Off Across the Ocean

Mahili heading off to Vanuatu! Bon voyage!

As we head back into Vuda Point Marina this morning to look into having some 'boat projects' attended to before we put everything away at the end of the month we passed close by good friends Mike and Jennifer Gough who were just leaving for Vanuatu!
Don't they look good with all sails flying in a gentle 15 knots of breeze. In our radio goodbyes Mike lamented that they did not have 25 knots or more. (gotta love them Aussie's)!

Mike and Jennifer waving goodbye to Fiji!

Mike and Jennifer have been a bad influence on us during our time in Fiji as our paths have crossed in a variety of places around the country. Like many other more experienced sailors that have coached us to continue our adventure and explore the wonderful sailing in Indonesia, Malaysia, and beyond. "Pirates" -- "na Doug no worries about Pirates" (gotta love them Aussie's)

Good luck and bon voyage! Hope to see you down the track (or on Vancouver Island).

Thanks!

Lau and Back

BC residents will recognize the Queen of Prince Rupert, now
called the Lomaviti Princess which ferries back and forth between
Suva and Savusavu

You know we are back from visiting the Lau Islands because I am able to post a couple of photos of our visit. While it is not true to say that there is NO Internet in the Exploring Isles, it is a bit of a trick to find it and when you do, the first mission is to get a weather report. Sorry for the gap...

We are back now anchored in Suva Harbour.

Anchored in Bavatu Harbour in the Exploring Isles

Suva Harbour is different from the Lau group and we find ourselves nestled neatly between a raft of what are known locally as 'the rat boats -- don't get too close or they will swim onto your boat' and a rusted sunken steel hulk that will, I am sure, be reported as an 'artificial reef.' Just the same, we are happy to be here and in spite of our proximity to shopping and entertainment we have enjoyed our day just relaxing on the boat. Really, just a few small boat chores and not too much more.

We have been able to replenish our water from the Royal Suva Yacht Club and have been catching up on laundry and cleaning.

Traveling to Lau

The black dotted line is our track into the harbour. The red circle
is our location at anchor. Normally we try to avoid anchoring on
land...

Over the past couple of weeks we have been working our way eastward from Savusavu toward the Lau Islands which are the easternmost part of Fiji. The Lau Islands are the least visited part of Fiji and up until recently it has been difficult to obtain a cruising permit that would even allow one to travel there. Remember that the regular trade winds blow from the east so getting to the Lau Islands means sailing upwind from the more populated parts of Fiji. Our route allowed us to stop in several little harbours along the way. For the last step to windward over the Koro Sea we left our anchor at 03:00 so that we could approach the fringing coral reefs of Vanua belavu at midday when the sun gives the best light to pick our way over the coral reefs.

Wish you were here!

We felt reasonably well prepared for this bit of navigation as we have had many similar encounters throughout our time in Fiji. We have waypoints from previous travelers that guide us in our route planning. This trip was a little different though because the waypoints DID NOT match up with the electronic charts we are using. I know you are thinking 'what does a few metres really matter?'

Well, first of all, we are a bit skeptical of the charting software because since this trip takes us over the 180th degree of longitude we literally have to scroll across the planet to find the other half of our route.

Secondly, the charts are out by about 200 metres in this area leaving the feeling of wearing those 'drunk simulation glasses' they give high school students to show them what DUI driving feels like. Thirdly, our gap in the fringing reef is really only about 30 metres wide in total and you can see waves breaking over coral heads on both sides so a miss can really spoil your day. And lastly, as we are approaching the most critical part of the passage our friends and very experienced sailors aboard a 52' ketch radioed to tell us that they had hit hard just a few hours earlier -- now you have my attention!

The crowded beaches of the Lau Islands.

Gripping the helm tightly (very tightly actually) we managed an undramatic entrance and after making our offer of Sevusevu (kava) to the chief in the local village moved on to some of the most beautiful and dramatic anchorages one can imagine.

One of the fun things about being in such a remote place is that there is an immediate kinship among the few boats that are around you. As a result we enjoyed a number of delightful 'sundowners' and were the recipients of several gifts of baking that I will always be grateful for. Somehow, banana bread at the edge of the world takes on a special importance. All we had to offer was Gin and Tonic. Though to be honest I do not recall anyone complaining about the G&T's either?

