September 07, Port Vila Vanuatu
I woke up very early this morning. Not only because i have so much to do but also because mosquitoes woke me up. There are so much of them here when we have no wind. I usually have a remedy for that, which you light up and the smell kills the insects, so they stay away. I wonder what else is the remedy poisoning? If the remedy is finished then you have a morning alarm more effective than any alarm clock.
Mornings are beautiful. Everyone is asleep; the water in the bay is still before small boats will ruin it. This is an ideal time for coffee and planning for whole day. Under normal circumstances I would say that it is the time for shower, but at the marina, the showers are open from 8am. It is a self-service. You have to go to get a key; the water is warmed by the sun panels, so in the AM you can't count on having hot water. But, that's ok. What could be better than cold shower, right? So I chose option B and jumped straight into the water near my yacht. Water is clear and full of fish and water snakes. I'm not particularly fond of them; supposedly the snake is poisonous. But its mouth is really small and the poison is located deep down the snake's throat. So, it can only bite you in your finger, because it can't open its mouth wide. So, after the salty water your garden snake (hose) must suffice to wash yourself off! :
At 8:15am I tuned in to UHF. We have a station for "cruisers". They give an update of the weather, advice on what and where to take care of things, people advertise sale or exchange of equipment...and, I, for example, was asking today whether any of the boats in Port Vila has gone or is expected to go through Torres Strait, north of Australia. I announced that I need two detailed maps. I hope that later on today someone will go through their map mine and will find something. Or, maybe I will get a chance to speak with someone about this difficult passage. And, Mike just started talking to me. We don't know each other yet, but he said he has maps that may interest me. This is a wonderful thing. Here is a stranger that you calls you by your name right away. You feel like family among sailors. Everybody wants to help you - some with their technical knowledge, some others have parts that you can't buy on an islands, and everyone has countless sailing stories to tell. Every yacht means a world to its owner. Often, it is their house which takes them around the world. What a beautiful thing! But, I feel a relieved from not having a huge yacht with washer, shower, refrigerator...these things can easily break and then you need to fix them! I don't have a toilet either. First, they can clog easily and take a lot of space, and additionally require cleaning...but, you don't clog the ocean. Unless you....oh, let me leave this topic alone.
I took a break in writing since I went to visit the yacht of my new friend. We looked through the index of his computer maps. I know that Chris around the corner has a computer store so let's hope he can help me.
So, this is how my morning went. All sailors woke up, a new yacht arrived to marina. The entire crew from Yachting World came to help. They are really reliable and helpful. You can tell that they know what they're doing. I spoke with a friend that when a yacht arrives, many people come to look at it. Are they coming to help if needed, or perhaps to laugh at difficulties of others? Of course, we all want to help if necessary. Once in a while, someone will come on a dinghy to help a yacht rear parking. In any event, I was observing others' mistakes to learn as much as I can from them. Or, maybe in order to feel a bit better? Anyway, it's easy to judge others if you don't navigate the boat yourself ... oh, our human nature...
The rains here are scattered but heavy. Then, I'll go to Liz that has a labeling business. She offered to fix the label on my yacht. The rain and strong winds damaged the pieces of my INTER-PRO around the world label... I'll see what we can do.
Then, I need to go to Australian embassy. Since I arrived to Darwin, I have applied for a visa. It's going to take a while, since the ambassador is out on business. Oh well, that's life. I'm taking off. I still have to fix the mail sail battens and change one piece on the top of mast; I'll try to buy led lights from my friends so they will use less energy. But, I'm going to write about it later.
I woke up very early this morning. Not only because i have so much to do but also because mosquitoes woke me up. There are so much of them here when we have no wind. I usually have a remedy for that, which you light up and the smell kills the insects, so they stay away. I wonder what else is the remedy poisoning? If the remedy is finished then you have a morning alarm more effective than any alarm clock.
Mornings are beautiful. Everyone is asleep; the water in the bay is still before small boats will ruin it. This is an ideal time for coffee and planning for whole day. Under normal circumstances I would say that it is the time for shower, but at the marina, the showers are open from 8am. It is a self-service. You have to go to get a key; the water is warmed by the sun panels, so in the AM you can't count on having hot water. But, that's ok. What could be better than cold shower, right? So I chose option B and jumped straight into the water near my yacht. Water is clear and full of fish and water snakes. I'm not particularly fond of them; supposedly the snake is poisonous. But its mouth is really small and the poison is located deep down the snake's throat. So, it can only bite you in your finger, because it can't open its mouth wide. So, after the salty water your garden snake (hose) must suffice to wash yourself off! :
At 8:15am I tuned in to UHF. We have a station for "cruisers". They give an update of the weather, advice on what and where to take care of things, people advertise sale or exchange of equipment...and, I, for example, was asking today whether any of the boats in Port Vila has gone or is expected to go through Torres Strait, north of Australia. I announced that I need two detailed maps. I hope that later on today someone will go through their map mine and will find something. Or, maybe I will get a chance to speak with someone about this difficult passage. And, Mike just started talking to me. We don't know each other yet, but he said he has maps that may interest me. This is a wonderful thing. Here is a stranger that you calls you by your name right away. You feel like family among sailors. Everybody wants to help you - some with their technical knowledge, some others have parts that you can't buy on an islands, and everyone has countless sailing stories to tell. Every yacht means a world to its owner. Often, it is their house which takes them around the world. What a beautiful thing! But, I feel a relieved from not having a huge yacht with washer, shower, refrigerator...these things can easily break and then you need to fix them! I don't have a toilet either. First, they can clog easily and take a lot of space, and additionally require cleaning...but, you don't clog the ocean. Unless you....oh, let me leave this topic alone.
I took a break in writing since I went to visit the yacht of my new friend. We looked through the index of his computer maps. I know that Chris around the corner has a computer store so let's hope he can help me.
So, this is how my morning went. All sailors woke up, a new yacht arrived to marina. The entire crew from Yachting World came to help. They are really reliable and helpful. You can tell that they know what they're doing. I spoke with a friend that when a yacht arrives, many people come to look at it. Are they coming to help if needed, or perhaps to laugh at difficulties of others? Of course, we all want to help if necessary. Once in a while, someone will come on a dinghy to help a yacht rear parking. In any event, I was observing others' mistakes to learn as much as I can from them. Or, maybe in order to feel a bit better? Anyway, it's easy to judge others if you don't navigate the boat yourself ... oh, our human nature...
The rains here are scattered but heavy. Then, I'll go to Liz that has a labeling business. She offered to fix the label on my yacht. The rain and strong winds damaged the pieces of my INTER-PRO around the world label... I'll see what we can do.
Then, I need to go to Australian embassy. Since I arrived to Darwin, I have applied for a visa. It's going to take a while, since the ambassador is out on business. Oh well, that's life. I'm taking off. I still have to fix the mail sail battens and change one piece on the top of mast; I'll try to buy led lights from my friends so they will use less energy. But, I'm going to write about it later.