Solomon Islands to Federated States of Micronesia ( FSM) (Leg 24)

January 2024

Laura, Brennen and Renate came onboard at 10am on the 1^st and over the course of the morning they settled in and had some orientation. We had done most of the provisioning up front as today was New Years Day, so we were able to move off to Noro late morning. We went through the narrow channel again, but this time we had rain so unfortunately it wasn’t as fantastic as the last time. The anchorage was busy with speedboats coming and going, but everyone was friendly. Brennen flew his drone and took some photos before dinner and afterwards, the “Blob” craze commenced. We only stayed in Noro for one night before departing 07.30 on the 2^nd to get to Gizo by lunchtime and we had an uneventful motorsail in brilliant and very hot sunshine. After arriving, we went ashore to organise a dive and snorkel for Renate and Laura and then to look around. When we got back to Imagination at 3.30pm ish, we moved off to Mbangabanga Island where we had an evening of thunder and lightning, a little rain, but very little wind.

On the morning of the 3^rd we all went snorkelling on reef the other side of the pass to Imagination Island where Ally saw fish she hadn’t seen before and Laura, not having had much snorkelling experience, thoroughly enjoyed all the corals, sponges and reef fish. Before returning to Imagination, we visited the sand bar (Leovara Island ) where we discovered a dead headless otherwise intact dolphin in a shallow sandy grave. On talking to locals in Gizo, we were told that people in that they do not kill dolphins in that area, so they believe it was probably found dead and they took the head for the teeth to make jewellery. So sad. After lunch, everyone but Renate went ashore to Fatboys Resort for a walk and a beer before we motored back to Gizo. Renate decided not to dive on the 4^th as she has a cold, but Laura still went to snorkel and had a great day. We restocked on beer before Shawn, Brennen and Ally went back to Mbangabanga Island in the dinghy this time to the gorgeous Sanbis Resort hoping for lunch. Sadly, as their only guests were out on a day trip, they weren’t cooking, so we moved up to Fatboys for one last time. Ally sat in the dinghy under a brolly whilst Shawn and Brennen did a spot of snorkelling on the way back to Imagination, returning shortly before Laura got back. Friday the 5^th started off very wet, but Ally went ahead and prepped food for a BBQ and we moved to Olasana Island. By late morning, the sun was shining and we went ashore, sharing the island with a big local family who were also enjoying a bbq together. It was a very relaxed day, spent cooking, eating, chatting and sitting in the warm water. The next day was another gorgeous day as we made our way to Nusa Aghana Island and enjoyed some fantastic snorkelling and were treated to dolphins playing around the dinghy as we went to the snorkel site. After lunch, Shawn, Brennen and Laura went for another snorkel in a different spot which they all enjoyed. On the 7^th we had to return to Noro as it was time to leave the Solomon Islands and the authorities are there. We had dolphins playing on our bows for 10 minutes or so en route – we never get tired of watching them and we also caught a good sized Wahoo along the way. We arrived at 2pm in the rain and had an extremely wet, thundery afternoon with prolonged torrential rain which was great for filling the water tank. We went shopping for a few last items of veggies and snacks on the 8^th and we also located Customs and Immigration to inform them of our intention to leave. Shawn had been watching the weather forecasts over the last week or so, waiting for a good window to leave but the winds were just not improving and we were running out of time to depart, so we decided we should leave and go with whatever we were given, especially as the forecasts in this area are unreliable anyway. The officials came on board at around 3pm and we were granted outward clearance by 3.30pm so we could leave the following morning.

This last month has been challenging and frustrating on several levels, but not least due to a tedious 11 day sail to the Federated States of Micronesia ( FSM). We spent much of the first 6 days or so motoring/motorsailing due to the notorious lack of wind in the Solomon Islands and that didn’t change as we travelled North and had to pass through the ITC ( inter tropical convergence ) Zone again. This continually shifting area brings with it unpredictable and unforcastable conditions that range from brilliant sunshine, wall to wall cloud, thunder and lightning, torrential downpours, high winds or no winds in various combinations. When not on shift we relaxed by chatting, reading, watching tv, planning future travels, editing photos/video and getting creative (Laura). Despite the frustration of the changeable conditions and painfully slow progress, there were several highlights. We did get to see whales and dolphins several times from afar and caught a Mahi Mahi. Brennen had his birthday on the 15^th and it just so happened that on that day, we had a lovely settled day and we were due to cross the equator at around 4pm. Ally suggested, somewhat tongue in cheek, that Brennen might like to swim around the boat as we crossed the equator, to celebrate. The challenge was accepted and so as we approached the equator, we pulled in sails and put the motor into neutral and Laura and Brennen jumped into the ocean. They swam around Imagination as we drifted from the Southern to the Northern Hemisphere after which we enjoyed some music and a beer in the cockpit together. By the end of the day on the 16^th, we had constant sailable wind speeds along with lots of rain and we were finally able to turn the engine off and over the next few days the waves grew bigger with the increase in winds until on the 19^th we had sustained winds at 28kts, gusting to 35kts, along with 5 to 6 metre waves and as a result, the last 24 hours were noisy, wet and uncomfortable. Our crew coped with their shifts admirably and we made our way through the pass in the barrier reef and to calmer waters as we entered Kolonia, Pohnpei, FSM at around 07.30 on Saturday the 20th. We slowly motored towards the Port and made contact with the authorities on the VHF radio. We were instructed to tie up alongside MV ( motor vessel) Lady Pohnpei and the crew onboard were very happy to take our lines and tie us up at 08.15. It felt so good to be stationary! Over the next couple of hours, we were visited by personnel from the Port Authority, Quarantine, Customs, Environmental Health and Immigration. None of them came onboard as it was quite a drop down to us from Lady Pohnpei and so they asked their questions and completed their paperwork from the deck of Lady Pohnpei. We were granted clearance and welcomed to Micronesia late morning and we moved off very quickly to the nearby anchorage in Mangrove Bay where there were just 3 other vessels.