This part of Vanua balavu is a Copra plantation and several
families manage the plantation. Here they are preparing a
feast of roast pork and cassava for their yachty guests.

One of our evening adventures was to join in on a Lomaloma 'pig roast' arranged by one of the other yachties. The crews of 4 boats were able to join with a number of local families to eat roast pork and cassava and an evening of drinking kava.

Eventually we had to acknowledge that our dwindling water supply and our failing batteries were to draw us back toward mainland Fiji.

Heading east now with the wind on our aft quarter we made short work of the distance back to Suva. Even dragging our 3 blade fixed prop through the ocean we sailed at 8 and 9 knots with considerable ease using only a triple reefed main and a partially furled headsail. (Mrs. Backhouse says she prefers it that way).

Heading east again the sun sets over our shoulder. This
night we traveled the 170 miles back to Suva.
The boat moves...

While we have enjoyed the showers and yacht club beer we have to admit that the tone on the boat has changed a bit as we are realizing that we are drawing toward the finish of this fabulous few months of learning about the boat and exploring this wonderful land. It is not too long now before we will have to consider the prospect of wearing socks again.

But of course this reality is tempered by an equal dose of scheming for what lies ahead.

Ocean debris -- Lau style

Kakoda Salad and other Wins in Savusavu

Lunch at the Surf & Turf. Kakoda Salad and
home made ice cream for dessert.

We have had a good day in Savusavu today. As previously reported, Maureen had thrown our perfectly good stovetop grill into the ocean about a week ago and we have had a bit of a time managing to hold the pot while the water boiled.

A replacement is no big deal -- in Vancouver -- bit a little trickier in Fiji.

But, we went to the applicance store and asked if they had something that might suit. The fellow brought us out an old grill that had been in his storage room and said we could just take it.

Well, a little head scratching and a little hacksawing and we are back in business. We have two of the three elements back in working order and, well, lets face it who ever uses that third element anyway.

Next, we were able to procure a new aluminium LPG tank which is again no mean feat... I had gone to fill the tank a couple of weeks ago and the fellow said the valve needed to be replaced. No problem, I prefer to have a non-leaking valve anyway so just go ahead. Well you see, we ruined the threads when we took the valve out. No worries, we'll just buy a new tank. Sorry we don't have any aluminium tanks. No problem, we'll grab one in Suva (the capital of Fiji). Sorry none there either. We do have a couple in Savusavu. On well then, no worries.

On top of that we lucked into the local cruiser's net and ended up splitting the cab 5 ways. It's all good!

And we were back in time for lunch. Again, based on tips from the cruiser's net we dropped into the Surf & Turf and had a fabulous lunch with change left over for a double scoop of homemade ice cream.

All in all, a pretty good day. Looking forward to seeing what tomorrow brings.

Across the Koro Sea

We arrived back in Savusavu yesterday after an enjoyable afternoon sailing up from Makogi Island.

Scudding along at 7 or 8 knots with a double reefed main and genoa.

Our Plan in the morning had been to stop at Koro Island but once we were out and sailing we realized that the usual southeast winds were more from the east the trip to Koro Island looked to have some closehauled sailing. Closehauled is something we have so far avoided on our journey and so we decided to maintain the 'clean sheet' yesterday as well.

The Koro Sea is about the middle of Fiji Islands (if there is such a thing). It is different from much of our other cruising because the water is 2000 feet deep. This makes it less important watching the depth instruments.

We had a lovely time at Makogi Island.  After we arrived there we went ashore to present our Sevusevu. Makogi is mariculture centre operated by the Fiji department of Fisheries. The island's caretaker toured us through their facilities showing us the giant clam's that they grow to seed the reefs of Fiji. The giant clams are actually 'giant' and it is pretty cool to see how they are grown and cultured.

Enjoying a beautiful day in the Pacific.

But the most interesting aspect of Makogi is the leporsorium which operated from 1911 to 1962. It is a strange and interesting thing to walk through this facility which was essentially a town complete with cinema and jail in the middle of the pacific. We had a great conversion with the caretaker about the residual spirits of this 100 year old medical facility. 

