Fiji Fido
X86
Rich Carey
Fri 31 Aug 2018 23:53
I think it's Friday, so Saturday is just a few miles away. Time travel round here is not as obvious as you'd think, as the IDL is as straight as a perps sobriety walk. It'll never not be weird, going in an instant from 11 house behind GMT to 12 hours ahead. It does mean, for a change, that I'll be arriving at a known instant this hop, instead of accosting someone on the dock for the time - kind of wild eyed - in case I've screwed up and the bar's closed. I'll get it right this time, as I have a GMT clock at my Nav station, as all HF radio timings are based on GMT - even I can work out +12 hours to what it's showing me. And I can assure you that after 2 weeks alone in the deep stuff, there's no shame felt, arriving at 08:00, wading through the breakfast crowd, and downing a swift three pints of the local.
So that's 12 days on the move and still no sign of Costner, Smokeeeer's, or out else. I turned on the hand held VHF and had a chat with myself on the primary radio. I was hard to understand through the screeching feedback loop, but I'm good, and all is indeed well on x86.
The last 24hrs have been a bit lullish, so the donks have had a bit of work to do. This morning I had both on, as the wind was single digit and I needed to make water. Had a majorly needed major shower, and changed the sheets on my saloon bed. Did the washing up, then chucked some food overboard to avoid being arrested by Fiji bio security - mainly just the stuff marked 'eat by Fiji or they'll all die'. They've got some neck, these places - I normally leave them, with something like plague - well a nasty hangover from plague ridden beer anyway.
Had a bit of an accident in the toilet. Most 'ladies of the boat' insist their gentleman pee sitting down. Codswallop, of course - all that's needed is good technique. Mine is a wide stance, good forward lean, and bonce pressed hard against the bathroom supplies cupboard. From this position, a gentlemans aim is true. However on this occasion, an occasion of big sea state, the ring slammed down and en-route, whacked me on the todger. Nuff said!
I am 'with arrival plan'. Written in talc, but existing. This evening I'll pass the first of Fudji's outer Islands (that's not a typo, marine charts are known to be well dodgy around here). At that point I'll have 250 miles to a reef passage on the south west side of the southern main Island. While I could make that in two days, I'd not then make the 4 hours through and up to Vuda point, and still be in time to make customs and bio check-in before end of business hrs. So I need to slow to a leisurely 4 knots, and spend 2.5 days to the pass, arriving there at dawn on Tuesday. If the biobuggers don't insist all bedding/soft furnishings being burnt, and Fiji Fido the rat catcher does his job fast, I might just make barstool in the am. We never had rats when Bosun was aboard - these days, who knows?
All's well on x86, donks off, bit of a breeze just kicked in.
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com