Patience IS a Virtue

Aloha from offshore of the southwestern tip of Espiritu Santo Island. For those of you following the blog, this may sound familiar...yes, because we've been here before.  In our quest to reach new Caledonia from Honiara, we have traveled two weeks and over 1000 miles, seen Rennell Island, and we're still only back in Vanuatu. There are still 300 miles to go to New Caledonia, and 500 miles to Noumea.  This has truly been a test of patience; something I usually have very little of.  We have been pinching hard into the wind the whole way, sailing as close as we can to gain the proper angle on our tacks, rather than speed.  I sleep in the forward most section of the starboard bow, which means that, as the waka plows through the seas, I feel every bump, and sometimes get launched out of my bunk.  It sounds much worse down there than it usually is up top, but waking up to the sounds of waves bashing into the hull doesn't really make night watch a joy.  I should say, however, that I am really enjoying my watch on this leg: Hiapo, Rere, Tasia, Murray and I all get along and help each other out.  Murray is our comedian, and he especially likes to pick on Rere, who is officially the watch captain, although Murray is our decision maker.  He is so positive and willing to teach and explain, that I come away from watch having enjoyed the experience.  After my fingernail incident, Murray's gentle encouragement got me back steering again to the point that I feel fairly proficient at the technical aspects.  Watches are the highlight of the day, as the weather has been squally, cold, and windy.  Makes sense when you're going into the weather.  As Greg says, all the bumping means that we're holding our course.  It has been an uncomfortable trip, to say the least, and we all exercise patience as we wait to see what each day's weather will be like. Greg subscribes to a weather service that provides general wind forecasts, but not much else.  We've determined that these are fairly unreliable and usually off by a day, but they do give a general picture of what's going on.  What the crew would really like are easterlies, northerlies or westerlies, any of which would give a straight 3 day run into Noumea.  Unfortunately, the half of the fleet that stayed at Guadalcanal decided to come into Luganville (Espiritu Santo) for a break from the pounding.  The Rennell vacation group is slowly working its way in.  We should be there late tonight, having spent the last 24 hours tacking down the west coast of the island. Faafaite and Hine Moana, planning on sailing down the east coast, got caught in a lull and are stuck northwest of Santa Maria Island, waiting for a tow in from Evohe, our escort boat.  Frustration has led to several desperate and comical e-mails among the captains as some express their desire to scream at the sky.  The window of opportunity to sail to Noumea appears to be July 26 and 27, when the winds are forecast to go more to the east.  The exact dates of the Luganville stop.  Greg really wants to skip the stop altogether and sail for Noumea, but we have come this far as a fleet, and need to finish the journey as a fleet.  And so the wakas will be docked in Luganville for at least 4 days, unless plans change (as they have several times in the last few days).  Despite groundwork being laid for the New Caledonia stop, rumors are rampant that New Caledonia might be out of the picture altogether, in favor of shooting straight to New Zealand.  There will be some heavy discussion among the captains over the next couple of days.

As for myself, seeing as how my time is reaching it's limit, I have decided to fly to New Zealand on Saturday to spend some time there and to connect with my flight on the 8th.  I will be flying to Kentucky for my grandmother's 101st birthday.  It will also give me a chance to decompress and process the enormity of the journey I have been on, as well as to visit friends and experience WINTER!  I reached the decision to fly out because there were too many variables: weather, wind, to stop or not to stop...and so on.  This seemed to be the window of opportunity for me, and so, rather suddenly, my trip will come to an end, or rather move into another phase.  From here I will be able to move forward with friendships on another level (Facebook!  Skype!) and to see which ones stack up against the test of time.  I also look forward to seeing how each of the voyaging societies grows and evolves...and sails.  I certainly hope to be considered a part of the Te Mana O Te Moana family for a long time to come.  While I am looking forward to New Zealand, I am not looking forward to goodbyes...and I anticipate Friday will be a hard day.  I am hoping our two northern canoes make it in on time so that I can spend a last day with my voyaging family and  loved ones.

More from cold and wintery New Zealand later...