Sights of Ovalau

Levuka was the Capital of Fiji from 1874 to 1882. Not too much
has happened here still then.

This morning we awake in front of Levuka. This is a community on Ovalau island which boasts that it was once the Capital of Fiji. A search of the finer details shows that while this is true it was only for an 8 year period between 1874 and 1882. Levuka is now a Unesco World Heritage site recognizing its industrial heritage and unique South Pacific Architecture.

The sign says 'Welcome to Lekuva -- 1874"
It really is like entering Levuka in 1874.

I think our impressions of Levuka may be coloured as we will recall our stay here as an 'anchor testing site.' The boisterous trade winds which are a feature this time of year have been in force for the last week or two and Levuka in not an ideal anchorage in these circumstances. We have had not a stitch of problem but we have gone to sleep each night with the depth alarm on the instruments carefully set, the anchor alarm on the computer set to a fine radius and the anchor alarm on iNavx on the iPad running as well. No drama.

Visiting on the walk to work at the the Tuna processing plant.
Shift starts at 15:00 and and at 00:30. 

Keepin up with the paperwork.

My next home...

Today we plan to move on from here to visit Makoga Island on our way to Savusavu. There has been much discussion aboard Sophrosyne these past few days planning our itinerary for the next 6 weeks or so. We are planning to visit some of the more remote Fijian Islands including the much touted Lau Group.

Changing Seasons

Well, we are almost ready to head off again on the next leg of our wee journey. We have been at Vuda Point for almost a week now getting a few things sorted. Vuda Point is a bit like our 'home away from home' now -- the spot we come back to when visitors come and go. We are getting to like it here because we know most of the staff and cruisers and everyone always has time for a smile.

We can start to see how the season's are changing as new boats are arriving and others are finishing their offseason retrofits and getting into the water. The season's are changing too. Maureen woke up this morning and reached for her 'Icebreaker' to cut the chill of the cold Fijian morning air. (Don't worry, it's not that cold). Maureen's weather app says it was 23 degrees (feels like 30). But even I have to admit that is down quite a bit from February where Maureen was reporting (with a smile) it's 29 degrees (feels like 40). Don't get me started on the 'feels like' category. The only thing I know is that our next boat should have an air-conditioned lazarette which is where I have spent must of the last week.

Sophrosyne has a 'walk in lazarette' where we store most of our serious cruising gear, like 5 of the 7 anchors not currently is use. This week all of that was on the deck as we worked through most of an accumulated list of repairs/updates.

We now have a fully functioning AIS transponder with a built-in multiplexer so that boats around us are overlain onto our charts. Significantly with the new setup we can broadcast our position so that they can see us too -- AIS stands for Automatic Identification System. This setup also includes a new DGPS so that we no longer rely on the the iPad for navigation. At the same time we added an autopilot control instrument, re-installed the wind generator and re-wired the SSB antenna tuner -- all set to go!

We have been waiting the last day or two for a VHF splitter cable and once that's in we can head out. Maureen has taken the bus into town this morning in the hope that our cable has arrived which is why I have a few minutes to sit at the computer and write.

Time with Patty and Bev

Some might be wondering aloud if they have missed a blog post or two because we haven't shared much about our grand visit with Patrick and Bev? I had a very nice surprise this morning when I looked at the photo cache that Bev left for us and I think that the best way to share that chapter is through her photos. Thanks Bev!

Patrick and Bev sailing back down from Navandra Island. We
have had a lovely 2 weeks visiting and enjoying their company.

Day One -- Patrick is looking online for a 'funtivity' to fill the 11:00 - 12:00
slot that remains vacant. Watching these guys plan we realized just
how much we have adapted to 'Fiji-time'

Day Three -- now fully certified scuba divers the question is 'what next?'

Let's think about that for a minute...

Sunset in the Pacific

Nice visits and stories to tell

Now we are on pace

Thanks for the great visit guys!
It was fun.

Today's Lesson -- Outboards Don't Float

It could happen to anyone... Well we have entered that group of folks who have dropped their outboards into the salt chuck.

They tell me they were able to use some of  the diesel from our
lame fuel tank to flush out the sunken outboard. As Chuggy says,
"everything works out"

And Patty tells me it ran for a good 20 seconds after it hit the water.

