Underway Again

We have been watching the weather carefully over the last few days, trying to decide when to leave Savusavu, and the decision was made yesterday afternoon to leave today as conditions looked pretty good. We were up at 5.30am this morning, a still, sunny morning, and motored out the bay at 6.30am. The wind stayed light, between 3 and 7 knots and we enjoyed using the new big red reacher sail successfully, cruising along between 3 and 4 knots on flat seas. We are at the start of a 4-5 day cruise along the coasts of southern Vanua Levu and northern Viti Levu to the Lautoka region, anchoring in a different spot each night. We are currently anchored in Navatu Bay, a peaceful and sheltered spot behind the reefs and up near the mangroves. We have just had a visitor from the local village, a 13 year old lad on a bamboo raft, who was most interested in Katipo.

We found it hard to leave Savusavu. We so enjoyed our time there, an interesting place and very social. In between meals of Wahoo, we ate out at some great Indian restaurants with fellow yachties. We also spent quite a few fun evenings at the Savusavu yacht club watching some World Cup Rugby games while testing the Fiji Beers. Watching the All Blacks defeat the French was a particularly fun night - there were quite a few French yachties there as well as Kiwis and other nationalities - so some friendly rivalry.

We boarded the bus to Labasa at 7.30am one morning for the 2 1/2 journey over the mountains to the north coast of Vanua Levu. The craggy, jungle clad scenery was dramatic and we had plenty of time to admire it as the old bus ground up the hills in first gear! Labasa is centred in one of the main sugar cane areas of Fiji. It is harvest time at the moment and we saw dozens of trucks with huge loads making their way to the Sugar Mill in Labasa. At the mill itself, long lines of trucks were waiting to have their loads weighed and processed. Labasa has more Indo Fijians than Savusavu, making it a colourful place. We saw a couple of temples, one Hindu and one Sikh, and could not resist the Hare Krishna restaurant for morning tea and lunch. We tried some interesting delicacies such as spiced taro leaves, made into a flat patty and fried and Masala tea. We meandered through the fruit and veg and fish markets and also the general market, the air heavily laden with the scent of exotic spices. The return trip was even longer. The bus was full to overflowing with school children and workers heading home. It stopped often to drop off and collect passengers, an opportunity to see the mountain villages. It was very dark for the latter half of the journey and we were amazed to see people climb off the bus into what seemed very remote places - they disappeared into the blackness, no sign of habitation to be seen.

Tomorrow, we are heading through the Nasonisoni Passage, across Wainuni Bay to Coconut Point - we are hoping for a sunny day so that we can see our way through the coral heads.

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Savu Savu Fiji

We are really enjoying this small Fijian town. We are on a mooring within easy rowing distance of the boat club wharf and the centre of Savu Savu is only 5 minutes walk away. There are plenty of supplies in the supermarket and an excellent and very cheap fruit and vegetable market where we bought bananas, paw paw etc and a huge avocado. This type of avocado is about 4 times as big as the ones available in NZ . We are very careful to wash all fruit coming onto the boat to make sure we are not bringing stowaway insects onboard. We have found that there is an insect which looks like an earwig, but much more loathesome, which hides in bunches of bananas. We first came across them in Samoa. What we now do is to suspend the bunch on a piece of line and leave it hanging off the back of the boat for a while in the sea. After a while a gasping earwig or two comes to the surface and floats away. I found one in today's bunch and rushed off to get my camera but it had gone by the time I got back! However we will try and get a picture of one soon and hopefully organise for some more photos to go onto the blog.

We lunched on vegetable samosas and cassava chips today washed down with a Fiji Bitter beer. There are quite a few small restaurants here, especially Indian ones. There is a high percentage of Indians here, descendants of the Indian workers brought in to work in the sugar cane industry about a hundred years ago. On Monday we will take the local bus across the island to Labasa which apparently is a spectacular ride across the highlands and is one important centre of sugar cane farming.

Last night we had a meal with a bunch of Yachties at the Marina where they put on a Fijian Feast of taro, cassava, breadfruit, taro leaves and coconut sauce, crab, plantains, fish and much more all for about 7 $NZ

We will be here at least a week. We want to see a lot more of this lush island. The creek where we are anchored is surrounded by mountains densely covered with tropical rain forest.

There is huge interest in the Rugby world cup here and we will be watching the All Black game against France on Saturday at the Savusavu Yacht club bar at the Copra Shed!

