Crabby Mary, Quite Contrary

More updates via the sat phone!  Sorry, but no pics for now...

As we approach two weeks straight on the boat since leaving Ninigo, with a brief stop in Vanimo and a beach visit, the natives are getting restless. The kids seem to be bickering at the drop of a hat, and Matt and I are--try as we might--not too far behind (do as I say, not as I do?--yup, right here). Although we have had other passages that were almost as long and, in the case of our trip across the Pacific, much longer, this one is different.

On our other long journeys, even the uncomfortable week-long passage to New Zealand, we didn't have the same stress factors. There have been many moving targets (logs), frequent unpredictable squalls popping up willy nilly (usually in the wee hours when we're extra tired) and wreaking havoc, and almost constant wind shifts. On top of all that, we are navigating a new language and culture during our brief rest stops. This is the first place we have visited where the language isn't one we have some familiarity with (Spanish or French) and where almost no one seems to speak English.

Hitting a log and damaging the boat doesn't help things (blog post to follow when we get Internet).

I could just be blocking out the unpleasant parts of our other longer voyages, like the pain of child birth. Anyway, I think we'll all survive this trip without anyone getting thrown overboard (except in our fantasies perhaps). Reading back over this post makes me realize that I have made things sound a lot worse than they really are. We're doing pretty well, though everyone will be happy to stop and relax a bit. Gotta go--it's early to rise tomorrow to start the final 200-mile leg to Sorong. There's no wind predicted, but that's better than a headwind.