2016 Cruising Season

Where did this season go?

Leaving Interlude on a mooring in Denarau , we both spent May in Canada  making sure that we were not forgotten back in Canada!  Keeping in touch with friends and relatives, always a great time!  Thank you all so much for making the time to visit.

Back in Fiji, we had scheduled to get the Bimini replaced, it was made in 2002, not bad for a piece of cloth exposed to the weather all the time. Best laid plans, so how we were taken off the list for the Bimini repair as the shop was just too busy!  They had to many Winston resort issues to address, not to mention a lot of sails to repair as few boats had an easy passages up from New Zealand this year.  So we are waiting for a quote now as they promised to  give us a great off season price for waiting.

We had a few days catching up with Summer Spirit, Ian and Colleen and of course Wiggle butt (aka Koli the dog).  They had moved SS to Musket Cove, so it was a good excuse to hang there, a beautiful place to visit and play.

We went to Vuda to get some Winston kisses fixed, but again got dropped from the work list.  We had one piece temporarily done, to be redone this cyclone season, but it left us ready for the cruising season.

After 16 years we had to say 'thank you' and goodbye to Trouble our trusted sometime OK, most of the time floating dinghy.  Yep we bought a new dinghy, we hope that it will give us as many years as Trouble.  The new name, Double Trouble, or DT for short.  She was brought up from New Zealand by some friends on Paws Time.  Not having had a hard bottom dinghy before, didn't realize what a favour we were asking when Geoff and Penny agreed to bring her up.  They have a Catamaran but still had to rearrange where they usual have dinner while underway as our new dinghy occupied their cockpit table.  Anyway, they were amazing, when we got back to Interlude  after our Canada trip DT was on Interlude's foredeck! Thank you, Thank you

Bye old friend

 

So with a new dinghy and food  we load the V-birth with Sea Mercy stuff and head off for Taveuni, via Savusavu.  The first two days are fine motor/sail, then we get stuck at the corner between the 2 big islands as the wind is steady over 30 knots.  After a couple of days in one spot with high winds at anchor, not real fun we started to get stir crazy so we move to Vitu Levu bay around the corner to take a peek at the real weather plus a change of scenery, guess what awesome, you wouldn't know it is howling just around the corner and talk about pretty.

Back in Savusavu!  Wow, we have a bunch of friends here to catch up with.  So good to see everyone!  Not to mention dinner with the boys!, Curly and Brian. Then we said see ya soon and off to Taveuni again back to Paradise.

Well after some very hard work at our friends resort (Paradise Resort Taveuni) renovating, sewing and rewiring and launching their dive boat and only 2 dives for leisure, Interlude was definitely mad at us for not paying too much attention to her.  On route to Savasava to check out  to do our annual  Futuna run in Sept. to clear our boat papers and passports, 3 things went wrong.  The backup autohelm didn't work, (primary  autohelm which we got the new part for still doesn't work....it needs a new brain like us all) our water maker leaks ( contacted Spectra need new seals and o rings not happening in our timeframe to leave) and to top it all we are not charging from the batteries. ....okay interlude we are sorry we neglected you.

So why would we still want to head off in 2 days to go on  a 500 nm Futuna run, you may ask...well Karen and I want to motor up and maybe motor sail back this time....last year we got the sh.......t kicked out of us. Last years forecast was so wrong..but this one looked so right.  Okay so what to do,? The next morning we  put out a call for help on the VHF radio on the local net... yup we got it .We had a guy from another bay offer to give us a new part, another boat in the our bay offer a part as well for our backup autohelm but both are the wrong size but what a great feeling to know that their are people out their willing to help....we have seen that and still see that all over the world and especially after Winston.   Okay so plan C...we had heard of a guy for crew which we think we met before so hand steering is and option...then we get a knock on the boat and Brian offer to help with our problems...let me describe him, he is about 73, heavy smoker, skinny as a rake, wonderfull smile, deaf but an amazing paino player...so over he comes with tools and advise.  So Karen and Brian tackle the autohelm and charging issue.   Yeah they get the autohelm working and the charging works maybe ...sort of....kind of......but we have plan D and E just in case.

