SVPandion _ Vanuatu to Australia _ majestical chersterfield

Its Monday 11.00am and we are at 20 01.880e, 158 15.780s which is 15nm South east of Chesterfield reef and 515 nautical miles from Brisbane. We are using the iron genoa in addition to the sails, as the wind is only 8knts. Rems is stoicly on about day 30 of a double ear infection that has been resistant to all our medical efforts including 2 courses of antibiotics, hence we are keen to make port and get her to an Aussie doctor, plus it's an extra $300 or $400 in overtime fees if we get to customs on the weekend. The passage forecast looks good; the wind will pick up in a few hours and average 15_20knts over the next week. The seas are quiet, picking up to 2m and dropping off again near Brisbane. With little swell we have three trolling lines out, including our boat made suncream bottle lure. The crew is begging me to pull it in and put a 'real' lure on. I figure the fish will have never have seen anything like it and be curious, hopefully hungry. Something has to be said ab
out
Chesterfield, our mid-passage stopover. Here are some words from the crew: magical, majestical (that's not a word budi), mind blowing bird action, it's 11.33 can we eat? (Thanks Sylvie), a mid passage respite, smelly, crabby-birdy-turtly. I'd say; the water was so clear that even under moonlight I could see the bottom at anchor. Every bush and shrub on land is weighed down with birds: 4 kinds of boobies, gannets, frigate birds, noddys, turns, rails. A whole screaming, churping, barking mass of avian flesh that rises periodically in giant mixed flocks to swirl above the island. These birds are ocean experts, highly curved wings, perfectly suited to strong winds and long distance low energy flight. The frigate birds were mesmerizing, I watched one for a long time, and it never took a wing beat. The kids were inspired to be part of the dawn chorus so we got up at 4.30am and creep ashore, in the moonlight we were highly visible, and there was an embarrassing amount of noise before we got into place. We
found aloggerhead turtle, she had left her run too late after laying eggs on the high part and was now jammed up on the rocks exposed by low tide. Her eyes were closed and a line of drool hung from her mouth. It was vetting hot so we poured seawater on her head and shell, this seemed to wake her up and she lumbered up and over the rock shelf and into the sea. Budi claims that "we brought her to her senses." The kids took the dinghy one day and visited three of the many islands. They returned with the dinghy filled with rubbish, a fishing net, a buoy so we joined in and collected as much as we could from the easternmost island. Mostly bottle tops which are also mistaken by seabirds as food, I'll remember that next time I am tempted to buy bottled water. Today we winch the whole mess onto the foredeck and lash the tender over it. Vanuatu banana pie for breakfast, pressure cooked chicken soup for lunch, mahi mahi for....

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