[password] Boatfloat66

[position] 16 43.716S 168 08.702E

[speed] 0knts

[heading] 0T

[status] Anchored in Revolieu Bay, Epi after a 25 mile trip from Emae yesterday. Our bay in Emae proved to be a bit of a wildlife jackpot. We had a visit from a whale that circled our boat a few times as well as numerous pods of dolphins (each with maybe 25 dolphins). Not sure what the whale was perhaps a juvenile humpback, though apparently pilot whales are more common here. It definitely wasn't a pilot whale.

Caught a skipjack tuna on the way to Epi and presented it to the local village chief upon arrival. The men of the village were in the middle of making an oven (it looked like a pizza oven). The two villages that we saw here at Revolieu Bay are immaculately maintained and well organised. Doesn't look like Cylclone Pam hit this place as hard as everywhere else we have been.

The maintenance issues continue and we need to get to Luganville mid to late next week to change out our house batteries. They are all on their last legs (about 2 years sooner than they should be). This state of perpetual maintenance challenges might seem odd to non-cruisers but we seem to about the norm for a well prepared vessel out here! It is an ongoing and almost full-time preoccupation. (I didn't even mention that we have re-plumbed the water system to bypass the hot water pressure tank that has corroded through at one of the fittings. No hot water! Or the fresh water foot pump that started transferring all of our fresh water to the bilge and is now disconnected.)

Maybe cruising is best described as overcoming successive challenges. In this case as a family team. In that sense I guess it is similar to the rest of life.

[weather) 5-10knts SE, 1-2m seas, 10% cloud, 1013 baro
[END]