Indian wedding. Engagement Party
Way back last June I was invited by my hairdresser to attend the engagement party of her nephew. There have been a number of engagement parties at the marina but none where we were actually invited guests so we were looking forward to it.
The party was held in a community hall in the hills above Lautoka. We had the name of the area (the Rifle Club) and a phone number but no actual address. They just do not use addresses here and are lousy at giving directions. Our taxi driver set out as if he knew exactly where to go and then admitted he really had no idea where we were going. Lucky we had that phone number. After repeated phone calls and several dirt roads he managed to get us to the right place. We had been invited for 7:00 and it was now 7:45 but this is Fiji so nothing had really happened yet. Luckily I had decided to wear the lovely Indian dress that I bought for Chris’ wedding. The women were all dressed in the most magnificent saris in brilliant colors, covered in jewels, dramatic make up, high healed shoes. The men were a different story. Except for the grooms family, they were mostly wearing t-shirts and sandals. Women were seated in rows of chairs set up theater style while the men gathered at the back of the room to drink kava.
The happy couple finally arrived to the music of horns and drums and were escorted to the front of the room by dancing women and seated under an elaborate canopy. The Indian music actually reminds me of Scottish bagpipes. There followed a long and to us incomprehensible ceremony with chanting from the priest and speeches from dozens of men. At one point a woman read the familiar English wedding vows and rings were exchanged but this was still just the engagement and the wedding would not be for 6 more months.
Eventually young men passed down the rows of seats handing out Indian sweets Even though the speeches were still going on, the women began moving to the side of the room where food was being served. The dining set up was interesting. There were long planks set up along the wall, one about knee level and another a few feet higher, two sets of planks with a three foot space between them. We seated ourselves on the lower plank and used the upper plank as a table. Servers, all men, passed up and down between the rows of plank tables, handing out plates and serving food; curry, rice pilau, cabbage salad, dahl, chutney, roti. There were no utensils, everyone ate with their fingers using bits of roti to pick up the food. This worked OK with the larger bits but not so well with the dahl and I ran out of roti long before the food was gone. The other women managed to look elegant as they scooped up the food with manicured nails and bangles on their wrists. I soon had food all over my hands and had used up the one small napkin provided. Luckily the servers returned offering extra roti. As each person finished, servers passed by to collect the plates and offer a bowl of water to wash sticky fingers. As the first group finished eating and went back to their seats, more people took their place and the serving began again. Eventually some of the men joined in but not all of them.
Meanwhile the speeches continued, eventually segueing into a DJ who ramped up the volume on the sound system and introduced the dancers, pure Bollywood. Alan and I decided that it was time to go. The music was way too loud and not really our style and it looked like the party was going to continue until the wee hours.
Indian Wedding Day 2 of 3
We had not expected to be here for the wedding in December, but here we are so when the invitation was extended again I accepted gladly. The first event was head at the groom’s father’s house and the invitation was to come for a family dinner. When we arrived it was obvious it was not just a family dinner but a full out event, complete with canopies, rows of chairs, a dining area, etc . Once again it was up in the hills The directions given were to turn at the new grocery store that is not open yet and then go just a little father and it is right there. “Ask anyone for the house of Vijay’s hair salon.” Numerous dirt roads, wrong turns and phone calls later we arrived at a lovely home on top of the hills. And once again we were early, very early, No one was there except two older men sitting on the porch talking in Hindi. After some confusion about who we were and how we had been invited, they were delighted to share family stories with us. They turned out to be the grandfather and uncle of the groom. Their family had come here, actually been brought here, in the 1870s to work on the sugar cane fields. They were not slaves but very close to it. Little by little they managed to save some money and start businesses but Indians were not allowed to own land until very recently. The fact that they now have a big beautiful house in the hills and enough money to throw an extravagant wedding was a point of pride. Indians and Fijians by and large live in separate communities and have separate rituals and life styles. There is bad mouthing between the two groups: “Fijians are all ……”. “Indians are …” but no outright hostility Mostly it is live and let live.
Little by little I have been piecing together the details of Indian weddings. The first night the bride and groom’s family each hold a family dinner. Night 2, the one we were invited to is a. night of preparation and dedication. Again the two families are separate. Night 3 is the actual wedding. So here we were at night 2. As before, the women are dressed to the hilt and sit in the front rows. The men are much more casual and sit in the back and doing kava. Alan joined the men in the back and they went through several basins of kava before the nigh was over. The groom came forward, escorted by several family members, one of whom carried a shrine of Vishnu. They processed around the canopy several times, stopping at each corner. Then the groom was seated and the various family members approached and rubbed his face and arms with a white paste, touched his head with oil and gave him a belt leaf. When this ceremony was over they all processed back into the house.
People relaxed and chit chatted. And then a little while later the horns wailed and the drums pounded and the whole ritual was repeated with different participants and with the groom wearing a different shirt. I lost track of how many times this happened but I am sure it was over a dozen. I found out later that he was trying on and displaying all of the new clothes that had been given to him. Apparently the same thing was happening at the bride’s house at the same time with saris rather than shirts. One of the frustrating things was that whenever I asked the people around me what was happening and what it all meant I was met with blank stares and told it was tradition. Alan fared better. He was seated next to a teacher who was delighted to fill him in on all the ritual. Apparently the groom is considered to be the embodiment of Vishnu from tonight until after the wedding. Unfortunately Alan is not as interested in this stuff as I am so there are still a lot of gaps that tI need to sort out.
Eventually it was announced that food was ready and the women began moving towards the long plank serving area. Speeches continued and the DJ was setting up. We decided it was time to go. We had told our taxi driver that we would call him about 10:00 so he should have been waiting for our call to come get us but the phone rang and rang with no answer. I finally tracked down our hostess and told her our plight. She got her husband who found a buddy with a car and they took us back to the marina, drinking beer all the way.
Indian Wedding Day 3. Wedding
Finally the actual wedding day. This event was held back at the community hall at the Rifle Club where the engagement party was held. After our abandonment by last night’s taxi driver we decided to track down Ali, our driver from the engagement party, on the theory that he knew where the place was. Turns out he was on vacation but when I called him he said he would be happy to take us. Actually he sent his son to pick up up and take us to his house where we transferred to his car. Turned out he was also going to a wedding tonight but he could easily drop us and pick us up again. It is a very small community in Fiji.
All the elements were the same; women in the front, men in the back, planks for serving food along the side, an elaborate canopy on the stage. This ceremony was much more religious and even more incomprehensible. It seemed to go on forever with much chanting and singing by two priests in elaborate costumes. Lots of processing and bowing and offerings to the gods. Several time coconuts were split in half with a single stroke of a machete. The bride and the groom each gave their seven vows. And of course speeches and music and dancing. Our taxi driver arrived when summoned and deposited us back at the marina before returning to his family wedding.
Sunday, January 28, 2018
Friday, January 19, 2018
We spent a little over a week in Denerau and it rained every day. Some days it was a light drizzle and some days it was a downpour. Sometimes we just stayed on the boat and sometimes we waited it out ashore. We had two little awnings up over the hatches but even so, everything was damp. Capt Jack’s litter box flooded and had to be dumped overboard. Luckily I had a spare bag of litter. Several times the dingy filled up almost to the top and had to be bailed. And then came the ultimate gully washer.
I had decided to take advantage of a break in the rain to get the laundry done. I rounded up the dirty clothes, soap and a book and had Alan row me ashore The washing machines here are better and cheaper than the ones at Vuda. You actually get hot water without paying extra for it. A couple of hours later everything was sparkling clean, dry and folded. I called Alan to pick me up. We put the clean laundry in the dingy and then Alan said that he needed to go talk to the electrician. Just as we headed back to the dock the sky opened and the rain came pouring down in buckets. We ducked into the closest restaurant as the staff struggled to roll down the storm screens. All I could think of was my nice clean, dry laundry and the book that I had been reading which was in the laundry basket. The minute there was a break we ran for the dock, grabbed the laundry, and my book, and made another dash for the closest restaurant. A glance at the sky had made it clear that we did not have time to row back to the boat.
The wind and rain continued for over an hour while we sat at Cardo’s Restaurant and drank draft Fiji Bitter and ate taro chips with the bag of damp laundry by our feet. By the time it was over the marina office was closed and I did not have any more laundry tokens so we rowed back to the boat. Once again, the inside of Rhapsody was festooned with damp clothes hanging from every hook. When I went to put them away the next day I discovered that the closet had a leak so all of those clothes were damp. Guess I will just wait until we get back to Vuda and hang them all out on the line, if the rain ever stops.
I had decided to take advantage of a break in the rain to get the laundry done. I rounded up the dirty clothes, soap and a book and had Alan row me ashore The washing machines here are better and cheaper than the ones at Vuda. You actually get hot water without paying extra for it. A couple of hours later everything was sparkling clean, dry and folded. I called Alan to pick me up. We put the clean laundry in the dingy and then Alan said that he needed to go talk to the electrician. Just as we headed back to the dock the sky opened and the rain came pouring down in buckets. We ducked into the closest restaurant as the staff struggled to roll down the storm screens. All I could think of was my nice clean, dry laundry and the book that I had been reading which was in the laundry basket. The minute there was a break we ran for the dock, grabbed the laundry, and my book, and made another dash for the closest restaurant. A glance at the sky had made it clear that we did not have time to row back to the boat.
The wind and rain continued for over an hour while we sat at Cardo’s Restaurant and drank draft Fiji Bitter and ate taro chips with the bag of damp laundry by our feet. By the time it was over the marina office was closed and I did not have any more laundry tokens so we rowed back to the boat. Once again, the inside of Rhapsody was festooned with damp clothes hanging from every hook. When I went to put them away the next day I discovered that the closet had a leak so all of those clothes were damp. Guess I will just wait until we get back to Vuda and hang them all out on the line, if the rain ever stops.
Sunday, January 14, 2018
Dec 2017, End of the year
December 2017
Vuda Marina
Little by little everyone is leaving Vuda. Some put their boats in a cyclone pit and fly off to visit friends and family for the cyclone season. Some grab a last weather window and set sail for New Zealand. Some have gone to Denerau, Lautoka Musket Cove or Savusavu where the docking/mooring fees are less and anchoring is free. By the middle of the month there are only a few of us left here. The weather is actually lovely. Clouds , wind and frequent showers keep it cool enough that we actually need a sheet at night. One fan keeps us cool during the day.
I started last May provisioning Rhapsody for what I thought was going to be our trip to Hawaii. Since we never left we have all of those provisions, so I have decided no shopping until everything is used up. Little by little the cupboards are emptying but it is still going to take some time to finish it all. We have had some interesting and unexpected meals but by and large it looks like I did a good job with the provisioning. Towards the end of the month I started adding a few fresh vegetables and meat. Now that we are back in the marina we can freeze our jugs of water and keep the ice box cool if not cold. By the beginning of Jan we still had food left and our monthly expenses for food the last 2 months are about $150 US.
None of our main projects have gotten very far and now are completely stalled for the holidays. The water maker, generator problem remains unresolved. It seems like we need to buy a new American generator. I think we should wait until we get to American Samoa. We know we can make it that far on what we can carry. Alan wants to take care of it now to be sure that there is not something else wrong.
The SSB radio receives but does not transmit. We finally made email contact with the Pacific Seafarers Net and between us decided that we need to replace the wide copper strip antenna that had been damaged. Alan installed a new KISS antenna last year and we give up on the copper strip and allowed it to fall apart but the radio no longer works so we think we need put the old antenna back. Rhapsody came with a long strip of copper that has been kicking around all this time so we will use it to replace the workout one. Unfortunately, it is about 10 feet too short. Where on earth are we going to find a strip of copper about 3” wide and 10” long in Fiji?
The third must do job is the solar panels. We have 2 small panels that work well but just sit on the deck. We really need to install them more permanently. Alan talked to Yacht Help about replacing the cable life lines with rigid stainless steal ones. We should hear back in a few weeks, after the holidays.
Our Christmas this year was very quiet. The weather continue cloudy and windy as a low trough move past. I made a roast beef dinner for Christmas Eve and we went to the restaurant for brunch on Christmas Day. They do not have mimosas on the menu but they do offer champagne and orange juice so I ordered a glass of each and we made our own. The highlight of the day was a long FaceTime call home to watch the family open presents. So glad the technology exists to allow us to see each other halfway around the world. Seeing everyone together, so happy makes it easier to continue this far flung adventure of ours.
Vuda Marina
Little by little everyone is leaving Vuda. Some put their boats in a cyclone pit and fly off to visit friends and family for the cyclone season. Some grab a last weather window and set sail for New Zealand. Some have gone to Denerau, Lautoka Musket Cove or Savusavu where the docking/mooring fees are less and anchoring is free. By the middle of the month there are only a few of us left here. The weather is actually lovely. Clouds , wind and frequent showers keep it cool enough that we actually need a sheet at night. One fan keeps us cool during the day.
I started last May provisioning Rhapsody for what I thought was going to be our trip to Hawaii. Since we never left we have all of those provisions, so I have decided no shopping until everything is used up. Little by little the cupboards are emptying but it is still going to take some time to finish it all. We have had some interesting and unexpected meals but by and large it looks like I did a good job with the provisioning. Towards the end of the month I started adding a few fresh vegetables and meat. Now that we are back in the marina we can freeze our jugs of water and keep the ice box cool if not cold. By the beginning of Jan we still had food left and our monthly expenses for food the last 2 months are about $150 US.
None of our main projects have gotten very far and now are completely stalled for the holidays. The water maker, generator problem remains unresolved. It seems like we need to buy a new American generator. I think we should wait until we get to American Samoa. We know we can make it that far on what we can carry. Alan wants to take care of it now to be sure that there is not something else wrong.
The SSB radio receives but does not transmit. We finally made email contact with the Pacific Seafarers Net and between us decided that we need to replace the wide copper strip antenna that had been damaged. Alan installed a new KISS antenna last year and we give up on the copper strip and allowed it to fall apart but the radio no longer works so we think we need put the old antenna back. Rhapsody came with a long strip of copper that has been kicking around all this time so we will use it to replace the workout one. Unfortunately, it is about 10 feet too short. Where on earth are we going to find a strip of copper about 3” wide and 10” long in Fiji?
The third must do job is the solar panels. We have 2 small panels that work well but just sit on the deck. We really need to install them more permanently. Alan talked to Yacht Help about replacing the cable life lines with rigid stainless steal ones. We should hear back in a few weeks, after the holidays.
Our Christmas this year was very quiet. The weather continue cloudy and windy as a low trough move past. I made a roast beef dinner for Christmas Eve and we went to the restaurant for brunch on Christmas Day. They do not have mimosas on the menu but they do offer champagne and orange juice so I ordered a glass of each and we made our own. The highlight of the day was a long FaceTime call home to watch the family open presents. So glad the technology exists to allow us to see each other halfway around the world. Seeing everyone together, so happy makes it easier to continue this far flung adventure of ours.
Dec 1, 2017 Back in Vuda
Dec 1, 2017. Back in Vuda Marina.
