Hunga Bay

We are out at Hunga, great little bay, nice guy onshore, Canadian, lived here for two years. There are a few foreigners who have resorts here; resorts are small, two huts for guests, that sort of thing. Gorgeous coral, lots of fish in the pass this morning, we trolled this afternoon, but got nothing. Good snorkeling though, saw a shark and an eagle ray with a remora on it.

Met a local guy with a hand infection. He took Tongan treatments, it was spreading up his arm, the Canadian guy here sent him to the doctor, so he's on something now, we all believe it to be antibiotics, it's getting better, but still leaking pus. We told him to soak it and put antibiotic cream on it. We gave him a tube of antibiotic cream and Innocence threw in a pack of gummies.

This guy grows some fruit and we are out, ate our last bananas this morning. We went to tie up at the dock for another day of sanding and fiber glassing. The carpenter was called to meet with the prime minister this morning to meet about opening a new haul out facility in town, so he had to go and not work for us. We pushed back off of the dock and decided nothing would happen over the weekend, so we should go to the islands, no need for town. But then again, I am out of fruit. Sooo, this local guy will sell us some.

He also inherited a pearl farm from his dad. It's salt-water pearls; he seeds them with grains of sand. He has a tiny metal dinghy with a two-horse power motor and says he goes to Lata Island, a volcano 25 miles from here. He says the different colors of volcanic sand make the colors of the pearls. They are small and irregular, but colorful. I asked how much for them, he said maybe we could do a trade. I asked for what he wanted to trade. He suggested that his 16 year old son tries to dive for fish and his flippers broke, so asked if we had a spare set, and maybe a mask and tube. I bought the kids masks, but they are too wide for small faces, so I have a mask not quite adult-too small to cover nose and eyes, but too wide for young faces. Hopefully it will fit him. So we will go and make a trade for small pearls and buy some fruit. Always fun!!

In our free time, we are going to clean up the room for our arriving crewmember, Kim and sand the cockpit.

Keeping plenty busy!

Shannon

Boat Improvements Going Well -

Cassidy ran a full moon race last night, we had a fun pizza party to celebrate it at The Aquarium this evening. Fiberglassed the cockpit today, so we are water tight, ready to sand and finish it!!!

We love our new port 3 windshields, glass and not leaking. We waited 2 days because it appeared there was pending rain. It never rained for those 2 days, so yesterday, we went for it, pulled out our old starboard windows (plexiglass) and sure enough - rain. Really?? We rushed through the installation, pulled the front tarp over the project to try to keep it dry, and got it done! Now we have fully installed glass windshields!

Also pulled up a hatch that was leaking and re-caulked it. Got the front deck crack by the mast sanded and glassed. Got a small area of rot on the front deck pulled up (still filling it in). Really getting some nice and much needed love and attention to the boat! Very happy, although I'm also ready to be done living in a construction site.

Shannon

Life in a Construction Zone -

The benches are framed with bedrooms underneath them, looking vey nice!

Shannon

Noisy Life in a Construction Zone

Cockpit Floor is being Renovated -

New Windshields

This time we are putting in glass. The plexiglass expands and contracts so much that after two years they were able to let more water in than keep out.