss you Darling. xxxx