So we are back after two months and created like long lost friends by the staff. I had emailed several days earlier and we were expected. Our old slip was waiting but we actually decided to move a little bit further along, next to High Aspect. High Aspect is a beautiful 70’ charter sailboat and they pay for an extra slip so that they will not have anyone banging into them. This means we also will not have and one banging into us. Lots of room between us to launch the dingy and no way for Jack Sparrow to jump onto the boat next door. The other side of us is an equally large but not nearly so beautiful boat from Russia. It has been tied up in the same spot for 2 years with no one aboard so we do not have to worry about noisy neighbors on that side either.
Almost all of our friends from last year have left, either taken their boats away for cyclone or put the boat in a pit and flown off to visit friends. It is very quiet here. Also very hot and buggy. First order of business is to put away the blankets what we had gotten out for cruising and put up the big sun awning. Second is a trop to town to buy a fan, a new hose and some fresh vegetables and meat. Now that we are back I the marina we can start putting our water jugs in their freezer and once again have a cool ice box.
One of my first projects now that we are back and plugged into shore power is to replace the plastic cover on our mattress. It has several tears and the sticking is coming apart on one side. Obviously it is a project that should be done all in one day so we can sleep on it at night. I tracked down some shower curtain material in town, planned carefully, cut and pinned everything. When I was all ready to stitch I hauled the mattress out onto the roof of the cabin where I can get to it and proceeded to remove the old cover. I hauled my sewing machine out and set it up, ready to get to work and it would not run. It is a nice new Mexican Singer machine given to me by our friends on Mary Madeline when they sold their boat. Unlike every other sewing machine I have ever had it is not set up for personal maintenance. It does not come apart easily. Some areas are impossible to get to and the manual is not much good. So the mattress went back onto the bed, naked, while I tried to figure to what was wrong. Thank heavens it is not raining these days since the roof over the bed leaks. After several days of fiddling and searching the internet I finally found the problem. The bobbin case had rusted and was not turning. Once I got it off and cleaned and oiled, I was back in business. Most of a week was devoted to rebuilding the captains chair in the cockpit and fixing up the sun awnings.
So we are back after two months and created like long lost friends by the staff. I had emailed several days earlier and we were expected. Our old slip was waiting but we actually decided to move a little bit further along, next to High Aspect. High Aspect is a beautiful 70’ charter sailboat and they pay for an extra slip so that they will not have anyone banging into them. This means we also will not have and one banging into us. Lots of room between us to launch the dingy and no way for Jack Sparrow to jump onto the boat next door. The other side of us is an equally large but not nearly so beautiful boat from Russia. It has been tied up in the same spot for 2 years with no one aboard so we do not have to worry about noisy neighbors on that side either.
Almost all of our friends from last year have left, either taken their boats away for cyclone or put the boat in a pit and flown off to visit friends. It is very quiet here. Also very hot and buggy. First order of business is to put away the blankets what we had gotten out for cruising and put up the big sun awning. Second is a trop to town to buy a fan, a new hose and some fresh vegetables and meat. Now that we are back I the marina we can start putting our water jugs in their freezer and once again have a cool ice box.
One of my first projects now that we are back and plugged into shore power is to replace the plastic cover on our mattress. It has several tears and the sticking is coming apart on one side. Obviously it is a project that should be done all in one day so we can sleep on it at night. I tracked down some shower curtain material in town, planned carefully, cut and pinned everything. When I was all ready to stitch I hauled the mattress out onto the roof of the cabin where I can get to it and proceeded to remove the old cover. I hauled my sewing machine out and set it up, ready to get to work and it would not run. It is a nice new Mexican Singer machine given to me by our friends on Mary Madeline when they sold their boat. Unlike every other sewing machine I have ever had it is not set up for personal maintenance. It does not come apart easily. Some areas are impossible to get to and the manual is not much good. So the mattress went back onto the bed, naked, while I tried to figure to what was wrong. Thank heavens it is not raining these days since the roof over the bed leaks. After several days of fiddling and searching the internet I finally found the problem. The bobbin case had rusted and was not turning. Once I got it off and cleaned and oiled, I was back in business. Most of a week was devoted to rebuilding the captains chair in the cockpit and fixing up the sun awnings.
Thursday, January 11, 2018
Nov 20, 2017 Musket Cove
Musket Cove Nov 20-25
Denerau feels very much like San Diego or Newport Beach or any other pricy waterfront development; fancy house on the water, each with it’s own dock, lots of restaurants and tourist shops. It is close to the airport and the departure point for all of the ferries, tour boats and island cruise ships. Alan counted 18 boats coming and going one afternoon. It is also home port to a number of super yachts giant boats some of them bigger than the cruise ships with their own helicopters. We spent about a week at the dock here, mostly sleeping and dealing with some of the issues that had come up on our trip. The two biggest issues are. The SSB radio, which receives but does not broadcast, and the ongoing watermaker/generator problem. I did some much needed shopping and stocked up on beer and wine, meat and vegetables.
Thanksgiving found us at Musket Cove Resourt, a short sail across the bay and a favorite of all the yachties. There were only a few other boats there when we arrived but one by one, others showed and there was a good sized crowed for the traditional barbecue potluck on the beach. We spent several days here, swimming, snorkeling, being still more lazy. We took a dive trip out to the reef and rented a Hobie cat for an afternoon. We had not realized before that Malolo is like the other islands in that no alcohol is for sale in the markets. You can only get it a few hours a day from a back room at the hotel.
The highlight of this visit was my new kitten. I so enjoyed having a cat on board last year that I had decided that I was going to have one this year too. I had planned on contacting the local Humane Society when we got back to see if they had a kitten I could foster. Whenever they found a home for it I would give it beck and take another one. Our last night at the bar I was explaining my idea to the waitress when she said that they had just found two abandoned kittens and one of them was black. I have always had a soft spot for black cats. After she promised to take it back when we left Fiji, I said I would I would take it. She called her son who showed up with a cardboard box containing a tiny, fierce, hissing bundle of fir. It was so young it’s eyes had not finished changing color yet. We loaded the box into the dingy and set off across the bay to Rhapsody. Surprisingly, he did not seem to be frightened of the outboard. I guess it sounded like purring. I had accidentally kept one bag of kitty litter when I gave away Raijeli last year so that problem was taken care of. One tin of tuna later and the little waif was snuggled down for a long nap. Next morning we headed back to Vuda. To our surprise, he was not bothered by the engine noise at all. He was named Capt Jack Sparrow. Then name seemed to suit. Even when we found out that she was a girl rather than a boy we kept the name. The Fiji language does not really distinguish between the sexes anyway and we were used to it. After all there were a number of women pirates back in the old days.
Denerau feels very much like San Diego or Newport Beach or any other pricy waterfront development; fancy house on the water, each with it’s own dock, lots of restaurants and tourist shops. It is close to the airport and the departure point for all of the ferries, tour boats and island cruise ships. Alan counted 18 boats coming and going one afternoon. It is also home port to a number of super yachts giant boats some of them bigger than the cruise ships with their own helicopters. We spent about a week at the dock here, mostly sleeping and dealing with some of the issues that had come up on our trip. The two biggest issues are. The SSB radio, which receives but does not broadcast, and the ongoing watermaker/generator problem. I did some much needed shopping and stocked up on beer and wine, meat and vegetables.
Thanksgiving found us at Musket Cove Resourt, a short sail across the bay and a favorite of all the yachties. There were only a few other boats there when we arrived but one by one, others showed and there was a good sized crowed for the traditional barbecue potluck on the beach. We spent several days here, swimming, snorkeling, being still more lazy. We took a dive trip out to the reef and rented a Hobie cat for an afternoon. We had not realized before that Malolo is like the other islands in that no alcohol is for sale in the markets. You can only get it a few hours a day from a back room at the hotel.
The highlight of this visit was my new kitten. I so enjoyed having a cat on board last year that I had decided that I was going to have one this year too. I had planned on contacting the local Humane Society when we got back to see if they had a kitten I could foster. Whenever they found a home for it I would give it beck and take another one. Our last night at the bar I was explaining my idea to the waitress when she said that they had just found two abandoned kittens and one of them was black. I have always had a soft spot for black cats. After she promised to take it back when we left Fiji, I said I would I would take it. She called her son who showed up with a cardboard box containing a tiny, fierce, hissing bundle of fir. It was so young it’s eyes had not finished changing color yet. We loaded the box into the dingy and set off across the bay to Rhapsody. Surprisingly, he did not seem to be frightened of the outboard. I guess it sounded like purring. I had accidentally kept one bag of kitty litter when I gave away Raijeli last year so that problem was taken care of. One tin of tuna later and the little waif was snuggled down for a long nap. Next morning we headed back to Vuda. To our surprise, he was not bothered by the engine noise at all. He was named Capt Jack Sparrow. Then name seemed to suit. Even when we found out that she was a girl rather than a boy we kept the name. The Fiji language does not really distinguish between the sexes anyway and we were used to it. After all there were a number of women pirates back in the old days.
Nov 12, 2017 Moala to Momi Bay
Nov 12, Moala to Momi bay
Flat calm, overcast. We motored our way out through the reefs again and turned south towards SuvaWe were expecting light winds and that is what we got. A couple of times we put the sails up but it just was not worth it. For whatever reason our autopilot was not working. Possibly because we are too close to the date line? I don’t know if that makes a difference or not. Need to check it out. So that was our day, taking turns on the helm with the engine on, no wind, overcast sky but warm. Towards evening it started to get squally and we got a few rain showers. Since the mizzen sail was not up I was able to rig the little awning over the cockpit and provide at least some protection from the rain for whoever was driving. As the sky got dark in the evening, we started to see a glow off in the distance which we finally figured out was the city lights of Suva. Suva is not really a very big city and it was amazing how far out to sea the lights could be seen. It actually made a nice target to steer by.
All day, all night, taking turns. Our plan was to sail past Suva since it is not a very nice harbor and stop just up the way. Serua Harbor looked good on the charts, a narrow entrance which opened up into a wide, protected bay. It was even labeled public anchorage. But as we got closer we could see no sign of the opening. Instead there was spray flying everywhere as we sailed along the outside of the reef. The wind had come up by now and it was also high tide. We were ready for a break but this was not going to work. Once again caution won out over adventure. If we had a decent cruising guide to Fiji we might have chanced it but since we did not we decided to move on. As we headed back out away from the reef we were approached by a large tug boat which gave us a call on the radio. They were just checking to be sure we were OK. Nice.
There was possibly another harbor a little way up the coast but we decided to just keep going until we were off the the main entrance in the reef and then heave to for the rest of the night. Meanwhile the weather had gotten worse. Wind had picked up and there were thunderstorms over the land. Once again, all of the electronics went into the oven for safe keeping. Luckily the lightening stayed over the land and we stayed well off of the coast. Just about dark we decided that we had gone far enough. We hove to off Sigatoka for dinner and a good night’s sleep.
Next morning we woke to find Rhapsody tossing all over the place on very rough seas with 2 meter swells. We had drifted three miles the wrong direction overnight, not towards land ,thank heavens, but away from our destination. Apparently there is a very strong current here. When you heave to the tiller and the sail are in opposition so that the boat does not sail away with the wind but it is still at the mercy of the current. Sails and motor on we spent the next few hours regaining the ground we had lost overnight, tacking and jibing to avoid the many reefs. About noon we finally made it to the entrance to the mail reef which surrounds the western side of Vitu Levy.. Usually any time we get into close quarters or tricky situations Alan takes the tiller but I decided that this time I was going to do it. The channel was reasonably wide and very well marked and the iPad was working fine. Thirty minutes later I brought us into Momi Bay and Alan dropped anchor. The only glitch was that we had both forgotten that the reefed mizzen sail was up and when the anchor struck we immediately started swinging wildly. Luckily there was very little wind in the bay and it only took a minute to get the sail down. I did it. Ok, not really such a big deal, not really a very tricky passage but still I was feeling pretty proud. Hopefully we will have more chances this season to get out of the marina so that I can practice more.
Mom Bay is a lovely anchorage just inside the reef. It s about 25 feet deep with a good bottom, the bank is thick with mangrove trees and seems very deserted. No wide sandy beaches here. There are a few small houses on shore and what looks like it might be a resort over on the point but really very quiet. We had a swim, dinner a good night’s sleep and the next day we were in Denerau. We tied up to the wharf just as about a dozen of our sailor friends were gathering for a party on another boat. Cold beer at last. The perfect end to the trip.
Flat calm, overcast. We motored our way out through the reefs again and turned south towards SuvaWe were expecting light winds and that is what we got. A couple of times we put the sails up but it just was not worth it. For whatever reason our autopilot was not working. Possibly because we are too close to the date line? I don’t know if that makes a difference or not. Need to check it out. So that was our day, taking turns on the helm with the engine on, no wind, overcast sky but warm. Towards evening it started to get squally and we got a few rain showers. Since the mizzen sail was not up I was able to rig the little awning over the cockpit and provide at least some protection from the rain for whoever was driving. As the sky got dark in the evening, we started to see a glow off in the distance which we finally figured out was the city lights of Suva. Suva is not really a very big city and it was amazing how far out to sea the lights could be seen. It actually made a nice target to steer by.
All day, all night, taking turns. Our plan was to sail past Suva since it is not a very nice harbor and stop just up the way. Serua Harbor looked good on the charts, a narrow entrance which opened up into a wide, protected bay. It was even labeled public anchorage. But as we got closer we could see no sign of the opening. Instead there was spray flying everywhere as we sailed along the outside of the reef. The wind had come up by now and it was also high tide. We were ready for a break but this was not going to work. Once again caution won out over adventure. If we had a decent cruising guide to Fiji we might have chanced it but since we did not we decided to move on. As we headed back out away from the reef we were approached by a large tug boat which gave us a call on the radio. They were just checking to be sure we were OK. Nice.
There was possibly another harbor a little way up the coast but we decided to just keep going until we were off the the main entrance in the reef and then heave to for the rest of the night. Meanwhile the weather had gotten worse. Wind had picked up and there were thunderstorms over the land. Once again, all of the electronics went into the oven for safe keeping. Luckily the lightening stayed over the land and we stayed well off of the coast. Just about dark we decided that we had gone far enough. We hove to off Sigatoka for dinner and a good night’s sleep.
Next morning we woke to find Rhapsody tossing all over the place on very rough seas with 2 meter swells. We had drifted three miles the wrong direction overnight, not towards land ,thank heavens, but away from our destination. Apparently there is a very strong current here. When you heave to the tiller and the sail are in opposition so that the boat does not sail away with the wind but it is still at the mercy of the current. Sails and motor on we spent the next few hours regaining the ground we had lost overnight, tacking and jibing to avoid the many reefs. About noon we finally made it to the entrance to the mail reef which surrounds the western side of Vitu Levy.. Usually any time we get into close quarters or tricky situations Alan takes the tiller but I decided that this time I was going to do it. The channel was reasonably wide and very well marked and the iPad was working fine. Thirty minutes later I brought us into Momi Bay and Alan dropped anchor. The only glitch was that we had both forgotten that the reefed mizzen sail was up and when the anchor struck we immediately started swinging wildly. Luckily there was very little wind in the bay and it only took a minute to get the sail down. I did it. Ok, not really such a big deal, not really a very tricky passage but still I was feeling pretty proud. Hopefully we will have more chances this season to get out of the marina so that I can practice more.