So do we or don't we get crew..hummmmm.  I didn't not want crew at first, Karen did.  So we wrote the guy who had this 29 year old as crew.   Tom on Piko who is a single hander had nothing but high praise for Alexis and would have him as crew again anytime plus he cooks and cleans up...okay Cheryl feels better, besides Cheryl knows Interlude is mad at us..so a 3rd hand would be good idea.  So we meet him, yup it is the guy we met before who asked to be our crew in Denarau.   During the conversation he asked all the right questions and he seemed like he would be a hlep so I asked him to  be our crew for the trip.

So with diesel and food and now water loaded, we met at customs the next morning to check out.  Weather still wonderful :)  You remember the comment about the charging problem well it is back...so plan D comes into play,  change the alternator so now we are really underway.

We did get the forecast, yup we are pinching ourselves on that one, we stop mid passage for an afternoon swim as the water was flat, flat, flat did I mention flat as a pancake. Here you are in 2100 meters of water swimming,  way cool and guess what the water was way warmer then when we were diving...hummm.

Futuna early morning....love those flat seas

We arrived in Futuna early morning and with the usual Futuna friendly French check in, by the way Alexis is French/Kiwi. so easy all around.   So..after 4 hours in Futuna we are off with 3 duck breasts, a baguette and brie and other French things stowed on Interlude.   There are some advantages to making this trip.  We had 10 knot of favorable wind and very little seas back to Savasava, and the boat is cleared for another 18 months. yeah.

As for our crew...he cooked a lovey curry dinner the first night and spaghetti on the last night.  He was a great help and crew and yup I definitely would have him as crew again...and he does cleanup. (and yes this is Cheryl saying that). He is still learning about sailing and navigation but he is very keen to learn.

Alexis, Karen and Cheryl a very happy crew

As for Interlude we think she is forgiving us, we have promised her we will  order her new things and fix her back up. 

By the way Alexis came back the next day and offered to haul jerry cans and wash the deck just to help out.  :)

Back in Savusavu we had dinner with Alexis's host family.  Fish two ways, with two sauces, wow to both!  And Casava, of course.  A great evening.

Alexis and Karen and the host family...Great food and lots lots lots

Paradise revisited!  We provisioned for a trip over the top or Vanua Levu.  An area seldom travelled.  We dropped off the last two pieces of the Dive boat Explorers covers to Paradise.  Amazing, two of the divers came up and thanked me for making them, allowing them to sit out of the sun on the top deck.  Cheryl finished the work on three of the bed frames she was repairing, another Winston thing, so they will be ready when the last three Vale's are rebuilt.

We did 5 dives this time.  A deep dive at the resort looking for salvage.  Two 'normal' dives on Rainbow Reef, if you could ever call that diving normal, that is if spectacular is an new word for normal.  Then we went with Allan,  one of the owners of Paradise Resort to check out the two cyclone holes we were recommending to him to keep the Explorer safe,  Naqaiqai Creek and Dakuniba.  And we took tanks!  the first dive was at the purple wall, not dealt with nicely by Winston!  The second site was a new site not done before just outside Dakuniba Bay, beautiful pristine reef, amazing colours, great fish life and beautiful corals.  What a great last dive for the area until next year! As we are heading back to Paradise Mikali the captain spotted a pod of pilot whales, so he slowed down and headed for them.  And they decided to play with the Explorer!  The pod was large, 20-30 whales, on the surface again and again.  At least three of them came along side the boat to see us!  Of course we were so in awe we didn't get a picture..sorry. An amazing end to a day of exploring safe anchorages, diving and just being on the water! 💦

The new dive site

Then we looked at the weather, oops, what do you mean cyclonic winds, it is October!  Then a week of wind from the north and west.  That means the plans to go over the top top would not be a good place to be...so we are back in Savusavu to wait for a weather wind as it 's  time to head back to Vuda Marina and put Interlude in her cyclone pit, no more in the water during cyclone season for us for a very long while.  Now it is time to fix our baby.  $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

Welcome to Paradise

This was always our greeting as we sailed into the moorings at Paradise resort Taveuni.   This time as we sailed towards Tavenui,  all we could say or think was OMG.  The lush green island was now brown and very different.   The palm trees that lined the shores and trees that hide buildings are either broken or gone. 

