[password] brucelaura

[Position] 05 21.22S 072 12.480E

[Status] Last night we had another scary squall around 8 pm. It was pitch black out. Bruce looked at the GPS and it looked like we had drug 50-100 ft. And, of course, there was a reef behind us. In this 'anchorage' there is always a patch reef within 100 feet! I didn't think we'd drag any farther because the bottom was littered with coral and we had most likely snagged one. But I was worried about the chain wrapping around coral which effectively shortens your chain and can pull down the bow until something breaks! We have friends who lost their boat in a storm in the Cook Islands when their chain wrapped around coral. So my stomach was churning and internal stressometer off the charts! But I reminded myself that these squalls usually last less than an hour and we didn't have waves like we'd had that morning. It ended, we were safe though we couldn't see anything in the dark and rain, and we actually had another peaceful night. Tell me again, why had we come here?
The morning was sunny and calm. While Bruce gathered all the gear and hardware he would need to make us a mooring in a better location, I ran a load of salty clothes through the washer and dryer. For those of you unfamiliar with the cruising lifestyle, the washer is a bucket and the dryer is the sun. We set off to resurrect a mooring we had scouted out yesterday
As soon as we arrived at the mooring, four five-foot reef sharks appeared to check us out. They soon lost interest and swam away. Bruce added to the mooring 25 feet of chain and some 3/4 inch nylon rope that had been on board since the previous owners. Once that was set up, we went back to Neptune's Highway and snorkeled over our anchor and chain to see how badly it was tangled in coral. I pronounced it impossible without Bruce donning dive gear and freeing it up, and Bruce said, "I think it will come up." And you know what? It did! In minutes the anchor was up and we were tied to our 'new' mooring! I happily made us a nice big lunch! Then I treated myself to a swim/snorkle to the patch reefs surrounding the boat. They didn't disappoint and I kept thinking, oh yeah, that's why we are here! This may be our last opportunity to see coral and reef fish for a long time. Later today, we want to venture ashore, a la Robinson Crusoe. Did I mention we are the only people here?

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