Mom Bay is a lovely anchorage just inside the reef. It s about 25 feet deep with a good bottom, the bank is thick with mangrove trees and seems very deserted. No wide sandy beaches here. There are a few small houses on shore and what looks like it might be a resort over on the point but really very quiet. We had a swim, dinner a good night’s sleep and the next day we were in Denerau. We tied up to the wharf just as about a dozen of our sailor friends were gathering for a party on another boat. Cold beer at last. The perfect end to the trip.
Monday, January 8, 2018
Nov 10, 2017 Moala
Moala. Nov 10, 2017
Out of the channel and away from the island the clouds lift a little. The course is due south for 24 hours. Wind is light but from the east so finally we can hoist the sails. It gradually picks up during the day until we are doing a steady 5 knots on a beam reach. Alan gets the wind vane to work so we do not have to hold onto the tiller all the time, we can just sit back and keep an eye on the compass. It is still overcast and choppy but actually a lovely sail. Late in the afternoon we caught another fish. No drama this time. Threw the line over. Pulled it in an hour later with an already weakened fish on it. Tossed it into the cockpit where it died a few minutes later. No whacking, no bloody mess. About 12” long, just right for dinner for 2.
About midnight a half moon came up, dodging in and out of the clouds. There were a few stars and lots of sheet lightening. At one point there was something that looked like a green and orange rocket, streaking down the sky and disappearing into the ocean. A meteor? A bit of space junk? The wind stayed true and Louise the wind vane held the course.
Just about dawn we once again lost the GPS signal. Moala is right on the dateline so we were expecting this. Perfect timing. We dropped the jib made a sharp right turn and motored west for about an hour until the GPS came back on and we were just off the entrance to the reef. Then we hove to for a nap and breakfast. After breakfast we headed for the village. For the first time our charts let us down. There was just no detail. It looked OK until you zoomed in and then it vanished and we were left with amorphous blobs. We had promised to go to this village because a friend of ours is from there so we decided to see if we could do it. If we run into trouble we can always turn around and head back out. Slowly, slowly, with me on the bow to keep an eye out, we crept through what should be the passage in the reef. Slowly, slowly. And then, just as we were coming up on what looked like a good anchorage the depth went from 60’ to 25’ and I could suddenly see very clearly through the water to coral reefs everywhere. I yelled, Alan stopped and reversed We quickly decided that this was a bad idea. Just as we were turning to leave a boat came racing out from shore and pulled along side. Police! Now what? They gestured us to follow them and escorted us around the corner to a spot just off the beach where we could anchor in 25’ of sand. Once we had the anchor set they came on board to welcome us and see our paperwork. Turned out the police chief was also the village chief and was delighted to accept our gift of kava right then and there so that was taken care of and we were “free to move about the island”
The reason we were at Moala was because a friend who works in the marina heard we were going to the Lau and suggested we visit here since that is where her family is from. She neglected to make it clear that she had left there when she was five and had never gone back We also did not have her family name and learned later she actually lived with an aunt and uncle during that time. No wonder no one knew who we were asking for. I actually had her last name on my phone but of course my phone was not working. One of the policemen offered me his phone and I send both voice mail and text telling her we had arrived in her village and would she please call back and give the nice policeman her family name.
Naroi turned out to be a charming village, one of the nicest we have visited. Like Lomolomo, there is a strong Tongan influence. Most of the places we have been in Fiji the houses are in a state of disrepair with rusting roofs, broken boards, pealing paint in a mishmash of colors. Here everything looked freshly painted and well maintained. There were wide lawns between the houses with lovely flowering trees and shrubs. Horses grazed here and there. A cement path lead along the waterfront and another one meandered along the back of the village and up the hill to the church. We wandered down to the end of the village and back along the waterfront occasionally asking if anyone knew of the family of our friend. Back at the village I tracked down the market which was actually nothing more that a room in someone’s house. As usual in the smaller villages, you need to stand at the door and ask for that you want. No browsing. When I asked if they had either chicken or beer I was told no. But they had span, canned tuna, paper goods. fruit cocktail, breakfast crackers. By and large Fijians have a pretty limited diet. They grow cassava and taro, some vegetables. There are lots of chickens around and they catch fish. I had seen children with what looked like popsicles so I backtracked to where they were lined up at one of the houses. I was assured this was the place. The family had a freezer and made popcicles out of fruit juice poured into a paper cup. Perfect for a hot day. I was soon a sticky mess as they melted and ran all down my arms but it was worth it.
The post office across from the police station sold internet top ups so we can once again check in. Unfortunately, service is limited. We finally found a spot along the shore half way back to the boat where there was a good signal and we sat on a large rock to once again check the weather. Still looks good.
Just as we were ready to head back tot he boat, our police friend caught up with us and told us he had identified the family we were looking for. He escorted us back to their house and then also took us the the house of the peace corps workers who were from San Diego. We had a lovely afternoon visiting and come away loaded with fresh mangos
When we finally got back to the boat in the late afternoon the tide was out and we realized that we were anchored way too close to the reef. It was only about 50 feet off the stern. If we dragged at all we would be on it and there was a fairly brisk wind blowing. So we started the engine and then Alan raised the anchor just off the bottom while I headed us away from shore, into deeper water where Alan dropped anchor again. We are still close but this should be fine.
When we were in the village Alan was told that he should remove his had as it was disrespectful to wear one. We had heard that hats and shoes should be removed inside homes and especially in the presence of a chief but never in a whole village. Nonetheless he complied. Don’t forget the village chief is also a police officer. Better not to offend. Thank heavens I had worn a sulu and a blouse with sleeves. Unfortunately as a result of walking around in the sun all day without a hat, Alan was miserable that night with what I guess was heat stroke so he spent the next day in bed. We never did get back to spend more time with our new friends as we had promised. The following day we left Moala headed for Suva.
Out of the channel and away from the island the clouds lift a little. The course is due south for 24 hours. Wind is light but from the east so finally we can hoist the sails. It gradually picks up during the day until we are doing a steady 5 knots on a beam reach. Alan gets the wind vane to work so we do not have to hold onto the tiller all the time, we can just sit back and keep an eye on the compass. It is still overcast and choppy but actually a lovely sail. Late in the afternoon we caught another fish. No drama this time. Threw the line over. Pulled it in an hour later with an already weakened fish on it. Tossed it into the cockpit where it died a few minutes later. No whacking, no bloody mess. About 12” long, just right for dinner for 2.
About midnight a half moon came up, dodging in and out of the clouds. There were a few stars and lots of sheet lightening. At one point there was something that looked like a green and orange rocket, streaking down the sky and disappearing into the ocean. A meteor? A bit of space junk? The wind stayed true and Louise the wind vane held the course.
Just about dawn we once again lost the GPS signal. Moala is right on the dateline so we were expecting this. Perfect timing. We dropped the jib made a sharp right turn and motored west for about an hour until the GPS came back on and we were just off the entrance to the reef. Then we hove to for a nap and breakfast. After breakfast we headed for the village. For the first time our charts let us down. There was just no detail. It looked OK until you zoomed in and then it vanished and we were left with amorphous blobs. We had promised to go to this village because a friend of ours is from there so we decided to see if we could do it. If we run into trouble we can always turn around and head back out. Slowly, slowly, with me on the bow to keep an eye out, we crept through what should be the passage in the reef. Slowly, slowly. And then, just as we were coming up on what looked like a good anchorage the depth went from 60’ to 25’ and I could suddenly see very clearly through the water to coral reefs everywhere. I yelled, Alan stopped and reversed We quickly decided that this was a bad idea. Just as we were turning to leave a boat came racing out from shore and pulled along side. Police! Now what? They gestured us to follow them and escorted us around the corner to a spot just off the beach where we could anchor in 25’ of sand. Once we had the anchor set they came on board to welcome us and see our paperwork. Turned out the police chief was also the village chief and was delighted to accept our gift of kava right then and there so that was taken care of and we were “free to move about the island”
The reason we were at Moala was because a friend who works in the marina heard we were going to the Lau and suggested we visit here since that is where her family is from. She neglected to make it clear that she had left there when she was five and had never gone back We also did not have her family name and learned later she actually lived with an aunt and uncle during that time. No wonder no one knew who we were asking for. I actually had her last name on my phone but of course my phone was not working. One of the policemen offered me his phone and I send both voice mail and text telling her we had arrived in her village and would she please call back and give the nice policeman her family name.
Naroi turned out to be a charming village, one of the nicest we have visited. Like Lomolomo, there is a strong Tongan influence. Most of the places we have been in Fiji the houses are in a state of disrepair with rusting roofs, broken boards, pealing paint in a mishmash of colors. Here everything looked freshly painted and well maintained. There were wide lawns between the houses with lovely flowering trees and shrubs. Horses grazed here and there. A cement path lead along the waterfront and another one meandered along the back of the village and up the hill to the church. We wandered down to the end of the village and back along the waterfront occasionally asking if anyone knew of the family of our friend. Back at the village I tracked down the market which was actually nothing more that a room in someone’s house. As usual in the smaller villages, you need to stand at the door and ask for that you want. No browsing. When I asked if they had either chicken or beer I was told no. But they had span, canned tuna, paper goods. fruit cocktail, breakfast crackers. By and large Fijians have a pretty limited diet. They grow cassava and taro, some vegetables. There are lots of chickens around and they catch fish. I had seen children with what looked like popsicles so I backtracked to where they were lined up at one of the houses. I was assured this was the place. The family had a freezer and made popcicles out of fruit juice poured into a paper cup. Perfect for a hot day. I was soon a sticky mess as they melted and ran all down my arms but it was worth it.
The post office across from the police station sold internet top ups so we can once again check in. Unfortunately, service is limited. We finally found a spot along the shore half way back to the boat where there was a good signal and we sat on a large rock to once again check the weather. Still looks good.
Just as we were ready to head back tot he boat, our police friend caught up with us and told us he had identified the family we were looking for. He escorted us back to their house and then also took us the the house of the peace corps workers who were from San Diego. We had a lovely afternoon visiting and come away loaded with fresh mangos
When we finally got back to the boat in the late afternoon the tide was out and we realized that we were anchored way too close to the reef. It was only about 50 feet off the stern. If we dragged at all we would be on it and there was a fairly brisk wind blowing. So we started the engine and then Alan raised the anchor just off the bottom while I headed us away from shore, into deeper water where Alan dropped anchor again. We are still close but this should be fine.
When we were in the village Alan was told that he should remove his had as it was disrespectful to wear one. We had heard that hats and shoes should be removed inside homes and especially in the presence of a chief but never in a whole village. Nonetheless he complied. Don’t forget the village chief is also a police officer. Better not to offend. Thank heavens I had worn a sulu and a blouse with sleeves. Unfortunately as a result of walking around in the sun all day without a hat, Alan was miserable that night with what I guess was heat stroke so he spent the next day in bed. We never did get back to spend more time with our new friends as we had promised. The following day we left Moala headed for Suva.
Bay of Islands 2
Nov 7, Vanua Bilavu
Another cloudy day. Time to leave. Anchor up, heading across the bay. Me down below once again still trying to get an internet signal with no luck. This is not the way we entered but the chart shows a passage out of the reef just across from the village here. Then Alan calls for me to come on deck and help spot reefs. It is soon obvious that something is wrong. There are reefs everywhere. The passage shown on the chart just does not exist, or at least we cannot find it. With overcast skies and the morning sun behind us, visibility is lousy, making it even more dangerous to continue. It is not long before we give it up. We will motor back to the other pass. We know that one is OK. Except that It is almost noon, the weather is lousy and we have no schedule. What the heck, one more day in the Bay of Islands.
We ended up spending several more days in the Bay of Islands. Clear water of the most exquisite shades of blue that we have seen yet, surrounded by steep green cliffs. Small islands and secluded coves everywhere. Complete privacy, not a soul around, just the sound of birds with an occasional dog barking way off in the distance. There is the most incredible sense of peace and healing energy. The weather was perfect for these few days, brilliant sun, never cold but not too hot. We read, we slept we swam, we played games and worked on odd jobs. We took the dingy exploring all of the little nooks and crannies along the shoreline, admiring the magnificent trees that managed to find a footing in the sheer rock. We spent hours watching the birds in the trees at the very top of the cliffs. Alan announced that his dream is finally complete. This is the perfect life.
We woke up on our last day to find an enormous motor yacht anchoring on the other side of our secluded cove. Time to leave.
We raise the anchor and reluctantly head back out through the passage in the reef that we came in. I manage to get about 2 minutes of internet on the way,. Just enough to confirm that the weather is calm and settled for another week. When I planned this trip I had identified several islands that I wanted to visit but time is getting short and we do not really know which ones have good anchorages. After our problems with Navionix in Vanus Balavu we are reluctant to try unknown islands. So we decide to head straight for Moala. Maybe we will find someone back in Vuda who can give us waypoints for some of the other islands and we can try again after cyclone season.
Another cloudy day. Time to leave. Anchor up, heading across the bay. Me down below once again still trying to get an internet signal with no luck. This is not the way we entered but the chart shows a passage out of the reef just across from the village here. Then Alan calls for me to come on deck and help spot reefs. It is soon obvious that something is wrong. There are reefs everywhere. The passage shown on the chart just does not exist, or at least we cannot find it. With overcast skies and the morning sun behind us, visibility is lousy, making it even more dangerous to continue. It is not long before we give it up. We will motor back to the other pass. We know that one is OK. Except that It is almost noon, the weather is lousy and we have no schedule. What the heck, one more day in the Bay of Islands.
We ended up spending several more days in the Bay of Islands. Clear water of the most exquisite shades of blue that we have seen yet, surrounded by steep green cliffs. Small islands and secluded coves everywhere. Complete privacy, not a soul around, just the sound of birds with an occasional dog barking way off in the distance. There is the most incredible sense of peace and healing energy. The weather was perfect for these few days, brilliant sun, never cold but not too hot. We read, we slept we swam, we played games and worked on odd jobs. We took the dingy exploring all of the little nooks and crannies along the shoreline, admiring the magnificent trees that managed to find a footing in the sheer rock. We spent hours watching the birds in the trees at the very top of the cliffs. Alan announced that his dream is finally complete. This is the perfect life.
We woke up on our last day to find an enormous motor yacht anchoring on the other side of our secluded cove. Time to leave.
We raise the anchor and reluctantly head back out through the passage in the reef that we came in. I manage to get about 2 minutes of internet on the way,. Just enough to confirm that the weather is calm and settled for another week. When I planned this trip I had identified several islands that I wanted to visit but time is getting short and we do not really know which ones have good anchorages. After our problems with Navionix in Vanus Balavu we are reluctant to try unknown islands. So we decide to head straight for Moala. Maybe we will find someone back in Vuda who can give us waypoints for some of the other islands and we can try again after cyclone season.
