Welcome to our world baby Hali!

It was all a bit different this time round. We'd made an appointment so when our magical day came we were pretty well rested. We rowed ashore and got the bus (well that bit was the same) but then I was checked in by a nurse and shown to our enormous room complete with en suite wet room, fridge, kettle, air conditioning and nurse call bell. There was a phone and a tv too but we quickly unplugged those for fear of being charged extra for Ravi's transgressions.

They shaved me and gave me an enema (totally unnecessary but I went with the flow) then took me down to the operating theatre which was well looked after and well resourced. The anaesthetist proceeded to give me an injection into my spine (very competently) and then they tied my arms down to the arm rests.

I know! Like I was going to try to fight them or something? This was indicative of our whole experience at this private hospital in Phuket. It was well resourced, clean and new but the practices by the staff were old fashioned, not evidence based but rather entrenched. The doctors wishes were carried out unthinkingly; not the way we do things in the UK or for that matter in Fiji where Ravi was born.

So we took their rules and over medicalising with a pinch of salt and once Hali was finally delivered into our arms we didn't let her out again and treated it as a nice luxurious hotel. Ravi and Duncan stayed on the comfy sofas and Duncan furnished me with food drink and medication as necessary.

Anyhow importantly, Hali Rhiannon Fagg was whipped out safe and sound. She weighed 3.58kg; big enough but not as big as expected. She was very sleepy and so didn't feed much at first, lost a little weight before starting to gain again just in time for discharge. Hali is a Greek girls name meaning 'from the sea'.

She continues to be an incredibly calm soul who Ravi has welcomed into our family with unexpected enthusiasm. He doesn't have much language yet so we really didn't think he knew what was coming. So far he likes to include his sister in everything he does and squeals with delight and rushes over for a kiss whenever he remembers she is there.

Our bill was as agreed; the package price with no added extras so that was 59,900 baht, about 1,345gbp or around 1,920 usd which though a lot of money we felt reasonable for what was included. Would we chose the same again? Probably not, but we hadn't had long to research, plan and arrange having only cleared into Thailand four days earlier! We felt fairly content in taking the easy option for once.

Bringing her home was wonderful and we were treated to a lovely sunset. The rolling thunder clouds never amounted to much and we all slept well.

Thank your lucky stars you will surely think and we do, but after a week of her sleeping around 23 1/2 hours out of every 24, I thought I'd better get this rechecked. The pediatrician knew she was sleepy when we were discharged but a week on I had concerns. I asked for advice from some expert friends in Australia and we took ourselves along to the hospital for a couple of tests.

My main worry was that she might have a heart defect causing her to be so lethargic but there were other things that might cause it too. We went along, all the tests were fine and on the way there we found out an interesting fact... Put in air conditioning she woke up! Of course she'd been born into an air-conditioned world unlike Ravi but as an already sleepy baby, this heat is just a bit much for her. It will be interesting to see if her personality changes when we get back to the UK!

Since then we've all got used to life as four. We've sailed onwards; at first up and down the coast of Phuket. Happily we then explored the far more interesting and picturesque Phang Nga bay. All the limestone pillars, beautiful beaches and exciting Hongs (spaces hidden inside some of the islands accessed through caves from the sea) have kept us in awe. Whereas these spots can be exceptionally busy, we've also managed to find some secluded spots, paths less traveled and quieter, often Muslim cultured, islands such as the one Chris and Jean (Duncan's parents) visited us at.

Koh Phi Phi's famous Maya bay was a beautiful stop that we really enjoyed. It was heaving during the day with speed boats, long tails and the occasional small cruise ship but either end of the day it was relatively tranquil. With the high sided rock faces there was some much needed shade available most of the day and the water was lovely and clear for swimming with the many tame fish.

Rei Lei had been recommended and was indeed gorgeous but out on the water the noise of the longtails was too much to bare and didn't let up all day. It was like being anchored in the middle of a busy airfield!

Chris and Jean stayed in a bungalow at Koh Yoa Yai where they not only had air conditioning and a shower but also a balcony which afforded a nice breeze and views of wildlife. They spotted monkeys, an otter and many interesting birds.

Hali sleeps on giving a gorgeous smile whenever she has a happy thought...

Chris and Jean brought with them many gifts including this capsizing lifeboat which now tows around behind the dinghy.

Ravi is getting more and more confident in the water. Just in the time Chris and Jean were with us he went from clinging on and taking many mouthfuls sinking between his arm bands to splashing about on his own and enjoying being chucked overboard with them on. He can now propel himself around the boat and climb up and down the swim ladder; another reason to make sure it's always put away when not in use!

Oh oh... Up the steps, onto the cabin roof, climb the boom gallows, over the boom and bouncy bouncy trampoline/ sunshade. Oh my!

Lots of new family photos... And finally we made a Thai courtesy flag.

All the more nappies to wash and with water being bought and lugged about, they're getting washed in salt water until a final rinse in fresh.

Hali waking up for a stretch on the beach whilst Papa does a bit of yoga, and then back to sleep...

Blue water baby...

