Friday 4
November
Leaving Mana Island to head to Navadra. Engine doesn’t seem to have much go, put the fridge compressor on and it dies…hmmm, back on the anchor. The fuel filter bowls ( I changed the filters yesterday) are half full of
air…clearly didn’t do a great job of bleeding the system.
So a sweat drenched hour later, the air is gone, everything is running fine and we’re off through the dogleg in the reef and out heading north to Navadra.
There’s no wind at all, so it’s motor all the way. About 5 knots comes in from the west at about midday and the genoa is out…adds about a knot to boatspeed. Two lines out the back all the way and caught nothing.
Arrived at Navadra and there’s no-one here. The island is unpopulated except for a few goats, so it is exceptionally calm and quiet.
Position : 17° 27.56’S, 177° 02.74’E
Saturday 5 November
Slept in ‘til 0900 ! Getting ready to head north again to Nalauwaki Bay on the north side of Waya Is, the southernmost Yasawa island.
No wind again, but about 4 knots from the W arrives, unfurl the genoa for a bit of assistance. Had two lines out the back and they both went at the same time…skipjack tuna ! got both of them all the way to the back of the boat and lost them just pulling them out of the water !....an hour later hook up another one and same thing happened…maybe the hooks on the luers are a bit small ??
In the meantime Diva is surrounded by a pod of dolphins jumping and playing around the bow. They stayed with me for about an hour…delightful !
Motored into Nalauwaki Bay and anchored in the same spot as last time. Villagers are out doing the washing at the waterfall. It’s high tide so no problems getting in with the dinghy and outboard. Get organised, bunch of dried kava root for the chief, and off I putt towards the beach, following the line they showed me last time avoiding the shallow patches.
Met at the beach by a young man in the water who pulls the dink ashore.. “to see the chief?” he asks…yes please. He leads me to a lean-to and tells me to sit here…this is not the chief’s house, I’m thinking…the young man points to an older man sitting on the floor…we say Bula, I’m thinking this is not the chief.
Turns out this chap is the Mayor of the village. The chief has been taken ill and has gone to the hospital on the mainland.
I place the kava on the floor; we do the sevsevu; clap, shake hands…. I ask if the chief will be OK, yes he’s coming back next week….So that done, its back to the boat for a swim…it’s really hot !
Much better after a swim, but I think another may be in order before dinner.
Swim, wash, fresh shower…that feels good !
Chicken rice for dinner…basically just chopped chicken breast, boiled in water with a little salt, on rice with a bit of soy sauce and chilli sauce….quick easy and satisfying.
Position: 17° 16.38’S, 177° 06.96’E
Sunday 6 November
Very quiet in Nalauwaki Bay this morning. Of course, it’s church day and sooner or later the bell will ring and they will all troop off to the church to sing and be spoken down to by the local church official AND, of course, be asked to give money, which they can ill afford, to maintain the church, which seems to be much more important than their living conditions and their children’s health ……
Anyway, making a new batch of yoghurt this morning and will eventually head off to Somosomo Bay on the island of Naviti.
0900 main is up and we’re off in E F2, hard on the breeze, pulling as well as can be expected. But, of course, it doesn’t last and by 1100 the motor is on again…and then off again at 1200..and then on again at 400…..and so on…seem to be doing a lot of motoring - but on the positive side, the batteries are fully charged, the freezer is well frozen and the water tanks are full; on the negative side the main diesel tank is less than half full – may have to break into the 90l reserve tank !
20 miles later anchored in the completely deserted Vunayawa Bay just inside the big bay, north of Somosomo. I won’t bother going to Somomo on their church day, I’ll leave it ‘til tomorrow.
This bay is just the picture of the South Seas…white sand beach, coconut palms and nobody here.
Steak with pepper and Dijon mustard, Kumala slices fried in oil, spinach quick fried in olive oil with garlic, and a glass of red wine as the sun goes down in Vunayawa.
Position: 17° 05.04’S, 177° 16.63’E
Monday 7 November
Motored round to Somosomo Bay and dropped anchor in the usual spot. Tide is out, so it’s a bit tricky going in with the outboard…and it’s a bit far to row, so I’ll wait until the tide comes up a bit. Man it’s hot…the water is 31°C…..I’ll wait until the sun is past its peak as well.
1430 motor in in the dinghy…the place looks deserted. I noticed that the launch (the village boat) is not here.
No-one comes to meet me on the beach…that’s very unusual. There’s usually someone keeping watch at every village that comes to greet visitors and take them to the chief. I’ve never met the chief here. Each time I’ve come in the past she has been on the mainland.
Well..OK…no sevusevu then. Walk off along the beach to Viny and Jack’s house. There’s two people sitting under a tree outside but they’re not Viny and Jack.
Bula, Bula…how are you….fine and you …fine….
