Dear Family and Friends,

 

9th August 2015

 

It’s not really the 9th August, now we have reached Samoa we have also crossed the date line and its 10th August here, we have ‘lost’ 23 hours! The strange thing is just 20 miles from the eastern tip of Samoa is American Samoa which is the other side of the date line and its still the 9th there.

 

As I said in the last blog, the seas have been something else and as if to reinforce this, yesterday evening whilst dishing up supper, we fell off yet another large swell, crashing into the trough with shuddering spasms and I was thrown across the galley colliding with the companion way and the navigation seat. Momentarily winded I was very lucky not to sustain more than bruising and stiffness, although I could barely move at first, ice packs, topical pain relief and rest worked wonders.

 

We reached the lee of American Samoa, where although we lost the 20+knots of wind we also lost the swell and indeed the rest of todays sail has been pleasant. Seeing the lights of American Samoa from late evening yesterday was oddly comforting, we were nearly there.

 

Samoan coastline has been sombre and brooding, wreathed in low cloud and mist, a dark hilly outline. Light coloured buildings are sparsely scattered along the coast and among the lower slopes , peering out from a bush and tropical wood landscape. A waterfall cascaded several hundred meters directly into the sea. At just shy of 50 miles in length the island of Upolu  and its sister Savai’i, have a different feel to the dramatic high islands of Tahiti and Moorea, as far as we can see in the gloom, there are more gentle curves to this older volcanic landscape. We arrived in Apia harbour mid afternoon; from the anchorage we have a favourable impression of a well ordered and affluent capital town.

 

We can not leave the boat until we are cleared through customs and immigration so we await their visit as we listen to the torrential rains, welcome to sunny Samoa!

 

All our best,

 

Lynne and Alan