Today's departure was delayed somewhat by a wee mishap as the sun was going down last evening. Pat and Bev were returning from their sunset cruise when our outboard mysteriously popped off the back of the dinghy.

With Maureen reading from Wikipedia we were able to get the outboard back onto the mothership and gave it a good freshwater wash and some WD40 into the cylinders. Since that is about the limit of our mechanical ability, and with the distinct possibility of doing more damage than good, and since it was supposed to be happy hour at the Boatshed, we e-mailed our good and reliable friends at Baobab who were down here at 8:00 to take the outboard up to their shop and complete a service (glad now that I had not done the servicing proactively...).

I am happy to report that the engine is running again now and all that is let to do is track down another cowling for a Merc 9.9.

We a re now just waiting for our 'untie' from the central cyclone mooring and we will be on our way to Musket Cove. The weather is fine and we are all looking forward to a couple of fun days in the Mamanca Islands.

The Glamorous Sailor's Life

Cleaning up under the spot where our forward
fuel tank used to be. The aluminium tank had developed
pinhole leaks and will need to be replaced... fun.

Twelve hours after our friends Gord and Jane departed, and 12 hours before Patrick and Bev arrive we are hard at work cleaning up underneath the spot where one of our fuel tanks used to be!

We have been having problems over the past week or two with this tank getting water into the Racor fuel filter and as we were having the engine serviced today we thought "while we are at it..." It will be great to have this fixed so that we can be confident that the fuel will be clean and without contaminants going forward.

This photo is after we got it about 1/2 clean. Doug scraped out the worst of it and then Maureen climbed in and finished it off. Actually it is clean enough now that we are thinking we will have our dinner down there.

Tomorrow brings our Patty and his girlfriend Bev for a visit. We are very excited to have them join us and we are looking forward to showing them the spots we have discovered over the past few months. Today was a very rainy day here so we are hoping that the sun pokes out tomorrow! Chris on the other hand is exactly 12 time zones away right now teaching in Ghana. We hope that he is doing well and we will raise a glass of Fiji Bitter in his honour and wish him the very best in his adventure.

Vinaka vaka levu

Vinaka vaka levu means "Thank you, very much!" The extra emphasis of 'vaka levu' are our newest Fijian words. Sereana wrote them out for us yesterday morning in the Plantation Island Medical Centre. We were quite impressed with Sereana and the wonderful medical service she provided, but more for the warmth, kindness and good cheer that she brings to her work -- this after 48 years of nursing!

Maureen and I left our guests on the boat yesterday and took the dinghy ashore to see what we could learn about an infection that had been pestering my elbow for the last 2 or 3 days. When we arrived Sereana was sitting in her chair at the medical centre and assessed my situation quickly. "Doug" she said, "I am going to have to punish you -- you should have started antibiotics right away and now I am going to have to give you a shot in the bum!" She managed our query with gentle efficiency carefully recording the details of our conversation in a ledger and providing both a shot, and a follow-up prescription. Through it all she joked and shared local stories and educated us on how to look after ourselves on the boat. We are thankful!

Millie checks out the visitors at Lo's Tea House from atop her
perch of Fiji Gold. Vinaka Millie!

But on to the real action of the day -- which is not much at all! We are coming to the end of a month of cruising with Gord and Jane Shoquist and have found ourselves back at one of our favorite spots -- Musket Cove Marina. Since arriving back in Fiji we have been touring the Yasawa Island group. In the middle of the Yasawa's is an area called 'Blue Lagoon' which apparently has some connection with a movie of the same name. We certainly enjoyed the beaches and snorkeling and spent two or three days visiting the 4 or 5 islands that protect the lagoon.

Perhaps our favorite trip was a walk across Nanuya Lailai Island to visit Lo's Tea House. The walk takes us over the top of the island and down through a wee village where we happened upon a family just sitting down for lunch on their veranda. A little shy to be walking through their 'living room' we were greeted with a broad "Bula bula" and the characteristic warm smiles of Fiji. They urged us on to the shoreline and into Lo's. As we walked down one of the same gals quickly ran ahead and opened up the teahouse as we were certain to be their only visitors this day. It was fun.

