December 3, 2007

Leaving Kiribati
This morning soon after sunrise we picked up the anchor and set sail across the Abaiang lagoon, out the pass, and south to Tarawa to clear out of the country. We had hoped we could make the run fast enough to get cleared from Immigration and Customs, pick up a few things at the store, and be back out the pass before dark. We made it! Had a fine 15 knot beam reach down, for a 6 knot average boat speed. Karen was fine sailing, but was so seasick by the time the anchor was set in the harbor that she took some pills and went to bed, while I launched the dinghy and went to town. I hooked up with Trevor and Jan who had brought Watea back up from Abemama yesterday, and we all caught a bus to immigration together. They arranged to make 3-day stops in Abaiang and Butaritari on their way to Majuro. It took the guy at Customs 3 tries to get our forms right, but he finally did, leaving me time for a 20 minute trip to the market. In the open stalls by the road I got some bananas, papayas, cucumbers, and Chinese cabbage. That was good because tomorrow is the day the produce shipment comes, and there's not one piece of fresh fruit or vegetable in any store on the island. But I found peanuts and crackers, and we're not quite out of stock on other important items, so it was back to Sequester, lash down the dingy, and hoist sail again. As the sun sets, we're 4 miles clear of the Tarawa lagoon, with about 380 miles to go to Majuro. Clear sky, 15 knots of east wind, and a pod of dolphins alongside. An auspicious start. Ted