We now have a new blog address which you can find on: www.sailblogs.com/member/roaming2/
We will soon be discontinuing this mailasail blog.
Bars are a new topic of conversation. This of course is not the bar that you anticipate frequenting - these are the bars that you watch from a distance, talk about at length with anyone local, read up about and contact the Marine Rescue Service (volunteer coastguards in Oz) for the latest information on - these are the infamous sand bars of the coast of New South Wales. The Bureau for Meteorology, Australia (or BOM as we now affectionately call it) gives advice along the lines of 'coastal activities may be hazardous', extreme caution should be exercised when crossing bar or helpfully ... seek local knowledge - just the kind of reassuring information you need when entering somewhere for the first time. Please check out the photos although bear in mind they never reflect the scale or perspective from on board. And yes, we did take off (just a little) as we 'sailed' over the breakers.
Once the bar has been braved, the tranquillity behind it with lagoons, fast flowing rivers, pelicans galore, cicadas seranading and access to all sorts of local amenities is worth it. Where else could you tie up alongside the town jetty and be reminded of your sewage disposal techniques so eloquently - 'nobody likes a floater - be a good boater', or have access to free water, showers and endless gambling facilities at the local United Serviceman's Club 100m away. Again the welcome has been amazing with a car trip up to the local viewing platform, with views for 80 miles back to Coffs Harbour when visibility is good.
Coffs Harbour is a beautiful place with long sandy bays, small islands off shore, rolling waves ideal for surfers, and rainforest and mountains within easy reach. The bikes which have been sadly redundant across the Pacific are now in daily use - fortunately we bought helmets before we were caught and fined! Whether cycling through parks and along the beach boardwalks or walking in the mountains there are thoughtfully placed BBQ areas (complete with electric BBQ, benches and tables, sink and taps for washing and rinsing) toilets, accessible viewing platforms over looking amazing views. So very civilised and much used and appreciated by the locals and us.
The weather however, could do with turning a little more summery. Being used to more tropical temperatures it is a little shocking to be turning to the jumpers, fleeces and jeans. Hopefully summer will arrive soon.]]>
A pleasant welcome from customs and immigration who kindly took our lines and quickly completed formalities. Fortunately we have minimal 'real' wood otherwise the process may have been a little longer. A good nights sleep and an early morning foray to the fishing boats alongside the wharf to buy fresh prawns off the back of the boats for breakfast.
The weather has once again been varied. Sub tropical heat, blue skies and beautiful sunny surf beaches quickly followed by force 8 gales complete with cricket ball sized hail stones. Hopefully warm settled weather will win out. The welcome in Oz has been amazing - days out with locals to the rain forest and bush (complete with hungry mosquitos and leeches, lifts to shopping centre (with Aldi, Reject Shop and super markets) and offers of a car or truck should we need it. And a welcome chance to meet up again with people seen across the Pacific.
Thoughts so far ….
Amazingly friendly and kind
Real shops and a chance to find an electric toothbrush, a tea pot and reliable working internet
English speaking makes it so much easier to get to know people
The vastness of Australia and where to start
A chance to get rid of some of the accumulated 'stuff' that isn't needed or needs replacing with the recycling facilities to do it]]>
Obviously, having read our blog, food features highly on passage, at anchor or any time really. Supermarkets, when you have intermittent access and very intermittent choice become a hall of delights and the french influence can be seen no where better than the cheese counter. Noumea, the main town and port on New Caledonia is a thriving cosmopolitan setting - with street cafes and bars, coconut bordered central square, free wifi (if you sit in the right place and there is no one else around), DIY shops selling strong buckets (always needed), chandlery (with real boat stuff), hundreds of boats on moorings and a little space to anchor (as long as you are behind the line between the starboard mark and the military zone… a reef surrounded island with protected 'ilots' dotted in the lagoon, huge volcanic mountains rich in nickel (and bearing the scars of their abundance) and very good cruising with an active sailing community (from beginners and young children learning to evening racing and well sponsored boats).
Accompanied by a lost(?) but very friendly french speaking dog, and a chance to stretch legs for a while. In fact this took a while longer than anticipated due to the chosen path disappearing, necessitating a new and alternative path to be made/forced through the undergrowth (where is the machete when you need it?). Flamboyant trees again, not seen in flower since the Caribbean and a first Lychee tree.
