How hot is it?

Ok, on a scale from U.P. winters to Hell on Earth, the first two days in Savusavu clocked in just under Bill's sauna.  There was no wind and no cloud cover.  And of course the boat had no Bimini, haven been taken down for storage.  So first item of business was to get the Bimini up.

Ok, that went smoothly.  Dodger, too.  Still, the sun beat down on the top of the boat, making the cabin a sweatbox.  So I started digging.  And - at the bottom of the lazarette - was an old gray tarp.  Perfect for a sun shade.  Only problem was, I have lazy jacks for the main and the tarp has to go over the boom.  (Lazy jacks are a harness-like construction that is supposed to keep the main sail on the boom when it is lowered.  Nice concept; spotty functionality.). Ok - lazy jacks get lowered and secured aside.  Tarp goes on the boom and it's a perfect fit as a sunshade.  Very effective at lowering cabin temperature, even if it looks like the Clampetts are in town.  We'll see how long it lasts in the wind.

Spent considerable time in front of the fans trying to stay cool.  After the first few days the winds came back and made things quite pleasant.

Next task - dinghy outboard.  The outboard's gas tank got contaminated with water last trip.  Ugly, brown water.  And of course, I kept pulling the starter rope because that's what a dumb Yooper does.  Next time I *will* run gas into a glass container to make sure there's no water.  Nick and I spent an afternoon off Moala Is. disassembling the carburetor to make the motor run halfway decently.  It was still acting up this trip, so off comes the carb, complete disassembly, can't find any problem.  Shrug, reassemble, starts up first pull.  Runs like a top.  I actually was able to turn the engine idle down to John Deere speed.  Go figure.

The sails are still in Suva. (Other big island, long ways away). Contacted the repair place by phone today and they are going to ship them up.  I was having some issues with stitching coming loose in both the main and Genoa last trip.  I was repairing by hand as best I could, but took advantage of the hiatus between trips to have them gone over by pros.  

NEXT TIME I am going to leave three day's worth of food on board.  Canned, of course.  When I got to Nawi there really wasn't anything to eat on the boat and the dinghy wasn't working properly (see above).  And to completely throw a wrench in the works, the little grocery express here at the marina decided to close up shop and consolidate back in Savusavu.  I don't think they were doing enough business to justify a presence at the marina.  They had all the right stuff.  Pricey, but available.  Now not available.  Just in time for Dave.  I think I was their last customer; bought two big bottles of Coke.


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