Wednesday June 8
Another beautiful day in the island paradise ...
Went in to shore to go for a walk..saw the chief and had a brief chat.. went to see if we could find the track beyond the cemetery to the "big house"..so big that no-one wants to live in it....couldn't find it...everything apart from the immediate village is so overgrown, its difficult to know where to go.
On the way back from the cemetery we saw a pawpaw tree with two ripe fruit and about 6 on the way...debated taking one and decided no..we don't know who it belongs to....met a young man David who said he was on his way to get pawpaw !
Back at the village had a look at the fisheries buildings....the "conference centre" is getting a makeover...inside there were some really interesting posters of fish and shelfish..and now we see that the ugly yellow fish I snagged the other day was actually a type of mahimahi..and I let it go !!!!
While we are looking at this, David turns up..seems he's working on the conference centre and looking after the giant clams for a week while the other guys are in Suva...he's not keen on working too hard and decides he needs to go and have a rest !
Back to the boat and I have a go at fishing...plenty of bites but can't land anything.
When the tide goes out we go ashore again to walk across the reef to the little island that can't get to by boat because of all the rocks ... found some interesting little shells, but o'wise nothing there...except rubbish...plastic bottles...that's quite common here and its not yachties, its the locals ...they really don't have a concept of rubbish disposal...not as bad here as in Tonga..but the same mentality I think.
anyway, we're going to move to Naingani Is tomorrow. There is apparently a small resort there that welcomes yachties, and a couple of nice anchorages..so we'll see...its only 18 miles away so if we leave mid morning we'll be there mid afternoon.
Thursday June 9
Delightful sail broad reach all the way to Naingani Is.
Chart was a bit sus as it doesn't really show the relationship between the reef to the north and the island...but no problem the sun was high and it was easy to see.
Anchored in 5 m over a sandy bottom in front of a beautiful sandy beach..and there is no-one here...no boats, no village, nothing.
There is a resort around the other side according to Calder's book that welcomes yachties so we'll see.
Tomorrow morning should be beer bottling
The yoghurt hasn't 'yogged' yet so we'll see about that too ...hmm
Water is 29deg and the air is 30...freezer is -20...I'm going to have a swim and then a cold beer !
Gunilla is making butter chicken for dinner......
So thats it from Naingani....
Friday June 10
Still at Naingani Is, Cagabuli Bay...still quiet and still, only boat here....went ashore this am and got a bunch of bananas from a palm..they're green still but hanging up under the solar panels they should ripen in a few days...
Didn't bottle beer as its still gurgling and the hydrometer thing doesn't indicate its ready yet....maybe tomorrow.
The yoghurt had yogged by 8pm last night ...into the fridge and we had some with muesli pawpaw and banana for breakfast...really good....this is actually packet yoghurt I bought in savusavu...its for a "yoghurt maker"..which in reality is only one container inside another into which you put hot water and then the yoghurt powder mixed with water in the inner container and leave it all day in the sun. It works ! one packet which cost F$8 makes a litre of yoghurt...not bad...
I'm on chef duty tonight...going to make spaghetti with a sauce made of onion, cream and canned tuna...should be OK.
Might be bottling beer tomorrow and then motoring around the other side of the island to where the resort is supposed to be..or go there first and bottle beer later...its 32 deg and water is 28 today...been swimming twice..the boat is all clean from the rain and the humidity is down to 75% which means that the boat is dry in the mornings ...not wet as it is when its 90%....
so all well.....haven't heard boo from Will or Ben and only sporadic mail from Pete...have to give them a rev up!!
Saturday June 11
Motored around the corner to the resort...bit of a lumpy anchorage; its exposed to the SE wind...and there's lots of coral about...nearly ran into a big head on the way in, but stopped in time and backed off !!
