FIJI
Friday, 13th. July
Being moored nestled in at the Copra Shed Marina at
Savusavu, on Vanua Levu Island is a lovely place to relax after a long passage.
We need to catch up on some sleep.
The small yacht club here is the hub of the marina and activities.
An interesting couple join us for a drink this evening as we watch the live
entertainment of Fijian dancers which is great and very lively especially when
they invite people to dance with them.
A newly published mariner’s guide to Fiji includes an
article with accompanying photos of “ The most dangerous species of our coasts
and lagoons” of human rubbish which is thrown over board and details of the
lifespan of these articles eg. the plastic bottle 300 to 500 years, and glass
bottles more than 1,000 years. This information certainly makes us check what
we consider as compost on our long legs eg. fruit juice cartons take up to 25
years to disintegrate.
We have an early start this morning so we can go to the
market because first thing Saturday is the best time to be there. We enjoy the
lively bustle of the place with vendors and shoppers, and many local buses
arriving with the people from the villages. The produce is very similar to that
in Tonga.
One of the men we speak to has spent all night getting here
on his small boat from Suva. He does this return trip twice a week to bring his
produce to the market, and is exhausted.
A hike through the Waisali Rainforest with a guide (which is
essential) is quite a challenging walk. It has many endemic plants eg orchids,
birds eg a barking dove and prawns in the water pools. We are caught in an
unexpected downpour but it has been worthwhile because the forest looks at its
best after this. The forest is operated by the local village in partnership with the national Trust of Fiji.
We then travel on to be escorted by the head man of a
village to a nearby waterfall. It is still customary to present the head man or
chieftan with some cava plant, which he seems to appreciate very much. He also
takes us into his well kept Vuadomo village which seems to be in an ideal
position by the sea. In fact the village life and customs seem very similar to
when we were here about 15 years ago. Interestingly this village follows the
Methodist religion whereas the previous village discussed is Roman Catholic. there is a small percentage of Hindus and Muslims.
During the day we are aware of slight tensions between the
Figians and the Indians. The Indians are more business oriented in comparison
to the Figians who tend to live out in the small villages. Our guide this
morning has 5 children, no running water in the house and cooks outside. They
also walk long distances to get from place to place and use the local bus to
get into town to shop. Her children walk an hour to a bus stop to travel which is an 8 hour day before reversing the trip. The men do the fishing, the husbandry and go into the forest. The women do the weaving, cooking and care for the children.
Waisali Rainforest
Our guide and her daughter
An orchid
Berries used in cooking
Walking in to the waterfall
The waterfall
Deciding whether to have a swim
The Church
Sam's 2 boys
Sam has been helping with odd jobs on the boat and sometimes brings 2 of his sons. They are great fun to have on the boat. Sam is very active in the marina because the yachting season is short here so he works very hard and for long hours. He is unable to finish his work with us because tragically his nephew is killed in a horse riding accident so we insist he spends the time with his family.
Sunday for the Fijians is the same as in Tonga. They go to church and have a rest day. The Indians work for some hours on Sunday and have their restaurants, cafes and supermarkets open.
There are hot springs on shore near the anchorage. Some of
the locals use them to cook with and some restauranteurs to tenderize their
meat
.
.
We spend some time with Eelco and Mi-sate, the couple we met
last night. He is Dutch and his work is to captain commercial ships. Mi-sate is
from Namibia in South Africa. They have a wealth of stories.
Sunday is an overcast day again with many downpours of rain.
We have a relaxing day and catch up with emails etc at the wi-fi café. When we
call home we realize how close we are to Australia as it is now only a 2 hour
time difference. As a friend suggests in an email “we can probably smell
Australia in the air!” Also we are seeing more Australian boats now. Two boats
have arrived from Tonga who we met while we were there.
Monday, 16th. July
We go ashore very early this morning. Ross has to clear
customs, which takes an hour because they have mislaid our papers and need to
redo it all. I do a last minute session at the wi-fi café and go to the market
for final provisions.
We enjoy seeing the school children looking very well
dressed in their school uniforms.
Ross has spent a great deal of time planning our next leg.
