Pleasure in this Palau Paradise

We are truly enjoying this anchorage and the sense of stationary security, along with the perks of fresh warm water showers, yummy food, laundry facilities close by, several well stocked supermarkets in town, a good internet connection, and having the time to stop for a while. It has been wonderful rendesvousing with our friends, Katie and Jim, on s/v Tenaya, whom we had not seen since New Zealand, and we still are having a great time with Jesse and Chari on Maaliwalas. The Rock Islands are waiting for us to explore, perhaps next week and there is a lot of incredible diving to pursue here, as we also try to figure out where we are going next and what the seasons will allow us to do and when.  Sidewinder needs to be pulled out of the water and a new bottom paint applied, but we are not sure if that will happen in the Philippines or Borneo. We have a lot of decisions to make at this time and we will know more next week.  Meanwhile, I will compile pitures and journey notes to briefly tell the story of our last few months, flying way too fast through the incredible islands of Vanuatu, the Solomons, and PNG, warmly welcomed by all those wonderful human beings we encountered. What fond memories we have again, and how very lucky we are  to be here, where we can take a breath and reflect on how grateful we are for the freedom we have to be out here so far away. There have been many times we both have longed to be back home, with all of you, and we know that you, too, are  pursuing your lives with family and friends in the most meaningful way.  We miss you all and send lots of love~

Getting a tow through the reef pass into Palau

      Our tow boat pulling us through the pass.You can't see the reefs in the photo but they are there about                                                                   100 ft. on each side.

                A part of the mooring field tucked into the small islands off the Royal Belau Yacht Club in Palau

A dramatic arrival into Palau

About 65 miles from Palau and in the middle of the night ( things like this always happen in the middle of the night ) the engine alarm went off. Suzi quickly shut it down and then woke me from a deep sleep after about an hour of sleep. Trying to wake up was hard enough but trying to figure out what was wrong was even harder. I soon found that we had lost all our engine fresh water/anti freeze coolant but I couldn't find the leak. After an hour of removing this and that and shining the flashlight here and there I found it. A broken riser coming out of the block that was part of the fresh water loop back to the heat exchanger. So now I need to fix this while the boat is rocking this way and that, I'd put a tool down and when I went to reach for it again it was on the other side of the boat. The hardest part was finding enough spare parts to make a repair, any repair at this point since we weren't that far from the pass. I was able to scrape together an ensemble of fittings and hoses and completed a true "Mickey Mouse" repair just as we were approaching the pass through the surrounding reef of Palau. We had been on the radio with other cruisers we knew in the anchorage and they had arranged a tow for us, so instead of testing my less than perfect repair we decided to take the tow. I think the repair would of worked but if it didn't we would of been up on the reef in a heart beat as the wind was blowing pretty good and not always in the right direction. It wasn't a cheap morning as the tow cost us $650 but in the end we both felt it was money well spent. I'll include a few photos we took during all this and will let you know how things are going in another post.

The Blog is alive, I hope ???

After months of frustations with this blog I think we have figured it out. Not without the help of my Nephew Jim who is holding my hand as we speak even though he is 10,000 miles away and on the other side of the world. Got to love these computers don't you ??? Wish I was born about 40 years later, I might have a better handle on all this.
Suzi and I are in Palau which is a small island group on the far western side of  The Federation of Micronesia. It's supported by America so uses the USA $$, measures in Feet and inches and uses gallons instead of liters for liquid. I will add more later but first I need to know if this post is going through. Like I said before, we haven't been able to do this for a while and I don't want to ramble on if it's not going to work. Talk more soon -

Test Post

Test Post - Wahoo, We're back in business!! (able to post)

rough sail overnight

Well, after a more than rough sail overnight ( winds 25-30+ with crazy seas) we made it to the small island of Vanikoro which is part of the Santa Cruz island group in the southern Solomons. It was a long, wet sail with seas that didn't allow you to stand in one place very long and wind that kept Sidewinder feeling like a runaway train even though she only had a double reefed main and a staysail out. Neither Suiz nor I got much sleep and now that we are tucked into this totally protected bay I'm sure both of us will sleep like babes tonight. From here it's up further into the Solomons and then on to Ponhpei or now we are thinking of maybe heading up to Papau New Guinea and then on to Micronesia. I'll let you know our decision-

Gaua

We arrived yesterday after a delightful downwind sail from the north tip of Gaua with Java and Maaliwalas. Our new friends on this yacht are from the Philippines and are wonderful people; they are headed back home after 6 years of sailing around the world, and we are looking forward to connecting with them there in the Philippines, if we actually get there. We will sail with them at least partially through the Solomons. Because of weather predictions, I think we will need to leave here tomorrow and head up to the first of the Solomon Islands in the Santa Cruz group. There is a low that is supposed to hit the Torres, the north islands in Vanuatu, by Saturday or Sunday, and we do not want to be close by. We will let you know more tomorrow morn when we depart, although, it has been difficult sending messages out in the morning. The water here is the clearest, aqua blue water I have ever seen and the snorkeling would have been incredible if the sun had been out. The pool at the double waterfall is deep and refreshing, and the villagers very welcoming, although we are a bit over-whelmed by all that they want from us. It is hard not to feel a bit used, even though we are visiting their homes and sleeping in their front yards. Much to think about....... It certainly has been an amazing anchorage for the three of us.