Waiting, initially for visas, and then for a weather window for Oz, and making the most of the time in NC - kite surfing, crashing kites, repairing kites, and repairing them again. The jumping is now good, and the landings now happen, sometimes…. While the boat has a spruce up with newly painted bilges and cupboards (or at least most of them), finally the molas bought in the San Blas islands Panama get turned into cushions as planned a year ago!
The 6 day passage to New Caledonia started with perfect sailing conditions, force 4-5 winds, sun and relatively flat seas and a good run of 180+ miles for noon to noon. Sunsets didn't provide the 'green flash' experience but were beautiful none the less.
Night time sailing was lit by a waxing moon. The inevitable discussions about watch systems were undertaken, again. The need for sleep (but not on watch) is rather important so an initial 3 hour watch through the islands was implemented, then a 6 hour watch (too long for some) and eventually a 4 hour watch - not too long and not too short. The jury is still out however on the perfect system. The fair winds reduced, the spinnaker was deployed and boat speeds of an unimpressive 3 knots followed for a day or so, with a less impressive 120 miles run. There was time however to catch up on a bit of cleaning and polishing. Time also to evaluate provisions and stowage before entering New Caledonia where it was reported that the bio security were fearsomely draconian and all fresh produce, eggs, animal and vegetable products would be confiscated. Food identified 'at risk' was prioritised for eating and Bill rose to the challenge. As it happened the impressive (excessive) consumption wasn't required and the lovely bio security man was kind, reassuring us that the small amount of food we had left could be eaten on board today. A little too late for the 8 egg omelette feat that had already been accomplished by someone.
But back to the trip ….and the calm before the squalls…. The rest of the journey was not just plain sailing. The squalls arrived, the winds increased to force 6, 7 and 8, the sea became much less inviting…..sails reduced… and reduced again. Finally land (and it is easy to see why the island is named New Caledonia) was sighted despited the poor visibility of the cloudy gloom and a welcome overnight stop with a chance to sleep well.
Preparations to travel, this time from east to west, to the Lau group of islands for a week or so. A relatively good weather forecast, although the winds didn't drop as early as predicted so three quarters of the journey was underway before light winds plagued us. It did however provide perfect whale watching conditions approaching the Nggilanngila passage on Vanuabalavu with 12 or so pilot whales surfacing near to the reef.
Pilotage around the island highlights the difference between the GPS position and the electronic charts as the chart shows we are travelling across the land…. Check out the yellow track…So obviously a keen eye is needed to find the few remaining posts and markers, take bearings and find transits to work out where we are.
One of the anchorages here is reported to be one of the best in the South Pacific, very protected, no rolling (usually), beautiful clear water, very steep sides and so quiet and peaceful. Walking up a rough track brings you to the rolling hills of the island, coconut palms for copra, cattle, sheep and pigs roaming freely and 276 steps back down to the anchorage. Friends met leaving Panama turned up unexpectedly providing great company and more ideas for cruising around the Lau islands.
The village at Sousi, a small island further south, was our first real experience of small village life in Fiji. Sevusevu had to be 'done', presenting the Kava root to the village chief and asking for permission to anchor, visit the village, swim, burn garbage - and anything else you might want to do. The kava gift was accepted and invites to church the following day were given followed by lunch with the villagers. The village has around 40 inhabitants, mainly the young and the not so young. Teenagers attend school in Suva on the main island of Viti Levu, and many of them never return home to live - as has been the case across much of the Pacific. The villagers live a subsistence lifestyle, very poor in material terms but largely self sufficient from the sea and land. Church with amazing singing and donations from all the congregation followed by a feast cooked in an underground pit by the women of the village - served to men and visitors (privileged women), then once they have eaten - women and girls of the village eat. Tarrow, breadfruit, plantain, fish, land crabs in coconut cream all wrapped in banana leaves and cooked/steamed to perfection.
Two of the cooks …
One of the anchorages here is reported to be one of the best in the South Pacific, very protected, no rolling (usually), beautiful clear water, very steep sides and so quiet and peaceful. Walking up a rough track brings you to the rolling hills of the island, coconut palms for copra, cattle, sheep and pigs roaming freely and 276 steps back down to the anchorage. Friends met leaving Panama turned up unexpectedly providing great company and more ideas for cruising around the Lau islands.
