beestings, big fish and finally, at sea again

Bandit
David Morgan and Brenda Webb
Fri 8 Aug 2014 22:04
13:15S 163:12W
 
Our exit from beautiful Suwarrow this morning was almost as dramatic as our entry....thanks to a rogue bee.   In beautiful sunshine and light winds we motored carefully towards the pass, thinking how much different it all looked with blue skies.  We entered last Saturday in rain and total overcast and against the tide – all of which made for a challenging time.  I was just thinking how straightforward these passes are in benign conditions when a shriek of pain went up from the skipper who was clutching his backside and yelling – “I’ve been stung, I’ve been stung.”  It could have been hilarious but I was far too concerned about the reefs so, after a quick look to make sure there was no sting (there wasn’t) and applying a glug of vinegar – told him to get on with the job.  About then I noticed a dozy bee fly out from the discarded shorts!
 
It was with huge sadness we left Suwarrow – how we wish our time on this spectacular atoll had been different.  We did make time to snorkel yesterday afternoon and had a wonderful time with a huge manta ray and then a long drift snorkel on a beautiful shallow reef with stunning coral.  Last night we had drinks ashore with Steve, Harry the wonderful Suwarrow caretaker and his wife Vaina and the crew of the two other cruising boats still in the anchorage – Atlantide and Zenna.  Steve was in good spirits and his close friend Franz on Vela is due to arrive on Sunday to help with the last of the clean up and take Steve to Samoa.
 
It’s easy to see how Tom Neale (who wrote An Island to Oneself about his time here) lived here for so long.  It would be easy to lose yourself here. 
 
Conditions today are fantastic – 12-15 knots on the beam and kind seas – but as I write this we are still in the lee of Suwarrow. 
 
The fishing line is out and so far we’ve caught a bird (luckily it was fine and we managed to release it safely) and lost a lure with a huge strike.   We’ve got four days to sail to Nuie so surely we’ll catch something.   We’ve still got some delicious fish Harry gave us in the fridge for lunch but a nice tuna, mahimahi or wahoo would be great.