As we sailed close to the island we even  passed a dead cow floating by and of course lots of trees and coconuts.   People have been describing the destruction of Winston in some areas as like a bomb went off,  not have ever seen that before,  but  if you have describe it...yup a bomb went off.  We saw structures in the hills we have never seen before and the village that was always hidden behind green was now  visible showing the broken homes of some of our friends.
 

We needed assistance to pick up our mooring as it was not quite right yet, but Allan had made sure we had a safe place for us to tie up too.  So Christina the dive master came out to tie us off with a big a Bula smile, we did get our usual WELCOME to PARADISE.

 

As we looked around the whole topography of the shore line had changed there are new alcoves and rock walls, rock slides and fallen trees plus broken pieces of concrete. Even when I went in the water to just have a look at our mooring and a little snorkeling on what used to be our favorite house reef, I was shocked.  It was like a land slide had taken place, I guess it did, underwater.  Our mooring which used to have a chain wrapped thru a huge piece of rock and had about 30 feet of chain secured all over the place and visible, was now buried under the rubble and only 6 feet is showing, yup that is secure for sure.  Good news I did see some fish who came to say Welcome Back. 

 

We were invited for dinner at Terri and Allan's,  but first we had to first figure out where tie our dingy and climb up the shore as the dock is still there but no walkway.  So with our minds set on being mountain goats  we walking gingerly up over lava rocks.  On what used to be the grass lawn we wondered around and could not believe our eyes, it is so hard to describe the destruction, there were a few walls, but pretty well every structure had only 2 walls left.   The dive shop and compressor room were gone, spa gone, boat launch gone you get the picture.   WOW WOW.  We turned to each other and said we made the right choice to come and help.  Our reason for helping our friends rebuild their resort was by doing so, we were helping them and  the villages in the area by the villagers having  a place to work and make money to rebuild their lives.



As we made our way up to their house we saw some of the staff we have known for some time and as always and maybe even more special for us a BIG SMILE AND HUGS.  Yup the BIG HUGS continued up at the house. We brought in a bottle of bubbly and the stories began,  it was an amazing evening.

Paradise as we arrive

This was a bure  now just a few walls and a toilet

The next morning with jobs list  and our crew assigned off we went to rebuild Paradise

What did we do...

• Build 3 bures (Fijian type roofs/huts)
• Take down walls and ceilings, to be rebuilt.
• Put up fences
• Remove debris
• Clean up the old generator room and fuel depot, including cleaning all the jerry cans!
• Move rocks, the small ones became part of the walkways, the big ones part of walls
• Mix concrete
• Sort bottles, refundable vs to become land fill
• Paint trim, Put up trim
• Paint boards, trim you name it.
• Remove nails, so trim can be reused
• Took up tiles, for changing bure layouts and redecorating
• Temporary fixed plumbing and Toilets
• Repair water heaters
• Repair furniture, thrown around by Winston
• Started to build the ramp from the dock.

Removing the bamboo in the restaurant



Toss bottle into where concrete will be laid...yup landfill

The day began at 7:30  and finished at 4 pm.  Lunch was provided for over 60 staff and us...so if you have to feed the masses what do you serve you ask,  in Fiji it Dahl and rice....yup 6 days in a row.  actually the food was Dahl and rice, chick pea curry and rice and  curried eggs and rice on a three day rotation. Only  Cheryl doesn't  eat eggs, so it was Dhal six days in a row!  Cheryl will never eat Dahl again.  Dahl Dahl, Dahl!!!

Karen was assigned 4 women from the village who had never worked outside the home, but had fantastic attitudes.  They thought of themselves as doing men's works and they did it well.  We did so many different things, input from all so we did it smartly and the ladies did work , so we exceeded expectations on each task.  A group of ladies I would be delighted to work with anytime!