Finally Ravi's passport arrived on Friday. We'd applied for it when he was 5 days old at the end of September, now he's a chunky 2 ½ months. Much to every Fijians surprise a Fijian passport was never an option since neither of us have citizenship. Apart from being a little pedantic about the background of a photo which is supposed to show authorities what Ravi looks like up until he is five years old, the delays were numerous but mostly not to do with the UK passport authority. Once a countersigned photo and covering letters for all our irregularities were received, the passport was sent on the 21st November. It then proceeded to take 17 days to get here. That was on DHL expedited documents service which estimates 4-5 working days. Customs was the main problem in the UK, apparently they always sit on passports for a bit before worrying about looking at them and sending them on. At every stage it seemed to need chasing.

Anyhow back to Friday. We picked up the passport from the lovely marina ladies and then were sung out by an ad-hoc gang singing the Fijian farewell song ‘Ni Sa Lei...’ as we rowed back to Impetuous anchored outside. A sail north up to the port had us checking out just in time on a Friday afternoon... Or so we thought. 

We’d visited the port twice in the previous two days checking details would be ok for our imminent departure and enquiring about overtime fees in case we had to leave at the weekend. At neither of these visits had Peni the customs officer felt the urge to inform us that we had to add Ravi to our crew officially with immigration. Their office is in town and only open during office hours. We'd already been to see them that week to ask for a few days visa extension since we were now over the 6 months readily allowed, but no one at that time had mentioned the need for this extra form either. 

We quickly realised that we needed to stop arguing in frustration and find a taxi and get there, before the office closed in 15 minutes. We ooched and owed along the hot tarmac without shoes and flagged down the first taxi we saw. ‘Please straight to the immigration office and with the meter on please', there was no time for bargaining prices. For once no queue in immigration meant the simple and pathetically short form was filled and stamped in moments. Back at the port Peni was true to his word and waiting for us just past 4pm, his knocking off time, he didn't have the gall to charge us overtime and by half past we were free to leave. 

Smug in the knowledge that all the port officials were heading to a party so there was therefore not going to be anyone around to notice us taking a bit of time. We went into town to spend our last few Fijian dollars and back to get both dinghy's stowed away.

As dusk fell on Lautoka we pulled up the anchor and main sail waving ‘see you sometime' to friends on ‘Eos' and ‘au revoir' to this Western section of Fiji we have gotten to know quite well.

It was a gentle drift out towards the pass and a gentle drift once outside too. Still in the wind shadow of Viti Levu for many hours to come. A few squalls later then finally the SE trades graced us with their presence mid Saturday morning. Since then it has been a surprisingly rambunctious sail to New Caledonia. The forecast seemed to say 15-20 knots on the beam, ideal. However we've had the staysail stowed and the jib and main both double reefed getting sloshed by short steep waves until the last day when we've slowed ourselves to a gentle 6 knots with only double reefed jib. 

It took us just under 5 days to do just under 700 miles. Once inside the reef here in New Caledonia the sail round the island was a treat, 8 knots downwind sailing with just the jib and no more waves, Ravi enjoyed this all from his car seat. Until then we'd had to cower inside for fear of a frequent drenching from waves.

Like us all, Ravi has some places on Impetuous he loves to inhabit when on passage. Sprawled out on the leeward bunk, like everybody else is high up on the list. Fortunately he isn't too big so as not to share it. However, sharing a Lee bunk with a small baby isn't as regenerative as not sharing it; oweing to what we call the squish factor.

On passage we still sleep in the bow more often than not. Indeed with a fan on either side it's quite a pleasant place to read a book. So despite all the sloshing of the boisterous sail Ravi spent a fair amount of time in the bow. With the simple addition of his dancing birdies mobile he can spend hours orchestrating them as they sway to the rock of the boat and he rolls from pillow to pillow.

We've jammed in a spare wind vane to the side of the pilot berth, covered with a sarong and padded by a blanket it makes a great leeboard. A neat addition to what has become his bunk; with his mobile frame at one end over his quilt and an enormous pile of nappies at the other. But on passage it wasn't where he wanted to be. As the occasional wave slammed in to the hull side cascading itself across the boat Ravi would be awoken; startled, from his slumber. We call it starfish baby. Arms and legs spring out as does a certain aura of panic. Ravi didn't spend much time in his bunk.

Perhaps his favourite place is his car seat that we've bungied on to the boat. From there he can truly embrace the wonder of sailing. Smiles always abound when he is placed in it, A happiness we're keen to foster. It won't be much longer before his wriggling turns to crawling and the car seat has buckles that still work, despite the salty years of service it provided for our friends on Eos II. We haven’t told him this yet.

All in all Ravi has taken the whole experience in his stride; noticing only that whilst at sea there's always someone awake to give his head a stroke should he open his eyes when a noise disturbs him. Also at sea his dangling toys never stop dancing!

So we’re now in new Caledonia enjoying all the culinary delights a French country has to offer. The plan is to feast on baguettes, pate', cheese and wine for a few days before heading off to Australia. It will be Ravi's second blue water passage; they say that we can only dream of experiences we have already enjoyed, we often see Ravi dreaming of drinking as he sleeps. But now when he closes his eyes he has one more experience to dream of. Dreaming of blue water sailing.