Nov 5, 2017 Daliconi and Lomolomo
Daliconi, Nov 5, 2017
After several days in the Bay of Islands we decide that we should go over to the local village, check in and check the internet ant the weather. Off we go across the bay. About half way across to the village we pick up the wifi. I do a quick check to be sure there are no cyclones forming and then leave it, expecting to come back to it later. Except when we are anchored off the village we have once again lost the signal. We go ashore to present sevusevu and ask about internet. The village has radio and TV but no wifi. People take the bus to town to check their email and we are assured that there is good wifi in Lomolomo. Today is Saturday. We will go to town on Monday. I intended to go to church in the village but Sunday morning it was raining so we just spent the day on the boat.
The village of Daliconi is small, maybe 30 houses and a church, no shops of any kind, tucked between the bay and the base of a cliff. Everything is very green. It was hit badly by Cyclone Winston and the rebuilding is just getting started. A deeply rutted track runs through the houses and up the side of the cliffs. At the top it turns and heads down into a valley and on into Lomalona, the main town. Most of the Lau islands were occupied by the Tongans in the 1850s and Lomolomo was the home of Ma’afu, their chief. Their influence is obvious in the layout of the villages and the architecture of the buildings. By most accounts, Ma’afu was a good chief and a good administrator and Vanua Bilavu escaped much of the bloodshed that devastated the eastern side of Fiji during the tribal wars before the secession.
In the morning Alan rows me ashore and I walk over the hill to the school to wait for the truck to town. It is a one room school with about 25 children from little ones to a young man sporting a mustache. Across the road the new school is under construction. It is enormous compared to this one. There will be separate classrooms for the different grades but these few children will be lost in such a big school. Today is the first day of daylight savings and they are a little delayed getting started but shortly everyone stands and sings the national anthem and several other songs. Then the teacher gives a short talk on the virtue of the week, Be Prepared. And just then the bus/truck comes. People are seated on 2 long benches down the sides and standing in the middle. Off we go, bouncing and rattling through the jungle. At the top of the hill is the airport, a cleared field of grass heading straight down hill to the water below. We have been told that there are no flights when the grass is wet because there is no traction and the planes can slide straight down into the water.
Lomolomo, on the other side of the island, is the main town and port for the island but it is in fact a small scattering of houses. Almost everyone got off when we came to the post office. This is the place doing the most business, people collecting their money or sending money or toping up their cell phones. When the bus driver found out that I had no specific plans he suggested that I stay on the bus until we got to the hotel at the end of the village and walk back. The hotel turned out to be just a collection of huts with a central building that was the office, dining area and home of the owner. After a look around I wandered along the muddy road through the trees and beside wide green lawns to the main part of town. Past several churches and large meeting halls. Despite the fairly small size of the town there were several distinct areas presumable inhabited by different clans. There is a barge tied up to a rusting pier and supplies are being offloaded. Once again I am struck by the fact that the harbor lies open to the westerly trade winds and is full of reefs and looks to be fairly shallow. Obviously the traditional war canoes and the modern runabouts have very different requirements for a port than deep keel sail boats.
The markets are not at all what I am used to. The supplies are all behind a counter and the selection is extremely limited. You tell the clerk what you want and someone gets it for you. No wandering the aisles to see what looks good today. I was hoping for a chicken or some kind of meat and also beer, since ours is long gone. Neither was available. The coolers were not working so no meat of any sort and no alcohol anywhere on the island. I figured out eventually that alcohol is not available anywhere in Fiji outside of the resorts and the larger towns. Plenty of kava but no beer.
A lean-to at the side of one of the stores sold fuel; gas, diesel, kerosine, premix but you had to bring your own container. A couple of ladies were sitting on the ground outside selling chop suey, which is actually ramen noodles with added carrots and cabbage in a brown gravy. They were delighted to serve me but I had to wait while one of them finished eating her portion and took the plate home to wash it. I guess I was supposed to have my own container for this, too. There were no utensils, of course. Everyone eats with their fingers
One of my main reasons for coming to town was to use the wifi but again I could not get a signal. Part of the problem is that there are two carriers in Fiji, Digicel and Vodaphone. I have Vodaphone but the predominate carrier in the Law Group is Digicel. Apparently the Vodaphone tower was down.
Finally the truck arrived and everyone climbed in for the trip back to the village. Of course, when I arrived I had no way to contact Alan since My phone was not working. After walking around the village and knocking on doors and windows, I finally found someone with a phone only to discover that Alan’s phone was not working either. Eventually I got his attention by jumping up and down on the beach and yelling. We definitely get too dependent on technology
Saturday, January 6, 2018
Nov 1 2017 Fish
Fish!
After numerous encounters between the fishing line and the propeller, it is time to redo it. I bought new 80 lb line in Nadi and still have one more cider plug. I have been using a much lighter line and smaller fur on the theory that I do not want to catch a big fist. Just one big enough for 2 people with maybe enough left for a sandwich the next day. Immediately when I unwrapped the fishing line it sprang out of the package and completely entangled itself. I spent almost 2 hours carefully untangling it, inch by inch like the little inchworm. I only had to cut it once. Finally it was all straightened out with the new lure on and I tossed it over. We usually do not catch anything but you never know.
I had just said to Alan that if I caught anything I would chop it up and put it into the coconut that they had given up at Paradise and make kokoda when suddenly there was a sharp tug on the line and I looked back to see an enormous fish jump out of the water. Wow! It is too big! Alan immediately slowed the engine down and ran for the net. Thank heavens the sea is flat calm. After my first excitement, I decided to just let it tire itself out so we kicked the engine back up until we were going 5 kts again. It jumped several more times and each time I pulled the line in a little bit. Eventually I could see it swimming along side the boat. It was actually going as fast as we were. Time to bring it aboard. Engine in neutral, Alan is standing by with the net. I decided that if we lose it that is OK. It is really too big for us. I was using a plastic drop line and was not wearing gloves. That fish was heavy and at one point I thought the line was going to cut into my hands. We got it into the net once and it flipped out, but we got it in again and Alan hoisted it on board. I was beautiful, all green and gold with a sail fin on it’s back.
Now the messy part. I grabbed our last bottle of rum and tried to pour it into the gills. This is supposed to sedate it so you can cut off the head. Alan grabbed the winch handle and began banging it on the head. I got the knife that I keep in the fishing gear bag and began sawing away just behind the gills. Between the two of us we managed to subdue it. Time out, I had forgotten to take a picture and now it is all bloody. Actually there is blood all over everything. A thrashing fish can really make a mess. I hoisted up buckets of water and washed things as best as I could with a giant fish taking up most of the cockpit. When I finally hoisted it up for the photo I came up to my waist, which makes it almost 4’ long. Sadly, we forgot to weigh it. Alan put Rhapsody back in gear and I began the messy job of cutting it into meal sized pieces. Our main consideration is the fact that we have no refrigeration. We have an ice box but the ice has long since melted and it is warm inside rather than cool. First I cut it in half so it would fit on the cutting board. Then I tried my best to cut off filets. Any extra chunks went into the coconut shell with the coconut meat. I dumped in lemon juice and more coconut cream and some green onion and cucumber and set t aside. For the back half of the fish, I decided on steaks but I could not manage to cut the spine. I finally had to take over the helm while Alan hit our biggest knife with rubber mallet and finally managed to break the spine. By the time this was all over the almost full moon had risen and we ate dinner on deck, fish steaks, green beans and boiled potatoes. It was wonderful and we were stuffed. After cleaning up the mess, I lay down for a nap before my watch. The kokoda will keep as well the rest of the fish. I had fried it all.
Now the messy part. I grabbed our last bottle of rum and tried to pour it into the gills. This is supposed to sedate it so you can cut off the head. Alan grabbed the winch handle and began banging it on the head. I got the knife that I keep in the fishing gear bag and began sawing away just behind the gills. Between the two of us we managed to subdue it. Time out, I had forgotten to take a picture and now it is all bloody. Actually there is blood all over everything. A thrashing fish can really make a mess. I hoisted up buckets of water and washed things as best as I could with a giant fish taking up most of the cockpit. When I finally hoisted it up for the photo I came up to my waist, which makes it almost 4’ long. Sadly, we forgot to weigh it. Alan put Rhapsody back in gear and I began the messy job of cutting it into meal sized pieces. Our main consideration is the fact that we have no refrigeration. We have an ice box but the ice has long since melted and it is warm inside rather than cool. First I cut it in half so it would fit on the cutting board. Then I tried my best to cut off filets. Any extra chunks went into the coconut shell with the coconut meat. I dumped in lemon juice and more coconut cream and some green onion and cucumber and set t aside. For the back half of the fish, I decided on steaks but I could not manage to cut the spine. I finally had to take over the helm while Alan hit our biggest knife with rubber mallet and finally managed to break the spine. By the time this was all over the almost full moon had risen and we ate dinner on deck, fish steaks, green beans and boiled potatoes. It was wonderful and we were stuffed. After cleaning up the mess, I lay down for a nap before my watch. The kokoda will keep as well the rest of the fish. I had fried it all.
Nov 1 2017 Savusavu to Bay of Islands
Savusavu to Taneuni
The weather has cleared and predictions are for several days of very light winds. Time to leave Savusavu and head for Taveuni and the Law group. Friends of ours have been raving about Paradise resort and we have never gotten there so it is time. The light wind is a god send because our route is due east and typically the trade winds blow east to west so this is a great chance to avoid sailing directly into the wind. It is an uneventful motor sail and we arrive at Paradise Resort on Taveuni in the afternoon. Sure enough there are several mooring balls in front of the resort and we are greated by hotel staff with “Welcome to Paradise” and told where to tie up. The waterfront is volcanic rocks drooping off into deep, clear water. Good thing there are moorings because I do not think we would want to anchor here. Paradise was directly in the path of Cyclone Winston a couple of years ago and almost completely destroyed but the owners have rebuild better than before. Often resorts are somewhat hostile to yachts but This one bends over backwards to welcome us. They have an organic farm where you cam stalk up on fresh herbs and vegetables. We could have happily spent a week or two here but we want to take advantage of the light winds to go to Vanua Balava, further east so after a couple of days, we take off.
Taveuni to Vanua Balava
Our trip to Vanua Balava was one of the most pleasant in a long time, a lovely change from the dreaded Futuna Run. Unfortunately, you could not really call it a sail. As is usually with Fiji, the wind was on the nose. We wanted to go east and the wind was coming from the east. Luckily, it was a very light wind, about10 kn. We rounded the bottom of Taveuni about noon and hoisted the sails. If all goes well we should active at the island at dawn. It is about 80 miles and we are expecting to tack quite a bit. With the light wind we will not go very fast but that is OK.
The sea is flat calm with long, low, lazy swells coming from the south east. The air is warm but not hot. There is a breeze. The sails are up, the engine is off. The sea is scattered with islands looking black in the late afternoon sun against the blue sea. There is a gibbous moon already up. It is just lovely. Off in the distance we can see clouds and rain over the island. Once again, we crossed the 180 line. We have decided that there is not reason to keep the iPad on all the time on this trip since we are having battery issues. It is actually starting to look like it is the cables and plugs and not the house battery. We will set a compass course and just check our position once an hour.
Alan had the first watch while I just read and lounged in the sun. Then it was his turn to go below for a nap. It always takes me a while to get settled into my watch and remember which way to turn the tiller to correct the compass course. Everything is backwards, especially if the iPad is on too. We are tacking south, just 30 degrees off of the rhum line, a very hard course to hold in such light winds even with the engine on but I was actually managing until the wind got even lighter and started shifting all over the place. After just under an hour of sails flapping and and back winding, I called it quits. If we are going to have the motor on anyway, we might as well take the sails down so we can go in a straight line.
About sundown we caught a fish and I spent the next several hours dealing with that, gutting it, cutting it, cooking it, eating it and cleaning up the mess. That adventure is in a separate story. Eventually I turned in for a short sleep.
When I came back up on deck it was midnight, still flat calm and we were almost there. It would have been smarted to go more slowly. We had planned to heave to but all the reefs and islands around made us nervous so we slowed way down andI took the helm to drive around in circles while Alan had a nap. Several hours later we decided that we were reasonably clear of obstacles, tied the tiller and turned off the engine. Alan went back to bed. I stayed in the cockpit for a couple of hours but we were not moving so eventually I went to bed to.
Next morning we were up early to get inside the reef before low tide. It was another beautiful day. Our Navionix showed the entrance to be a little over 6’ deep but well marked so I went up onto the bow to watch while Alan steered us ever so carefully. As it turned out the depth was never less that 50’. Inside the lagoon, we turned left and headed for Tony’s Place which is supposed to be a wonderfully protected anchorage. The entrance was well marked and led us into a stunningly beautiful fjord cut deep into the island, cliffs going straight up, festooned with greenery. There was not a soul around. Unfortunately, when we tried to anchor we discovered that the bottom was lave rock, not sand and we could not get the anchor to catch. Eventually we gave up and motored back out and around to the other side of the island where we found an anchorage in sand. It was not quite as dramatic but equally beautiful, sheet cliffs going down into crystal clear turquoise water. The rest of the day was spent swimming, sleeping and eating the rest of the fish.
The weather has cleared and predictions are for several days of very light winds. Time to leave Savusavu and head for Taveuni and the Law group. Friends of ours have been raving about Paradise resort and we have never gotten there so it is time. The light wind is a god send because our route is due east and typically the trade winds blow east to west so this is a great chance to avoid sailing directly into the wind. It is an uneventful motor sail and we arrive at Paradise Resort on Taveuni in the afternoon. Sure enough there are several mooring balls in front of the resort and we are greated by hotel staff with “Welcome to Paradise” and told where to tie up. The waterfront is volcanic rocks drooping off into deep, clear water. Good thing there are moorings because I do not think we would want to anchor here. Paradise was directly in the path of Cyclone Winston a couple of years ago and almost completely destroyed but the owners have rebuild better than before. Often resorts are somewhat hostile to yachts but This one bends over backwards to welcome us. They have an organic farm where you cam stalk up on fresh herbs and vegetables. We could have happily spent a week or two here but we want to take advantage of the light winds to go to Vanua Balava, further east so after a couple of days, we take off.
Taveuni to Vanua Balava
Our trip to Vanua Balava was one of the most pleasant in a long time, a lovely change from the dreaded Futuna Run. Unfortunately, you could not really call it a sail. As is usually with Fiji, the wind was on the nose. We wanted to go east and the wind was coming from the east. Luckily, it was a very light wind, about10 kn. We rounded the bottom of Taveuni about noon and hoisted the sails. If all goes well we should active at the island at dawn. It is about 80 miles and we are expecting to tack quite a bit. With the light wind we will not go very fast but that is OK.
The sea is flat calm with long, low, lazy swells coming from the south east. The air is warm but not hot. There is a breeze. The sails are up, the engine is off. The sea is scattered with islands looking black in the late afternoon sun against the blue sea. There is a gibbous moon already up. It is just lovely. Off in the distance we can see clouds and rain over the island. Once again, we crossed the 180 line. We have decided that there is not reason to keep the iPad on all the time on this trip since we are having battery issues. It is actually starting to look like it is the cables and plugs and not the house battery. We will set a compass course and just check our position once an hour.