The long bearded American running the moorings here is a great character and he also is an expert in Led lights which he sells for boats, so we have bought an LED anchor light to hang off the forestay since we are awaiting our replacement tricolour and anchor light which failed at the mast head in Samoa. Crewman Ted will be bringing the new mast head light with him when he comes up from Auckland next month.
We will send another blog within a few days before we leave here.
Now let me see - what is for tea tonight - oh yes Wahoo!

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Safely in SavuuSavu

We are now safely on a mooring buoy in Savu Savu in the calm of an estuary - it us just like being at home ! Great place , a bustling little town along the shores. We have just been into the yacht club for the first hot shower since May! We also had a quick shoping expedition for fruit, vegetables etc
There are many folk here who we have seen in other places and it has been good to catch up hence we have just come back to Katipo for a late blog
Had little sleep in the last 48 hours since stronger winds in latter part of trip than expected. Last night we spent 8 hours hove to in the lee of Taveuni Island which was amazingly successful, sheltered from the 20 to 25 knots with gusts to 30 in the Nanuka Passage.
We did so to take a break and get some rest and also by leaving at midnight we came into Savu Savu mid morning.
Will write more tomorrow - we are just cooking Wahoo for tea - yahoo!

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Update

Coordinates:17 05 179 58 W
Bearing:257M
Boat Speed: 5
Wind Direction:SE
Wind Strength: 20
Sea state: 1.5m swell

We are currently sailing along the Fijian coast but it will not be possible to get into Savusavu today in daylight so we will likely heave to and go in tomorrow. We have slowed down the boat speed at this point to try and just tick along !
Will write more tomorrow.

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at last an Acanthocybium Solanderi

Coordinates: 16 13 S 178 47 W
Bearing: M
Boat Speed: 3.7
Wind Direction: south but squall so will likely go back to SE
Wind Strength: 9 Kn
Sea state: mild swell

Crew health: jubiliant

Fish caught: A giant Wahoo - I just checked its full name in my fishing book - see above

A nasty squally night and heaps of rain today - must be a front going through and in the middle of this we hooked a large Wahoo this morning!
We had to immediately drop the genoa while we tried to bring him up to the boat. It was impossible to lift the gaffed fish up and over the side of the boat as he was too heavy - he must have weighed somewhere in the 35 to 40 kg range so we lowered the stern ramp and slid him up there - I have often joked with people about the fact that we use the ramp to land fish - but it works a treat!

I measured the fish for length with the gaff and if I was to pick him up with his tail touching the ground the end of his jaw would be at my eye level!
The freezer is now stocked to the top with Wahoo so we will not be fishing again for a while.
It seems like it will be a fairly slow passage to Fiji with the weather as it is.

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Bound for the Fiji Isles

Coordinates: 15 08 S 177 49 W
Bearing: 210 M
Boat Speed: 3.6 Knots
Wind Direction: NE
Wind Strength: 6.5 Kn
Sea state: slight swell

Crew health: Great

Fish caught: any moment now !

The wind is light as forecast and we are just thinking about getting out the light weather reacher sail.
We left Wallis yesterday morning at 09.00 and motored through the long lagoon to the pass out through the reef. As expected the water was flowing out at a good rate with heaps of upwellings and turbulence of the water. The South Pacific Pilot Book warns of a current which can set you onto the reef on the West side, so we were on our guard. However the current and the boat's motor
shot us out at 6.5 knots and we were on our way.
Good wind to start this leg of the voyage but today is another sunny, hot clear day with a dropping wind. We have just spied another sail on the horizon which seems strange when you are used to having the ocean to one's self. We suspect it is another yacht which left before us yesterday.
We are looking forward to reaching SavuSavu in Fiji where we can stock up again and buy more fresh fruit. There seemed limited fresh food available to buy in Wallis island although they had for example a splendid range of imported French cheese!

Today we removed the dressing and gingerly removed the half cast from Denise's wrist. The swelling has all gone and it looked pretty healthy in there! The joint is still fairly sensitive however so we have strapped it up again - it would not do to knock it at this stage.

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bound for Fiji

Coordinates: 13 42 S 176 28 W
Bearing: 210 M
Boat Speed: 5
Wind Direction: ENE
Wind Strength: fluctuates 9 to 15
Sea state:1 m swell

Crew health: great

Fish caught: just lost a Mahi mahi - he shook the hook loose as we were pulling him in !