Wailea...

Wailea!  Papa? How many months? 5 weeks? Ni Sa... Baby boy? Ni sa... Born here? Fiji baby? Wailea! Can I hold? Ni Sa... Bula papa!
It's hard to get anywhere in Fiji without Ravi causing quite a stir. Fijians love children in a way that's often commented on; even by people not trying to get across the market in order to catch a bus with a babe in arms. There's warmth and positivity towards all children here more noticeable than anywhere else we've been but common to all island communities. It's deep in the culture.

Wailea is a general exclamation word similar to wow. Ni Sa shows warmth and is added to lots of greetings but is used on its own to coo over Ravi. Papa is the Fijian word for baby. Fijians everywhere we go want to give Ravi cuddles. They pinch his cheeks, they stroke his arms and sniff his head showing affection similar to a kiss. Children come up and kiss him then parade him round their friends. 

Any Fijian you encounter can be willingly entrusted with holding the baby if you're trying to do something. Where else would a lone man wandering past be delighted when a tiny one only a few weeks old is thrust in their arms? It means that dragging the dinghy up the beach or rearranging shopping bags is a breeze. Given half the chance they'll keep him as long as they can; no one's ever too busy to gush over a baby. In Fiji time everything else can wait.




The school kids and Lani the teacher at these boy's school would shout Ravi Ravi from the shore out to the boat for him to come and play

The ladies in this supermarket said they would baby sit him 'come back for him when he's 12!'

Tom the chief of the village of Yalobi on Waya, Ravi with Mary who, pleased to see we used cloth nappies gave us a big one from her boys 'all grown up now'

These kids had never ventured up the path scaling the hillside but scampered up alongside us if it meant they could hang out with Ravi just a little longer... 

We're pottering along nicely here. We thought the passport might take some time and we weren't wrong... There have been several tedious stumbling blocks the trickiest of which has been getting the right background for the photo. Our first attempt was to use a photographer in town but not only was it rejected because the background was wrong, it was also technically too small and missing a border. Ridiculous we know, but it's not as easy as you might think finding a suitably coloured and clean sheet, then getting him to hold his head square on it without wrinkles. Hopefully we've finally found a solution and together with all the extra forms and proof required, the UK passport authority should be processing it any day now.

A few photos that didn't make the cut

    
 

Life continues as normal here in the meantime.  Alongside handwashing around 15 nappies a day, we've still got boat projects and fixing things as they fail. In the last month or so we've been keeping on top of the varnishing and trying to figure out why the engine wasn't starting so well.  In the end the culprit was the injectors which have now been serviced and in the mean time our exhaust muffler developed a leak and so we've re-designed that system to make it more convenient and less likely to fail in the future.  Also our main halyard winch pulled out of the mast whilst sailing.  It made a dent in the mast but could have been much worse.  It's now through bolted to the staysail winch on the other side and all the old holes are plugged. Sitka spruce whilst being light and strong does not take fittings well.  Thankfully we made the mast solid at that point so this is no problem and we're glad we already overbored and epoxied the mast track screw holes.

We had a lovely couple of weeks out at Waya staying by the village of Yalobi.  We liked it so much we are wending our way back there now.  We hope to give them our old main sail as we think the villagers will put it to good use as a shelter or for drying pandanus in order to make the mats they weave.  It's quite an industrious village what with the big boarding school serving the surrounding islands and with visits from cruise ships most weeks. It's still very much a traditional village though with a chief and a laid back friendly feel.

Yalobi village, Waya.

Ravi enjoying the sunrise outside

We tried to encourage Ravi to look at the camera but he was too overwhelmed by the sight of his beautiful wooden mast so we went with that look instead.  Along with Ravi's first photos we've lost our straightening program with our dead hard drive. A necessary tool when taking photos on a boat!

We're taking him for regular dips. Baby steps.

We lost the path on the walk up to the ridge so eventually had to abort, I was barefoot but the main problem was the mosquitoes and the sun getting higher.

Waya on the way out, we'll be back

Heeled right over he was oblivious... until we tacked!

Life never gets boring on a boat, if nothings happening you can just dance to the windscoop fluttering...

Or laugh at the clouds...



Our bright eyed boy is getting more interactive all the time...

So I'm sure some of you might be wondering how it's all going. Truthfully it's great. We can't compare parenting on land but there are loads of things great about parenting on our boat. The trickiest is probably how careful we need to be with him and the sun.  He's fine around town or rowing about as he's quite happy to have a sarong flung over his head and generally goes to sleep or has a feed. However we've found that even just the reflected sun from the water out in the cockpit has to be carefully rationed and when going for a swim not only does he risk burning but also gets cold very quickly too. All part of the learning curve! Hopefully from the photos you can see how good a time we're having, probably the most important is that we have the time to really enjoy it. All those boat jobs can wait.  We're on Ravi time.

Ravi in his carseat having a gentle sail back for his check up and immunisations