Alan had the first watch while I just read and lounged in the sun. Then it was his turn to go below for a nap. It always takes me a while to get settled into my watch and remember which way to turn the tiller to correct the compass course. Everything is backwards, especially if the iPad is on too. We are tacking south, just 30 degrees off of the rhum line, a very hard course to hold in such light winds even with the engine on but I was actually managing until the wind got even lighter and started shifting all over the place. After just under an hour of sails flapping and and back winding, I called it quits. If we are going to have the motor on anyway, we might as well take the sails down so we can go in a straight line.
About sundown we caught a fish and I spent the next several hours dealing with that, gutting it, cutting it, cooking it, eating it and cleaning up the mess. That adventure is in a separate story. Eventually I turned in for a short sleep.
When I came back up on deck it was midnight, still flat calm and we were almost there. It would have been smarted to go more slowly. We had planned to heave to but all the reefs and islands around made us nervous so we slowed way down andI took the helm to drive around in circles while Alan had a nap. Several hours later we decided that we were reasonably clear of obstacles, tied the tiller and turned off the engine. Alan went back to bed. I stayed in the cockpit for a couple of hours but we were not moving so eventually I went to bed to.
Next morning we were up early to get inside the reef before low tide. It was another beautiful day. Our Navionix showed the entrance to be a little over 6’ deep but well marked so I went up onto the bow to watch while Alan steered us ever so carefully. As it turned out the depth was never less that 50’. Inside the lagoon, we turned left and headed for Tony’s Place which is supposed to be a wonderfully protected anchorage. The entrance was well marked and led us into a stunningly beautiful fjord cut deep into the island, cliffs going straight up, festooned with greenery. There was not a soul around. Unfortunately, when we tried to anchor we discovered that the bottom was lave rock, not sand and we could not get the anchor to catch. Eventually we gave up and motored back out and around to the other side of the island where we found an anchorage in sand. It was not quite as dramatic but equally beautiful, sheet cliffs going down into crystal clear turquoise water. The rest of the day was spent swimming, sleeping and eating the rest of the fish.
Thursday, January 4, 2018
Oct 2017, Futuna Run part 3
Futuna and back, 2017, part 5
This is the last and the worst. We left Futuna at 5am under grey skies. Winds were predicted to be very light and we were expecting to motor much of the way, which just fine. Of course right now it is blowing 20k out of the south east, not what we want but we hoist sails and carry on. Except that the wind does not die. We are making good speed but not quite in the right direction and we are getting a lot of rain. Same thing all day and all night long, stars and squalls and heavy seas Winds up to 25kn and heavy swells. Jib and reefed main up. I take a longer watch over night so Alan can get more than a couple of hours of sleep. By morning we are back in Fiji waters and passing the first reefs. The clouds are starting to break ups little and there is some sun. it is amazing how much nicer a brisk breeze is when the sun is out. Wind is still from the south but at some point we should start to get some protection from the land. Meanwhile the deep ocean swells are breaking up into a confusion of smaller ones, thanks to the reefs.
We are definitely too far west but we had expected that and we are making good time. Early afternoon we turn the engine on, take the sails down and turn south to cut down behind Rabi Island and intercept the correct course through Somosomo strait. And this is where all of our plans come crashing down. In addition to the strong south wind we are now suddenly fighting a very strong current or tide. Speed drops from 6kn to 2kn. We spend all afternoon fighting our way along. Naturally this has completely messed up our plan to get through the pass in the daylight. Inch by inch we creep along. Alan goes up to the bow several times to try to tie down the jib better and also the spare anchor which is rattling around. About 4:00 our speed begins to pick up a little. The tide has turned
Alan is up front and I am on the tiller when suddenly there is a loud clunk and the whole boat shudders as if we have hit something. I suddenly flashed back to another boat which was making this same trip last year, hit something that broke their propeller. I slowed way down and took the engine out of gear and waited a few minutes. Alan can back from the bow with a hank of rope in his hands. The engine seemed to be OK so gradually we speed up and then there was a horrible grinding, shuddering noise from the engine. So we stopped, just stopped in the middle of the channel. Apparently Alan had dropped the end of the rope he was holding earlier and it had swepted back and gotten caught by the propeller. That was the source of the terrible thunk I had heard. There was not much choice about what to do now. Alan needed to go over the side and clear the rope off of the prop and see what damage had been done. Swimsuit, mask, snorkel, fins and a strong rope tied under his arms and secured to the boat. Over he went. And after a blessedly brief time, back up he came with a short piece of rope in his hand, the end all blackened where it had gotten caught in the prop and cut off. Another inspection to be sure and he announced that it looked fine. Gently gently we started the engine up again. Seemed to be fine. After about half an hour when everything seemed to be running fine I sent him below for a hot cup of tea and a nap..We now have to navigate Somosomo strait in the pitch black. No moon tonight.
The tide was in our favor and the winds were dropping and we were finally making good time when Alan’s head appeared in the opening of the hatch and he said quietly, “We have a problem”. When he got up from his nap he discovered the the floor of the cabin was awash with water. So, first thing is to run the bilge pump. Thank God that worked and within 20 minutes the water was gone. Next to find where it was coming from. Eventually we discovered that the leak, in the form of a strong trickle but not a rushing river, was coming from the packing gland on the drive shaft. Some experimenting showed that it actually came in slower when we went faster and came in faster when we slowed down. Running the bilge pump every 15-20 min seems to be enough to keep up with the leak.
Meanwhile we are coming up onto the Somosomo strait. I am all for stopping somewhere and waiting for daylight but It is pitch black and we know nothing about the shoreline around here, whether or not there is any place to stop and wait out the night. Alan decides that the best thing to do is to go ahead and get through and back to Savusavu.
Like a bad dream, here we go again. About 5 miles before the narrowest part we lose the navigation on the iPads. We are expecting this and have carefully noted the compass course but it is still nerve racking. It is pitch black. I go up to the bow but there is really nothing I can see. We creep along slowly Finally we are across the 180 and the iPads spring back to life and we see that we are right on course And then we realize that the tide has turned again and our speed has dropped down to 2kn. Almost there and it takes 2 hours to go the last little bit until we are finally back out into the Koro sea and can turn west towards Savusavu. Alan goes below to get try to get some sleep between pumping the bilge while I motor along.
By dawn the wind had dropped to 10kn and the sky is clearing. We get into Savusavu bay around 9:30. Surprisingly we cannot get an answer to our radio calls for mooring information. It is Thursday. Where is everybody? Finally, when we are just about into the mooring field we get a response. It is a public holiday, Diwali! Of course this means that we once more have to pay not only overtime fees for customs, immigration, bio-security and medical, but also their taxis and meals. Had we known, we would have anchored somewhere and waited to come in the next day. Actually, given the leak, we probably would not have. Anyway, eventually we are cleared to go ashore.
That night I slept on the couch and got up every 1 1/2 hour to pump the bilge. Next day Alan found a mechanic who could fix the leak. After quite a bit of research he has determined that the packing gland needs to be taken off, cleaned and reseated Neither of us is quite up to the thought of doing that ourselves. I had visions of taking it off and having water flooding in so hard we could not stop it, ending with Rhapsody sitting on the bottom at the dock. Our mechanic was a 7th day Adventist so he could not come tomorrow, Saturday, but would be there bright and early on Sunday. Another day and night spent running the bilge pump every 2 hours. At least it is not getting any worse. Sunday morning our mechanic showed up with his friend and the 3 of them went into the engine room to assess the situation. I left. When I cam back 3 hours later the leak was fixed and the bilge was dry.
The leak is fixed, or at least down to a very slow drip instead of a small river. We will give it a few days to see how often we need to bail it out before we decide if we are going on to Taveuni or back to Vuda. The weather is bad right now anyway. Since we cleared everything out of the back of the engine room to fix the drip I decide to scrub it all down before we put everything back, and while the water bladders are empty I can clean under them too before we refill them
Of course nothing in this sailing life is simple. The leak filled the bilge which runs under our water tanks, 3 rubber bladders under the sole. After being wet for so long the wood was swollen so we could not get the hatches open. Once we finally pried them open the space needed to be cleaned of all the oil and debris that had washed into it from the engine room and then emptied with the hand pump. Finally done and tanks refilled but we cannot put the floor boards back until they dry. Once everything is clean we fill the water tanks and eventually the floorboards are dry enough to put back. We won’t be able to get them off again until they really dry but we can’t run the water maker anyway so it really does not matter. The weather has changed for the better and we decide to go to the Lab group. We have been talking about it ever since we got to Fiji and if we do not go now we probably never will. We have a least a month worth of water and cyclone season does not really start until November.
This is the last and the worst. We left Futuna at 5am under grey skies. Winds were predicted to be very light and we were expecting to motor much of the way, which just fine. Of course right now it is blowing 20k out of the south east, not what we want but we hoist sails and carry on. Except that the wind does not die. We are making good speed but not quite in the right direction and we are getting a lot of rain. Same thing all day and all night long, stars and squalls and heavy seas Winds up to 25kn and heavy swells. Jib and reefed main up. I take a longer watch over night so Alan can get more than a couple of hours of sleep. By morning we are back in Fiji waters and passing the first reefs. The clouds are starting to break ups little and there is some sun. it is amazing how much nicer a brisk breeze is when the sun is out. Wind is still from the south but at some point we should start to get some protection from the land. Meanwhile the deep ocean swells are breaking up into a confusion of smaller ones, thanks to the reefs.
We are definitely too far west but we had expected that and we are making good time. Early afternoon we turn the engine on, take the sails down and turn south to cut down behind Rabi Island and intercept the correct course through Somosomo strait. And this is where all of our plans come crashing down. In addition to the strong south wind we are now suddenly fighting a very strong current or tide. Speed drops from 6kn to 2kn. We spend all afternoon fighting our way along. Naturally this has completely messed up our plan to get through the pass in the daylight. Inch by inch we creep along. Alan goes up to the bow several times to try to tie down the jib better and also the spare anchor which is rattling around. About 4:00 our speed begins to pick up a little. The tide has turned
Alan is up front and I am on the tiller when suddenly there is a loud clunk and the whole boat shudders as if we have hit something. I suddenly flashed back to another boat which was making this same trip last year, hit something that broke their propeller. I slowed way down and took the engine out of gear and waited a few minutes. Alan can back from the bow with a hank of rope in his hands. The engine seemed to be OK so gradually we speed up and then there was a horrible grinding, shuddering noise from the engine. So we stopped, just stopped in the middle of the channel. Apparently Alan had dropped the end of the rope he was holding earlier and it had swepted back and gotten caught by the propeller. That was the source of the terrible thunk I had heard. There was not much choice about what to do now. Alan needed to go over the side and clear the rope off of the prop and see what damage had been done. Swimsuit, mask, snorkel, fins and a strong rope tied under his arms and secured to the boat. Over he went. And after a blessedly brief time, back up he came with a short piece of rope in his hand, the end all blackened where it had gotten caught in the prop and cut off. Another inspection to be sure and he announced that it looked fine. Gently gently we started the engine up again. Seemed to be fine. After about half an hour when everything seemed to be running fine I sent him below for a hot cup of tea and a nap..We now have to navigate Somosomo strait in the pitch black. No moon tonight.
The tide was in our favor and the winds were dropping and we were finally making good time when Alan’s head appeared in the opening of the hatch and he said quietly, “We have a problem”. When he got up from his nap he discovered the the floor of the cabin was awash with water. So, first thing is to run the bilge pump. Thank God that worked and within 20 minutes the water was gone. Next to find where it was coming from. Eventually we discovered that the leak, in the form of a strong trickle but not a rushing river, was coming from the packing gland on the drive shaft. Some experimenting showed that it actually came in slower when we went faster and came in faster when we slowed down. Running the bilge pump every 15-20 min seems to be enough to keep up with the leak.
Meanwhile we are coming up onto the Somosomo strait. I am all for stopping somewhere and waiting for daylight but It is pitch black and we know nothing about the shoreline around here, whether or not there is any place to stop and wait out the night. Alan decides that the best thing to do is to go ahead and get through and back to Savusavu.
Like a bad dream, here we go again. About 5 miles before the narrowest part we lose the navigation on the iPads. We are expecting this and have carefully noted the compass course but it is still nerve racking. It is pitch black. I go up to the bow but there is really nothing I can see. We creep along slowly Finally we are across the 180 and the iPads spring back to life and we see that we are right on course And then we realize that the tide has turned again and our speed has dropped down to 2kn. Almost there and it takes 2 hours to go the last little bit until we are finally back out into the Koro sea and can turn west towards Savusavu. Alan goes below to get try to get some sleep between pumping the bilge while I motor along.
By dawn the wind had dropped to 10kn and the sky is clearing. We get into Savusavu bay around 9:30. Surprisingly we cannot get an answer to our radio calls for mooring information. It is Thursday. Where is everybody? Finally, when we are just about into the mooring field we get a response. It is a public holiday, Diwali! Of course this means that we once more have to pay not only overtime fees for customs, immigration, bio-security and medical, but also their taxis and meals. Had we known, we would have anchored somewhere and waited to come in the next day. Actually, given the leak, we probably would not have. Anyway, eventually we are cleared to go ashore.
That night I slept on the couch and got up every 1 1/2 hour to pump the bilge. Next day Alan found a mechanic who could fix the leak. After quite a bit of research he has determined that the packing gland needs to be taken off, cleaned and reseated Neither of us is quite up to the thought of doing that ourselves. I had visions of taking it off and having water flooding in so hard we could not stop it, ending with Rhapsody sitting on the bottom at the dock. Our mechanic was a 7th day Adventist so he could not come tomorrow, Saturday, but would be there bright and early on Sunday. Another day and night spent running the bilge pump every 2 hours. At least it is not getting any worse. Sunday morning our mechanic showed up with his friend and the 3 of them went into the engine room to assess the situation. I left. When I cam back 3 hours later the leak was fixed and the bilge was dry.
The leak is fixed, or at least down to a very slow drip instead of a small river. We will give it a few days to see how often we need to bail it out before we decide if we are going on to Taveuni or back to Vuda. The weather is bad right now anyway. Since we cleared everything out of the back of the engine room to fix the drip I decide to scrub it all down before we put everything back, and while the water bladders are empty I can clean under them too before we refill them
Of course nothing in this sailing life is simple. The leak filled the bilge which runs under our water tanks, 3 rubber bladders under the sole. After being wet for so long the wood was swollen so we could not get the hatches open. Once we finally pried them open the space needed to be cleaned of all the oil and debris that had washed into it from the engine room and then emptied with the hand pump. Finally done and tanks refilled but we cannot put the floor boards back until they dry. Once everything is clean we fill the water tanks and eventually the floorboards are dry enough to put back. We won’t be able to get them off again until they really dry but we can’t run the water maker anyway so it really does not matter. The weather has changed for the better and we decide to go to the Lab group. We have been talking about it ever since we got to Fiji and if we do not go now we probably never will. We have a least a month worth of water and cyclone season does not really start until November.