Other points of interest: all well - we will write more tomorrow

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Still in Wallis!!

We have not left Wallis yet for 3 reasons. We wanted to get Denise's wrist a little more time to settle down, the weather was not ideal earlier in the week and we do not wish to arrive in Fiji at the weekend, as we have heard Fiji authorities charge a large additional fee for clearance on Saturday or Sunday.

We have spent the last few days quietly on the boat, a chance to do a few little jobs and to relax. There have been 2 other yachts moored in the bay with us and it has been a good time to socialise with both couples. Both will be heading to Savusavu, Fiji, around the same time as us.

Denise's wrist has improved considerably, less pain and a lot more comfortable. The half cast will, however, have to stay on for another week. Our current plan is to leave here tomorrow morning as soon as the sun is high enough for us to clearly see and navigate the reefs. The weather looks a lot better and we are hopeful the pleasant easterly wind will continue for a pleasant gentle ride down to Fiji.

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Bad news and good news from Wallis

Anchored in Gahi still and all ok. We have learned that it is pronounced Nahi and we now make more sense speaking to locals when hitching a ride!
We collected our hire car on Wednesday and gave a lift to our new anchored neighbours in the bay to customs etc to check in. They came with us that day on our tour of exploration of the island which was good fun. We first went to Mt Lulu ( 145m) for a general look over the island and lagoon then a drive right round. The most spectacular spot was a circular lake deep inside an extinct volcanic cone called Lake Lalolalo. The deep still dark waters were surrounded by cliffs about 100metres high topped with thick tropical jungle. White tropic birds soared and turned below us highlighted against the dark waters.
Mango trees grow luxuriantly here and often the mangoes lie rotting on the ground- we have enjoyed a few good ones.
The island is fairly sparsely populated with small villages here and there around the coast. There are quite a few large 15 m sailing outriggers built from plywood and smaller ones for paddling within the lagoon.
The next day Denise and I explored some of the roads we had missed the previous day - it is strange mixture here of Polynesian and French culture.
Friday morning the BAD NEWS - we rowed in to take the hire car back when unfortunately Denise slipped on the wet algae covered concrete boat ramp and banged and twisted her right wrist severely, and it was very soon quite swollen and extremely painful.
There is a small hospital in Mata-utu the main town so we went to see what could be done. The French staff were charming and most helpful and an excellent quality xray was soon done and developed. The GOOD NEWS was that there was no fracture and they applied a half cast and dressing which they recommended stay on for two weeks and plied her with some pain killers. Today it is less sore but she will have to take things easy when we are sailing.
We plan to leave here within the next 48 hours if the weather is ok bound for Fiji.

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news from Wallis

The sail down from Asau was mainly 15 to 20 knots downwind, flying just the genoa for most of the trip. So a pretty easy sail, but a bit of excitement was added with a series of rain squalls. Rain squalls are a fact of life in these latitudes and when on watch, besides watching for shipping, we have to be alert for them. Black cloud patches gather upwind giving us notice of their impending arrival. We had quite a few squalls during this voyage, many were quite light, but we also experienced the most unusual one we have had on the whole trip. As well as the black cloud, we saw in the distance a band, like a wave, of turbulent water approaching and it was moving at a phenomenal rate and was upon us within moments. It blew 36 knots for about 4 minutes and shot off like an express train into the distance - very short lived thankfully. We got the genoa down just in time - fortunately we tend to be cautious and pull down some sail as soon as we get a really sudden high increase in wind in squalls. We do not want any ripped sails (they are 23 years old now!)

The entrance to Wallis Island was interesting. Just outside the passage, there were strange currents and huge areas of upwelling of water. It is a very large lagoon that empties through a relatively narrow pass. The good news is the French authorities have everything well marked with beacons - viva La France! It was a long slow motor across the lagoon, wending our way through coral reefs to reach our anchorage at Gahi, a very small settlement.

We crossed the date line just west of Wallis and are now back on NZ time. This meant that we arrived late Friday (lost Thursday) and most businesses were closed for the weekend. On Saturday, we thought we had better check in with the local gendarmes, so set off early with our passports and boat papers, leaving the boat in the safe anchorage of Gahi, to walk our way to the main town of Mata Utu, about 10 kilometres away. There are no buses or taxis here and we had been told that the locals are quick to offer rides. Not so!!! We walked 2/3 of the way before a local woman picked us up and delivered us to the gendarmerie. And it was closed!!! We had a look around the sprawling town and wharf area. It is difficult to find anything - no street names or signs and no maps or tourist information. Fortunately, on our way back from the wharf, we saw the gendarmes returning to the police station after their long lunch, and were able to get our passports stamped. We have to go back on Monday to see customs. One of the gendarmes had a flower lei around his neck and we really felt we were in Polynesia.