We were all very tired, but decided to go into town to organise SIM cards and restock on a few provisions. We went into the small marina here to book a table for dinner before starting the 20+ minute walk into town. Due to close links with the USA ( the currency here is US$), the standard of living here is higher, the buildings are more substantial and it seems everyone has a fairly decent truck or car. After walking for 15 minutes or so, we asked a guy in his truck for directions to a hardware store ( Ace). He told us we could all travel like a local by jumping into the back of the truck, he would take us! When we got to Ace Hardware, it was closed, as some businesses are on a Saturday afternoon in the Pacific and so we got back into the truck and were dropped off at the Telecom place. Before saying goodbye, Ally asked the driver his name. He told us he was Syl and he welcomed us to Pohnpei and told us “ Be blessed” as we thanked him and said our farewells. What a friendly, helpful guy. Unfortunately, the Telecom shop was also closed, but we did find a great supermarket to buy what we needed. It’s funny what can please Shawn and Ally…..this supermarket was light, spacious, cool, clean, smelt pleasant and, best of all, well stocked with items we haven’t been able to find easily for a long time! We seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time in their just looking around before buying our few bits and pieces and all squeezing into a taxi to take us back to the Marina. The taxis here charge $1 per person no matter the distance within Kolonia, although some charge foreigners $2 – it depends if they own or rent the car they are using. That evening, we went across to the Marina for a great dinner and Laura presented awards earned on the crossing – Renate got the “Best Dressed aka Most outfits worn” as she always came on to her shift in a different combo, Brennen won “The Nautiest” for the most total miles travelled during his shifts, Shawn won “The least shirts washed” as he was always topless and Ally won “ Most likely to Swear at the Autopilot” which speaks for itself although, to be fair, it does have a mind of it’s own sometimes!! Laura really does know how to while away a few hours between shifts, that’s for sure. With all the overcast weather, we were getting extremely low on power and our generator wasn’t working and so the owner of the Marina lent us one, but we couldn’t hook it up as it had unusual sockets, so we had to run the engines to charge the batteries to a safe level over the next few days.

On Sunday 21^st, Laura, Brennen and Renate went ashore to walk and explore and they got wet a few times as the day got wetter and wetter. Ally and Shawn remained on board fixing shower pumps, trying to fix the generator and desalting the saloon and galley. We all went back into town again the following afternoon, having refuelled in 2 runs by Laura, Brennen and Shawn in the morning. When I say into town, everything is so spread out over several kilometres and so it’s a little exercise too, which always feels good after several days at sea. We managed to sort out SIM cards to get us online again before heading to the hardware stores for items to secure a bolt on the boom that had lost it’s nut and to reattach the trampoline whose fixings were ripped out of the fibreglass all along one side as we negotiated our way through the heavy conditions on the last day of sailing. On Tuesday, 23^rd we were ashore by 9am and we rented a vehicle so that we could explore the island together, doing a full circumnavigation over the course of the day. Some of the scenery was gorgeous and we were able to visit some of the ruins of Nan Madol, an ancient city, that is 1000 + years old with some very interesting architecture. We ate at the Marina again that evening, rather than on the final evening together, as Renate had forgotten to take the fish she was hoping to cook out of the freezer before we went out. Doh! Thankfully, after a wonderfully sunny day, our batteries were fully charged by the time we got back to the boat. Not surprisingly, Renate, at 74 years of age, chatted with Ally and Shawn and told them she didn’t want to stay on for the next leg as planned, as she really didn’t enjoy the conditions when it was cloudy, wet, windy and wavy and so the following morning, before returning the hire car, Brennen and Laura took her to the airline office at the airport, to book a ticket to Chuuk. Renate returned to Imagination for the rest of the day where Ally and Shawn were repairing and cleaning, while Laura and Brennen went for a hike. The 25^th was boat cleaning day before Renate left us first at 10.45 to get to the airport for her flight. Laura and Brennen left at 1pm. Shawn cracked on with the first step in repairing the trampoline before both he and Ally relaxed, watching tv. Over the next week, Ally and Shawn finished the trampoline repair, sorted out a reefing line that was wearing through, made modifications to the front screen to make it easier to fasten down, repaired damaged areas on other drop down screens, made a new hatch cover and wind catcher for their cabin, sorted out the missing bolt on the boom, made protection pads for the small dinghy and also took the generator in to be repaired by the mechanic at the marina. On the evening of the 27th, they unexpectedly met up with Laura and Brennen at the Marina restaurant, so had an impromptu last dinner together before Laura and Brennen flew out, which was really lovely, and on 30th, they met and had dinner with the next crew member, Daniel, who will join us on the 1st February.

---