Since our stop at Blue Lagoon we have been working our way toward Vuda Marina to complete our travel loop. Back in Musket Cove we have been enjoying the abundant freshwater showers and cold beer of the Musket Cove Yacht Club. When we turned the corner to head toward the mooring balls Maureen looked at me and said "look at all the boats". Whereas we have had this spot to ourselves throughout March and April there are now perhaps a dozen boats taking up residence waiting for the surf to settle in and the fine reliable weather to take hold. It is different now -- but fun and social too.

Off to France

We have had a fun and interesting beginning of April down here. Our longtime sailing friends Gord and Jane Shoquist arrived to join us for a couple of weeks and we have taken advantage of the extra hands on deck to travel to Wallis & Futuna which are two tiny islands that are actually part of France.

We left Fiji on a Friday afternoon and sailed the 410 miles to Futuna over the first weekend that Gord and Jane were here. Our thinking was that maybe they would forget that part of the trip by the time they left Fiji.

Getting ready to leave Fiji with our friends Gord and Jane Shouist

This trip takes us northeast of Fiji and so the wind is a bit forward of beam. We motorsailed much of the way and and arrived in Futuna on Monday morning.

Since this was our first international customs and immigration clearance as the new owners of Sophrosyne we were a bit anxious about all the paperwork we may encounter. The duane agent (customs) and gendarme (immigration) were very kind, helpful and efficient and our arrival was straightforward and without incident.

It was interesting to see how different this 'first next' Pacific Island was from Fiji -- it is funny the things we noticed. For example, everyone on the island seems to drive a new Toyota Hilux 4x4 truck (in Fiji everyone -- including us -- walks or takes the bus). The one road around the island is made of concrete and although it is a bit worse for wear it is the nicest road I have seen for several months. And then there were the baguettes and Camembert in the Supermarche. Say whatever you want about Wallis & Futuna -- it cannot be denied that we are a very long way from Paris!

On our second day Gord and I went ashore to find to diesel fuel for the boat. This process had actually started the day before with Maureen making a number of inquiries on our behalf. First stop was the gas station to inquire about the cost of 'gazoil.' The next step was to find the South Pacific francs that we needed to purchase the gazoil. On this score we were in luck because this was the one day every 4 months that bank officials arrive from Wallis island to open the Futuna bank branch. We were on hand right a 8:00 when the bank opened and were amazed to find 50 or 60 people already waiting in line. At first it seemed like we were going to make slow progress because we were outside in the hot hot sun waiting for our turn in line (or so we thought). About 8:15 the bank opened and everyone piled inside to sort through their past 4 months worth of banking details. I think the gal behind the counter took some pity on me and started asking a couple of questions in French. After a few halting replies she asked me again, in English this time, "where is your wife." As soon as she realized that Maureen was not there and that I was 'useless' she took my $200 Fijian dollars and my passport and started the international money transaction. Now we get to the part of the story about banking fees and international money exchange rates... Oh well, no need to relive that pain here, in the end I did get my money and Gord and I and our six 20 litre jerry cans were back at the pump waiting to get our gazoil. (In case you are wondering, or find yourself in a similar situation some day, you may find it helpful to know that the French word for 20 litre jerry cans is -- "jerry can." The pump jockey was very helpful and had an amazing system of collecting various combinations of cash, coupons, notes for fuel purchased on credit. As we began our fill, it became comically obvious that our ambitions of filling six jerry cans were going to be sadly lacking. By the time we had 1 1/2 jerry cans -- all of the south pacific francs were gone gone gone...

Among the many talents that Gordie brings to the boat it turns out
that he is happy and skilled with a fishing rod in his hands. Here he shows off his 40 pound Mahi-mahi.
(Editor's Note, Jane should get equal credit for this catch since it was her who beat the fish lifeless
with a hammer once Gordie got it aboard..)

No matter, the sail back to Fiji was a lovely trip with 15 knot trailing winds in which we made great haste traveling an easy and gentle 7 or 8 knots per hour in glorious warm weather without the need for an engine at any point.

We did have some excitement with a 35 knot squall on our last evening at sea but we managed well and appreciated that the pelting rain was actually quite warm and refreshing (Editor's Note -- next you see Maureen you may ask her for Her version of events during the squall...)

