school today

We successfully completed the first day of school this morning. I'm trying to be more scheduled as to avoid procrastinating and whining. Carter has started kindergarten and Ellie is a third grader. Math seems to be the favorite with Carter, in his Pre-K work. He wants to press ahead, so that's great.

We're starting to look for a weather window to make the 650 mile trip to Tonga. Nuie is a tiny island nation in between which is safe to stop in during certain weather conditions. They have only 15 mooring bouys, so space can also be an issue. I think we will just sail and see how the weather and timing work out as we pass. Anchoring there can be dangerous since it's very deep and uneven.

Pete is working on fixing an outboard for a local man today. The people here rely on their boats for their livelihood. Yesterday a big event occurred here when a cargo ship came for the first time in many months. Ships don't regularly come here because it's not economical without paying passengers. This time there were passengers going both directions so they came and also loaded on the parrot fish fillets to sell in Rarotonga. They get about $5 per pound for fillets minus transportation costs. Our host shipped 2000 lbs. A total of 5000 lbs went out this trip. The trouble is not so much money here as it is transportation. We're brainstorming with the administrator and other cruisers to get a system for sailors to bring supplies regularly. They get about 60-70 cruising boats per year between May and November, so the potential is there. The other part of the story is that the supply ships are mismanaged. This particular ship ran out of fuel part way here and foundered in large seas and heavy wind for 5 days before help arrived. The owner had refused to refuel at the last island and due to a last minute detour, they didn't have enough to make it here. Fifty passengers were without basic needs including food by the time they arrived. The Palmerston people fished for them, fed them a meal and gave them all a ride to shore for the day. The ship that brought the fuel had to be diverted from it's regular supply run, so the people here are having to wait longer for their food orders to arrive.

The weather this last week has been grey and windy. Yesterday the sun came out for most of the day and the island turned into a tropical paradise once again. The colors of the water here are the most spectacular we've seen yet. We hope to do some fishing this afternoon and a bit of snorkeling. Parrot fish is almost too beautiful to eat, until you taste it and then it's easy, yum. We'd like to stock our freezer before heading out again.

-Kellie