Karen and her ladies

 

Cheryl had a group men some of which she had worked with before, and some new guys who were farmers who had lost their  homes and crops and needed some money to rebuild and plant. So with our task of building bures, off we went rain or shine.. The joke is if there is ever another  cyclone everyone will hide in the roof of the bures my guys built. Yup it will be strong.  They were a joy to work with and I did learn a few more Fijian words for various tools and some other words....hummmm and they learned a few from me.  We all shared at least one or two ouches as we hit our fingers with a hammer or a cut from tin but all with a Bula smile at the end.

 


Cheryl and her guys.  Two of the bures that we built are behind us

During our weeks of helping the weather changed a bit one Sunday ...of course it was the day we were going to have a massage, so instead of a massage  we had to  run for shelter...first thought was just up to Viani Bay an 11 mile sail, but the waves and winds kept growing and in the wrong direction and our speed dropped to 2 knots and as we had a pass to go through, so we changed direction and went to Savusavu.  Karen figured it would take the same amount of time to go 11 miles or 40!  This was also good as we could get a fix of food other than, You guessed it, Dahl!  We also needed some fruit and veggies as  not much was available  in Taveuni..  So we called Waitui marina and by 6:30 pm we were safe and sound.

After a quick hello to everyone in Savasava and food shopping we set off again to head back to Paradise,  but oh no the weather and waves had different ideas, so we ducked into Viani bay for a night.  We could not believe it some 11 miles away from Tavenui and Paradise this little bay had absolutely no signs of a cyclone, not even a palm tree down, it was unbelievable did we mention. .....just 11 miles away. WOW. 

The next morning off we went as the weather settled and by 1pm we where back to work, but this time Cheryl refused to go in for Dahl so lunch on Interlude.....smart you bet.

For over a month we worked and once again the weather changed and maybe another cyclone oh boy, just what Fiji needs.  So off we ran  again to Savusavu but this time it was to stay until we head back to the big island to put the boat to bed for our trip back to Canada. So we took an afternoon off and prepared the boat and then went in to say our goodbyes to the staff, we had bought pop and cookies which has become a tradition for anyone of the volunteers who have flown into help, so with a little speech and lots of Hugs, we said see ya to our new and old  friends.  The staff where truly amazing. 

 That night before we left we had a lovely" thank you, goodbye,  see you soon", dinner hosted by Terri and Allan complete with Lobster yummmmy, plus a song that Terri and Allan composed to the theme song from the show Laverne and Shirley, it was so funny and  very  special.  We are so glad we went and helped and we wish them and the staff all the best for their opening of the New Paradise. If any group can do it,  it is the team of Paradise.  We will be back for sure in June.

We were not the only ones to go to help Paradise, Terri and Allan.  Phil, Ian, Travis, Bevan, Dip, Paddy where also there when we were, plus all the support from their friends and guest from all over the world who  had given support in one form or another, that speaks volumes for the resort and it staff.. People reaching out to help, awesome!   Disasters really do bring out the best in people.

As for the cyclone, in this case Zena, well it was definitely not a Winston in fact it passed the other side, so all we had was a little wind but all was good.....However the rain was another story...Fiji got hit with record  breaking rain...so glad we live in a boat and float. .Some areas had 11 feet of water on their main streets....okay Fiji has had enough. But no matter what happens you will always see a Fijian with a Big Bula Smile.

So we are now heading to the main island and to a mooring in Denarau to put the boat to bed for a month while we head to Canada so that is all from us  for now.

 

 

AFTER WINSTON

 

Yup this is Sir Winston

So what have we been up to post SIR WINSTON you ask.  Well the next morning, it was a day of reflection and alot of
OMG.  As you looked around you saw boats all over the place, on rocks, in trees, twisted and broken.  Not a sight any one wants to see.  But as  you look ashore you see the people of Fiji starting the clean up of the town. 

 

A radio call from Curly; our source,  our rock, our go to person ..."calling all cruisers to a meeting to assess damage and to rally the cruiser troops to assist".   We all had a day to see what damage we each had then it was  time for the meeting.  Since Copra Shed Marina  still had a dock and a place to meet the meeting was held there, with all of the marinas present,  even soft drinks where provided by Copra Shed.   So the planning began:  who can diver, who could fiberglass,  who could do do do....just help.  Hands went up. 