October 2017, Futuna Run part 2
Vuda to Futuna and back, Oct 2017 Part 2
Midday Wed, Oct 11 we finally cleared customs and sailed out of Fiji. Boats can only be in Fiji 18 months without paying an enormous import duty so every year we all check out, sail up to Futuna, check in there, check out and then sail back to Fiji, usually a round trip of about a week. This year we decided to take a different route since we were leaving from Lavuka instead of Savusavu. Traditionally people go through Somosomo strait, a very narrow, reef strewn pass between Vanua Levi and Taveuni. We decided to skip the reefs and go up the eastern side of Taveuni. Looks to be about the same wind angle but open ocean all the way
Of course, we started off dead into the wind but made good time of about 4 knots with the engine on. About an hour out I spotted a marker way off in the distance that seemed to correspond with our course. An hour and a half later when we finally reached it, it proved to be a huge red and white light house on the corner of the reef, miles from the nearest land
Now we could turn the engine off and put up the sails finally. This is actually our first serious sail in almost a year. It is going to take a little time to settle into it. Remember to use the salt water not the fresh whenever possible. Use the pot holders to secure the pots on the stove. Hold on inside and clip on outside. We have decided on 2 hour watches. No one gets much sleep but everyone gets a little. It is only a couple of days. Jib and mizzen sails up. Wind from the east at 15 knots. Easy deep sea swells. Auto pilot on. Overcast but not raining.
Things went well until early Thurs morning, then the navigation program on all of the iPads stopped working. After some period of panic we realized that once again we were in the 180 dead zone, only this time it lasted for almost 2 hours. A very scary time which raised the question, what would we do if they stopped working for real. We have a wind gage and a depth gage but no other GPS at this point and we have never quite mastered the sextant. We have the maps from the Fiji Land Commission that do give lat/long but no real nautical charts. (The maps are F$8 each, the charts are F$200 each.) About the time that I was having these pessimistic thoughts, Alan realized that we were really low on battery power. Our 2 new solar panel are not quite strong enough to run the auto pilot. It is fine while the engine is on but not when we are under sail. So it is back to hand steering helped along by a rope tied to a cleat. The power is also a problem for the iPads. We usually keep one plugged in in the cockpit when we are underway. Since it is wide open ocean out here we will turn it off, check our position once an hour and steer by the compass. We have our course. The winds fair although we are really pinching to hold the course. We are going along at 5-6 knots. And from time to time, we will run the engine to get everything charged up again
By Friday morning the winds have strengthened and shifted to the north east. The swells are all confused and there is a constant series of rain squalls. We reefed down the mizzen and got out our foul weather gear. All the portholes and hatches are closed. The swells are up to 2 -3 meters now. Luckily everything seems to be fairly secure inside but everything is damp and neither one of us feels like eating much. I opened a can of beans for dinner and it took both uf us 2 days to finish it. During our time in Vuda this year I made wind dodgers out of good water resistant canvas which hook onto the lifelines with industrial strength velcro all around the cockpit. This is the first time we have used them and they really made a difference in keeping most of the waves from crashing on board. Of course some made it through and it is raining off and on so we still got soaked. There was a magical moment when the rain came down so hard that it smoothed out all the whitecaps There was a mist over the ocean that looked like something out of a Japanese brush painting. The water was black and shiny like obsidian and the rain mist floated in the troughs of the waves. Absolutely beautiful. Luckily it is warm and our waterproof frog jackets did the job.
Finally, about 9pm we decided to call it quits for the day. Wind gusts are hitting 30+ knots, it is raining and the swells are all over the place. We are only about 3 hours from our goal. If we keep going we will have to heave to until dawn anyway so might as well do it now and get a good nights sleep. Jib down, tiller tied to the side way and reefed mizzen pulled in tight and we just wander in a small circle. We are miles from land and out of shipping lanes so nothing to worry about.
In the morning the wind was back down to 15 knots although still from the NW. Engine on. Within an hour we spotted land and by noon we were anchored in Futuna harbor.
Futuna part 4 Safe in Futuna harbor and the town is dead quiet except for a bunch of boys jumping off of the wharf. We think it is Saturday and we think that the Gendarme and Customs offices and closed but first, time for a nap. Later in the afternoon we launch the dingy and go ashore to check.. In fact the official offices are closed but the grocery store is open so we pick up some baguette and croissant for breakfast. I have about $30 Polynesian francs left from Tahiti. There isn o ATM here, actually not much of a town, just 2 grocery stores, customs office on the wharf, the hotel Fiafia and a string of houses between the steep cliffs and the ocean. The people here look very Polynesian as opposed to the Fijians who are definitely African but they have that same easy going joy of life. Futuna is a French Protectorate and, according to the guide book, the people happily take the high paying French government jobs and then go about their traditional way of life.
Having stretched our legs and done a small amount of shopping we headed back to the boat since we are technically not supposed to be ashore until we have cleared in. In addition to this being the weekend, it must be some sort of holliday because we could hear music late into the night and again most of the day Sunday. Very frustrating to to be able to leave the boat. Monday morning we head ashore again to check in. The customs office is on the wharf but the Gendarmerie is a long walk up the road. We decide to go there first, since we seem to remember from last time that when we went to customs they sent us off to the gendarme. Wrong. When we got to the gendarmerie they were very polite and spoke English but told us that we needed the paperwork from customs. So back we went down the road. It is lovely here, somehow more beautiful than Fiji. The road snakes along the edge of the ocean next to tall cliffs covered with vines and flowers. The houses are neat and well kept There is a notable absence of cows and goats and dogs wandering the streets.
Back at customs we get into a complicated discussion with the customs officers who speak much less English that the gendarme. I have decided that it would be fun to rent a car and drive around the island, instead of just leaving immediately. This means we would not leave until Wed morning. But if we are going to do this then we need to come back tomorrow to check out, instead of doing everything today. It all depends o whether we can find a car to rend. Apparently Patrick at the Hotel Fiafia has the only rental cars. The hotel is at the other end of town so off we go. When we get to the hotel, Patrick is out and the rest of the staff speak only French. With lots of gestures and the use of our “French for Cruisers” book we discover that there are no more cars this week and Patrick will be back in an hour or so. Since we are here, we opt for a petit dejuiner and use of their wifi. Good coffee au lait, good bread, OK wifi. How we miss good bread in Fiji. That is a whole other story. Eventually Patrick comes back and we confirm that there are no rental cars all week. It is indeed a holiday. In fact, it is a whole week of holiday and both cars are booked up. So we make a reservation for dinner and head back to customs to tell them that we will be leaving tomorrow after all at 5am. And then back to the gendarmerie again to have our passports stamped.
Finally we are done, checked in and checked out. Now for some serious shopping. There are no ATM and I am low on francs after our breakfast in the hotel but they will take our credit card if we spend $50 At $10 for a bottle of French wine, the will be easy. So we stock up on wine, cheese, pickles, pate and canned cassoulet. In the evening we head back to the hotel for a wonderful dinner, all the more appreciated since we have not eaten much for most of our trip. A simple, fresh green salad, good wine, sourdough bread, fish for Alan and a thick steak for me. Ice cream and coffee for dessert. The French do know how to do food right. The whole meal including wine was less than $100
Back to the boat, hoist the dingy, fold it up and tie it down ready for a 5am departure. Unless something goes wrong this is the last time we will be in Futuna
Midday Wed, Oct 11 we finally cleared customs and sailed out of Fiji. Boats can only be in Fiji 18 months without paying an enormous import duty so every year we all check out, sail up to Futuna, check in there, check out and then sail back to Fiji, usually a round trip of about a week. This year we decided to take a different route since we were leaving from Lavuka instead of Savusavu. Traditionally people go through Somosomo strait, a very narrow, reef strewn pass between Vanua Levi and Taveuni. We decided to skip the reefs and go up the eastern side of Taveuni. Looks to be about the same wind angle but open ocean all the way
Of course, we started off dead into the wind but made good time of about 4 knots with the engine on. About an hour out I spotted a marker way off in the distance that seemed to correspond with our course. An hour and a half later when we finally reached it, it proved to be a huge red and white light house on the corner of the reef, miles from the nearest land
Now we could turn the engine off and put up the sails finally. This is actually our first serious sail in almost a year. It is going to take a little time to settle into it. Remember to use the salt water not the fresh whenever possible. Use the pot holders to secure the pots on the stove. Hold on inside and clip on outside. We have decided on 2 hour watches. No one gets much sleep but everyone gets a little. It is only a couple of days. Jib and mizzen sails up. Wind from the east at 15 knots. Easy deep sea swells. Auto pilot on. Overcast but not raining.
Things went well until early Thurs morning, then the navigation program on all of the iPads stopped working. After some period of panic we realized that once again we were in the 180 dead zone, only this time it lasted for almost 2 hours. A very scary time which raised the question, what would we do if they stopped working for real. We have a wind gage and a depth gage but no other GPS at this point and we have never quite mastered the sextant. We have the maps from the Fiji Land Commission that do give lat/long but no real nautical charts. (The maps are F$8 each, the charts are F$200 each.) About the time that I was having these pessimistic thoughts, Alan realized that we were really low on battery power. Our 2 new solar panel are not quite strong enough to run the auto pilot. It is fine while the engine is on but not when we are under sail. So it is back to hand steering helped along by a rope tied to a cleat. The power is also a problem for the iPads. We usually keep one plugged in in the cockpit when we are underway. Since it is wide open ocean out here we will turn it off, check our position once an hour and steer by the compass. We have our course. The winds fair although we are really pinching to hold the course. We are going along at 5-6 knots. And from time to time, we will run the engine to get everything charged up again
By Friday morning the winds have strengthened and shifted to the north east. The swells are all confused and there is a constant series of rain squalls. We reefed down the mizzen and got out our foul weather gear. All the portholes and hatches are closed. The swells are up to 2 -3 meters now. Luckily everything seems to be fairly secure inside but everything is damp and neither one of us feels like eating much. I opened a can of beans for dinner and it took both uf us 2 days to finish it. During our time in Vuda this year I made wind dodgers out of good water resistant canvas which hook onto the lifelines with industrial strength velcro all around the cockpit. This is the first time we have used them and they really made a difference in keeping most of the waves from crashing on board. Of course some made it through and it is raining off and on so we still got soaked. There was a magical moment when the rain came down so hard that it smoothed out all the whitecaps There was a mist over the ocean that looked like something out of a Japanese brush painting. The water was black and shiny like obsidian and the rain mist floated in the troughs of the waves. Absolutely beautiful. Luckily it is warm and our waterproof frog jackets did the job.
Finally, about 9pm we decided to call it quits for the day. Wind gusts are hitting 30+ knots, it is raining and the swells are all over the place. We are only about 3 hours from our goal. If we keep going we will have to heave to until dawn anyway so might as well do it now and get a good nights sleep. Jib down, tiller tied to the side way and reefed mizzen pulled in tight and we just wander in a small circle. We are miles from land and out of shipping lanes so nothing to worry about.
In the morning the wind was back down to 15 knots although still from the NW. Engine on. Within an hour we spotted land and by noon we were anchored in Futuna harbor.
Futuna part 4 Safe in Futuna harbor and the town is dead quiet except for a bunch of boys jumping off of the wharf. We think it is Saturday and we think that the Gendarme and Customs offices and closed but first, time for a nap. Later in the afternoon we launch the dingy and go ashore to check.. In fact the official offices are closed but the grocery store is open so we pick up some baguette and croissant for breakfast. I have about $30 Polynesian francs left from Tahiti. There isn o ATM here, actually not much of a town, just 2 grocery stores, customs office on the wharf, the hotel Fiafia and a string of houses between the steep cliffs and the ocean. The people here look very Polynesian as opposed to the Fijians who are definitely African but they have that same easy going joy of life. Futuna is a French Protectorate and, according to the guide book, the people happily take the high paying French government jobs and then go about their traditional way of life.
Having stretched our legs and done a small amount of shopping we headed back to the boat since we are technically not supposed to be ashore until we have cleared in. In addition to this being the weekend, it must be some sort of holliday because we could hear music late into the night and again most of the day Sunday. Very frustrating to to be able to leave the boat. Monday morning we head ashore again to check in. The customs office is on the wharf but the Gendarmerie is a long walk up the road. We decide to go there first, since we seem to remember from last time that when we went to customs they sent us off to the gendarme. Wrong. When we got to the gendarmerie they were very polite and spoke English but told us that we needed the paperwork from customs. So back we went down the road. It is lovely here, somehow more beautiful than Fiji. The road snakes along the edge of the ocean next to tall cliffs covered with vines and flowers. The houses are neat and well kept There is a notable absence of cows and goats and dogs wandering the streets.
Back at customs we get into a complicated discussion with the customs officers who speak much less English that the gendarme. I have decided that it would be fun to rent a car and drive around the island, instead of just leaving immediately. This means we would not leave until Wed morning. But if we are going to do this then we need to come back tomorrow to check out, instead of doing everything today. It all depends o whether we can find a car to rend. Apparently Patrick at the Hotel Fiafia has the only rental cars. The hotel is at the other end of town so off we go. When we get to the hotel, Patrick is out and the rest of the staff speak only French. With lots of gestures and the use of our “French for Cruisers” book we discover that there are no more cars this week and Patrick will be back in an hour or so. Since we are here, we opt for a petit dejuiner and use of their wifi. Good coffee au lait, good bread, OK wifi. How we miss good bread in Fiji. That is a whole other story. Eventually Patrick comes back and we confirm that there are no rental cars all week. It is indeed a holiday. In fact, it is a whole week of holiday and both cars are booked up. So we make a reservation for dinner and head back to customs to tell them that we will be leaving tomorrow after all at 5am. And then back to the gendarmerie again to have our passports stamped.
Finally we are done, checked in and checked out. Now for some serious shopping. There are no ATM and I am low on francs after our breakfast in the hotel but they will take our credit card if we spend $50 At $10 for a bottle of French wine, the will be easy. So we stock up on wine, cheese, pickles, pate and canned cassoulet. In the evening we head back to the hotel for a wonderful dinner, all the more appreciated since we have not eaten much for most of our trip. A simple, fresh green salad, good wine, sourdough bread, fish for Alan and a thick steak for me. Ice cream and coffee for dessert. The French do know how to do food right. The whole meal including wine was less than $100
Back to the boat, hoist the dingy, fold it up and tie it down ready for a 5am departure. Unless something goes wrong this is the last time we will be in Futuna
October 207 Futuna Run part 1
Vuda to Futuna and back, Oct 2017 Part 1
After waiting and waiting and waiting, suddenly we left before we were really ready. I thought we were going Wednesday but our buddy boat was ready and on the way Tuesday morning. I had planned on one last laundry and one last shopping. On the other hand, we need to do this. It is just 4 days to Savusavu and I can catch up there while we check out and wait for weather to make the run to Futuna. So we were underway by 2:30 and spent the night at Bakana. I hate anchoring at Bekana because the bottom is soft mud and it takes forever to get the anchor up and the mud washed off. On the plus side, the new anchor remote that Alan made works nicely and the slightly too large chain is starting to settle in, helped along by liberal doses of WD40. The familiar motor sail through the reef along the west side of Viti Levu went smoothly, calm seas and sun. As usual, we had 20 knots of wind on the nose when we rounded the corner. By 5:30 we were anchored at Nananu-i-cake where Bev on Kokoh was waiting for us with cold beer and hot stew.