The village at Sousi, a small island further south, was our first real experience of small village life in Fiji. Sevusevu had to be 'done', presenting the Kava root to the village chief and asking for permission to anchor, visit the village, swim, burn garbage - and anything else you might want to do. The kava gift was accepted and invites to church the following day were given followed by lunch with the villagers. The village has around 40 inhabitants, mainly the young and the not so young. Teenagers attend school in Suva on the main island of Viti Levu, and many of them never return home to live - as has been the case across much of the Pacific. The villagers live a subsistence lifestyle, very poor in material terms but largely self sufficient from the sea and land. Church with amazing singing and donations from all the congregation followed by a feast cooked in an underground pit by the women of the village - served to men and visitors (privileged women), then once they have eaten - women and girls of the village eat. Tarrow, breadfruit, plantain, fish, land crabs in coconut cream all wrapped in banana leaves and cooked/steamed to perfection.
Two of the cooks …
Arrival in Fiji's northern island, Vanua Levu at Savusavu, one of the ports of entry. A very quick and painless entry with officials from immigration, customs, bio-security and health boarding Juffa to complete forms and check out what needs to be checked, before a quick trip into town to change money to pay fees, buy bread and find out the lie of the land. The small town market has fresh veg grown locally, and Kava - a pepper root that is used to produce a drink with mild sedative and anaesthetic properties for sevusevu.
Sevusevu is a central component of rituals and social gatherings and enables visitors (cruisers) to seek acceptance into a Fijian village. Kava is presented to chiefs in the villages as a gift, once accepted you might be invited to take part in the ceremony and drink grog, or not!
Vanua Levu's volcanic history is still evident with hot springs now used for saunas, de-hairing a recently dispatched pig or just to cook the dinner. Locals stories suggest that the boiling springs were used to cook conquered foes … their powers were transferred to you when you ate them….nice!
Wandering along the beache at low tide (No. _), finding where the Tongan Royal's grave stones come from (maybe??) and purple/blue starfish lie stranded alongside unpleasant looking but colour co-ordinated jelly fish. 
Some beaches (No. 8) are beautiful little sand bars with velvety purple starfish on the reefs and confetti-like fish swirling below and 'Nemo's cousins' hiding in the huge sea urchins. Our first sight of the infamous crown of thorns starfish, and questions about the impact on the reef and the diversity of its fish.
Not to mention the most amazing sunset the last evening in Tonga before we finally leave for Fiji late the next day and are fortunate to see humpback whales spouting and breaching in the distance.
Promised photos of the Mahi Mahi landed on the way from Bora Bora to Tonga…
The Kingdom is divided into 4 parts, with the Vava'u Group in the north and its islands formed from the limestone of an ancient uplifted atoll with steeply sloping cliffs and flat tops - imagine green icing on a cup cake... From the sea and on land the differences between French Polynesia and Tonga are quickly apparent. English is spoken for the first time since the Caribbean (as a second language here), traditions here are strong and Sunday is a day of rest - so no fishing, boat jobs or kite surfing for a day. Pigs and their piglets are seen everywhere, crossing roads, rooting around verges and wandering through gardens - suckling pig is also a local delicacy.
First sightings of sea snakes too….
The market has local produce presented in palm frond baskets (3 TOP, Tongan Pa'anga, per serving - so just over a £1), tarrow roots lined up for sale alongside woven baskets, mats, trays, jewellery and tapa cloth.
Tapa cloth is made from the bark of the paper mulberry tree by women who pound the bark with a wooden mallets for days to produce a leather like cloth which is often painted with natural dyes. Finely woven pandanus leaf mats are worn around the waist, often for formal or ceremonial occasions, and also to indicate mourning where the height of the mat indicates the closeness of the relationship and is worn for many months. Its also part of some school uniforms.
When there has been wind, it has been a little fickle, shifting from ESE through E to ENE and back again, regularly. Trying to catch the wind while steering in the right direction and avoiding the confused seas built up by the confused winds is a bit of a challenge to one's patience.
One highlight on the journey so far has been the catching of a large (5ft plus) Mahi Mahi and the subsequent fish for breakfast, lunch and dinner (or breakfast, dinner and tea depending where you originate from)for the next 2 weeks at least. Inventive menu selection and presentation keep the interest in fish dishes alive...maybe. Impressive photos to be added depending on internet availability.
