My fruitbeer is a fruity, refreshing carbonated drink with approx. 6-7 % alcohol and it is very popular with our sailing friends.

In the workshop I explain the alcoholic fermentation, what the yeast cells – our most important partners in this process – like and don’t like and of course there a loads of samples to taste. Everybody is enthousiastic and produces their own first batch to take home.

Here a first 360 degree photo, in this one you can scroll around with your mouse or finger yourself, try it out!!

In order to bridge the waiting for the permits we go out the 4 miles to Anemonet a second time. Reto wants to replace one of the yacht club moorings which is broken.

With a bag full with tools and the new mooring line we dive down and start work as dicussed previously. But the huge shackle is stuck, it takes a lot of air and effort to get it loosend…

After a few days I do my workshop a second time for the friends who have missed the first round.

Then the last permits are finally signed, we stock up a last time on fresh food and gasoline, wash the last machine of laundry and use up our last data talking to the family. We are ready for the atolls, the wind is supposed to be a bit less strong and less on the nose, perfect to head up north.

It costs me a lot to buy the brokkoli for USD 9/kg, a box of spinach for USD 10 and salad for USD 7/kg.
But I am aware that in the next 8 weeks apart from coconuts we will be happy to get some bananas now and then but certainly no fresh veggies… Reto picks me up at the supermarket and in the middle of the ride back the enginge runs high, it sounds as if the clutch is being pressed down (but there isn’t any…).

A bit in worry we take out the gear box oil, but it looks clean and without any metal particles. As soon as Reto demounts the porpeller, the diagnosis is clear – the rubber around the prop shaft has sheared through. Sun and saltwater transformed it into chewing gum.

We row over to the shore and do another walk through the entire length of the town, no one has the piece that we need, only for bigger engines…
In the hotel we buy an hour of internet and source the part at defender in USA, but it is Saturday afternoon, when will they process our order???

But since we are already here and not out in the ocean we might as well enjoy our time. There is a big fishing tournament and everybody meets up at the shoreline, the place next to the dinghy dock. We arrive right in the party, come and join us as well:

After the weighing of the fish caught we meet Chris de Brum, the father of Christa who tragically has passed away in teenager age.

The de Brum family comes from the atoll of Likiep. They are decendents from a Portugese whaler who at the end of the 19th century had owned a trading company there together with a German.

Chris invites us to serve ourselves from the chicken that is bbqed right next to us. His wife has marinated it already the day before and it turns out to be the best grilled chicken we have ever had. It is sooo goood!!!

The net day is Sunday and though it pours the whole morning our plan is to go exploring the island with our mountain bikes.

I am happy to be on the bike, we move past the shops, the industry and the impressing mountain of rubbish to the small stip of land where the huge air field af the international airport has been fit in.
We miss a few miles to the end of the island, but we run low on daylight time and sitting on the hard saddle start to hurts badly…

Unfortunately again and again we meet up with rather agressive dogs, once even 5 of them all at once. We figure that they are not used to people biking around here, we don’t meet a single other bike during the whole 70 km trip.

And here another picture where you can look around by yourself:

In the new week we buy again a bundle of data, powerwalk a few more times up and down alongside the main road, visit the museum, renew the joints in kitchen and bath with new anti-fungal silikone, insert a new main halyard, enjoy the awesome all you can eat pizza evening of the yacht club and get ready again to do our hop to the outer islands…

The package with our prop is already in Honolulu since a few days, it should have arrived already yesterday… 😉

But once again it is destiny, I loose a part of a tooth and am happy to get it filled and smoothend again by Doctor Tes this morning, a very nice lady from the Philipines…

And once again one photo to look around – because it’s so cooool ;-)))