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Published: October 17th 2008
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Uninhabited Island
Except for the goats and chickens I rate a passage by three important elements; what percentage of time do we spend outside in the cockpit, the number of bruisers I acquire through constantly knocking myself and lastly, how much sleep I get per night (can range from 2 hrs to 7hrs). So the overall passage rating from Tonga to Fiji was “HORRIBLE”. It was overcast and cold, by the time we reached Fiji, my butt was one complete bruise and I was a walking zombie. We also got hit by our first real tropical storm that came out of nowhere. We were lucky in that we had already furled the head sail so we just had to drop the main. We stayed in VHF contact with Flame (Steve and Di from Cottesloe) whose preventer (line that stops the main sail from an accidental gibe) pulled a block from out of the deck. They have a boom furling main so they were unable to bring their main in and had to sail with the wind for two hours. As the wind completely swung around, they had to sail two hours in the wrong direction…bummer.
We arrived at the pass to Lautoka around 4am as we could not
slow the boat down to navigate the pass during the day in case the lead light through the channel were not working. As it was, all went well and it was an easy entrance. I must say that the eastern part of Fiji was far from spectacular. The land is hilly, barren and brown. It is a complete contrast to what we have experienced in the other Pacific islands. There was also a lot of burning going on due to the harvesting of sugar cane so there was ash falling from the sky.
After Checking In and provisioning (& finding NZ Sauvignon Blanc) at the local town we went to Vuda Point Marina to get organised for Jeff and Caroline’s visit. Once they arrived, we hardly gave them time to put their bags down and get changed before leaving the Marina for Muscot Cove, Malolo Island. This place is owned by three Aussies, one being Dick Smith (though not sure if he is the Electronics Dick Smith) and is well set up for yachties. They have a good super market, basics such as fuel & water, a well priced bar & free BBQs (BYO food but they provided the
plates/cutlery etc). All just a few minutes walk from a welcoming resort with a pool, cafes, restaurant and local dancing. They do great cocktails and pig on the spit.
We’d finally caught up with Georgie & Hans (Arbuthnot - Fremantle), last seen Shelter Bay, Panama. They told us about a deserted island approx 25 nm north called Mamanutha-I-Ra. On route the fridge decided to die. Not a good start considering we had enough meat and provisions to do us for several days. We did have some luck in the fishing department and caught a lovely tuna that Jeff cooked on the BBQ that night. The island was gorgeous with palm trees, white beaches and amazing coral. Probably some of the best I have seen and allegedly another Survivor film set. So we are sitting around enjoying this lovely deserted island and sure enough the iPod transmitter decides to die. So I am playing around with the stereo and what do we pick up on the radio but the Aussie Rules Grand Final. A reality check for both Si and I, we are now very close to home. After a rolly night at anchor, I look out the port hole
Kim and Caroline
Motoring between islands and sure enough there is a cruise ship heading our way. Normally we would feel totally invaded but we viewed this as an opportunity to get some ice. The boys went over to the boat and got a small bag. Unfortunately it was too late for the steaks and chicken but cooled the wine for lunch. We spent a lovely day snorkeling and swam to the island where the boys proceeded to collect coconuts and try to open them. We were successful, enough for a couple of coconut, pineapple juice and rum cocktails on the beach. We headed back to Muscat Cove the following day so we could have access to fresh provisions and ice. There were some goats and chickens on the island but I don’t think any of us was up to the task.
We had a lovely sail back through the islands. There was no wind and the water was gorgeous. We did have one slight mishap involving poor navigation charts but as there was no damage, I am going to leave that story untold. The rest of the stay at Muscat Cove was great except the weather turned and it got rather windy. It did
not stop us from going to shore and enjoying both the BBQ and restaurant along with Paul and Di (Flame) and their family. As all good things come to an end, so did our time with Jeff and Caroline and bid them a sad farewell.
On the way back to Vuda Point Marina, we finally had some wind to sail. Unfortunately I hurt my back trying to furl the head sail so was bent over for a few days. Fortunately there was a Chiropractor from the US who I was able to see who put me back into place. We had a quiet weekend while I recovered before hauling Woodsia Monday morning for her face lift. Everything went like clock work. Once she was out of the water, the hull was water blasted as a quick surface clean and then rubbed down, all before lunch time. In addition to the anti foul, we had her polished and the trademark Mooring stripes removed. We had the clears replaced in dodger (amazing we can now see forward), a little touch-up spray paint work on a few old marks on the hull. We also dropped the rudder and had the bush replaced.
She was back in the water Wednesday afternoon, looking very slick. We are both happy with the result and quality of work.
The first night on the hard, we treated ourselves to a night at the resort next door. It was very hot and the air conditioning and swimming pool was a welcome relief. During our stay at the Marina we would often pop next door for a swim for a cool down.
We were ready to leave Thursday morning. We had to take Woodsia back to Lautoka to check out. After enjoying a curry for lunch, doing some last minute shopping and provisioning, we decided to leave. We where going to leave first thing Friday morning but it looked like the SPCZ (Convergence Zone) was on it’s way down so thought we would try to out run it. We had some success but it caught up with us a day out of Vanuatu….but I will leave that story for the next installment.
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