Still on Matuku

I'm not sure if we gave you the GPS location we are at right now. It''s 19 09.62 So  179 45.07 E and we are tucked inside a little bay with great protection from the 20-30 knt winds we have had since last night. WE had the crew over for dinner ( Riada 11 and Guava Jelly ) and then in the middle of the dinner we had to re-anchor,after hearing the anchor grunt and discovering we were in 12 ft. of water ?????? The wind had stretched out our anchor chain along with the snubber line and we had pulled back over a reef. Sooooo, with 3 additional crew to help, we relocated and dropped again but not once, no we don't do anything easy on Sidewinder, we needed to drop 2 times to get into the right location for all the conditions. Very exciting with 30 kt. winds blowing and no visibility to see the many surrounding reefs. You would of loved it Kris- right up your alley don't you think ?? I'll let Suzi take it from here, see ya and hope that gorgeous weather continues for you.

Hi there dear buddy. Hope all is well on the homefront; I always look forward to the sailmail from you which I find when I send out in the morning. A few days ago we had trouble sending out sailmails, so we are sorry for the silence. I do hope we can send out now, with this gusty weather. On Friday David and I took Jay, son of one of the head villagers, with us for a dive and I snorkeled while the guys looked for fish to shoot for the feast that evening. It is a beautiful reef and I can't even imagine shooting one of these incredible colorful fish. They did catch some fish and it was wonderful getting into the clear warm water once again. The Friday night community gathering of Lomita village was very special with great Fijian food, another kava ceremony and drinking, and lots of great music and dancing with the kids. Saturday, Ricky and I hiked over the hill to the next beautiful village with a little store on the beach where David and Luke (Chico's wonderful son who led us up the mountain on Thursday} met us with the dinghy unexpectedly so we cruised along the lovely coastline back to the bay. We intended to leave late Saturday, but with a change of plans, we ended up staying and going to church yesterday, followed by another, even more yummy feast with Chico (the original greeter and host), Penninee, his wife, and the rest of their extended family. We have been given lots of sweet, fresh drinking water for the boats, as well as a few precious veggies, and have, again, been overwhelmed by their gracious generosity and Bula spirit. It seems like each village gets even better as we find more of the remote S Lau islands, and spend enough time to get to know the people. Not many boats have visited Matuku and, unlike the head village in Fulanga, which charges cruisers a $50 fee, this village just wants us to feel welcomed. For the community fundraising feast on Friday evening, each household was charged $20, but it was left up to us, what we wanted to contribute. They do not like the concept of asking for anything, because it seems to interfere with their giving tradition, and I think this actually works in their favor; we do feel like giving more to them as a return gesture. I certainly hope this does not change; life seems so much more genuine and peaceful with everyone coming from the heart. Now that the weather has changed, with strong winds and rain, here we now are, secure, waiting for the next favorable weather window, so we can make the next passage over to Kandavu Island. We will probably have to wait it out today and, hopefully, leave late afternoon tomorrow. Hanging with Dave, Carolyn, and Ricky is pretty fun, so we certainly are not complaining, and, we have lots of boat stuff to do, as always.    Love you and miss you. S :)