We walked miles trying to find a car hire agency and no one was able or around to advise us. We eventually stumbled upon an Australian oceanographer cleaning sea shells in a bucket outside a hotel. She, together with a French guy from Wellington, NZ, are over here studying historical evidence of tsunamis and unusual shell deposits on higher ground in the island. They were able to give us a few pointers of places to go, including the names and positions of 2 car hire companies. They were both closed, so will try again on Monday when we come back to complete our immigration process. We were pleased to get a ride back to Gahi from just outside Mata Utu in a pick up truck with 3 island men. We jumped in the back of the truck and sat down and they roared off at a great speed. It took a while for Denise to realise she was sitting on top of a large machete!! They must have been on their way to their plantation.

We spent the next day recovering , relaxing on the boat and watching the local activity in the bay. There are little boats coming and going all the time and people fishing with nets near the reef. There are some quite expensive looking runabouts here, much more so then the other islands we have visited, even some jet skis. We also saw several kite surfers in Mata Utu. There are some traditional outriggers on the beach but we have not seen them in use yet. The edge of the beach has a few large empty bottles of Vin Rouge lying there!

Tuesday

Yesterday morning we had luck hitching a ride into Mata utu being picked up by a local Rugby official who was most helpful and dropped us off at customs to complete our paperwork. We decided to hire a car so we can explore the island as there is no public transport or taxis. We have arranged this for tomorrow. We even found a basic internet cafe and after a long time without contact managed to catch up on some emails. A coffee and patisserie nearby and everything was looking good. We also found a supermarket well stocked with French goodies (an amazing array of cheeses and sausages, escargots, rabbit, quail and duck to name a few) but had not realised that everything closes for a long siesta at lunch time so only had time to buy a few necessary purchases. It is a strange mix here -some large houses but many basic ones of concrete builders blocks all with corrugated iron roofs. On the other hand there are also oval shaped traditional thatched huts with satellite dishes and big four wheel drive pick ups outside in the yard.

Some folk we met in Suwarrow and then again in Apia arrived on their boat today. It is great to have some company in the bay and catching up with them again and all their news. We plan to depart for Fiji on Saturday, but, as usual, this depends on the weather.

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Bonjour from Wallis Island

We dropped anchor in Gahi Bay, Wallis Island, half an hour ago after a pleasant sail from Asau. It is a small, sheltered bay surrounded by thick forested slopes. The little settlement of Gahi on the shore looks very pretty. Wallis (or Uvea as it is sometimes known) is a French protectorate and the locals are bilingual, speaking their own Polynesian language as well as French. So we have been brushing up on a little French while in Samoa! Wallis is comprised of a huge lagoon, 12 miles by 4 miles, enclosing one large and many small islands.

We managed to get it right in terms of arrival - in fact we arrived early this morning with 5 hours to spare!! We had taken advantage of every puff of wind on the way over lest it should fade out. We hove to outside the pass waiting for slack low water. Slack water lasts half an hour if you are lucky. In certain conditions the outgoing tidal flow through the pass can be as much as 6 knots and we wanted to avoid this!! (There is in fact always an out flowing current because of seas breaking over the reefs and entering the lagoon.) It must have been a very brief slack water today - despite having the engine at full blast and the mainsail up, we were only able to creep through the pass. (Don thinks this justifies buying a larger engine when we get home. He hasn't discussed this with Denise yet!!) The wind also rose to 20 knots dead ahead. We passed many beautiful spots on our one hour journey through the lagoon to our anchorage and are looking forward to adventuring to these over the next week or two.

It is time to rest now and celebrate our safe arrival with a glass of New Zealand wine.

Bonsoir

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bound for Wallis Island

Coordinates: 13 29 S 174 58 W
Bearing: 260 M
Boat Speed:5.2 Kn
Wind Direction:ENE
Wind Strength: 11KN
Sea state: 1m swell

Crew health: Great

All going well , usual masses of black clouds periodically which sometimes give us bursts of 30 knot squalls
If wind holds hope to be at Wallis tomorrow and will write more then

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