The watch system, of 3 hours on and 3 hours off, has now reverted back to the tried and tested 6 hour system for sleep - from 1800-0000h and 0000-0600h which means there is enough time to sleep even if you need to get up when not on watch (eg for whale spotting, sail changes, a second opinion...)while maximizing sunrise and sunset (green flash) opportunities.
And Gavin the Gecko has definitely got a friend. Gavin (or Gertrude) was spotted having lost a section of his/her tail. Shortly afterwards 'the other gecko' with intact tail made a break for freedom as the mainsail was hoisted and now is comfortably residing in the awning (aka tarpaulin) stored temporarily in the fruit net. The two have not been spotted together, but we assume they are known to each other.
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The journey to Vava'u, the most northern group of islands in the Kingdom of Tonga has begun. An early start at first light and farewell to Bora Bora. Perfect sailing conditions and an average speed of 8 knots over the day before reefing the sails at sunset. No green flash, but a beautiful end to the day.
The watch system, as ever, causes some debate. The options are: 3 hours on and off - is it long enough for a 'proper' sleep; 4 hours on and off - someone gets two watches in the dark and someone only gets one; 6 hours on and off - time to sleep off watch but also long enough that someone 'might 'fall asleep on watch.
Starting off with option one, 3 hours on and 3 hours off and two nights into the journey all was good although the system was upset by the unexpected arrival of a large 6m, light coloured whale off the port hull. He, or she, stayed with us for over an hour swimming alongside, between the hulls, in front and behind us. The tail fluke barely moving as we sailed at 5 knots. Plumes of spray giving a fishy aroma as the whale exhaled and flying fish landing on deck to escape. Swimming sometimes only a metre away from Juffa then moving away to breach and land with an immense splash, the whale seemed to come towards the torch light (flashlight) and appeared in no rush to leave us.
Now sailing under spinnaker to make the most of the light winds while hoping that our visitor might return.
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The wind generator has been dismantled, again, and bits moved around to help it fulfil its generating function, but all in vain. At the moment it still has its own eccentric cycle of whizzing and stopping with very little power production. We are now, however, in possession of a petrol generator (bought for a very reasonable price and a bottle of rum) which will hopefully fill in any power gaps should they occur. Now a lead has been made that fits the european generator socket we are very hopeful that it will become a useful (if noisy) part of our power support systems.
On another good note, the sat phone/email nightmare that has caused untold hours of despair where signals drop out, emails disappear and weather forecasts never materialise seems to have been solved by the use of a different email compression service. So far all is going well but knowing our particular strength has not been electronics, we are not counting our chickens too soon.
Cooking gas bottles have been filled from the Tahiti Gas bottle that we borrowed from a kindly cruiser. This involves many hours of gassy boat, bottles suspended from the boom, epoxy spills while bottles are 'adapted' to keep the gas in them and many trips to the ship chandlers to try and find alternative and more effective adapters. The good news is that we now have enough gas on board to continue our quest west.
The outboard engine propellor that had become a small problem when going faster than a snail has been replaced in amazingly quick time with the unbelievable within 2 days of ordering and our journey distance can now be extended beyond 200m in a couple of hours. A very helpful improvement as we leave the Society Islands where boat trips take resort tourists to visit and feed sharks and sting rays. These black tip sharks and sting rays now congregate around dinghies expecting to be fed - 30 sharks circling and mingling with dozens of rays and you are grateful for a propeller that works.
The supermarket has once again beckoned as stocks are built up for the next stage of the journey. As we are still in French Polynesia there is still the plethora of pates, soft cheeses, baguettes and Bon Maman jams to choose from alongside the essentials of bread flour, beans, tinned veg and of course corned beef. Happily once out of FP our bonded or customs sealed wine store will be liberated - so the delightful thought of Clos is something to look forward to once we reach landfall in Tonga (NB. Clos is the 'best value' Panamanian boxed wine, and frankly an acquired taste, which many have worked hard to acquire).]]>
Trailed by men in paroa's making the most of the slip stream of the boat we slowly thread our way through the reefs in the lagoon to the anchorage closest to the hotel, to drop off friends the following day.
