May 31, 2008 - Lamen Bay, Epi Island, Vanuatu

After two weeks on Efate, on Saturday morning we hauled up the anchor to head north to Epi. I had hauled in about 25 feet of chain when I noticed a white blob around the chain about 5 feet below the surface. At first I thought it was a plastic bag. But as it got closer to the surface it started to look more and more like a mop head. Once out of the water it revealed itself as a mass of translucent white egg sacks. While I hauled the chain in, Sten came forward to scrub them off. We can't imagine what laid them.
Our trip north was boisterous. I should have taken drugs before we left; but, I didn't. I spent most of the trip prone on the settee. With Sten standing watch throughout the afternoon were made great speed, averaging around 8 knots. Once we got in the wind shadow of Epi, we slowed down a bit, but the water was flatter, so the motion became much calmer. And then we caught a fish, which is a sure fire cure for sea sickness. Somehow hauling in the lines always makes me forget that I'd been feeling ill.

Saturday night we had Ann and Lew from Serannity over to help us eat some of the fish, which turned out to be a nice sized mahi mahi. During the past week in Havannah Harbor we've been taking turns with Serannity cooking dinner. It is fun to have company and nice to only have to figure out what to make for dinner every other night. Ann and Lew got some bad news from home on Saturday. They've decided to cut this season short to get the boat to Australia so they can fly back to the States earlier than planned. We knew that we'd be parting ways soon, but were expecting to spend a few more weeks with them before heading our separate ways. We're trying to get used to the briefness of cruising friendships, but it is still hard to say goodbye.