The weather and the forecasts are very changeable so this is a challenge for
him. We set off at 9.45am as planned for plan B. The forecast winds are not
suitable for plan A. Big winds are forecast to come and set in for a few days
so we take this weather window the Koro Sea. However as we get out past Point
Passage the apparent wind has more southerly in it than we expected and our
speed dropped to 4 kts. and all the gear is getting flogged. So we revise our
plans again and head SW to take a passage through the reef , then along the
south coast of Vanua Levu planning to anchor at cocoanut Point still on Venua
Levu. As in Tonga we must pay close attention to all the reefs. We use the
“Curly weypoints” ( a local identity regarded as a great source of information
for yachties) which seem to be more accurate than our navionics chart.
We are sailing with half a headsail and a third of the
mainsail averaging 6.5kts, in a 2m. swell. We have a very lively sail with
winds in the high 20s. We see Laissez-Faire, who were anchored near us in
Savusavu, following us in the distance. They eventually overtake us in the
channel under a full set of sails.
They are at Cocoanut Point when we arrive, but are just
taking up their anchor to move out. We think they have dragged anchor. We are
glad we have a good holding and are happy to be settled before dark. Ross spoke
to the other skipper yesterday and he has sailed in the area before, but we
certainly don’t want to be out amongst the reefs after dark. We hope they find
a suitable anchorage soon.
The forecast is for strong winds building up during the afternoon
and even more through the night so we want to track 30 n.miles across Bligh
Water as early as possible to get inside the reef for protection. Cocoanut
Point is an excellent anchorage but looks a bit bleak to spend another day here
unless we have to. We are up at first light and track through the pass in the
reef opposite Cocoanut Point.
We sail with one third of a mainsail and headsail up. The
strong winds are gusting up to over 40kts. and the seas are rough and short,
some of which send sheets of water flying over the boat. Impulsive handles it
well. This is the sort of day we are pleased we can stay in the saloon and
don’t need to be outside at the helm all day.
Luckily the apparent wind is not too far in front of the
beam (if it is more than 50 degrees it is difficult for us) so we can sail at
just over 6 kts. even with such a small amount of sail up. We want to nurse
Impulsive along slowly without putting the rigging under unnecessary stress.
We track in through Nananu Pass and anchor on the west (leeward)
side of Nanamu-i-ra Island very close to
the n. coast of Viti Levu. This has been a particularly challenging sail and
Ross has concentrated at the helm the whole way (at least 8 hours) with his
amazing concentration. Things can change so quickly out here in these
conditions.
The winds are forecast to be even stronger overnight and
tomorrow so we plan to stay here another night in this lovely anchorage while
the weather abates.
Late afternoon we go
ashore to this tiny, hilly island to walk along the beautiful white beach. We
are surprised to see it lined with wealthy holiday homes and their attractive
gardens that stretch up the hills behind them.
On Wednesday we are still experiencing very strong winds, as
forecast and so are not attempting to leave the anchorage. We have been told
about the Wananavu beach resort on the northern tip of Viti Levu just across
the passage from our anchorage. We book to go for lunch there but then realize
with these extremely rough and confused seas we need a lift to get there as our
dinghy is not strong enough. Warren from Safari Island Lodge on Nananu-I Ra
island takes us in his strong run-a-bout. We enjoy a very relaxed, delicious
lunch there taking in the views across to Nananu-I-Ra island and the mainland’s
mountainous coastline. A long walk later and talking to some other guests here
and locals makes for a very pleasant afternoon. There is property development
beginning here, taking advantage of the scenic views.
Wananavu resort
Tonight the winds are still very strong. Ross needs to tie
the bimini down hard as it seems to be working loose in places.
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| View across to Impulsive |
Thursday, 19th. July
Safari Lodge
We go ashore early this morning to have a scrumpsious and
hearty breakfast at Warren’s Safari Lodge. It is on the other side of the
island. The walk across to the other side of the island only takes a few
minutes. There are no cars here.
The lodge caters for many activities including kite-surfing,
windsurfing and diving. It’s exposure to the trade winds makes it an ideal
place for this. Unfortunately the winds are too strong today.
We sail SW down the channel inside the reef (“freeway” to
the locals) towards Nandi with winds up to 30 kts. with half the headsail
starting off with 7 kts. SOG. Later the wind drops to 24 and we have the whole
headsail out averaging about 6 kts.