17:30.21S 149:49.33W
Leaving Apataki, the north pass was bumpy but uneventful and gave the new rudder a short trial before the passage to Tahiti with Aussie friends, Simon and Caroline. The much anticipated sailing started off lively and got rather more lively resulting in slightly poorly crew friends for the 48 hour journey and ships biscuits (in this case cream crackers) were consumed along with Kwells while padding on door frames reduced their bumps and bashes - another of the delights of onboard life. Once in the lee of Tahiti the wind dropped, the swell reduced and permission was granted to pass the end of the runway en route to the anchorage. 
Careful navigation through the reef pass and Tahiti proved to be a culture shock after over 2 months in splendid isolation in the Tuamotus. Dual carriage ways (two lane roads), Carrefour supermarket stocked with unimaginable delights, regular buses, rush hours, market sellers, road side fruit stalls, wifi and recycling bins. Early morning disturbance by a film crew and dozens of 6 man paroa (out-rigger canoes) streamed past racing through the anchorage. Last minute provisions are purchased, again, and Moorea beckons in the distance, 15 miles away.
Anchored in Cook's Bay, Moorea, we reacquaint ourselves with friends met in other places and enjoy the relative quietness after the bustle of Tahiti. The island seems physically so similar to the Marquesas only more upmarket and cosmopolitan with 'high end' resorts, restaurants and boutiques. Now the benefits of our enforced stay in French Polynesia pay off as we are able to negotiate using Franglais to find a plug for the generator and a sack of ice cubes. Luxury.
Onward to Huahine's peaceful anchorage and an overnight stop before heading to Bora Bora.
A last minute arrangement and friends from Oz fly out to experience the village ambience overnight - generator buzzing by the wharf, early morning fishermen laughing as a huge dog tooth tuna is caught in the pass, black strings of nursery nets hung in piles from buildings and palms for black pearl oysters and the careful nurturing of young coconut palms which will provide future crops of coconut and copra in the village.
Finally leaving Apataki after eight and a half long weeks setting sail for Tahiti … ]]>
Food, an obvious distraction, has become a little less inspired. Corned beef lasagna, corned beef spaghetti bolognese, corned beef curry, corned beef chilli (sans) carne and the odd spam fritter. Becoming connoisseurs of various tinned vegetables wasn't an experience that was planned. However vinaigrette on most tinned beans, asparagus (no known association with fresh asparagus unfortunately), palm hearts and the odd mustard greens makes them at least less tinny and sometimes surprisingly tasty. Fishing in the atoll is generally off the agenda despite the abundance of life here, as ciguatera (fish poisoning) is far too common even amongst the locals who rely on fish in their diet. The toxin is accumulative in many of the reef fish and best avoided, we think. There is of course always coconuts.
The boat yard family celebrated grandma's 71st birthday with the cruisers, BBQ chicken, birthday cake and music provided by the family and cruisers. British, Italian, German, American and Polynesian all singing happy birthday in French and attempts at Tahitian… ]]>
A spring clean, or mid-winter clean if you are in the southern hemisphere, was much needed. The persistent rain has increased humidity levels and the dreaded Panamanian mould is creeping back leaving a dusty grey film on ceilings, cupboards, doors, window frames - in fact most surfaces. From previous experience the vinegar, bleach or mould cleaner comparison showed little difference in effectiveness and as the vinegar might be needed for more chutney, the bleach and mould cleaner were liberally used and the boat returned to a much more habitable state. Hopefully the rains will ease off otherwise weekly de-moulding sessions will be back in force. The persistent rain has however filled the water tanks and once again it is possible to relax, just a little, about water consumption.
A friend who's boat is having work done in the boat yard, or carenage, invites us and another couple on board (on land) at sundown. One is a GP and is busy advising that a visit to Papetee may be needed for a man who has fallen in a launch and looks like his ankle is broken. Fortunately having a doctor around has allowed him to have his foot professionally immobilised with a cardboard cast which should hold on the way back to the village, then on to Papetee. Meanwhile the blood sucking mosquitos have a field day and thoughts turn to investment in a range of DEET products, should we find them.
Foraging has become higher priority in light of reduced rations, so collecting the local sea snails or Maoa (with the Finnish couple,Tapio and Eeva off yacht Irene) seemed a good idea. Low tide and low swell were essential as the swirly shelled gastropods are found on the windward side of the atoll so it was an early morning but not quite early enough. The rising tide was quickly covering the steeply sloped sides of the atoll, making the well camouflaged dinner more difficult to find and buckets were not filling as quickly as hoped. A couple of bigger waves flooding over the reef and it was time to stop with just enough Maoa for dinner. 15 minutes boiling, intricate wiggling to remove the insides from the shell, working out which bit you eat and which you feed to the fish, then a quick chop and combined with Eeva's vegetables, coconut milk and curry. Something we will do again, but maybe not too soon.
