The Adventures of Captain Ray Penson
Sailing Yacht Truce
The Customs office in Gizo is easy to access being in town. The only picture hanging on the wall is a very old photo of Queen Elizbeth II. I asked why it was still there as she has passed away. I was told that no one had said take it down! So, I suppose it will be there forever until some higher authority makes an executive decision.
Unfortunately, shortly after I had anchored in the Albatross Channel my fishing rod and fishing gear were stolen from the back deck. I always remove any tempting items from the cockpit when at anchor. I had already removed the binoculars, navigation tablet and other bits and bobs safely below. I then put the kettle on for a cuppa and was filling in the logbook when I heard sounds outside. I jumped up into the cockpit and saw a canoe with two guys in it paddling away downstream, then I noticed my fishing rod was missing. I shouted after the guys but they had suddenly developed selective hearing, their paddling picked up a pace. My fault entirely, they probably only came along to say hello (as everyone does here) but the sight of a fishing rod unattended was just too much temptation. Oh well, one less thing to worry about and fishing with a rod from Truce has always been a dangerous game, I hope they have better luck with it than I had.
Departing Kavieng was hard work, a light onshore wind threatened to put us onto a lee shore, thankfully the wind freshened a bit, allowing us to head away and clear the land. Then the wind died and the current pushed us westwards, losing ground and making interesting track patterns on the navigation plotter. There followed a series of squalls making for uncomfortable sailing, on a positive note I was able to fill the water tanks with nice fresh rainwater. This carried on for two days, yo-yoing back and forth with the squalls but slowly making progress eastwards.
Upon entering the clinic I was met by a gentleman behind a desk, the receptionist I assumed. I explained my problem to him, he came around the desk and had a look in my mouth. Oh yes, he said, I can fix that, he led me to another room, sat me in the dental chair and said he would be back in a couple of minutes. Now I had to assume that the receptionist was in fact the dentist even if he didn’t have a white coat on.
As my shop bought bread had run out I decided to make some bread with fresh flour I had bought in Biak. When I opened the flour container I was greeted by whole bunch of Weevils. The second flour container was also similarly infested. I really dislike weevils, the flour went over the side immediately. Bread was off the menu but my craving for bread only intensified.
The overnight sail to the Hermits was beautiful, clear skies, millions of stars and a steady light breeze pushing us along nicely over calm seas. The next morning we entered the lagoon surrounding the Hermits and lost the wind in the lee of the islands. On went the motor and soon we were safely anchored. Then the weather turned nasty again with rain squalls and a nasty chop bouncing us around. The entry in the log book reads “A shitty windy and wet day”. That was it, no canoes came to visit, no fresh fruit to trade and no shore leave for the Truce crew.
The Adventures of Captain Ray Penson 