We also went with a few email addresses and a short message, saying we were fine, one of the boats volunteered to send off short emails so that friends and family knew we were OK.

The next morning there was a call from Curly wanting 2 strong guys to deliver a battery and hook up a bilge pump for a boat that was taking on water....no one answered the call sooooooo we got on the radio and said we are not 2 strong men but we are certainly willing to volunteer the 2 Interlude girls...thus started the trend.  We ended up in a 2 week period, help move rocks from around keels and rudders,   tie ropes to help re-launch boats, fix or secure broken hatches.  In total we help re-launch 4 boat and involved 3 other boats to prepare for re-launching.  As for the working conditions, lets just say you are either knee deep in mangrove mud or walking on boats with broken glass or twisted rigging and leaning at about a 45 degree angle.  All the prep and all the cuts and scrapes is nothing because when you see that boat move off the rocks or out of the mud, oh what a feeling.  A boat needs to be in the water for sure.  Re-launching the boats was made possible by a  great team including the power by Alistair on Conterband a large powerboat.  It was his amazing boat handling skills and the team work from the dingy drivers who kept Conterband straight and out of danger, and the people on the boats who secured the bridles and made sure the ropes did their job of pulling and not doing any more damage.  It was a super team effort by all.

In our spare time we repaired our own boat,  had our rigging inspected as we got a direct hit to our side right at our side plate for our shrouds.  Plus we tried to  look after Curly, he called us mom 1 and mom 2!  Curly sometimes needed to have 2 Moms telling him that he needs to take his meds and eat as he has an infection and cuts on his legs, but Curly being Curly it is hard to tie down.

One of our little dents....okay a section of our boat missing

We did finally get a hold of our friends on the island of Tavanui,  where we knew they where hit hard. The call was heartbreaking, we had so many good times there, moored in front of their resort, hearing they had lost their resort was difficult. They said there is basically nothing left and their staffs houses in the village are lost as well.  With tears on both end of the phone Allan said they will let us know in 2 days if they are going to rebuild, our response was they are like family and  so are their staff we will come and help any way we can just let us know.  So we sat for 2 days on pins and needles,   watching the weather and planning our departure .  So when we got the call, could we come and help, you bet we said we will be there, what do you need us to bring? 

With a small shopping list of some tools and food for us and finally check on a boat that was Cheryl's project, turn over of keys and responsibility, we said our goodbyes to our cruiser friends. But first we had to get a diver to take the stray mooring line we picked up along the way which was wrapped around our prop and to remove our safety line from our mooring.   We didn't feel too bad about leaving our cruiser friends at this stage as most of the remaining boat need some more pre work by the owners and the super high tide which was in a week.  So off went. 

One thing we would like to say is the comrade and  the new friendship,  the bonding that any disaster does...is truly amazing thank you all

 

Winston came to call 2 versions of our story

Went to sleep on the 19th with the weather reports showing Winston would go between Suva and Kadavu, some 100+ miles from us. Wake up in the am of the 20thFebruary, 2016 to find that Winston has moved only west, no south and will pass very close. Also Winston is now a category 5 cyclone and this news is BC, before coffee.

We had prepared the boat: removed the blades on the wind generator, extra ties on the solar panels on the arch, removed the solar panel on the railing, extra ties on jerry cans on the deck, main is off. Now we took down the enclosure, so we have as little windage as we could.

We had the two lines to the mooring, with chaffing gear and had put a safety line to the mooring, in case the mooring line itself broke. Also before the season started the moorings had been inspected by a prominent dive shop owner and he had pronounced our mooring sound. Cheryl dove it to, to inspect and put on the safety line. Cheryl went down almost to her armpit, to try to reach the mooring, felt nothing, but ucky, mucky oooge! Yuk, but good from a holding perspective.

So we are ready!? The winds start to pick up around 10am, but no big deal, except the winds they keep increasing! Then the calls on the radio start: Karma is lose, Heritage is lose, Chululu is lose...We had removed the remote for the radio so could only hear when we went below deck. This didn't really matter as you couldn't hear in the cockpit the when the winds increase.