We anchor in a recommended anchorage for good holding at
Vatia Bay.
Today doesn’t start out as planned. Very strong winds wake
us up at 5am and Ross gets up to check the lapping sound of the water on the
hull of the boat. We have apparently dragged anchor and are on the edge of a
reef. Our hearts sink As the sun slowly rises we can see the deeper water
dropping off right beside us but realize the tide is still going out so will
have to sit it out for several hours. Ross puts out our second anchor so we
don’t go further onto the reef. The wind is still clocking over 30 kts at
times. Slowly Impulsive heels over until we are walking around at 45 degrees!
We call several people to try to organize someone to bring a
powerful boat to help get us off at high tide to help prevent damage. This is a
complicated business and we are very grateful when a local fisherman comes by
to offer assistance. He has just dropped some women off nearby to catch crabs.
He says he will try with his 40 HP engine and if that doesn’t work he will
bring another boat from his village.
Waisake Beni from Vatutavui in Tavua Province tells us about
his village life. Every week day he takes the women from their village in his
boat across to catch crabs at low tide. Each woman gives him one crab for their
payment. The crabs are sold on a stall by the road.
The children go by bus each week day to school. The
government pays for their bus tickets.
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| Ross and Wais |
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| Waisake pulling up our 2nd. anchor |
Wais pulling the stern off the reef
The only problem now is we haven’t got enough cash to pay
him. Waisake decides he would like to come to Nandi with us on the boat even
though we offer to come back to his village by car tomorrow (which we would
have enjoyed doing). He has never sailed before so we are happy to take him. It
doesn’t really suit us because we would like to reach Nandi in the light. We have to wait for sometime for him because
he has to pick up the women and take them back to the village and then get a
lift out to the yacht.. We have waited nearly 2 hours and decide he must have
changed plans so start to get underway. Just then Ross spots him coming out in
his boat so we pleased we waited. His engine ran out of fuel on his way back in
with the women, so hence the long delay. Waisake tells us later it was just
luck he saw us this morning because he doesn’t usually bring the ladies to
Vatia Bay to catch crabs on Friday.
It is very calm this afternoon with hardly a breath of wind
tracking along the north coast of Viti Levu . We try to average 7 kts. to get
as far as we can in the light. This coastline is very attractive with its
mountainous lands down to the sea. Waisake Beni tells us there are many large
cattle holdings here. Some areas have been eaten out and look barren. Other
areas with better soil look very green. Also it is time for their burning off
so we see many fires enroute. There are many villages along this coast.
We want to be in Nadi this afternoon to organize boat issues
before the weekend. Our friends Kerrie and Michael are joining us on Wednseday
so we need to be ship-shape by then.
It is dark by 6.30pm so we arrive at Vuda marina using our
instruments ie. the chart plotter, GPS and radar. Ross called the marina
earlier and it is fine go in and tie up on their buoy.
Our excitement for the day isn’t over yet.
When we arrive at our final waypoint we realize something is
wrong. We are at the entrance to a small
and shallow boat harbour and looking at many huge oil tanks. We wend our way
through numerous big yellow mooring buoys for large ships. Ross checks the marina’s
waypoint again in the Fiji handbook and the entrance is on the reef. This we
find is correct but it does not show the channel.
It is nerve racking coming in. The entrance to this very
narrow marina is marked by 2 unlit poles. We are glad to have Wais on board
with an extra pair of eyes for spotting.
Also his Fijian language is a great help talking to the boat
man now helping us in with his large torch. He wants us to tie up at the fuel
dock which Ross isn’t happy about so we go into the mooring as planned in the
centre of this circular marina. The marina was built for hurricane protection,
and the boats on the hard stands have their hulls on tyres and buried in the
ground.
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| View of channel entrance |
Many people congratulate Ross on our entrance, especially as
we haven’t done it before. Evidently there is a problem with people coming in
here even in daylight.
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| Yacht leaving via the channel |
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| Ross fixes the bow thruster switch |
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| View into circular marina |
Wais dives under the boat for us (Ross still can’t with his finger) and there is no damage - just a few scratches.
