The beer bottle song
Skye Blue sailing
Stephen and Malene
Thu 9 May 2024 03:20
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Solskin ombord, Stjerneskin om natten. Det er
nymåne....
Last night was incredibly clear - the stars were
amazing! Shining brightly over the rolling hills of the South Fiji Basin. It's
some landscape out there right now. The waves are about 3 meters high
and they come in thick and fast - just about every 6 seconds. Some are
lower but they still grab the boat and twists her, stern first then bow.
Just as well we have been working on our sea legs the last few days
;D
It's the far west side of a low pressure which has been
forming over the last few days. And now we are getting it.
It also means that we are belting on towards Fiji and
now have the luxury problem of managing our stock of fresh foods!
Biosecurity in Fiji are as strict as New Zealand, we understand, so we may
have a similar feast tomorrow night as we did coming down to NZ from Tonga! Woo
hooo!
But of course, its never over till the open beer
bottle sings.
And we still have over 200 nautical miles to go. As our
weather router, eye in the sky and guardian wind angel, Met Bob (Bob McDavitt)
just said: we need to slow down tomorrow in the 15 kts of wind so we can make
daylight arrival! He was well informed for there is no slowing us down today if
all goes well and the boat holds her ground. We are down to 3 reefs and a pair
of knickers (ladies, small) for a jib:DD And has been for almost 24 hours now.
Going btw 6.5 and 11(!) knots (11 when surfing down the waves!) Life is
good.
Who cares if we sleep at night! haha....
And then of course there is the question turning
challenge of where to put your stuff now we are on port tack....
The practical and formal aspects of arriving in a new
country has been dealt with. The Customs form sent ahead of our departure from
NZ. It includes information on the vessel, the engine, the registration, photos,
crew (no photos...) alcohol stores on board, food and medication and woven
baskets and outdoors equipment - of which we carry a lot. Its very thorough and
has been filled in with great care. The fines for not doing it are substantial.
We will have a visit from customs and immigration and biosecurity in order to
check in to Fiji with boat and people. All this will happen right away once we
get there so have given them an ETA. A daylight ETA of course
 Once all the formalities are done, we can
leave the boat. It's a process we go through everywhere when we arrive from
abroad. It works remarkably well and quick if you have done your homework (and
there is no queue!  )All is swell.
Your Skye Blue crew
Malene
21:36.8487S 176:20.2817E
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