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06/07/2007: "One of 26"

Futuna is serious about it's religion. With a population of about 4000 there are many churches scattered along the coastal road. The buildings are all solid concrete with the brick shapes painted on. Someone has had some serious fun designing the many add-ons. The people of Futuna were fairly shy but very helpful and friendly when appraoached.
Unfortunately a low developed north of Fiji and drove thunderstorms, squalls and strong winds into our area. The anchorage was, simply put, terrible. Combined with this was the problem we had when we anchored - the starboard propellor blade vibrated off and sunk to the bottom of the Futuna Harbour. Gavin rigged the Hooka diving gear and spent five sessions searching the silt and sand for the blade. With no success and deteriorating weather we decided to make a run back to Fiji after a few days. It would mean we would be down to one engine if we needed to motor but with a forecast of an abating strong wind it was unlikely we would need to motor. Some, with some trepidation, we up anchored and sailed back to sea.