Day 193, Year 5: Changing Weather
Date: Friday, May 7, 2010
Weather: Unsettled, but NO Rain
Location: Ile Fouquet, Salomon Atoll, Chagos

We are dealing with some changing weather. The rain stopped but it is still only partly sunny. And the winds, what little there is of it, are coming from all directions. We had north and west winds during the night and a good swell is now coming in causing us to rock and roll. Far Niente left this morning and went down to Boddam and then two French boats followed. So that leaves only Constance, Susan Margaret, and Windbird. We considered moving but then decided that we really would rather stay here and wait out the swell. We will take advantage of the fact that there is little to no wind and take the dinghy down to Boddam tomorrow to visit and explore the island. We might even do a little fishing on the way home. So that is tomorrow’s plan, weather permitting.

Today was spent reading for pleasure, doing more laundry, and putting the first coat of varnish on the Dorade boxes. Yesterday we put our bimini back up so we once again have a dry cockpit where I can varnish without worrying about the rain. We also took everything stored on our aft berth off so we could search in the storage space below for our old bimini. It would make a great rain catcher, but we can’t find it. Tomorrow we will look under the v-berth one more time, but then we will give up looking for it. Mark spent time on the computer getting new GRIB files in, did a little fishing, and put out a pole for the Brown Noddies to roost on. This was amazing. We have tried everything to keep these birds from roosting on our bow pulpit. They are so cute, but the mess they leave behind is no fun at all to clean up. Mark read somewhere that if you take your boat hook and extend it out from your bow pulpit that the birds will roost there and not on the boat. He put the pole out and was starting to tie it in place when the birds came. They didn’t wait for him to complete his job. By the time he finished, he had six birds on the pole and none on the boat. He said it was as if they knew he was putting the pole out for them. We’ll see if this is still working tomorrow.

While we were out in the dinghy taking photos of the birds on the pole, John from Susan Margaret came by to invite us over for a wine tasting. He has been making his own wine and a new batch was ready to taste. He also invited Ed and Lynne, so we picked them up and went over to Susan Margaret. The wine was superb and we had a great time. At one point, John said he would have to invite the guys back for a beer tasting when his beer is ready. I reminded him that some ladies, myself in particular, also drink beer. That prompted him to start telling beer drinking stories from his childhood in the New Forest in England. The British do not drink their beer cold, but he said he can remember when the men would actually take hot pokers and stick them in the beer to warm it up. His parents still live in the New Forest and when he visits he loves to go to the Hare and Hound Pub. Our daughter-in-law Jo’s parents love visiting the New Forest, so I will have to email them and see if they have visited the Hare and Hound. Such a small world.

100507 Day 193 Salomon, Chagos–Windbird's New Bowsprit