Since the winds were predicted to continue to blow we decided to stay here one more day. Finally we can run the water maker. We have a new generator so it should work fine, except that it doesn’t. Reexamining the fine print for both the water maker and the generator reveals that one is 60 hertz and one is 50 hertz. Damn! One or the other is going to need to be changed. Last time we were in Savusavu we found a really good electrician. Hopefully he is still in business. In the meanwhile, we are completely full of water, 120 gals. Easily enough to get to Savusavu or even Futuna and back,
We usually go north from Nanayu-i-ra to Vanua Levu but Bev suggested that we continue further south to Naigoni which gives a better angle to get into Savusavu and avoids a very narrow pass. So off we went, once again motoring into the wind through the reefs. Fiji seems to be nothing but reefs and the winds are always on the nose. Except for the water maker, everything seems to be working well. Fred, the auto pilot, did a great job. Naigoni was delightful. We were nchored in white sand against a deserted beach by 2:30. Beautiful reefs for snorkeling, although it is a little cool OK, yes, I am spoiled by the always warm water and air.
Next day another change of plans. We are only a short way from the old capital of Lavuke on Ovalau and we can check out of the country there instead of going to Savusavu. We have been wanting to go there anyway, so seems like a good chance. We actually got the main sail up for a couple of hours and it looks good. There is a small weak spot which the sailmaker was supposed to patch and missed, but it should not be a problem. We will have to wait until we get back from Futuna to see about getting the water maker to work.
We arrived in Lavuka early morning on Sunday after a short 2 hour sail. It is a strange place for a major port since there is no real harbor and the town is on the east side of the island, facing the trade winds. The anchorage is just off the town, inside the reefs but with no protection from the wind It almost feels like ships coming from the east just ran into the island and stopped but bacon the day it was considered a good anchorage and one of the reasons LAvuka became the first capital of Fiji
Since is Sunday, I decided to go to church. I haven't been much on this trip and the singing in the Polynesian churches is marvelous. As we sailed into the town, we passed a wonderful grey stone church with an impressive bell tower and stained glass windows. Seems like that is the place to go for Sunday morning services. Of course by the time we got anchored and got the dingy launched and figured out where to tie up, it was late but I set off anyway. The town is only 1 block deep, spread along the waterfront and It seemed like there was singing coming from every building. After stopping in at 3-4 churches, I finally made it to the old stone church only to discover that it is no longer functional. It was badly damaged in Winston and apparently the archdiocese just gave up on it. so, mission accomplished we turned around and headed back exploring the little town as we went. We eventually stopped at the Hotel Royal built in the 1860s. Looks just like you would expect a South Sea Island hotel to look, lush grounds festooned with orchids, breezy rooms with rattan furniture and not a soul around. Eventually we made our way back to the boat to get ready to check out and head for Futuna in the morning.
Monday morning, documentation in hand, we headed for customs/immigration. Staff were very polite and not at all in a hurry. In addition to filling out forms and having passports stamped, we need to fill out a 9 page reentry form and email it to the customs office in Suva. Problem is the wifi in Lava is almost nonexistent. There are 2 internet cafes but they do not have wifi so we can use our iPads. Apparently only the Royal Hotel has wifi. In the process of searching we learned that the next day, October 10, is Fiji Day, a public holiday featuring a reenactment of the recession of Fiji to England in 1840. This is a big deal here since Lava is the site where it actually happened. Everyone from the customs officials to the man on the street encouraged us to stay. We are really not in a hurry and the weather looks OK for several days so we decided to stay. Our buddy boat, Kokoh, decided to go ahead leave so we will be on our own for the trip but we have done it twice before. It should not be a problem.
Bright and early Tuesday morning we joined the rest of the population of the town heading up the road to the official site. Everyone was wearing Fiji blue. Many had tied a Fiji flag around their waist as a sulu. In 1874 England agreed to annex Fiji as a British crown colony. Fiji belonged to England for 100 years. In 1970 England granted independence and returned the country to the Fijians, again on October 10 so it is in a sense a double celebration, although this reenactment is all-out the British. The police band marched, school children sand “God Save the Queen”. The participants emerged from an impressive stone bure in full costume and proceeded to the site overlooking the waterfront. First came young men in native dress, then the old chief complete with white wig and beard, Behind him came the British officials followed by the wives and daughters. Speeches were made, documents read, both in English and in Fijian. Everyone signed the paperwork. Flags were raised and lowered. The band played, the schooled children sang and everyone had a great time. When it was over everyone walked in procession back along the main road to the sports park where more speeches were given and the students participated in an oratory contest. Then there was ferris wheel and bumper cars and cotton candy and barbecue stands. All together a most satisfactory day. I am glad we stayed to se it.
Next day customs and immigration were open again. We spent 2 frustrating hours filling out and trying to email the reentry paperwork and then we were off to Futuna.
After waiting and waiting and waiting, suddenly we left before we were really ready. I thought we were going Wednesday but our buddy boat was ready and on the way Tuesday morning. I had planned on one last laundry and one last shopping. On the other hand, we need to do this. It is just 4 days to Savusavu and I can catch up there while we check out and wait for weather to make the run to Futuna. So we were underway by 2:30 and spent the night at Bakana. I hate anchoring at Bekana because the bottom is soft mud and it takes forever to get the anchor up and the mud washed off. On the plus side, the new anchor remote that Alan made works nicely and the slightly too large chain is starting to settle in, helped along by liberal doses of WD40. The familiar motor sail through the reef along the west side of Viti Levu went smoothly, calm seas and sun. As usual, we had 20 knots of wind on the nose when we rounded the corner. By 5:30 we were anchored at Nananu-i-cake where Bev on Kokoh was waiting for us with cold beer and hot stew.
Since the winds were predicted to continue to blow we decided to stay here one more day. Finally we can run the water maker. We have a new generator so it should work fine, except that it doesn’t. Reexamining the fine print for both the water maker and the generator reveals that one is 60 hertz and one is 50 hertz. Damn! One or the other is going to need to be changed. Last time we were in Savusavu we found a really good electrician. Hopefully he is still in business. In the meanwhile, we are completely full of water, 120 gals. Easily enough to get to Savusavu or even Futuna and back,
We usually go north from Nanayu-i-ra to Vanua Levu but Bev suggested that we continue further south to Naigoni which gives a better angle to get into Savusavu and avoids a very narrow pass. So off we went, once again motoring into the wind through the reefs. Fiji seems to be nothing but reefs and the winds are always on the nose. Except for the water maker, everything seems to be working well. Fred, the auto pilot, did a great job. Naigoni was delightful. We were nchored in white sand against a deserted beach by 2:30. Beautiful reefs for snorkeling, although it is a little cool OK, yes, I am spoiled by the always warm water and air.
Next day another change of plans. We are only a short way from the old capital of Lavuke on Ovalau and we can check out of the country there instead of going to Savusavu. We have been wanting to go there anyway, so seems like a good chance. We actually got the main sail up for a couple of hours and it looks good. There is a small weak spot which the sailmaker was supposed to patch and missed, but it should not be a problem. We will have to wait until we get back from Futuna to see about getting the water maker to work.
We arrived in Lavuka early morning on Sunday after a short 2 hour sail. It is a strange place for a major port since there is no real harbor and the town is on the east side of the island, facing the trade winds. The anchorage is just off the town, inside the reefs but with no protection from the wind It almost feels like ships coming from the east just ran into the island and stopped but bacon the day it was considered a good anchorage and one of the reasons LAvuka became the first capital of Fiji
Since is Sunday, I decided to go to church. I haven't been much on this trip and the singing in the Polynesian churches is marvelous. As we sailed into the town, we passed a wonderful grey stone church with an impressive bell tower and stained glass windows. Seems like that is the place to go for Sunday morning services. Of course by the time we got anchored and got the dingy launched and figured out where to tie up, it was late but I set off anyway. The town is only 1 block deep, spread along the waterfront and It seemed like there was singing coming from every building. After stopping in at 3-4 churches, I finally made it to the old stone church only to discover that it is no longer functional. It was badly damaged in Winston and apparently the archdiocese just gave up on it. so, mission accomplished we turned around and headed back exploring the little town as we went. We eventually stopped at the Hotel Royal built in the 1860s. Looks just like you would expect a South Sea Island hotel to look, lush grounds festooned with orchids, breezy rooms with rattan furniture and not a soul around. Eventually we made our way back to the boat to get ready to check out and head for Futuna in the morning.
Monday morning, documentation in hand, we headed for customs/immigration. Staff were very polite and not at all in a hurry. In addition to filling out forms and having passports stamped, we need to fill out a 9 page reentry form and email it to the customs office in Suva. Problem is the wifi in Lava is almost nonexistent. There are 2 internet cafes but they do not have wifi so we can use our iPads. Apparently only the Royal Hotel has wifi. In the process of searching we learned that the next day, October 10, is Fiji Day, a public holiday featuring a reenactment of the recession of Fiji to England in 1840. This is a big deal here since Lava is the site where it actually happened. Everyone from the customs officials to the man on the street encouraged us to stay. We are really not in a hurry and the weather looks OK for several days so we decided to stay. Our buddy boat, Kokoh, decided to go ahead leave so we will be on our own for the trip but we have done it twice before. It should not be a problem.
Bright and early Tuesday morning we joined the rest of the population of the town heading up the road to the official site. Everyone was wearing Fiji blue. Many had tied a Fiji flag around their waist as a sulu. In 1874 England agreed to annex Fiji as a British crown colony. Fiji belonged to England for 100 years. In 1970 England granted independence and returned the country to the Fijians, again on October 10 so it is in a sense a double celebration, although this reenactment is all-out the British. The police band marched, school children sand “God Save the Queen”. The participants emerged from an impressive stone bure in full costume and proceeded to the site overlooking the waterfront. First came young men in native dress, then the old chief complete with white wig and beard, Behind him came the British officials followed by the wives and daughters. Speeches were made, documents read, both in English and in Fijian. Everyone signed the paperwork. Flags were raised and lowered. The band played, the schooled children sang and everyone had a great time. When it was over everyone walked in procession back along the main road to the sports park where more speeches were given and the students participated in an oratory contest. Then there was ferris wheel and bumper cars and cotton candy and barbecue stands. All together a most satisfactory day. I am glad we stayed to se it.
Next day customs and immigration were open again. We spent 2 frustrating hours filling out and trying to email the reentry paperwork and then we were off to Futuna.
August, 2017, Movie making part 2
Movie May-Aug, 2017
Part 2, the filming
Bright and early next morning the vessel wrangler, Dylan, arrived to guide us to the filming location. Once we arrived on site we were boarded by the 4 extras in full hippy regalia, the costumer, to make sure no one changes clothes and the sound guy. Near by was Mary Madeline, loaded with people and cameras, the camera boat also loaded with people and cameras including one on a long crane and several small tenders to shuttle people back and forth. And a helicopter with more cameras. They have promised us stills from the helicopter but so far we have not seen any. Dylan is in contact with the other boats, the director and the camera men and relays our orders to us. In the scene, we meet another boat and have a brief race and then go on our separate ways. A very short scene and not integral to the story at all so it is entirely possible it will be cut out during the final edit.
Alan is on the tiller with a crew of 4 that he has never met before and it quickly becomes obvious that they are not sailors. So much for the idea of turning Rhapsody over to them to sail. They are willing but have no idea what to do and only of them is even interested in learning. The minute the cameras start they drop everything and pose. It is an overcast and blustery day with the wind eventually building to 25-30 knots. For the first time ever, Rhapsody actually has the lee rail under, a good camera shot but not good or safe sailing. Normally we would reef the main but of course all the shots have to be the same, so we cannot. We are told to sail a particular direction, speed up, slow down, turn, follow the other boat, get closer to it, pass it, now fall off. Turn around, sail back to the beginning and do it again, over and over. As far as I can tell the director has never sailed. You do not just speed up or slow down on command.and no one really wants to get that close to another boat when you are under full sail.
At first I try to pitch in with the sailing but there are just too many people on deck so I decide to go down below and follow the action on the iPad. With Alan having to pay attention to the director’s orders and manage the boat he cannot also watch the chart and depth gage. For whatever reason the director has decided to film in a particularly narrow area between the reefs. Must be a good camera angle or something but very difficult to manage the boat. No one else seems to be paying attention to the reefs so I am, by default, the only one keeping an eye out and alerting Dylan when we are getting too close. Dylan then calls someone on the camera boat who talks to the director and hopefully we get the order to turn or stop.
We take a break at noon and a tender shows up with lunch for all, which is quickly devoured. After lunch the sound guy goes into action. On some of the runs the extras were told to yell and wave and on the rest of the runs they were to just mime the action, no sound. Eventually the light starts to fade. It is mid winter and gets dark early. Everyone is talking bout quitting fort the day and I put down my iPad. Except the director wants just a little more footage. Suddenly I realized we are heading directly for the reef full speed. By the time I realized and yelled to Dylan to stop, it was too late. With a jarring “thunk” we hit. The reef was exactly where the iPad said it would be and it was high tide.
Obviously that was the end of filming for the day and most of the tech support took off but we were stuck, really stuck. Alan tried everything he could with the motor to no avail. We all gathered on one side and then the other to attempt to wiggle off, no luck. The tide has just turned and if we don’t get off soon we will really be stuck, plus it is getting dark. Finally we got a line from another boat which was standing by. It was a massively heavy tug. There was some concern that it was too powerful and might rip Rhapsody apart so they had not used it before but now we are out of time. Ever so slowly and gently we were pulled off off the reef and back into deep water. A couple of divers were sent down with a light to inspect and they reported that everything looked OK. I checked under the floorboards and could not see any water coming in. Seems we were lucky. Rhapsody is a very strong boat. However, that night at dinner we were told to head back to Vuda to be hauled out and inspected. It seems they are through with us anyway. The haul out showed some nicks and scratches that should be fixed and we have lost both wind vanes but no serious damage. But before we could have any work done we got a message to get back to Rakiraki. The director needed some more footage. So back we went.
Assuming that we were dismissed, we had taken down some of the hippy dressing festooning Rhapsody. Now we needed to have the set dressers come and put it all back. For some reason the people who came to put it all back were not the same people who did it the first time so I don’t know if they really got it right but it must have been close enough. Again we sat around for several days before we were actually needed. The second day of filming was a repeat of the first one; sail closer, fall off, speed up, etc but in a different location with far fewer reefs. It was supposed to be just an hour or maybe two but in the end it took all day. Luckily we ended with no more accidents and this time we really were dismissed. Set design came back the next morning to collect all of their stuff and we were free to go with assurances that we would be paid within a day or two. That night we anchored at the lovely resort of Volivoli, just across the bay and discovered that most of the film crew were there, unwinding. Once again we were assured that the money would be in the bank within days.