When Chululu broke lose she was the first boat to hit us, she was a big windage wooden dive boat, and she started us dragging! Engine on and for the next four hours we drove, using the engine to slow our drag, avoid boats, and keep us in the wind as much as possible.

At the very beginning, Cheryl was steering, when we got the phone call from Hiedi, on Huck. Friends to wanted to know if we were OK, what a boost! As the winds picked up, Cheryl needed clothes, we had agreed to wet clothes in the sink, but Karen couldn't find them, so took the helm so Cheryl could find clothes to stop the pelting of 1000 needles.

Then fashion statement on Interlude was dive masks and foul weather jackets. The rain was so hard there was no other way to look into the wind . You couldn't hear a thing, except the wind. Driving, I switched from side to side so the helming was less effort. After a couple of hours I would drop an arm to let the water run out of my sleeve, also gave us a laugh.

Cheryl took the helm several times so that Karen could go forward and check that we were still attached to the mooring. The winds and waves were just pelting, Cheryl could only see Karen occasionally.

We danced for many hours with one boat. Afterwards we found out that she had broken her Helix mooring, had put an anchor down to slow her movement and was driving. While we actually kissed several times, we both managed to keep those as nudges.

Trust in yourself, trust in your boat, trust in yourself, trust in your boat. I kept repeating this to myself.

At some points the gusts were so strong that we were toe rail in the water, something we don't think we have ever done under sail!

The waves at the height of Winston were substantial, at one point Cheryl was looking back and saw the bow of a boat off our stern above our davits, which are 12 feet above the water. That boat missed our solar panel on the davits by inches.

We held the same position for an hour or two, with the mooring and the engine slowing our drag. While visibility was very limited, we could see the Fiji pearl farm dock every few minutes, so knew we were not moving. I went forward several times, against Cheryl's protest, to check the lines to our mooring, they were fine.

Then the eye went through and we had a 90 degree windshift. We started to drag again. But the same thing, switch from side to side at the helm as we heeled. I don't know that we have ever put our tow rail in the water on our boat under sail, but certainly did with the wind gusts.
Cheryl went forward to rescue the spare halyard, and was horizontal due to wind gusts, needs to eat more ice cream, or wear lead boots!

I told Cheryl to go down and prepare a ditch bag. She took the helm while I prepared a ditch bag with our passports, as Cheryl had noted that she didn't have them. Cheryl saw a pile up of boats on the shore behind us. She said, I don't want to be part of the carnage.

Cheryl had gone down stairs to check the engine, bilge, barometric pressure and the time, 2:30. Figured that Winston had hit Taveuni at 9am, 40kn from us, was moving at 12 knots, he had to be moving away and things would settle down soon.

At one point I said to Cheryl "do you realize that you can hear me?" The wind was dying and where we had drug to was sheltered by Nawi Island. We looked down the creek and could see how the mangroves stopped the wind and rain. We could see the hill in back of the town of Savu Savu, but not the boats down the creek. Now you can see white stallions in a snow storm running towards you, as you steer towards them, to try to keep the boat stable. Before we couldn't see anything, no reference, you couldn't see the bow of your boat!

Cheryl had gone down stairs to check the engine, bilge, barometric pressure and the time 2:30. Figured that Winston had hit Taveuni at 9am, 40kn from us, was moving at 12 knots, he had to be moving away and things would settle down soon.

Cheryl ordered me downstairs to get warm and put on dry clothes. I did not realize how much I was shivering, she did! I got on dry clothes, including a polar fleece, yes, I know we are in the tropics? I checked the weather, a beautiful satellite photo, showing that the eye had passed us!

All Cheryl saw was this grey mass coming down full tilt, like a bullet with, feeling helpless, not able to avoid the hit. She shouted, Hold on Kar! We were hit mid ships by an aluminum boat, going full tilt! Hits and slides down our side!

From then on things started to calm down. We looked not too far behind us and see a pile up of boats on shore, about 8 boats aground! Over time we find out that 23 or 50 boats went aground, one is a write off, or more from an insurance perspective.