The resort is really nice and friendly...we're going to have dinner there tonight
Stopped by the pool to have a beer and met an East German eye doctor who was working 10 years in Africa for the Fred Hollows Foundation and in Fiji for 2 years training doctors from all over the South Pacific to do cataract operations. He's going back to Germany next week after being away for 14 years and he really doesn't want to go! He has a young family and he really would like to buy a boat and sail around the world !! He spent about half an hour questioning me about boats, passage making etc then waxed lyrical about his work with Fred Hollows and good it made him feel to make blind people see
Anyway, he told us that the resort at Wakaya Is, which is min US$2000 /night, is where all the R&F go..Opra whatshername was there recently, and its where Keith Richards fell out of the palm tree and hurt his head. Our Dr friend said Richards was taken to Suva Hospital and seen by his friend Mark who made the recommendation to send him to Auckland for surgery...
Sunday June 12
Well as said earlier, left Naigani in a hurry this morning after une nuit blanche...motored out on our incoming track...couldn't see the reefs 'cos the sun is in front, rounded the reef at the N end of the island, unfurled the genoa and had a beautiful day sailing, gybing around the reefs and head NW up the E coast of Viti Levu.
Had a look at a couple of bays...didn't look that great..about 1400 came into Nasava Bay...which isn't mentioned in the pilots, but is very sheltered from the SE with a white sand beach, palm trees...all the usual stuff.
Fixed the broken propellor pin on the outboard and went ashore....obvious signs of previous habitation...a shed and a pile of dismembered coconuts..maybe current habitation; there's a padlock on the shed....no other signs of human life, but lots of birds and goat tracks on the beach !!
Saw the goat briefly after hearing it about 20 minutes ago...it disappeared into the bush
heard from terry and amanda on Clark Gable...we must have passed them somewhere between Savusavu and Viti Levu...they're on their way back to Vuda Pt and fly out to NZ on the 19th, so probably won't see them.
No news from anyone else yet despite a rev up...never mind...one day I'll hear from them I suppose...
Still haven't caught any fish...may have to get some new lures and hooks in Lautoka..as well as a couple of new pins for the outboard ..... And batteries for the monitor remote...and the torch ...and other stuff of course..
Played the guitar a bit this afternoon...its not rusty, but I am !!
Monday June 13
Sailed away from Nasava bay this morning about 1000 and slowly sailed up the east side of Viti Levu through the reefs to Nanua-I-Cake Is....
Anchored and then went to go ashore .. there's a sign on a palm tree..Private property, Keep out, trespassers prosecuted !
Ok...we'll go and take a look at the resort on the little island next door..seems very quiet.
Walk along the jetty to be met by a NZer with a camera round his neck...are you wanting to be guests ? he asks..yes ! we say...sorry the resort isn't open yet, I'm just here taking promo pics ...it'll be open in about a month....
he tells us that its called Dolphin Island and its owned by a Belgian who also owns Huka Lodge in NZ and another one in Cape Town.
we ask about the island we're anchored off and the local Fijian manager tells us its owned by a man in Bermuda and there's a resort there too at the other end...the end we're at looks only accessible by boat and there's nothing here...but private property nonetheless.
This seems to be everywhere now...whole islands owned by individuals for rent as playgrounds for the R&F....ordinary folk won't be able to go anywhere soon !!
I meant to tell you the guy that owns Wakaya Is is the guy that owns the Red Bull energy drink company!
I wonder how it is that these foreigners can buy up all these islands?..who sells them ? I suppose it puts a little back into the local economy in employment and provisions etc but it seems a shame that so much of it is owned by foreigners.
Anyway....nothing we can do....go for a swim sounds like the go....still haven't caught any fish !
Tuesday June 14
Well left the land of private islands and set off through the reefs in light rain..but it cleared and we had sun all day from then on.
Gunilla is doing all the navigating..searching out the beacons and the reefs and doing a good job..very conscientious...
Forecast said 15-20 knots SE-E..well we had max 10 all day !...so it was pretty slow, but I took some video of the landscape and sailing and had a play with the camera altering aperture setting and frame speed and stuff...an;d discovered that I can take snapshot pictures while taking video just by pressing the camera snapshot button...not sure I knew that..or maybe I forgot...anyway, lots of pictures of reefs, reef "beacons", sandy cays with palm trees, locals on the reefs, fishing boats and stuff..
It was low tide when we left and nearly every reef had little boats anchored nearby and people on the reef...don't know what they were after...crabs, shellfish ?..don't know...but even towards the early afternoon when the tide was 2/3rds in they were still on the reefs we passed...waist deep in water and spread out over about 500 metres...10-12 people on each reef...maybe they have nets and are catching fish...don't know.
