Ruby Slippers

We left Australia over a week ago.  As we left, the wind was supposed to turn more southeast, affording us a pleasant reach to Vanuatu.  Instead, it came directly from the east, the direction we were heading, and blew steadily at 20-25 knots.  We were inclined on our port side for about 7 days, getting beat up and very tired.  The boat was banging and shuddering against the water, making a horrible racket.  It was too rough and too noisy to cook, to eat, to read, to do school, to write, to sleep.  Jim and I were positively rummy from doing 3-on, 3-off watches through the nights.  

 

We heard about a little atoll, out here in the middle of the ocean, called Huon Atoll.  It is tiny, and we couldn’t imagine that it would provide any comfort or protection from the wind and the waves.  We arrived here late afternoon and snugged up as close to the low beach as we could.  What a relief to anchor and not be tilted!  I almost cried, I was so happy.  Jessie immediately made bacon and scrambled eggs, her comfort food, evidently.  Jim was asleep by 5:00 that afternoon.  The girls and I stayed up and talked and laughed like we hadn’t seen each other for weeks.

 

The good news?  It is quite protected here.  We have been sleeping well, and the anchor is firmly planted.  We went ashore and found a plethora of seabirds, nests, and baby chicks.  And shells!  We finally found a chambered nautilus shell, very rare and hard to find.  In fact, we found several.  We have two buckets full of shells in the cockpit that are soaking in Clorox water.  The water is too rough to snorkel, but it looks clear and beautiful.  We can see the anchor and the bottom.  

 

Ahhh, the bad news.  We have been here 3 days now.  The wind has not let up one bit – still 20-25, and still directly out of the east.  We are 300 miles from Vanuatu, we are running low on fuel and food, and our watermaker has been acting up.  I have imagined “them” finding us, sitting in the cockpit as skeletons, each with a precious chambered nautilus shell in our hands.  We don’t have the fuel to fight the winds and current all the way to Vanuatu.  The weather charts don’t show any change for at least the next two days.  Even after we reach Vanuatu, we still have 500 miles to go to Fiji and we need to be there by June 15th.  That’s when the crew that is going to help Jim deliver the boat to Hawaii will be arriving. Before they get there, we need to have the boat cleaned up, stocked with food, minor repairs made, and us girls packed and on the airplane to Seattle.  In short, we are out of time.  

 

There is a hint on the weather charts that the winds will die down, or change direction sometime Friday.  We will leave the minute they do.  I won’t mind 25 knots of wind, as long as it is not directly on our nose.  I’ve never seen wind blow this long at one time.  Usually, it will blow hard for a few days, then die down or change course.  This has been going steady for about 10 days straight.  It’s like the trade winds on crack.  We could change course and go to New Caledonia, but that just makes it more difficult and adds miles to the trip to Fiji.

 

In the meantime, we are sorting shells, baking bread, taking year-end school tests, and trying to catch fish.  The wind is howling like an injured wolf, but we are safe and sheltered right now.  Keep us in your prayers.   ~  Jeanna