We enjoy our few days here. The boat needs a thorough clean
and there are a few boat issues to deal with but it’s the weekend so we just
organize to see different people on Monday morning.
The Fijians are so welcoming and friendly, always with their
happy smile. Fellow sailors tell us about the regular Sunday lunches here with
a live band from noon to 7pm. It is a wonderful event in the Fijian style
restaurant perched up high looking over the channel and with lovely sweeping
lawns. The band is terrific – we even have a dance!
The highlight of the day is when Kerrie and Michael arrive
late afternoon. They are staying at
Denaru (a nearby island) for 3 days while we prepare the yacht.
Michael is keen to play golf so we have a game which is
great fun and the course is in excellent condition.
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The market in Nadi |
Sugar cane is the main produce here. We see long sugar cane trains and men in the fields cutting it. We also see many trucks loaded with it coming in from the mountain areas. There are also many cocoanut plantations.
Wednesday 24th. July
The new pump for the toilet is delivered as promised early
this morning, and fitted. Kerrie and Michael arrive to leave late morning as
planned. It is lovely to be underway again.
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| Leaving Musket Cove |
Motoring over calm seas
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| The Sandy Cay |
We track the 18n.miles to Navadra Island and find a lovely
anchorage here where there is only one other yacht in this cove. The snorkeling
here is excellent in azure coloured water. There are so many fish Ross can lean
over the side of the dinghy with goggles on and can see many fish through the
surface of the water.
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| Ross and Michael going over to speak with Andreas |
We plan to track 10 n.miles to Waya Island but the wind
comes up from the north and makes the anchorage untenable, so we go instead to the west side of Drawaku
Island.
There are several other yachts here so not much room
available. We actually see 1.4m depth at one stage so back off quickly. We go ashore to the Mantaray resort across
the channel on Narara Island. There are mainly young people here for water
sports and mantaray watching. We decide to have dinner on board which is a good
decision because the dinghy motor plays up and with tide against us it is very
difficult. A kind yachtie, Neil, sees us and gives us a tow as we are edging up
towards Impulsive.
Early this morning Neil takes Michael and me across to swim
with the mantarays. Un fortunately we don’t see any but the drifting in the
channel is fantastic. We have never seen such a variety of fish and so many.
The coral is lovely too. They swim in large schools all around us and come
right up to our goggles.
We track up the west side of Naviti Island to anchor at
Somosomo. The wind is consistently against us and tacking is not really an
option with all the reefs so we motor most of the way.
Our visit to this village is a highlight for us. Ross and I
hired a yacht here 20 years ago with Moorings sailing. Because of the reefs
here we had to take a skipper with us. He was a charming 19 year old Fijian,
Osea. He offered to take us to his village and to introduce us to the Chief who
was his grandmother. We had such a wonderful time and many memorable experiences,
including Ross having a game of rugby and joining in a cava ceremony. We sent
Osea a Trinity rugby jumper and he sent us a lovely Christmas card. Of course
we wanted to catch up with him again but I couldn’t find his details at home.
All we had were a few photos.
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| Sarah dancing |
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| Watching the dancing |
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| The entertainment - the singing was voluminous and they do the harmonies really well |
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The men's ceremonial dance Kerrie joins in! |
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| Meeting the Chief |
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| Little girls in their pretty dresses for church |
This is just amazing. We are told that Osea will be at Church the following morning so we can meet up with him then.
The actual church service is very impressive, particularly the magnificent singing. Afterwards the Chief invites us back to her house and this is where we meet up with Osea. He actually recognized Ross in Church. This is a very special time for us all. The Chief is now 87 and still very sharp and active.
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| The beach scene |
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| Young boys keen to learn about motors |
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Locals fixing the outboard motor Little girl playing on the beach |
We decide to spend another night here. Wati, another kind
Fijian, fixes our outboard motor which the skipper is very pleased about. We
are invited to their entertainment put on for the visiting team of students from
the U.S. who are living here for a few weeks and helping with projects in the
village and at the school.The owner of the camping resort where they are
staying is paying rent to the village under a 30 year lease.
and the resort provides employment so the village is quite pleased about the arrangement. It is a great sight to see the children leaving in the local boats for the school on the other side of the island. We visit the kindergarten in the village which is well organized.