Anyway after a rather tortuous path, we're anchored just west of the Vatia wharf, which is operated by the Western Mining company, according to the Admiralty Sailing Directions which also states that any vessel of size needs to have a pilot...well the pilot boat is moored next to the wharf and doesn't look like its been used for 20 years !
Its very calm here and I'm going to do bbq for dinner...still haven't caught any fish !!
Tomorrow we'll do the remaining 20 miles to Lautoka and clear in, then hit the town for some shopping and then off to Vuda Pt I think...
So..that's all the news from Viti Levu for today.
Wednesday June 15
Aarrived in Lautoka at 1430 after 6 1/2 hours motoring...no wind at all..cleared in and the customs guy was really helpul...did the outward clearance for the Yasawa Is as well so we don't have to go back...amazing !
Hit the town to do some supermarket shopping..too ate for the market...come back tomorrow.
The anchorage at Lautoka is directly down wind from the Fiji Sugar Coporation Sugar mill, which spews out black smoke all day ..the boat gets covered in small spots of soot whcih wash off easily enough but it getas everywhere...good to get away !
Thursday june 16
Went in to the market to buy fruit and vegetables....got some new fishing gear at the supermarket of all places, new shear pins for the propelloe from Hydraulic Hose Supplies in Marina drive...
Left lautoka for Saweni bay about 1100...sat there for 3 hours waiting for the tide to rise before going to Vuda pt Marina as the entrance there is very shallow...they say 2.5 m at LAT but its not...last time we came in here at low tide the depth sounder was reading 0.00 !
Anyway by 1630 we're in Vuda pt marina jammed in between two catamarans...lots of fenders out !...just as we're tying up, Terry and Amanda come strolling buy to criticise our mooring technique !...they arrived an hour before we did and hit the bottom in the channel on the way in !!!
So we're all safe and well here and about to go off and have a shower and then a drink and dinner at the First Landing Resort next door...
So cheers from Vuda Pt !
Promise to upload phoptographs tomorrow now that we have good
!
Another beautiful day in the island paradise ...
Went in to shore to go for a walk..saw the chief and had a brief chat.. went to see if we could find the track beyond the cemetery to the "big house"..so big that no-one wants to live in it....couldn't find it...everything apart from the immediate village is so overgrown, its difficult to know where to go.
On the way back from the cemetery we saw a pawpaw tree with two ripe fruit and about 6 on the way...debated taking one and decided no..we don't know who it belongs to....met a young man David who said he was on his way to get pawpaw !
Back at the village had a look at the fisheries buildings....the "conference centre" is getting a makeover...inside there were some really interesting posters of fish and shelfish..and now we see that the ugly yellow fish I snagged the other day was actually a type of mahimahi..and I let it go !!!!
While we are looking at this, David turns up..seems he's working on the conference centre and looking after the giant clams for a week while the other guys are in Suva...he's not keen on working too hard and decides he needs to go and have a rest !
Back to the boat and I have a go at fishing...plenty of bites but can't land anything.
When the tide goes out we go ashore again to walk across the reef to the little island that can't get to by boat because of all the rocks ... found some interesting little shells, but o'wise nothing there...except rubbish...plastic bottles...that's quite common here and its not yachties, its the locals ...they really don't have a concept of rubbish disposal...not as bad here as in Tonga..but the same mentality I think.
anyway, we're going to move to Naingani Is tomorrow. There is apparently a small resort there that welcomes yachties, and a couple of nice anchorages..so we'll see...its only 18 miles away so if we leave mid morning we'll be there mid afternoon.
Thursday June 9
Delightful sail broad reach all the way to Naingani Is.
Chart was a bit sus as it doesn't really show the relationship between the reef to the north and the island...but no problem the sun was high and it was easy to see.
Anchored in 5 m over a sandy bottom in front of a beautiful sandy beach..and there is no-one here...no boats, no village, nothing.
There is a resort around the other side according to Calder's book that welcomes yachties so we'll see.
Tomorrow morning should be beer bottling
The yoghurt hasn't 'yogged' yet so we'll see about that too ...hmm
Water is 29deg and the air is 30...freezer is -20...I'm going to have a swim and then a cold beer !
