Everyone has to be somewhere. We're anchored on the East side of the atoll Raroia, about a half mile South of the motu where Kon Tiki crash landed. We went ashore yesterday to look for the wreckage, but as it's been 73 years and the raft was built from bamboo and other natural materials, we certainly didn't expect to find any trace. Well, we didn't, but we did find some firewood; perhaps we'll have a beach bonfire in a few days. We also found the plaque commemorating Thor's adventure, and some very proud Norwegians and Danes had hung some rather worn ensigns in a tree near the monument. Pretty cool. Maybe I'll finally get off my duff and read the book.
Now that we've shifted from passage mode to daily living mode, we've got the air scoops, sun and rain shades deployed. After arriving we had an adult beverage to mark the occasion followed by a good nap, and the last couple of nights we've slept like logs, recovering from the almost 4-day passage. It was a really great sail, but as always it's nice to be where we were aiming. There's always a higher level of apprehension while underway, especially hundreds or thousands of miles from land. Here in the anchorage we still keep a sharp eye out, but the anchor is dug into sand and we keep an anchor alarm running should we drag. It's blown a bit the last 24 hours or so, several squalls moving through the area, 1 even with lighting and thunder. We've stayed put through it all so it's pretty darn good holding.
Our daily routine is pretty much a couple cups of coffee, get the fresh weather and any emails, and read the dismal Reuters news feed. Next up is generally an adventure - snorkeling for an hour or so is quite satisfying and OK lower body exercise. Next, back to the boat to relax a bit, perhaps have a bit of lunch, then a nap, then perhaps a task, then another adventure that involves exercise. A land excursion to hunt for coconuts and shells, or if the water is flat toss the SUPs in and paddle for an hour or so. That's always best with good visibility and overhead sun - it's amazing what we see with our eyes about 5 feet above the water. Sea kayaks are fun, but the view down is degraded because of the angle and distance. We do love our Red SUPs!
Today's task for me is to pull apart the steering gear and grease the pins that bearings move on. We began to hear some creaks during this passage - as nothing else is amiss I'm optimistic that the bolts that hold the cross arm to the pitch horn pins or the pin that attaches the autopilot actuator to the steering linkage must have gotten a little dry. Last time I greased them was when we were hauled out at Rocky Point in 2019; looks like it'll become an annual event like the winches. The goose neck was creaking a little as well, so once I figure out how to support the weight of the boom and stacked main sail assembly I'll pull that apart and lubricate as well. The windlass is sticky too. That bugger has been persnickety for a while now, so I may find myself lapping the brake bearing surface. For now all I can do is clean it up and make sure everything is properly lubricated.
While I'm banging away with all that Isabel will probably be doing a bit of mildew control, vacuuming or inventorying all our foodstuffs. As we're going to be without reprovisioning options for a while, a little meal planning is in order. Thanks to the massive solar array we have we can use the electric kettle to boil water for coffee, tea and dish washing, stretching our cooking gas supply by several weeks.
Need to get out the self-taught guitar and ukulele books and get serious about some pickin' and grinnin'. It's pretty silly to carry those instruments around if we're not using them.
Before we know it another day will have passed, it'll be time for sundowners, the evening SSB net, a little dinner, then perhaps a movie or a good read on the kindles. Just another day in paradise.
----------
Sent via SailMail, http://www.sailmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment