Pitufa.at

Finding an antifouling that actually helps against growth is tricky for the owners of aluminium boats. After lots of disappointments we finally got a great product in Tahiti: Carboline Sea Barrier Alloy 100. We had it on for 3 years, never had to haul out and when we did last week it still looked good!
We couldn’t find Carboline in Fiji, so we had it shipped in from New Zealand prior to the haul-out. We can really recommend it for other aluminium boats.

Christian had a fun day yesterday exchanging the hoses going to and (worse) from the toilet. After 20 years of use the job was overdue and pumping the toilet should be much easier now
In the meantime I was sanding some corrosion bubbles on the bow–climbing on scaffolding with angle grinder and orbital sander is not what the physio therapist suggested, but I can’t stand being idle in the boatyard…

It’s easy to avoid all those motions, especially on a boat, right? In the beginning I counted myself lucky that my ribs were healing quickly and I thought I’d be back to normal in a jiffy. Now it’s been two months since we had the accident and my ribs still refuse to get stable. I’ve been cautious all the time, only tried some gentle exercises, but apparently one of the lower ribs has still not healed (might be slipping rib syndrome, which can hopefully be cured by rest).
At least I can write and make jewellery, so that’s what I’ve been doing this week while avoiding movements and willing my body to finally heal.

Our friends arrived loaded with spare parts for Pitufa–one of them was a replacement for the battery monitor that got fried when we were hit by lightening in Suva. Yesterday Christian finally got round to installing it and the little job turned into a full day project as the shunt wouldn’t fit into the battery compartment and Christian had to remake the whole mounting. One of those annoying and typical boat jobs where there’s hardly enough space to reach the work piece, let alone using tools… I was assisting handing stuff and occasionally I ran to the medical cabinet for iodine (even small cuts need to be disinfected in the tropics), Flammazine (great cream for burns, e.g. from dripping solder) and Traumeel (miracle cream against bruises). Now the little box is installed and working and we can see the energy production and consumption again–so important on a green boat with only alternative energy sources!

My ribs are still causing me some pain and trouble, but snorkeling I hardly notice them! The Yasawas have been a bit disappointing underwater. We had assumed that islands that rely heavily on tourism would protect the underwater world for the sake of their attraction on visitors, but most places we have seen are heavily overfished and the coral is also not in great shape. Today we found a real gem though with healthy reefs, plenty of swarm fishies and even a turtle and a white-tippy reef shark came by to say hello!

Almost 4 weeks have passed since our accident. Christian’s as good as new and I’m now also making good progress after some set-backs. My ribs and lungs have healed well (I slept lying down in bed for the first time again!) and yesterday I got the results of the MRI scan of my elbow and the all-clear to start moving it gently!
So today we sailed Pitufa out of Suva harbour and to a nearby anchorage. Taking her in through the reef pass with a 1.5 m swell making her surf at times and breaking waves on both sides was quite an emotional challenge for me. Christian offered to take the wheel, but I knew I had to face my fears to get over the trauma. All went well and we went for a swim afterwards–I managed to climb the stern ladder without assistance

We installed 2 moorings for sailboats in the beautiful, but difficult anchorage in the bay of Rapa Iti (French Polynesia) together with the local community to protect the delicate staghorn coral. There are two strong, safe moorings for sailboats there now, so crews no longer have to risk their anchor and chain in the deep bay with plenty of coral heads.
The article can be read online for free!
If you make it there, please use the moorings and make sure to dive on them, check them and leave a donation for the community!

Yesterday we went to Suva to meet up with an NGO about the Tabu and to do some grocery shopping. We were quite astounded when strangers stopped us on the street to shake our hands and wish us well. Turns out we were on the cover of the Fiji Sun–we had given an interview the week before…
Despite all the cheering and good wishes, the mood is a bit gloomy on Pitufa. I still have no MRI results for my elbow and don’t know whether simply immobilising is the right course of action and my lungs and ribs are giving me trouble again. Bureaucratic hurdles for donations are slowing our x-ray project down, so we went to the ministry of Itaukei affairs yesterday and hope to make progress. The guidelines on applications for MAKING a donation are a dozen pages long and the first part is mainly threats what will happen if you don’t get it right

John Hembrow of DownUnderRalley noticed our reports about our experience of spending the cyclone season cruising the Lau Group of Fiji. He got in touch with us to ask whether we wanted to contribute to the Ahoy online magazine and much to our surprise and delight, Pitufa’s on the cover of the current edition! The magazine’s free, so enjoy!