9.04S 133.27W  Tuesday 25^th March  Day 17   The chart plotter informs me that we have about 55 hours to sail before landfall – going at our present speed – which would  have us  arriving at Niku Hivu during daylight on Friday 28^th . Actually until today we were inadvertently heading for the wrong island.  To the untrained ear they all sound much the same, each with a ‘Hiva’ or ‘Hivu’ somewhere in the title – it was only when Andy on Spectra challenged our ETA as being a bit optimistic that we realised the error of our ways!  Lucky though – we would have been Billy no mates in a bay all to ourselves!!   Unfortunately we realise now we will miss the second welcome party on the eve of the 27th (along with five others) but will be in time for the official party on the 29^th with hog roast and local entertainment as well as the walk to the waterfalls from Daniel’s Bay the day after – we will see what the weather has in store for us but by all accounts we should have a steady 15 – 20 knots from the east now.  Once again, apart from flying fish – many of which seem to have a kamikaze death wish to leap onto our boat and die – we really haven’t seen a living thing – not a dolphin or whale – nothing.   We did come across one huge commercial fishing vessel a week ago – lit up like a Christmas tree but it moved off when it saw us.

It’s exciting when you draw close to land and new civilisation and judging by the conversations over the net everyone is feeling the same and really looking forward to seeing one another again.  However, nobody is looking forward to the vicious ‘nono’ fly and I am planning to wash our mosquito nets and long trousers in a special deet solution to try to repel them – gunky tropical sores is not something on my wish list. Stone fish are another worry, highly venomous, they lurk just along the shoreline where the waves hit the shore – just the place you romanticise about walking!  ‘Crocs’ or ‘jellies’ are recommended.  Fish poisoning is also prevalent here, especially by eating those that feed on the coral reefs.  Obviously there is a food chain so the bigger the fish the more likely it has, in turn, eaten smaller contaminated species…..

We must urgently address the issue of mast steps at least to the first spreaders.  By all recommendations this is the lowest vantage point where someone (me!) should be perched over the next few months whilst trying to thread through the coral heads and reefs using eye ball navigation.  We bought the steps and the pot rivets prior to leaving Spain – it is just a question of getting down to it – and of course dreaming up a suitable ‘perch’!!  The ‘to do’ list is looming once we get to the anchorage.  We’re still catching the gear box oil and pouring it in the top again each day!  The good news for us is that we haven’t used much diesel so won’t need to fill up and we can make our own water as there is no potable water on Niku Hivu.  You should see the water line on the boat – covered in Goose Barnacles – great long dangly things - I will try and photograph them when we get there.  And the Hydrovane rudder which we never anti fouled is covered in seaweed probably supporting a whole eco system! You wouldn’t think anything would find it possible to get a grip hurtling along as we are……..

High winds and extremely boisterous seas tonight with the odd rogue wave giving us a slap in the cockpit so the Twistle is well reefed and looks like a little diamond in the sky silhouetted by the moon – still doing 7 knots though and trying to sleep earlier could be likened to lying on a bucking bronco! As the waves rush up behind and then beside and then under us in the darkness they sound like steam trains thundering by. Its not a question of ‘good night’ anymore, its ‘happy rock and roll’.   Paul had a fifteen minute squall on his watch last night with 30 knot easterlies – we covered four miles in twenty minutes! 

Dreaming about fresh fruit and vegetables………vodka and tonics with ice and lemon…….French cooking………shopping………