Yesterday kicked off the official rally events. We all gathered on the island to participate in the highly competitive lawn games, consisting of versions of Lawn Darts, ring toss and a type of lawn bowling. Each yacht was represented by her crew. "Different Drummer", "Mahurangi" and "Vivacious" had additional crewmembers, while we remaining 3 boats, "Destiny", "Baraka" & "Warm Rain" had only two team members each. Apparently these games are much more common among Kiwis because as they all excelled at them, and we basically sucked! In the first two games we were set against Tom and Dawn of "Warm Rain". Tom just about wore us out because after each round he would get out the measuring line to actually measure within a hair each team's distances. I'm thinking he was some kind of engineer or accountant in his working life. Frank and I were good enough with "eyeballing" our marks. Ah well, sigh. We had a good time though, and finally found our niche in lawn darts. We won against everyone we played, although when "Warm Rain" was sent to play us of course Tom argued over each round until we just turned up the juice and blew them away – end of debate!
After the games we came back to the boat, donned our swimsuits and went for a quick swim, then Frank tethered our floating lounge chairs to the cleats and we just floated around, lounging and "chillin". 7 PM was the "Pig on a Spit" at Dick's Place, and it was delicious! The meal featured the pig which was fully laid out on the serving bar – wish I'd taken a photo – and then a buffet of various local delicacies including grilled pumpkin (quite good), some curried dishes and quite a varied salad bar. Afterward was a show featuring local dancers and singers. This morning we assembled back at "The Bar" area for the reading of the Protests, the Nautical Brags, the Stories using all boat names, and for the presentation of photos of the largest catch during the passage. Our fish, a 31" Mahi Mahi was probably mid-range in size compared to some others. Prizes will be assessed and awarded at the final dinner. Droplets of rain began sprinkling us and by the time we wrapped up the morning activities to return to the boat we had a rain shower looming, which was great because Destiny needed a good fresh water rinse down. At 4 PM we reassembled on the beach for the big volleyball competition between the yachties and the locals. Only one local showed up so we all just played against each other, thinking that the threat of rain kept the others away, so he alternated between the 2 teams (he was a very good player!). Eventually another Fijian came along so we split the two among us and played on. I haven't played volleyball in a very, very longtime – we are talking perhaps a decade or more. I am feeling it already in every muscle of my body. What a great workout! I told Frank that we should do this every day and then we can eat ice cream without feeling terribly guilty. The downside is that I still have sand in every orifice and pore of my body – great exfoliation! We were all due to meet at "The Bar" for the official Musket Cove welcoming reception for the ICA rally participants at 6 PM. Frank took off to get a shower, and as I was on my way to join him he informed me that there would be no showers aboard Destiny tonight – our water pump has gone Kaput! Argh! He rinsed in the ocean and I just hosed off at the outdoor faucet. After the official welcome by resort management, featuring the big draw: free rum punch for all, we participated in the BBQ dinner, which is a favorite dining experience of not only cruisers but also of hotel guests. There are several large grills around the little island bar. The drill is that you can either bring your own meat to throw on the grill and purchase your side dishes (i.e., a baked potato is F$1), or you can go to the little grocery store and purchase your "BBQ pack" which includes your choice of steak, chicken, lamb, pork or fish with sides to take to the grill and cook, while Musket Cove provides the plates, napkins and utensils. You purchase your drinks at The Bar and have a generally convivial evening getting to know your fellows. It was great fun! We can do this every night if we wish. After we were done eating and making merry, I slipped over to the showers for a decent rinse-off and we returned to the boat. After hitting the Aleve and writing this update – I'm ready to hit the sack. Tomorrow in between rally events we will be working on the water pump. Paradise comes with a price you know.
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