My name is Alan, from the yacht. Are Viny and Jack here ?
No. Jack is working on the other side of the island and won’t be back until dark. Viny and the kids have gone to Lautoka and won’t be back until next week.
Oh, that’s a pity….well can I leave something for them ?..It’s a disc of photographs from my last visit. Viny can watch them on her new fancy television when she gets back.
OK Thanks….bye…….
Back to the dinghy and there’s the usual 3 yr old bouncing up and down on it… Bula, bula….that’s
enough…scoot…
Still no-one comes ….can’t see any adults around, so maybe most of the populus have gone to Lautoka ??
Dinghy back to the boat..that’s that then…
Position : 17° 05.95’S, 177° 15.83’E
Tuesday 8 November
The village boat arrives quite early in the morning, but there’s hardly anyone on it….not Viny anyway.
Set off north to Blue Lagoon…breeze is f’cast 15-20 E –SE…looka a bit lumpy on the east side of Yaqeta Is. Think I’ll go up the west side…likely to be less sea…rolled out the genoa and drifted north out of Somomo Bay…2hrs later the breeze is ESE 20 gusting 30, furled in the genoa a bit and we’re off on a beam reach…the prop shaft is turning, the propeller isn’t feathering again ! Have to have a look at that.
Later of course I’ve got to turn to stbd to get through the pass between Tavela and Matacawalevu Islands… the pass is too narrow to tack in.. too many reefs and rocks, so its furl the genoa and motor on…lucky
to be able to do 2 knots heading straight into 25 knots and a choppy sea…takes an hour to get through and anchor in the Blue Lagoon, which is not so nice today as the wind is blustery and the sky o’cast.
There’s only one other boat in here, a Tayana 42 double ender, anchored about 100 yds away, with what looks like Dad, Mum and daughter on board, “On Verra”, from Portland, Oregon…
.
Clean up, organise the dinghy and go in to the resort for a cold beer.
Very nice, may have dinner here tomorrow.
Position : 16° 56.69’S, 177° 22.00’E
Wednesday 9 November
Blowy night and still blowy in the a.m., but at least the sun is shining.
On Verra is getting ready to go and by 0830 they’re motoring off through the tricky passage to go north. When they turn the corner and head north, the fresh E breeze pressing on their reefed main fair pushes them along. It’s a great sight, unfortunately my camera battery is flat so no pictures.
Making a new loaf of bread, just waiting for the first knead to rise …..have to go in at 1300 to Georgie at the bar to see if I can have dinner tonight….life just seems to fill the spaces between meals !!
It’s all go…dinner at the resort…
Dive under the boat to have a look at the prop…it’s a maxprop and the blades turn to minimise drag…well they turn alright…quite easily. The blades are covered in some kind of shellfish despite the all-wonderful propspeed coating. I go up and get a scraper to scrape them off and some of the propspeed coating comes with them. Never mind we’ll be out of the water next week and it won’t matter until next season…I’ll clean it up and do it again before going back in the water.
A yacht arrives, no flag, no numbers, no name…ah yes there it is painted in yellow on the white stern … impossible to read…comes from Sydney…sort of looks like a Beneteau but it’s not…what is it? Anyone know
?
Dinghy in for dinner (btw it was great…pita bread with pesto and chilli mayonnaise + walu in coconut milk with fried vegetables)…sky is looking dark….the freighter that came past the other day comes in and anchors.. AND ties up to the Blue lagoon Cruises buoy… another island trader, Geraldine, comes in and anchors…there’s something going on here …someone, don’t remember who, predicted a low pressure around the
10th..is this the first cyclone of the season..I hope not!
Back on DIVA 2 2000, wet ride in the dink, its’ blowing 20 knots …hmm…nothing on any of the weather faxes or gribs to predict this…need to check the current f’casts
Thursday 10 November
Well nothing happened overnight and in the morning the two commercial boats are gone…nothing happening weather wise…sky is o ‘cast and there’s a steady breeze…hmmm
I think we’ll go…so up anchor, up with the main #1 reef just in case and reach out to Kubo pass
Turn to stbd and coast down the reef towards Naviti Is, genoa is out and we’re doing 6knots …lovely!
But, of course it doesn’t last, once we’re inside the reef at the NE end of Naviti, the wind starts to die…persist with it for a while but by about 1300 it’s clear that by floating around doing 2 knots with flapping sails is not
getting us anywhere…so engine on and off we go at 5 knots…
In the meantime, we’ve got ‘phone signal so I ‘phone Vuda Pt to see if we can get hauled out on Monday…yup OK either Monday pm or Tuesday am….OK, so I’ll try to get as far south as I can today so I can get to Mana Is
tomorrow and get on the internet to change my flights.
November is really getting too late to be here, to be comfortable.
