No Sleep Tonight

We are anchored in an inlet on Waya, one of the Yasawa islands west of Fiji, on my 48ft sloop Sangvind. My wife, Sylvia, my friend Jeroen and I have enjoyed a few drinks in the cockpit on this starry South Pacific night, playing guitar and singing songs.

Just before going to bed, Sylvia wonders whether the wind might turn onshore later. “Don’t even say that!” I exclaim. We are just about to go to bed, and the boat is in complete disarray, with stuff lying loose everywhere in full anchorage mode. With four teenage boys aboard, this is the last thing I want