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.