The eye of the storm went about 25 miles south of us. We had winds of 140 to 185 knots. depending on who you listen to, as we do not have an anometer!

Being part of history is something, but something that we can do without!!!

2nd Version - A DAY WE WILL NEVER FORGET!

On February 20th, 2016, a category 5 cyclone hit Fiji, in fact the strongest storm ever in the South Pacific.

Here is the story from the perspective of Interlude, Karen and Cheryl:

On the 19th we prepared the boat for a cyclone.  We removed everything we could from the deck and double tied everything we couldn't, even the wind generator blades.  That evening Winston was forecast to pass 90 nautical miles south of us, between Kadavu and Suva.  At 2:30 am,  Cheryl checked the weather again and Winston's path had changed, it was now forecasted to pass quite close to us.  At daybreak we secured trouble (our dinghy) upside down on the foredeck and removed bimini and dodger and their poles, we had little windage left.

By 10am, the winds and rains started.  They got serious by noon.  The first boats broke free of their moorings, and the fun began.  The VHF became active as boats started to drift onto each other.  We got on the VHF around noon as the boat beside us drug down on us.  This started us dragging our mooring.  We then had another interaction, now there were three!  We got free from the two boats and started what felt like the longest passage of our lives, which was really only a 1/2 nautical mile down the creek.    We danced with the wind and waves, roughly in the same spot for an hour or hour and a half.  Then another boat joined the dance, a boat that had broken her mooring, was driving like us and anchor down to slow her passage.  We passed each other bow to bow, stern to stern, side to side, every which way until the end.  We did interact a few times.

At the height you could not hear, the noise was too much, worse than any rock concert!  you had to be inches from an ear so that maybe they could hear you.  We had dive masks on, but sometimes could not see beyond the bow of the boat the wind and rain was so strong.  We had sheets of rain and waves whiting out everything.  For those who have been in a serious snowstorm, you will understand the lack of visibility.

The dive masks certainly made a fashion statement, the accessory to  the outfit of the day on Interlude!  As we were driving to slow our drag, keep in the wind and avoid boats coming down on us, we needed the masks.  The driving rain and seas where amazing.  The boom is basically sandblasted from the water.  In actual fact we feel that our faces were exfoliated!

At some points the gusts were so strong that we were toe rail in the water, something we don't think we have ever done under sail!

The waves at the height of Winston, at one point Cheryl was looking back and saw the bow of a boat off our stern above our davits, which are 12 feet above the water.  That boat missed our solar panel on the davits by inches. 

Then the eye passed, the wind direction changed and drug to the south a little.  We were still dancing with the same boat, some awesome driving on both sides to have not had any serious interactions with them.  After the fact they found out that their anchor was caught in the wreck of a boat, stopping their drag!

With the change of wind direction and where we were located, somewhat behind an island we could see the wind funnel down the creek like sheets of snow.  But it wasn't as sever for us as it was for the others who were more exposed.

Karen turned to Cheryl and said, do you realize that you can hear me?  The worst was over.  The shore and its building started to appear.  Then we could see the hill in behind the town, you could still see the walls of rain as they came through gaps in the mangroves further down the creek.  It was probably an hour later before we could see Savu Savu marina at the end of the creek, they are so exposed to the north.

Somewhere out of the white sheets of snow came a grey mass, an aluminium boat had broke its mooring and was heading straight for the side of the boat.  Cheryl yelled "hold on Karen" as we were really and truly struck.  She hit our starboard shrouds and then ran down the boat and then joined the boats ashore on the rocks!

By six o'clock we turned off the engine, gave each other a hug and started to breathe again.  Then we looked around us.  There were approximately 50 boats in the creek, 23 had gone ashore.  Not to mention the local boats that sunk, or were turned upside down.  The town was without power and water, the roads were filled with debit and rocks that had to be cleared with front end loaders.

The town was mostly spared as it was tucked in behind a hill, at least from the direction the wind was coming.  The eye had passed less than 25 miles south of us and we are alittle bruised, dented and scratched put so very happy to be here.