Day 319, Year 1: A Quiet Day on Windbird
Date: Friday, September 1, 2006
Weather: Rain All Night, Rain All Day
Location: Pago Pago Harbor, Tutuila Island, American Samoa

Our beautiful day yesterday ended with a stormy night. The southeast winds have returned and they are about 20 knots strong here in the anchorage. That causes a bit of a chop. No problem here on the boat, but going to shore against the wind can be a wet ride. Mark started his day fixing the pump that empties our shower. I sanded and varnished the Dorade boxes, coat #9, and ventured out on deck to scrub the various cushions we use in the cockpit to make ourselves comfortable. Mark went into town to call Samoa Telecom yet another time about our internet connection that is mostly down, but works sometimes. This time he was successful and the connection worked . . . a little while. Then it was down again and Mark went back to town. This time he also went to the grocery store and to a couple of hardware stores to find the grade of sandpaper I need to continue my varnishing. I think Mark really likes racing that dinghy in and out of town, but he assures me that these trips are necessary!

We were going to go to the Yacht Club for Happy Hour tonight, but the weather was still so windy and rainy that we decided to have a quiet night on Windbird. I did a lot of cooking, using up some of the things in the freezer that have been there just a little too long. We will eat well the next couple of days, and early next week we will fill the freezer with goodies that should take us through to New Zealand.

There are still so many things we want to do here, but our time is starting to run short. We have to be in Apia no later than Tuesday, September 12, and that means that we have to be ready to leave here by next Thursday, September 7. It is only an overnight sail to Apia, but with the kind of weather we have been experiencing, we might have to leave as early as Thursday if the weather is right. If there is a long range prediction of calm weather, then we will wait and leave on Saturday or Sunday. Our son Justin and my niece Lynn arrive there early on Wednesday, so we would like to get there and have a day or two to get settled in before they arrive.

Tomorrow we have invited Micah Van der Ryn, head of Samoan-Polynesian Studies at the Community College, and his wife, to visit us aboard Windbird. They have also offered to take us across the mountain to the village of Vatia for an explore. We have been there once, but it is our favorite place on the island and we look forward to going again. Hopefully the weather will clear for our visit and exploration.