A Woodchuck update

This is from my sailing amigo Chuck, now safe and fairly soundly ensconced in Fiji! If you've got sand in your shoes, or itchy feet syndrome, trust me, this letter won't help. But it could be an excellent motivator!

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Windward Voyage

Bula Crew!

The trip from the Marshalls to Fiji was entirely to windward. Almost 1800 miles to windward, in fact. The wind was never abaft the beam. North of the equator we enjoyed the Northeast Trades which helped with our “easting”. The equatorial zone provided variable winds and calms through which we motorsailed, still making good easting. Once south of the equator we met up with the Southeast Trades and it was hard on the wind from then on. Fortunately the wind and seas were not too strong and we managed quite well. The new sails that I put on the Deev in the Marshalls made the trip much more pleasant than it would have been with the old sails. No doubt about it, with the old sails the trip could have been miserable indeed!

The fishing was excellent and we caught more fish than we could eat. We seemed to catch Mahi Mahi and Tuna at will.

As I said before, I had two crew aboard the Deev with me. I really believe that the trip would have been as good or better if I had single handed. It seemed that I had a full time job just babysitting and making sure that the crew didn’t mess up too badly. The crew has been discharged from the Deev. As my former shipmate and Captain, Pete, used to say to me “You just can’t get good crew these days”. He would say this while looking me straight in the eye! Anyway, it sure is good to have the Deev back to myself.

(but they made the fish look good, didn't they? <--- MJ addition)

So far Fiji seems like a wonderful place. The unsettled political scene doesn’t seem to be a cause of concern to the visiting cruisers. The government seems to realize that the visiting boats provide a good source of income for their economy.

Vuda Point Marina, where I’m currently staying, is one of the nicest marinas that I’ve ever been in. The prices are very reasonable as well.

After the long windward trip I’ve found that I have quite a lot of things to do on the boat…engine problems, some rigging issues, charging system snafu’s… the TO DO LIST is keeping me occupied and out of trouble! Progress is being made.

I’ve found some good prices for flights back to the States and hope to fly back in mid-July for a couple of months Stateside and in the West Indies. I look forward to seeing many of you this summer.

Cheers and Carry On!

Chuck

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I'm looking forward to some great story telling sessions on Jost with Chuck and Tessa & Foxy...oops, now MBE Foxy. Good lord...does this mean I have to practice my curtsey? If I must say so myself, and I must, I have a fine curtsey from back in the day when it was thought to be something every little potential debutante needed to master. In real life, I found it came in handy for sitting on the ground in tight spaces (rock concerts for instance) without having to move your butt around a lot. Instead of standing back up, you just keep on going. You know you want to try it...

On bended knee: 1950s debutantes learn this essential element of social etiquette.
Photograph: Hulton/Getty/Daniel Farson