List, after List, after List
The tasks to be done before an open ocean passage seem endless
The final week leading up to a passage is so, so busy. Especially when getting ready for a voyage across a stretch of open ocean.
Day-to-day life goes on with regular boat maintenance, business calls, client project work, and if we’re lucky, time for creative pursuits and a bit of exercise, but getting the boat ready is the core focus. The tasks are endless and every time you cross one off the list, there seems to be another to add.
We’re on V7.4 of the “master list” right now, and here’s but a sample of a few of the hundred or more things we did this week.
Deep cleaned the dinghy, inside and out to prep for storage on deck before we set sail.
Cleaned and reorganized storage cupboards in the forward head and vee berth.
Recharged refrigeration system with refrigerant.
Changed oil in genset.
Made a shopping list for the last provision run on Monday.
Baked bread.
Made cookies.
Cleaned the oven.
Bought a courtesy flag for Vanuatu.
Moved the boat three times in five days to shelter from inclement weather.1
Cleaned both guest cabins and ensuite heads in preparation for crew.
Washed the curtains in the guest cabins.
Made lasagna – one pan to eat, two for the freezer.
Baked bread again.
Cleaned out the food storage cupboards – did inventory of canned / dried / pantry items and spices.
Revised the shopping list.
Visited customs to inquire how to get a VAT tax refund on our boat gear purchases during our time in Fiji.2
Cleaned and polished all the vinyl panels in the pilothouse enclosure.
Baked bread again.
Took the boat into Vuda Marina to top up the tanks with 1000 liters of diesel. It took two attempts, on two different days.3
Went ashore to receive and refuse a shipment of a replacement (spare) compressor for our refrigeration system.4
Revised the shopping list again.
Cleaned the oven and stove top.5
Channeled our inner Mike Nelson6 to dive the boat and clean the prop, shaft and through-hulls and scrape the soft growth off the hull for the first couple of feet below the waterline around the entire length of the boat – all 80 feet of it.
Mike Nelson photo from Florida Memory | Sea Hunt screenshot from Ziv Television Programs/United Artists Television Took down all the exterior window coverings and cleaned and stored them for the passage.
Got the rig ready for the passage – put up the running back and preventer lines.7
Revised and rewrote the shopping list. Again.
This account of everything we did this week is not exhaustive, but I’m exhausted just remembering this much of it. And we’re not done yet!
Tomorrow is Monday, and we’ll be up early to go to the Immigration Office to arrange our check-out appointment for Tuesday. Then I’ll grab a taxi into the town of Lautoka to shop. I have multiple stops to make:
Refrigeration supply store
Electronic store
Pharmacy
Municipal Market
Supermarket
Bakery
Meat stores. Yes, stores. The supermarket sells chicken and lamb, but there is a different store for beef, and another for pork – it’s appropriately called “The Pork Shop”
And then it’s back to the marina dock, where the Captain will pick me up and we’ll get all the stuff in the dinghy, get it back out to the boat in the anchorage, unload, put everything away.
The freezer, fridge, and pantry cupboards will be full of good things to eat. Duende will be ship shape and ready to sail.
Tuesday morning will (hopefully) be an early checkout, then we’ll take the outboard off the dinghy and hoist it up to its mount on the aft rail, haul the dinghy up on the foredeck, and secure it for the passage. That’s the final task before we fire up the engine, lift the anchor, and leave Fiji in our wake.
Our crew of three - me, the Captain, and Seamus, the tiniest sailor in the South Pacific are off to Vanuatu, a voyage of about 450 nautical miles across a stretch of open ocean.
The forecast is favorable and Neptune willing, in about three days we’ll drop anchor in Port Resolution on Tanna Island. Next weekend we’re planning to hike up to the rim of the crater on Mt. Yasur, one of the most accessible volcanos in the world. That will be a great kickoff for the next phase of our exploration of the western South Pacific island nations.
Sail on Fearless Crew! LJ
About Shellphone Chronicles
I write weekly essays that feature tall tales from the high seas, beautiful photos, original artwork, and occasional poetry. We are a crew of two, enjoying countless adventures on SV Duende, an 80-foot expedition sailing yacht on a multiyear ocean voyage.
To all my constant readers, thank you for coming along on this voyage with us. I love sharing our stories with you.
If you are new to the crew, welcome aboard! I’ve put together a Start Here page — a roadmap to guide you through some of our most popular essays and provide a few binge-worthy series suggestions. It’s a fun introduction to the themes that we weave through our life on the deep blue sea.
Back and forth across Nadi Bay, anchor up / anchor down each time
Sadly, we learned that VAT tax refunds are only for air and cruise ship passengers, not yachties. So, the thousand or so Fijian Dollars in tax that we thought we would get back are gone with the wind.
The draft of our boat is 3 meters, so we can only enter the marina channel at high tide. Our first time in, we pulled up to the fuel dock only to learn that the night before the price had gone up by $1.00 a liter, and the fuel company had not yet come to adjust the pumps. The wait was going to be at least an hour, and the tide was dropping, so we had to leave or we’d be unable to get out of the channel. So, we came back a second time later in the week, timed with another high tide. This time we called the fuel dock from outside the channel, told them we were coming in, and got a “Copy that, Captain” response on the radio. However, they neglected to tell us there was another boat at the fuel dock, so when we got inside, we had to idle in the channel for 30 minutes waiting for that boat to finish up and leave the dock. It was a bit of a cluster. But this is so like it is in Fiji.
On arrival the box was badly damaged, and the unit inside was leaking oil. DHL had “repacked” it somewhere between North America and Fiji, but it was beyond repair. So, we refused the delivery and now are fighting it out with DHL for a refund on the exorbitant shipping cost and if we’re lucky, the cost of the unit.
One day I will write an essay about all the ways that Force 10 marine stoves are both awesome to cook and bake with and annoying to clean.
Mike Nelson, played by Lloyd Bridges, was the star of the classic TV show Sea Hunt - inspiration for many underwater adventurers.
I know most people don’t know what this means, but they are all long and relatively heavy ropes that have to be pulled out of the storage lazaret under the aft deck and prepped for deployment when we get sailing. Suffice to say it’s a big job.
I looked up a prayer to Neptune to send your way 💙💙💙:
"Great Neptune, Lord of all flowing waters, who brings life-giving streams and rain to the dark earth, we honor You. We pray for Your continued favor—protect our lands from flood and drought, and bless the soil with Your pure, life-sustaining waters."
Sea Hunt!