Gunilla is making butter chicken for dinner......
So thats it from Naingani....
Friday June 10
Still at Naingani Is, Cagabuli Bay...still quiet and still, only boat here....went ashore this am and got a bunch of bananas from a palm..they're green still but hanging up under the solar panels they should ripen in a few days...
Didn't bottle beer as its still gurgling and the hydrometer thing doesn't indicate its ready yet....maybe tomorrow.
The yoghurt had yogged by 8pm last night ...into the fridge and we had some with muesli pawpaw and banana for breakfast...really good....this is actually packet yoghurt I bought in savusavu...its for a "yoghurt maker"..which in reality is only one container inside another into which you put hot water and then the yoghurt powder mixed with water in the inner container and leave it all day in the sun. It works ! one packet which cost F$8 makes a litre of yoghurt...not bad...
I'm on chef duty tonight...going to make spaghetti with a sauce made of onion, cream and canned tuna...should be OK.
Might be bottling beer tomorrow and then motoring around the other side of the island to where the resort is supposed to be..or go there first and bottle beer later...its 32 deg and water is 28 today...been swimming twice..the boat is all clean from the rain and the humidity is down to 75% which means that the boat is dry in the mornings ...not wet as it is when its 90%....
so all well.....haven't heard boo from Will or Ben and only sporadic mail from Pete...have to give them a rev up!!
Saturday June 11
Motored around the corner to the resort...bit of a lumpy anchorage; its exposed to the SE wind...and there's lots of coral about...nearly ran into a big head on the way in, but stopped in time and backed off !!
The resort is really nice and friendly...we're going to have dinner there tonight
Stopped by the pool to have a beer and met an East German eye doctor who was working 10 years in Africa for the Fred Hollows Foundation and in Fiji for 2 years training doctors from all over the South Pacific to do cataract operations. He's going back to Germany next week after being away for 14 years and he really doesn't want to go! He has a young family and he really would like to buy a boat and sail around the world !! He spent about half an hour questioning me about boats, passage making etc then waxed lyrical about his work with Fred Hollows and good it made him feel to make blind people see
Anyway, he told us that the resort at Wakaya Is, which is min US$2000 /night, is where all the R&F go..Opra whatshername was there recently, and its where Keith Richards fell out of the palm tree and hurt his head. Our Dr friend said Richards was taken to Suva Hospital and seen by his friend Mark who made the recommendation to send him to Auckland for surgery...
Sunday June 12
Well as said earlier, left Naigani in a hurry this morning after une nuit blanche...motored out on our incoming track...couldn't see the reefs 'cos the sun is in front, rounded the reef at the N end of the island, unfurled the genoa and had a beautiful day sailing, gybing around the reefs and head NW up the E coast of Viti Levu.
Had a look at a couple of bays...didn't look that great..about 1400 came into Nasava Bay...which isn't mentioned in the pilots, but is very sheltered from the SE with a white sand beach, palm trees...all the usual stuff.
Fixed the broken propellor pin on the outboard and went ashore....obvious signs of previous habitation...a shed and a pile of dismembered coconuts..maybe current habitation; there's a padlock on the shed....no other signs of human life, but lots of birds and goat tracks on the beach !!
Saw the goat briefly after hearing it about 20 minutes ago...it disappeared into the bush
heard from terry and amanda on Clark Gable...we must have passed them somewhere between Savusavu and Viti Levu...they're on their way back to Vuda Pt and fly out to NZ on the 19th, so probably won't see them.
No news from anyone else yet despite a rev up...never mind...one day I'll hear from them I suppose...
Still haven't caught any fish...may have to get some new lures and hooks in Lautoka..as well as a couple of new pins for the outboard ..... And batteries for the monitor remote...and the torch ...and other stuff of course..
Played the guitar a bit this afternoon...its not rusty, but I am !!
Monday June 13
Sailed away from Nasava bay this morning about 1000 and slowly sailed up the east side of Viti Levu through the reefs to Nanua-I-Cake Is....
Anchored and then went to go ashore .. there's a sign on a palm tree..Private property, Keep out, trespassers prosecuted !