Back in Vuda, Rhapsody was once again hauled out. This time we got the work done, all patched and painted like new. Vuda has a “no cash, no splash” rule which I can understand but we could not get ahold of anyone from the film company to show up to pay the bills so Alan paid himself and sent the invoices to the film people.
The business with the money has been a mess. First of all, we never met anyone in person. Everything was done online, much of it via text messages. The company could not pay cash, our money had to be deposited directly to our bank. The production company is based in New Zealand and our bank is in the US. We submitted account numbers and routing numbers and addresses over and over and somehow they could not seem to get it right. Finally we had the two women in charge talk directly to each other and they got it straightened out. Then the Fiji government got involved. We are not actually allowed to work because of our visa status but technically they had just hired the boat, not us. Turns out we were not supposed to do that either. We had not really thought about this. We just assumed that if they were offering to pay they must have sorted it out. Needless to say, this all took a long time but eventually they came to some kind of agreement and the money found it’s was into our bank account. Not as much as we had expected because of the government’s cut but still a nice tidy sum which included travel days as well as all of the days sitting around waiting and reimbursement for all the work. We were not able to convince them to pay for a new wind gage though. Apparently that was our own fault.
It is seeming less and less likely that we will be leaving Fiji this year.
Part 2, the filming
Bright and early next morning the vessel wrangler, Dylan, arrived to guide us to the filming location. Once we arrived on site we were boarded by the 4 extras in full hippy regalia, the costumer, to make sure no one changes clothes and the sound guy. Near by was Mary Madeline, loaded with people and cameras, the camera boat also loaded with people and cameras including one on a long crane and several small tenders to shuttle people back and forth. And a helicopter with more cameras. They have promised us stills from the helicopter but so far we have not seen any. Dylan is in contact with the other boats, the director and the camera men and relays our orders to us. In the scene, we meet another boat and have a brief race and then go on our separate ways. A very short scene and not integral to the story at all so it is entirely possible it will be cut out during the final edit.
Alan is on the tiller with a crew of 4 that he has never met before and it quickly becomes obvious that they are not sailors. So much for the idea of turning Rhapsody over to them to sail. They are willing but have no idea what to do and only of them is even interested in learning. The minute the cameras start they drop everything and pose. It is an overcast and blustery day with the wind eventually building to 25-30 knots. For the first time ever, Rhapsody actually has the lee rail under, a good camera shot but not good or safe sailing. Normally we would reef the main but of course all the shots have to be the same, so we cannot. We are told to sail a particular direction, speed up, slow down, turn, follow the other boat, get closer to it, pass it, now fall off. Turn around, sail back to the beginning and do it again, over and over. As far as I can tell the director has never sailed. You do not just speed up or slow down on command.and no one really wants to get that close to another boat when you are under full sail.
At first I try to pitch in with the sailing but there are just too many people on deck so I decide to go down below and follow the action on the iPad. With Alan having to pay attention to the director’s orders and manage the boat he cannot also watch the chart and depth gage. For whatever reason the director has decided to film in a particularly narrow area between the reefs. Must be a good camera angle or something but very difficult to manage the boat. No one else seems to be paying attention to the reefs so I am, by default, the only one keeping an eye out and alerting Dylan when we are getting too close. Dylan then calls someone on the camera boat who talks to the director and hopefully we get the order to turn or stop.
We take a break at noon and a tender shows up with lunch for all, which is quickly devoured. After lunch the sound guy goes into action. On some of the runs the extras were told to yell and wave and on the rest of the runs they were to just mime the action, no sound. Eventually the light starts to fade. It is mid winter and gets dark early. Everyone is talking bout quitting fort the day and I put down my iPad. Except the director wants just a little more footage. Suddenly I realized we are heading directly for the reef full speed. By the time I realized and yelled to Dylan to stop, it was too late. With a jarring “thunk” we hit. The reef was exactly where the iPad said it would be and it was high tide.
Obviously that was the end of filming for the day and most of the tech support took off but we were stuck, really stuck. Alan tried everything he could with the motor to no avail. We all gathered on one side and then the other to attempt to wiggle off, no luck. The tide has just turned and if we don’t get off soon we will really be stuck, plus it is getting dark. Finally we got a line from another boat which was standing by. It was a massively heavy tug. There was some concern that it was too powerful and might rip Rhapsody apart so they had not used it before but now we are out of time. Ever so slowly and gently we were pulled off off the reef and back into deep water. A couple of divers were sent down with a light to inspect and they reported that everything looked OK. I checked under the floorboards and could not see any water coming in. Seems we were lucky. Rhapsody is a very strong boat. However, that night at dinner we were told to head back to Vuda to be hauled out and inspected. It seems they are through with us anyway. The haul out showed some nicks and scratches that should be fixed and we have lost both wind vanes but no serious damage. But before we could have any work done we got a message to get back to Rakiraki. The director needed some more footage. So back we went.
Assuming that we were dismissed, we had taken down some of the hippy dressing festooning Rhapsody. Now we needed to have the set dressers come and put it all back. For some reason the people who came to put it all back were not the same people who did it the first time so I don’t know if they really got it right but it must have been close enough. Again we sat around for several days before we were actually needed. The second day of filming was a repeat of the first one; sail closer, fall off, speed up, etc but in a different location with far fewer reefs. It was supposed to be just an hour or maybe two but in the end it took all day. Luckily we ended with no more accidents and this time we really were dismissed. Set design came back the next morning to collect all of their stuff and we were free to go with assurances that we would be paid within a day or two. That night we anchored at the lovely resort of Volivoli, just across the bay and discovered that most of the film crew were there, unwinding. Once again we were assured that the money would be in the bank within days.
Back in Vuda, Rhapsody was once again hauled out. This time we got the work done, all patched and painted like new. Vuda has a “no cash, no splash” rule which I can understand but we could not get ahold of anyone from the film company to show up to pay the bills so Alan paid himself and sent the invoices to the film people.
The business with the money has been a mess. First of all, we never met anyone in person. Everything was done online, much of it via text messages. The company could not pay cash, our money had to be deposited directly to our bank. The production company is based in New Zealand and our bank is in the US. We submitted account numbers and routing numbers and addresses over and over and somehow they could not seem to get it right. Finally we had the two women in charge talk directly to each other and they got it straightened out. Then the Fiji government got involved. We are not actually allowed to work because of our visa status but technically they had just hired the boat, not us. Turns out we were not supposed to do that either. We had not really thought about this. We just assumed that if they were offering to pay they must have sorted it out. Needless to say, this all took a long time but eventually they came to some kind of agreement and the money found it’s was into our bank account. Not as much as we had expected because of the government’s cut but still a nice tidy sum which included travel days as well as all of the days sitting around waiting and reimbursement for all the work. We were not able to convince them to pay for a new wind gage though. Apparently that was our own fault.
It is seeming less and less likely that we will be leaving Fiji this year.
May-August, 2017 Movie making
Movie May-Aug, 2017
Part 1
Our friends on Mary Madeline have decided it it time to move on. Rather than sail back to Quebec they have decided to sell their boat and get a new one when they get home. The boat sold almost immediately to a movie company. When we heard that we thought it would be fun if we could be extras so we sent an email off to the company asking them to consider Rhapsody for background shots. The film is supposed to shoot in Rakiraki in June which is perfect. We can do the movie shoot and then go to Savusavu, check out of Fiji and head home We had an answer saying they would keep us in mind and then nothing more. We were busy getting Rhapsody ready to sail back to Hawaii and did not think much about it.
When we started seeing people working on Mary Madeline, we asked again. Turns out the first contact person was fired, so we turned in our contact info again. This time we get a response asking for photos, which we sent Now they say that the shoot is in Suva in July. Ok, we can still make that work. Instead of going north around Vitu Levu we will go south to Suva and then to some of the other islands in the Lab group before we check out. We are almost ready to go. Once again we heard nothing from the film people and once again our boat projects are taken longer than expected. Eventually we got an email asking for photos again and then some people showed up to check us out. More time went by while we finished varnishing and started the search for a new generator. No word from the production company.
Suddenly word came that they were ready for us and could we please be in Rakiraki the next day. It usually takes us two days to get to Rakirki from Vuda, not counting a day to get everything cleaned up and stowed. But the generator had finally arrived and Raijeli had a new home, so we said that we would get there as soon as we could. After all a few extra dollars would come in handy. Two days later we arrived and were directed to where the company had installed several mooring balls along the shore of Nanaya-i-ra . Once we were settled, Dylan, the boat wrangler came, checked us in and told us to stand by. We should show up for dinner at the backpacker resort over the hill and we would find out more then. Shortly after he left, the set decorators arrived. Turns out Rhapsody is supposed to be a “hippy boat” so we were festooned with peace flags, extra gas cans, surf boards, etc. Just before dark we took the dingy ashore and headed over the hill to find the back packer resort. It turned out to be a place where we had taken a dive trip last year and also the same place that Chris had stayed at when he visited Fiji fifteen years ago. The film crew had taken over the whole place and this was where we went each night for dinner and to try to find out what we are supposed to be doing. So far it is all just “not tomorrow, stand by”. Part of our agreement was that we would be put up in a hotel but apparently everything in the whole area is full. Eventually we were told that they had found us a place 45 minutes away and were attempting to arrange transport. It does not sound like that is going to work. It is too far from Rhapsody and too complicated to get back and forth. I had been looking forward to staying in a hotel with all meals provided but we decided to just stay on the boat.
And so we waited. Every evening we went ashore and hiked over the hill for dinner and every evening we were told to just wait. Alan worked on the generator and water maker and I took care of various odd jobs that had been left undone when we left in such a hurry. The weather is stormy and they are paying us for every day that we are here so we just wait. Typical movie business. No one seems to know what is going on, or at least they are not telling us.
Finally, it is time. We are picked up at 8 am and taken across the bay to Ellington Wharf where the film company has taken over the whole area. There are almost a dozen large container units for cameras, costume, set construction, lighting, dressing rooms, dining area, etc. Generators running with cables everywhere, port-a-pottys, people being busy and people waiting. Fijians hanging out a looking to see how much of this money they can collect. We are directed to the dining tents, given paperwork to fill out and invited to help ourselves to breakfast. And we are finally introduced to our extras. Rhapsody is supposed to be sailed by hippies so the film people had found 4 young people who were on a old wooden square rigger anchored in Lautoka and recruited them. They are supposed to sail Rhapsody for the movie while we stand by down below to help if necessary. Except that these kids do not know how to sail. They are backpacking students who paid to be allowed to crew on this ratty old square rigger but have no other sailing experience. There is no way Alan is going to turn Rhapsody over to them. So there we are sitting at the table with the director and all of his assistants, 4 cute young hippy types and us two old dudes, and we are insisting that we have to be the ones sailing the boat. This does not fit with the director’s picture at all but we are not going to give in and it is to late to find another boat. Finally he turns to the costumer is despair and tells her to do what she can and that is the end of the meeting. We are to take Rhapsody to the rendezvous point at 8am tomorrow to begin shooting. Off we go to costume to see what she can to to make us look like young hippies.
Part 1
Our friends on Mary Madeline have decided it it time to move on. Rather than sail back to Quebec they have decided to sell their boat and get a new one when they get home. The boat sold almost immediately to a movie company. When we heard that we thought it would be fun if we could be extras so we sent an email off to the company asking them to consider Rhapsody for background shots. The film is supposed to shoot in Rakiraki in June which is perfect. We can do the movie shoot and then go to Savusavu, check out of Fiji and head home We had an answer saying they would keep us in mind and then nothing more. We were busy getting Rhapsody ready to sail back to Hawaii and did not think much about it.
When we started seeing people working on Mary Madeline, we asked again. Turns out the first contact person was fired, so we turned in our contact info again. This time we get a response asking for photos, which we sent Now they say that the shoot is in Suva in July. Ok, we can still make that work. Instead of going north around Vitu Levu we will go south to Suva and then to some of the other islands in the Lab group before we check out. We are almost ready to go. Once again we heard nothing from the film people and once again our boat projects are taken longer than expected. Eventually we got an email asking for photos again and then some people showed up to check us out. More time went by while we finished varnishing and started the search for a new generator. No word from the production company.
Suddenly word came that they were ready for us and could we please be in Rakiraki the next day. It usually takes us two days to get to Rakirki from Vuda, not counting a day to get everything cleaned up and stowed. But the generator had finally arrived and Raijeli had a new home, so we said that we would get there as soon as we could. After all a few extra dollars would come in handy. Two days later we arrived and were directed to where the company had installed several mooring balls along the shore of Nanaya-i-ra . Once we were settled, Dylan, the boat wrangler came, checked us in and told us to stand by. We should show up for dinner at the backpacker resort over the hill and we would find out more then. Shortly after he left, the set decorators arrived. Turns out Rhapsody is supposed to be a “hippy boat” so we were festooned with peace flags, extra gas cans, surf boards, etc. Just before dark we took the dingy ashore and headed over the hill to find the back packer resort. It turned out to be a place where we had taken a dive trip last year and also the same place that Chris had stayed at when he visited Fiji fifteen years ago. The film crew had taken over the whole place and this was where we went each night for dinner and to try to find out what we are supposed to be doing. So far it is all just “not tomorrow, stand by”. Part of our agreement was that we would be put up in a hotel but apparently everything in the whole area is full. Eventually we were told that they had found us a place 45 minutes away and were attempting to arrange transport. It does not sound like that is going to work. It is too far from Rhapsody and too complicated to get back and forth. I had been looking forward to staying in a hotel with all meals provided but we decided to just stay on the boat.
And so we waited. Every evening we went ashore and hiked over the hill for dinner and every evening we were told to just wait. Alan worked on the generator and water maker and I took care of various odd jobs that had been left undone when we left in such a hurry. The weather is stormy and they are paying us for every day that we are here so we just wait. Typical movie business. No one seems to know what is going on, or at least they are not telling us.
Finally, it is time. We are picked up at 8 am and taken across the bay to Ellington Wharf where the film company has taken over the whole area. There are almost a dozen large container units for cameras, costume, set construction, lighting, dressing rooms, dining area, etc. Generators running with cables everywhere, port-a-pottys, people being busy and people waiting. Fijians hanging out a looking to see how much of this money they can collect. We are directed to the dining tents, given paperwork to fill out and invited to help ourselves to breakfast. And we are finally introduced to our extras. Rhapsody is supposed to be sailed by hippies so the film people had found 4 young people who were on a old wooden square rigger anchored in Lautoka and recruited them. They are supposed to sail Rhapsody for the movie while we stand by down below to help if necessary. Except that these kids do not know how to sail. They are backpacking students who paid to be allowed to crew on this ratty old square rigger but have no other sailing experience. There is no way Alan is going to turn Rhapsody over to them. So there we are sitting at the table with the director and all of his assistants, 4 cute young hippy types and us two old dudes, and we are insisting that we have to be the ones sailing the boat. This does not fit with the director’s picture at all but we are not going to give in and it is to late to find another boat. Finally he turns to the costumer is despair and tells her to do what she can and that is the end of the meeting. We are to take Rhapsody to the rendezvous point at 8am tomorrow to begin shooting. Off we go to costume to see what she can to to make us look like young hippies.
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