1730 anchored at Navadra…rolly Navadra…but only 15 miles from Mana.
Friday 11 November
After a rolly night, the morning is o’cast, still a bit breezy…tide today is low at 1245….don’t want to go in to Mana on an ebbing tide…it comes out at about 3-4 knots ! so we’ll wait a while and plan to arrive there when the tide begins to flood.
Good to chance to have bacon and eggs for breakfast !
Well went to set off at 1000 and the engine died 2 minutes after starting…oh no, air again ? …looked at it, hmm bled it again, started….2 mins died…hmm….opened the bleed nipple on the secondary filter and it
SUCKED AIR IN !!...hey hang on…that must mean theirs a blockage..its not air…there’s no fuel !...maybe it’s a filter??...rigged up a bypass with a couple of connectors….same thing…died after 2 mins…OK…took it apart and blew down the line to the tank….didn’t go and then brbrbrbb bubbles in the tank…Ah ha….a feed
line blockage !!!...put it all back together…20 mins later engine is still running…OK we’re good to go…..
Set off and of course the wind is on the nose and it builds during the morning…motor sailing just 15 degrees off the wind with the main up manage to make 3- 4 knots.
By the time I get to the entrance to Mana its been blowing 25-30 for the last 2 hours and there’s a bit of a sea running…..sail past the entrance, turn to wind, down with the main…I’m soaked !...then turn back downwind towards the entrance and roar through the dog leg at 6 knots…anchor off the backpackers and its still blowing 25 knots….100 ft of chain out in 20 ft of water….hmmm need more chain I think….
Anyway, haulout at Vuda is booked for Monday/ Tuesday so I’ve a couple of days to get there….
This is all getting a bit too hard !!!
November
Leaving Mana Island to head to Navadra. Engine doesn’t seem to have much go, put the fridge compressor on and it dies…hmmm, back on the anchor. The fuel filter bowls ( I changed the filters yesterday) are half full of
air…clearly didn’t do a great job of bleeding the system.
So a sweat drenched hour later, the air is gone, everything is running fine and we’re off through the dogleg in the reef and out heading north to Navadra.
There’s no wind at all, so it’s motor all the way. About 5 knots comes in from the west at about midday and the genoa is out…adds about a knot to boatspeed. Two lines out the back all the way and caught nothing.
Arrived at Navadra and there’s no-one here. The island is unpopulated except for a few goats, so it is exceptionally calm and quiet.
Position : 17° 27.56’S, 177° 02.74’E
Saturday 5 November
Slept in ‘til 0900 ! Getting ready to head north again to Nalauwaki Bay on the north side of Waya Is, the southernmost Yasawa island.
No wind again, but about 4 knots from the W arrives, unfurl the genoa for a bit of assistance. Had two lines out the back and they both went at the same time…skipjack tuna ! got both of them all the way to the back of the boat and lost them just pulling them out of the water !....an hour later hook up another one and same thing happened…maybe the hooks on the luers are a bit small ??
In the meantime Diva is surrounded by a pod of dolphins jumping and playing around the bow. They stayed with me for about an hour…delightful !
Motored into Nalauwaki Bay and anchored in the same spot as last time. Villagers are out doing the washing at the waterfall. It’s high tide so no problems getting in with the dinghy and outboard. Get organised, bunch of dried kava root for the chief, and off I putt towards the beach, following the line they showed me last time avoiding the shallow patches.
Met at the beach by a young man in the water who pulls the dink ashore.. “to see the chief?” he asks…yes please. He leads me to a lean-to and tells me to sit here…this is not the chief’s house, I’m thinking…the young man points to an older man sitting on the floor…we say Bula, I’m thinking this is not the chief.
Turns out this chap is the Mayor of the village. The chief has been taken ill and has gone to the hospital on the mainland.
I place the kava on the floor; we do the sevsevu; clap, shake hands…. I ask if the chief will be OK, yes he’s coming back next week….So that done, its back to the boat for a swim…it’s really hot !
Much better after a swim, but I think another may be in order before dinner.
Swim, wash, fresh shower…that feels good !
Chicken rice for dinner…basically just chopped chicken breast, boiled in water with a little salt, on rice with a bit of soy sauce and chilli sauce….quick easy and satisfying.
Position: 17° 16.38’S, 177° 06.96’E
Sunday 6 November
Very quiet in Nalauwaki Bay this morning. Of course, it’s church day and sooner or later the bell will ring and they will all troop off to the church to sing and be spoken down to by the local church official AND, of course, be asked to give money, which they can ill afford, to maintain the church, which seems to be much more important than their living conditions and their children’s health ……
Anyway, making a new batch of yoghurt this morning and will eventually head off to Somosomo Bay on the island of Naviti.