We are in Savusavu now, again enjoying the warmth and kindness of Fiji. For those who may have followed this blog and noticed that I am effusive in my praise of Fiji -- Savusavu is better!

Pinch me.

The Smells and Sounds of Home

Imagine our suprise to see this Tofino Air Beaver coming in to land at
Mana Island. (It it Turtle Air actually but otherwise nearly identical
to our old friend.

So, we were hanging around at our newest favorite stop off of Mana Island and I could hear the very familiar sounds of a beaver coming in to land. It is amazing how the sound (and then the smell) reminds me of home. When we went to have a look, the white and green look just like Tofino Air. I imagine this was the Sechelt to Mana Island sched...?

An hour later, in comes an Otter, no doubt direct from the Fraser River?

Cool!

And then in comes the Otter. No doubt having taken off from
the Fraser River. I don't remember an inflight entertainment system
on the Harbour Air flights...?

Wilson!

We continue our gradual exploration of our new playground. Last night we moored off the northwest end of Malolo Island in a lovely little bay with nice protection from the southeast wind.

Maureen thought it would be important for us to do some exploring and try anchoring on our own hook. For my part, I was pretty content at the Musket Cove Yacht Club and could have comfortably spent a long time sitting by their lovely pool and drinking their ice cold Fiji Bitter.

So anyway, as these family decisions go, we are not at MCYC any longer and have instead begun our wee tour into the rest of the Mamamuca Islands -- slowly at first, just moving around to the other end of Malolo Island. (Lest you feel too sorry for me, I must confess that we do have a store of ice cold beer right here on the boat.)

Over water Bures at the Likuliku Lagoon Resort

We anchored without incident and found our new home in front of the Likuliku Lagoon Resort. As we arrived the nice man came out to greet us and mention that while we were more than welcome to anchor for as long as we liked, the resort itself was not open to yacht guests. He was very kind about it and even a bit apologetic and since we are pretty self contained it really was not a constraint. It did get us looking on the Internet though and Maureen came up with this website - http://www.likulikulagoon.com.

It seems pretty spectacular to me!

Castaway Island

This photo taken in the opposite direction may look familiar to some as the set of the Tom Hanks movie 'Castaway.' I have not independently verified this fact but I will certainly have my eyes open today for a weather worn volleyball.

Talking about the Weather

Enjoying the Rainbow over Malolo LeiLei.
The traditional thatched roof is covering a 4000 sq. ft. vacation home
but the view is pleasing just the same

I guess we live outdoors now... I hadn't really thought about that much before? I know that sounds funny but everything is new and, well, I just hadn't really thought about it much. I noticed the difference with the passing of our first really big thunderstorm. The photos before are of a cute and friendly storm, the one I am talking about was somewhat more sinister...

Rain squall hits the Musket Cove Yacht Club

At times like this I suppose one falls back on our childhood learning -- in my case the total of my collected wisdom was to "pull the Sunfish up onto the beach and go inside to start (or continue) a game of Risk." Obviously I am going to have to either get a Risk Game, or learn more about lightning.

30 seconds later

Not to worry because our boat was fairly well equipped with technical resource books and, well, it was raining outside so I dug right in. The answer to my questions would be in Nigel Calder's Mechanical and Electrical Manual, How to Maintain, Repair, and Improve Your Boat's Essential Systems -- or else it didn't exist.

For those unfamiliar with Calder's opus, it is about 700 pages written in six point text. I noticed early in my search that I must have an older version because even when I pinch my fingers over the pages I could not enlarge the font?

Our friends from Vuda Point. Note that there is no dinghy floating behind.
They had taken a wee excursion in their 8' inflatable to the main island.
We noticed them paddling back just before dark.

I did preserve though and was able to learn that lightning on a boat can have dramatic and dangerous consequences -- and if you are lucky it won't hit you. There are some pathetically inadequate precautions one can take, and the boat seems to be in good shape that way but I think we will need to follow the tried and true strategy of finding a bigger boat, mooring beside them, and hope it hits them instead of us.

The iPhone doesn't fully capture the grandeur of the rising full moon.
Just have to close your eyes and see it that way I guess.

Happiness Is...

