We are all set to go to Wallis Island, which is a place not many people get to visit. We had never even heard of Wallis before we started talking to other cruisers. For those of you who wish to look it up on google earth, the GPS coordinates are: 13 degrees 16.987 south, 176 degrees 9.985 west. (13 16.987S 176 9.985W). It is about 340 nautical miles from Vava'u, or approx 630km. It will take us 2 1/2 days to sail there. Also known as Uvea, it is a French administered island, only 78 sq km in area, with population of 9000. The island is volcanic, with several crater lakes and is surrounded by an outer reef, approx 2 km from the shore. This ring of reef has a diameter of 15 km by 22 km and the island sits in the middle of that oval - right inside the protected lagoon. There is a narrow gap in the outer reef that provides a passage for boats to enter the lagoon and visit the island. We will need to brush up on speaking French but it will be an interesting experience! For now, w e sit and wait for the right weather. Heather has been baking more "William" bread and fruit cake. Karl has prepared some meals which are now in the freezer ready for the passage. Everything is getting stowed away safely so it won't rattle around during the voyage. We have been in the protected waters of Vava'u for 8 weeks now so we have not had to worry about keeping things battened down. We know that in the open sea, anything that can move, will do so! We will need to stuff cushions and towels into cupboards again to have a peaceful journey :-)