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| Children off to school |
2 of the children in the village
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| Osea and Sarah outside their house |
Camp resort
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| Kerrie and Michael at the camp resort |
  Visitors from a neighbouring village leaving  |
| Ross and Osea |
and the resort provides employment so the village is quite pleased about the arrangement. It is a great sight to see the children leaving in the local boats for the school on the other side of the island. We visit the kindergarten in the village which is well organized.
We all enjoy the beautiful children in this village with
their lithe bodies and big brown eyes.
Osea and his wife farewell us with a large gift of fresh
fruit and a pumpkin out of their garden. We plan to keep in touch now.
We sail in good
winds,up to 25 kts but a lumpy sea to Waya Island into Nalauwaki Bay at the northern
end of the bay but this is untenable so we track around the n.west cape to
Likuliku bay to anchor off the Octopus resort. We are very relieved to find
this is an excellent anchorage otherwise we would have to keep going back to
Musket Cove which would have meant arriving in the dark which is not a good
idea with no reef watching.
We all enjoy this beautiful place. Kerrie and Michael decide
to stay here for their last few days in Fiji. We are looking forward to hearing
about their experience here as their first night here the resort is booked out
and they have been invited to stay in the village on the other side of the
island at Nalauwaki Bay with a lovely young couple and their baby daughter.
Kerrie and Michael were exuberant as usual. They really enjoy
the sailing and are keen to be involved with it. We have had great fun with
them.
Kerrie and Michael going shore with Ross at Octopus resort
We return to Vuda marina via Musket Cove where it is lovely
and calm. The lights in the water at sunset were spectacular, particularly the
steely blue reflections, and we have a good meal ashore at Dick´s bar, the yacht club's restaurant/bar. We need to check a few
issues with the boat before heading off to Vanuatu to meet Heather, Paul and
the children which is an exciting prospect.
Not long after Ross fills our water tanks we discover a
major pipe in the water supply between Latouka and Nadi breaks and the water is
off for 2 days at least. This is very disruptive for the area.
We hear many stories of problems with boats up on reefs but
are surprised we don’t see any. Fiji is a very difficult area to sail in and it
is necessary to be on watch and concentrate at all times. Night sailing is
extremely dangerous here because you are unable to spot the reefs. Also there is no morning sked. run here which
is always helpful.
Friday, 2nd. August
The weather report from Bruce suggests we should leave this
afternoon if possible because there is a double trough forming near Vanuatu
early Tuesday morning which will produce thundery squalls so it’s desirable to
get there by Monday afternoon.
We need to get through the Mololu reef before dark so must
leave by 3.30pm. We are advised to go through Wilks Passage. There are the
usual delays in trying to leave with the last workmen finishing on Impulsive at
3.15pm and then having to wait for the boat boys to get us off our mooring
(they are unable to start their run about). We get to the Pass just in the last
light. We can see the reef either side and Musket Cove off our starboard side.
It is a lovely calm night and we motor through to 5am when
we can put the headsail up, and the mainsail up by 8am. There is little wind so
we motor sail averaging 6.5kts with a short sea.
We try several times to rely on the sails alone but each
time the wind drops out so we motorsail with these conditions through to Sunday
evening and then as Bruce predicts the winds swing between the SE and ESE
mostly in the 12/17 kt. range. Tonight my 2am watch is a rare time I don’t
enjoy it. There is not quite enough wind to fill the sails so there is a lot of
banging and crashing happening. We decide to leave the sails as they are
because we are expecting the wind to come round to a better angle. This doesn’t
happen so when Ross changes over the watch we bring the headsail in for a few
hours until the conditions are better. Then we motor sail with the headsail out
again to Tanna Island, Vanuatu at 1530 hours.
Favourite recipe this leg
Mahimahi with sea grapes:
Mahimahi with sea grapes:
Barb-e-qued mahi-mahi, marinated in lime juice. Light
sprinkling of chermola.
Seaweed grapes – rinse twice with cold water, in a sieve
Small head of fresh cauliflower with grated parmesan cheese
sprinkled over it
Serve with wild rice and salad
