Day 23, Year 2: Another Work Day on Windbird
Date: Thursday, May 17, 2007
Weather Today: Partly Sunny, Rain in the Evening
Location: Suva, Fiji

This is getting downright boring. We spent another day working on the boat. Mark worked on his sewing projects. Today he got the dodger seams reinforced and put new velcro on the Dorade box covers. He even repaired my $2.50 Jansport backpack that I bought in Panama. One of the shoulder straps was coming unstitched and now it looks like new. He also walked part way to town to pick up our stanchion that needed to be welded. This is the one that bent, almost broken, when the headsail sheet was flogging about on our way here. It doesn’t look quite like new, but it does look servicable, and that’s all that counts.

I helped Mark when he was working with the dodger. It is big and he needed help manhandling it while sewing. I also did more laundry. There are commercial boats of some sort on a mooring near us, and the workmen go in and out of town in small boats all day long. Every day they watch me hang out more laundry, so I’m sure they think we are the dirtiest cruisers they have ever seen. Actually everyone else took their laundry from the passage in to be done and paid about $50 Fiji. I do about four or five pieces everyday and am almost done–jeans, turtle necks, long underwear, winter pajamas, wool socks, and towels, towels , towels. Strange laundry for Fiji, but almost done. I also worked on cleaning the cockpit after Mark finished sewing, and started cleaning on the topsides of the boat.

We invited Donna and Jerry of Scott Free II and Colette and Jean-Pierre of Safina over for cocktail “hours” this evening. Donna and Jerry did have to hand steer for about five days of their passage from New Zealand, but they have recovered quickly. They are waiting for parts to fix their auto pilot. Jean-Pierre and Colette are waiting for a 12-month Visa for visiting Australia at the end of this cruising season, and we (and Scott Free II) are waiting to see if we get a permit to visit the Lau Group. Its looking more and more like that won’t really happen, but we are going to go ahead and try. Since we are all waiting for things, we will be here together for another week or so. The other two boats are from Canada and speak French. Maybe I’ll learn a little French while we are here.

It rained this evening and I heard on this morning’s net that a low is situated over Fiji. If the weather is rainy tomorrow, we might go into town to visit the Fiji Museum. Donna bought some beautiful fabric in town today, and Colette went shopping for a sari. Listening to them talk of their shopping excursions got me to thinking about doing a little shopping myself. Dress in Fiji is very conservative and women often need to wear long skirts. I have only one with me, so I’m thinking that I could create some more sewing projects for Mark. Someone’s got to keep him busy.

070517 Day 23 Viti Levu, Fiji–Mark the Seamtress