Onboard Update from Escapade delivery 13/7/13 at 2.29am
Apologies to those of you who have been diligently checking your email each morning to be enthralled with the latest exciting news from Escapade. There has not been a lot to report up until the last 24/48 hours. Its Friday night and we are underway again after a slightly less then brief stop for fuel in Gizo. Motor sailing at 6 kts straight at Honiara.
BTW, The left over Tuna and Mash was mixed with two eggs and turned into tuna patties, very tasty.
We made landfall on the Solomon is around dawn on Thursday and I decided to head south east down the north side of the NW most island heading for manning strait. Knowing there was an adverse current I got in close to the shore but still faced a 1kt+ head current and although the breeze was 12+ it was right in the teeth so around 8am I called the guy in Honiara who I had spoken to previously to arrange a mooring and asked if there was anywhere he could suggest we get fuel and he came back with a couple of suggestions in the New Georgia grp on the SW side of the Arch. Quick check of the chart and distance calculations and I decided to reverse direction and head for Gizo to refuel so we could then motor if needed. We proceeded then to have a great downwind run around the top of Choisel Is and through the Bouganville Str. including reaching 10 kts SOG as the breeze built including some interesting wind against tide overfalls for about 10 minutes in the pitch dark. The sun came up as we were about half way down Vella Lavella Is and as I got lifted around the bottom of the island I decided to take the scenic route through "Beagle Channel" about 1M wide and very picturesque, highly recommended cruising area for Joey, Verna and Nicki when they arrive next week. Finally had about 8M to do up wind to get to the NW entrance to Gizo and then had the usual interesting time playing "what beacon was that before it was hammered by a cyclone?" The leads were gone altogether but the key laterals were where the should be and aided by my meticulously prepared pilotage plan and Felicity's golden rule of navigation "Don't sail where the birds are walking", we made an uneventful entrance. Still no response on 16 from "Gizo Port control" so we motor up to this spiffy looking big bright yellow bouy with some lovely mooring lines attached presuming it to be the quarantine bouy and waited to see if anything happens. Turns out it is the bouy for the local Police vessel but the locals later advised that " weather is too lousy for them, they are not likely to show up". Dropped the dinghy from the davits and rowed ashore to discover that it was an hour later than my watch said and all the government offices were closed so we raided the ANZ bank for the usual S$4000 of WAM and retired to the "Gizo Yacht Club" AKA Pt 109 Bar and restaurant. I went to check on fuel arrangements for the morning while Felicity established the price of a cold beer. Deisel is $14 a litre and a cold beer in "Happy Hour" is $15, Deisel is mildly more expensive than elswhere and beer is as cheap as everywhere which is much cheaper than Australia. Speaking of booze prices I am yet to establish whether the SODU crew discovered the bottles of 150 proof "Hannah Bay" rum for A$16 in Saipan, we're on to the third bottle now.
So we settled in at the yacht club and ordered roast chicken while watching 3 or 4 beers evaporate in front of us (could not possibly have drunk them that quickly?) Then noted that they had wine on the shelf, " Sorry sir, only one type of Red wine" "what sort please, could you read the label on the back please" ... "Cabernat Merlot" "OK" "Would you like me to chill it for you?" "No, thanks, just two glasses please" we were back on board by 7:30 and asleep before the GYC disco started up at 9pm.
Boat arrives to pick up fuel cans as arranged, then wood carving guy number 3 turns up in his canoe, this time we are ready to do business so he hog ties his canoe to the back of Escapade (FYI no mooring cleats, holes, thwarts etc so the rope goes twice round the whole boat. My parting gift to him was to screw and saddle to his gunwhale and give him a home made bailer and lanyard.) So out comes the masks, statues, hair clips, pendants, ear rings, bowls and sharks (no dolphins here, just sharks - seemed kind of appropriate). Let the bargaining begin. "How much?" "negotiable" he says "but much cheaper than the shops in town." yeh, right! "Ok, you start" so he gives us an opening price for each item then starts to give us a bit of a better price on some items as Felicity progressively adds everything he has except the larger shark and the fruit bowl to our pile. Price is now S$2130. Ok, I think, now lets get serious. Thinking back to Bahrain where the shop keeper would be embarrassed if you did not bargain as he knows everything is overpriced to stop the locals beating him down to below cost. I think, I'll be happy if I get this lot for S$1600 I think so I say "1400 for the lot" expecting him to go " no, no 2100" instead he says "OK" I say "no, too cheap 1600, you are supposed to bargain me higher" he has a very baffled look (knowing that he would probably have taken 1000). Someone has to create a local economy and the government are struggling a bit. One of the wood carving guys was very honest "we rely on you white people for us to make a living".
Anyhow that was the fun bit. Now ashore to complete arrival formalities. Immigration first, fill in some forms then off to Finance via the ANZ bank (blew yesterdays 4Gs of WAM on wine, food, wood carvings and 90l of diesel) with the 1 hour queue (ATM exhausted) to pay the fee and then to Customs. Customs guy has chosen the only day on which there are some yachts to process (Swedish world tour arrived an hour before us) to take a 3hr lunch break. I leave Felicity on stakeout while I go looking for Quarantine. Quarantine guy is fantastic and quick, might have something to do with the fact that he is on annual leave and his offsider was out. All done in 10 minutes and then back to finance to pay the fee... No sign of the customs guy so back to Rose at immigration to beg that we really have to leave today. She gets on the phone and starts tracking him down as well as finishing her part of the process. Eventually he returns at 1515 and we fill in his forms, declare 2l of alcohol and pay another fee, this time directly to him, no visit to finance this time! Ironic really given that customs and finance are the only two departments in the same building and next to each other <sigh>.
Great, we're cleared in, only 5 hours to do it - now we can leave.
Back to the yacht club, pick up the dinghy, pay for second 90l, loaded and underway by 1730.
Felicity will be back in Melbourne on Sunday and I return on Tuesday for a whirlwind house moving event. Joey et al arrive just before I leave in time for a handover.
TTFN R&F