An early night beckoned as a weather front was coming through bringing with it heavy rain, strong winds and uncomfortable waves which took 24 hours to pass over before the mirror like calm of the lagoon returned.
The sharks under the boat have turned out not to be sharks after all. They are a kind of cleaning sucker fish, remora, that attach themselves to sharks, whales and the boats - undertaking the serious job of keeping everything lovely and clean, they lurk around the boat day and night, hopefully cleaning the bottom while they wait for any morsels that might come their way from on board - the left over stale bread is proving their favourite so far.
The trip to the village in the boat yard's launch with other cruisers was uneventful and …. exhilarating on the way back. Holding on to the bench seat to limit the jarring helped. Returning the 12 miles to the anchorage in the dark, we were wet, disheveled and decidedly shaken but complete with supplies of flour, potatoes and a cucumber. Fruit provisions have been overloaded with papaya from the motu and papaya chutney is now on the menu, meanwhile there are opportunities to test out drying preservation techniques - tomatoes and papaya both sitting in the sun, dehydrating while you watch. The results so far are variable but still hopeful.
A windless day in the Tuamotus is perfect for late afternoon snorkelling around 'stump reef' where thousands of fish circle and cruise the tall coral bomie, from tiny bright blue damselfish to huge 3ft long parrot fish, and of course the sharks. These really are sharks and watch from a distance near enough to keep us mindful of them. Black and white sergeant fish swarm like a huge zebra crossing near the surface as the sun sinks towards the horizon - the daily five thirty event. Sunset green flashes have always been hoped for and are now sometimes observed as green lozenges in the distance as the final nugget of sun disappears. The full moon of the winter solstice in the southern hemisphere rises moments after the sun has set to highlight Gavin, the missing in action gecko, who is once again found.
So all in all a good week with lots of fixing and boat jobs completed. No more electronic items broken. A gecko rediscovered. Daily kitesurfing for Bill when the wind is up, and much mending of kites when it's not.
15:33.42S 146:14.0W
The atoll, Apataki, is about 20 miles long and 13 miles wide bounded by small islets or motus on the north and east and partially submerged reefs to the south and west. Travelling form the northern pass to the southern end of the atoll, a careful eye is kept from the bow as coral bomies or coral heads randomly emerge from the sea bed, lying just below the surface of the sea. Something to avoid at all cost. The colour of the sea changes from deep blue, to turquoise, then lighter blue and finally browny blue as the depth reduces. Light blue and brown are definitely to be avoided and a course through the dark blue preferred. Once anchored, however, the coral bomies provide an amazing snorkelling environment with tides and swell sweeping fresh water over the external atoll reefs and past the motus. Inside, the reefs and bomies have fantastic arrays of sea life from squashy back sea slugs to rainbow coloured reef fish and our second close encounters with sharks. The black tip shark is nothing to be feared, so they say. Oyster farms proliferate in the lagoons of the Tuamotus, producing huge crops of black pearls while iridescent clams look like jewels in the vivid coral.
The anchorage at Totoro is 12 miles by boat from the village where the shop is open … when it has something to sell…but the motus next to the anchorage has coconuts you can pick, freshwater for laundry and occasional showers, boat yard facilities should you need them and a motor boat which goes across to the village, hopefully when the supply ship arrives. Maybe this is opportunity to become the slim things we know we could be. In the meantime, there are boat jobs to do in stunning locations and windsurfing and kite surfing opportunities abound, carefully avoiding the bomies of course.
Electronics, at the moment are proving frustrating. The sat phone that we rely on for email is, to put it mildly, playing up. Advice has been taken from the sat phone experts, as well as the various experts on other boats but to no avail. We now beg or borrow sat phone communications (where possible) and search out any internet opportunities with the determination of desperate cruisers. The favourite camera (- takes nice pictures despite our lack of compositional skill) conspires against us by losing its LCD screen, so although pictures can still be
taken, there is uncertainty about what the picture might contain. No problems
though because the waterproof camera still works - or did until exposed to its
underwater environment …. so apologies, but photos may be a little more random
from now.