I suppose there are two ways  to look at this weather chart. One  could look at it and say "well that storm is 50 or 60 miles away, not likely we are going to see any action there."

The red lines wrapped around the red ball are isobars,
(lines of equal pressure) --  really shouldn't be that
close together. Fiji is just to the left of the red ball and we are on
westernmost part of Fiji. It is nice and quiet here today, let's
see what Wednesday brings.

Or one could look at it and say "yikes solid triangular barbs on the wind arrows (more than 50 knots) one small shift we we could be in the middle of some real excitement. This morning we chose the later and left the most beautiful Musket Cove (in flat calm water) and beetled back to our favorite cyclone hole (where everyone knows our name). We were (I was) unsure what the best call was going to be but relaxed here and snugly tied up it feels like we have made a good choice. Maureen tells me that storm has a name now.

Wish you were here!

Making our way to the Pacific...

I am not sure quite what to call this post -- maybe cause we can't quite believe we are here? As the kids might say, yesterday was -- the best day ever.

We were finally able to get organized to leave Vuda Point which has been our home for the month or so. We had made arrangements for the first lift in the morning and our plan was to not tie up, just to drive away out through the channel and into the Pacific.

Everything went according to plan -- pretty much... The boys had the boat lifted and in the cradle before we got up from the table and with a quick thumbs up they took us over and plopped us into the ocean.

Maureen scouts the horizon for perilous danger...
...or maybe she is just daydreaming???

From there is was a simple matter of starting the engine (which we had done only once before) and heading out to sea. The channel out of the marina is a dedged channel with sharp nasty coral on either side. Luckily for us we were able to get 50 metres past the end of the channel before the engine stopped... Ok, now what. Prep to drop the anchor and have a look. In the end this wasn't a big issue and we were able to be underway again fairly quickly but as I thought about it I was glad we got out of the channel before we had to deal with it.

On a mooring ball at Musket Cove

Our first wee trip was over to Musket Cove Resort and Yacht Club which although entirely new to us is a well worn path from Vuda Point. We were able to follow an existing set of waypoints and were comfortable all the way over. The engine ran perfectly and we had no more drama on the crossing. It was fun.

Once we arrived we immediately carried on the Gorma tradition and cracked ourselves a celebratory drink before turning to the more significant tasks at hand such as lunch and a swim. After lunch we launched our little dinghy and headed into the Musket Cover Yacht Club to check in and scout out the facilities. Sophie at the Yacht Club asked us how long we were going to stay and we answered that we were unsure (in my mind I was thinking forever). We asked if we should be worried that we were the only boat on a mooring ball and she smiled and said "the Aussie's won't be here until the middle of May. Seems ok to me.

Here is the view we woke up to this morning!

So here we are -- the past year has certainly given us a variety of strange and unexpected twists -- and our plans have had to adapt to each successive surprise.  No idea what tomorrow will bring but today is a good day.

Wish you were here!

Where to Go!

We spotted this lovely little graphic in a recently published cruising guide (hopefully they won't mind if I re-use it here. We liked the image because it nicely sums up our next couple of months here and about. More background can be found here. Looks like fun to me!

Visiting Suva

Well -- over the past 8 or 10 days we have worked our way through the boat trying out all the various systems. We had a slow period in the middle where we were needing some help with the various pumps on the boat. Our freshwater pump, for example decided that last week was the end of its run -- but to be fair it may have had something to do with our vigorous cleaning of the water tanks. Anyway the 'Yacht Shop' which is about 20 steps away had a usuriously priced replacement pump and, well, we had no choice. We have had similar problems with the shower drain and with the head (toilet). Our fellow cruisers helped us out on the last one letting us know that a 1/2 cup of vegetable oil works wonders in the head -- who knew?

Fiji's Trans Canada Highway...

More recently we rented a car for a couple of days and drove around Viti Leuvu. We drove the King's Road around the north part of the island toward Suva (Capital). We very much enjoyed that trip and were amazing at how beautiful and rural that part of hte island is. There is not too much traffic so as you drive through each village folks hear the car before you arrive and are waiting at the side of the road with bananas, and various other tropical delights for purchase. Regrettably one person can only eat so many bananas.

Lunch at the Novotel in Lami Bay -- we'll be back