Ok...we'll go and take a look at the resort on the little island next door..seems very quiet.
Walk along the jetty to be met by a NZer with a camera round his neck...are you wanting to be guests ? he asks..yes ! we say...sorry the resort isn't open yet, I'm just here taking promo pics ...it'll be open in about a month....
he tells us that its called Dolphin Island and its owned by a Belgian who also owns Huka Lodge in NZ and another one in Cape Town.
we ask about the island we're anchored off and the local Fijian manager tells us its owned by a man in Bermuda and there's a resort there too at the other end...the end we're at looks only accessible by boat and there's nothing here...but private property nonetheless.
This seems to be everywhere now...whole islands owned by individuals for rent as playgrounds for the R&F....ordinary folk won't be able to go anywhere soon !!
I meant to tell you the guy that owns Wakaya Is is the guy that owns the Red Bull energy drink company!
I wonder how it is that these foreigners can buy up all these islands?..who sells them ? I suppose it puts a little back into the local economy in employment and provisions etc but it seems a shame that so much of it is owned by foreigners.
Anyway....nothing we can do....go for a swim sounds like the go....still haven't caught any fish !
Tuesday June 14
Well left the land of private islands and set off through the reefs in light rain..but it cleared and we had sun all day from then on.
Gunilla is doing all the navigating..searching out the beacons and the reefs and doing a good job..very conscientious...
Forecast said 15-20 knots SE-E..well we had max 10 all day !...so it was pretty slow, but I took some video of the landscape and sailing and had a play with the camera altering aperture setting and frame speed and stuff...an;d discovered that I can take snapshot pictures while taking video just by pressing the camera snapshot button...not sure I knew that..or maybe I forgot...anyway, lots of pictures of reefs, reef "beacons", sandy cays with palm trees, locals on the reefs, fishing boats and stuff..
It was low tide when we left and nearly every reef had little boats anchored nearby and people on the reef...don't know what they were after...crabs, shellfish ?..don't know...but even towards the early afternoon when the tide was 2/3rds in they were still on the reefs we passed...waist deep in water and spread out over about 500 metres...10-12 people on each reef...maybe they have nets and are catching fish...don't know.
Anyway after a rather tortuous path, we're anchored just west of the Vatia wharf, which is operated by the Western Mining company, according to the Admiralty Sailing Directions which also states that any vessel of size needs to have a pilot...well the pilot boat is moored next to the wharf and doesn't look like its been used for 20 years !
Its very calm here and I'm going to do bbq for dinner...still haven't caught any fish !!
Tomorrow we'll do the remaining 20 miles to Lautoka and clear in, then hit the town for some shopping and then off to Vuda Pt I think...
So..that's all the news from Viti Levu for today.
Wednesday June 15
Aarrived in Lautoka at 1430 after 6 1/2 hours motoring...no wind at all..cleared in and the customs guy was really helpul...did the outward clearance for the Yasawa Is as well so we don't have to go back...amazing !
Hit the town to do some supermarket shopping..too ate for the market...come back tomorrow.
The anchorage at Lautoka is directly down wind from the Fiji Sugar Coporation Sugar mill, which spews out black smoke all day ..the boat gets covered in small spots of soot whcih wash off easily enough but it getas everywhere...good to get away !
Thursday june 16
Went in to the market to buy fruit and vegetables....got some new fishing gear at the supermarket of all places, new shear pins for the propelloe from Hydraulic Hose Supplies in Marina drive...
Left lautoka for Saweni bay about 1100...sat there for 3 hours waiting for the tide to rise before going to Vuda pt Marina as the entrance there is very shallow...they say 2.5 m at LAT but its not...last time we came in here at low tide the depth sounder was reading 0.00 !
Anyway by 1630 we're in Vuda pt marina jammed in between two catamarans...lots of fenders out !...just as we're tying up, Terry and Amanda come strolling buy to criticise our mooring technique !...they arrived an hour before we did and hit the bottom in the channel on the way in !!!
So we're all safe and well here and about to go off and have a shower and then a drink and dinner at the First Landing Resort next door...
So cheers from Vuda Pt !
Promise to upload phoptographs tomorrow now that we have good
!