0900 main is up and we’re off in E F2, hard on the breeze, pulling as well as can be expected. But, of course, it doesn’t last and by 1100 the motor is on again…and then off again at 1200..and then on again at 400…..and so on…seem to be doing a lot of motoring - but on the positive side, the batteries are fully charged, the freezer is well frozen and the water tanks are full; on the negative side the main diesel tank is less than half full – may have to break into the 90l reserve tank !
20 miles later anchored in the completely deserted Vunayawa Bay just inside the big bay, north of Somosomo. I won’t bother going to Somomo on their church day, I’ll leave it ‘til tomorrow.
This bay is just the picture of the South Seas…white sand beach, coconut palms and nobody here.
Steak with pepper and Dijon mustard, Kumala slices fried in oil, spinach quick fried in olive oil with garlic, and a glass of red wine as the sun goes down in Vunayawa.
Position: 17° 05.04’S, 177° 16.63’E
Monday 7 November
Motored round to Somosomo Bay and dropped anchor in the usual spot. Tide is out, so it’s a bit tricky going in with the outboard…and it’s a bit far to row, so I’ll wait until the tide comes up a bit. Man it’s hot…the water is 31°C…..I’ll wait until the sun is past its peak as well.
1430 motor in in the dinghy…the place looks deserted. I noticed that the launch (the village boat) is not here.
No-one comes to meet me on the beach…that’s very unusual. There’s usually someone keeping watch at every village that comes to greet visitors and take them to the chief. I’ve never met the chief here. Each time I’ve come in the past she has been on the mainland.
Well..OK…no sevusevu then. Walk off along the beach to Viny and Jack’s house. There’s two people sitting under a tree outside but they’re not Viny and Jack.
Bula, Bula…how are you….fine and you …fine….
My name is Alan, from the yacht. Are Viny and Jack here ?
No. Jack is working on the other side of the island and won’t be back until dark. Viny and the kids have gone to Lautoka and won’t be back until next week.
Oh, that’s a pity….well can I leave something for them ?..It’s a disc of photographs from my last visit. Viny can watch them on her new fancy television when she gets back.
OK Thanks….bye…….
Back to the dinghy and there’s the usual 3 yr old bouncing up and down on it… Bula, bula….that’s
enough…scoot…
Still no-one comes ….can’t see any adults around, so maybe most of the populus have gone to Lautoka ??
Dinghy back to the boat..that’s that then…
Position : 17° 05.95’S, 177° 15.83’E
Tuesday 8 November
The village boat arrives quite early in the morning, but there’s hardly anyone on it….not Viny anyway.
Set off north to Blue Lagoon…breeze is f’cast 15-20 E –SE…looka a bit lumpy on the east side of Yaqeta Is. Think I’ll go up the west side…likely to be less sea…rolled out the genoa and drifted north out of Somomo Bay…2hrs later the breeze is ESE 20 gusting 30, furled in the genoa a bit and we’re off on a beam reach…the prop shaft is turning, the propeller isn’t feathering again ! Have to have a look at that.
Later of course I’ve got to turn to stbd to get through the pass between Tavela and Matacawalevu Islands… the pass is too narrow to tack in.. too many reefs and rocks, so its furl the genoa and motor on…lucky
to be able to do 2 knots heading straight into 25 knots and a choppy sea…takes an hour to get through and anchor in the Blue Lagoon, which is not so nice today as the wind is blustery and the sky o’cast.
There’s only one other boat in here, a Tayana 42 double ender, anchored about 100 yds away, with what looks like Dad, Mum and daughter on board, “On Verra”, from Portland, Oregon…
.
Clean up, organise the dinghy and go in to the resort for a cold beer.
Very nice, may have dinner here tomorrow.
Position : 16° 56.69’S, 177° 22.00’E
Wednesday 9 November
Blowy night and still blowy in the a.m., but at least the sun is shining.
On Verra is getting ready to go and by 0830 they’re motoring off through the tricky passage to go north. When they turn the corner and head north, the fresh E breeze pressing on their reefed main fair pushes them along. It’s a great sight, unfortunately my camera battery is flat so no pictures.
Making a new loaf of bread, just waiting for the first knead to rise …..have to go in at 1300 to Georgie at the bar to see if I can have dinner tonight….life just seems to fill the spaces between meals !!
It’s all go…dinner at the resort…
Dive under the boat to have a look at the prop…it’s a maxprop and the blades turn to minimise drag…well they turn alright…quite easily. The blades are covered in some kind of shellfish despite the all-wonderful propspeed coating. I go up and get a scraper to scrape them off and some of the propspeed coating comes with them. Never mind we’ll be out of the water next week and it won’t matter until next season…I’ll clean it up and do it again before going back in the water.
A yacht arrives, no flag, no numbers, no name…ah yes there it is painted in yellow on the white stern … impossible to read…comes from Sydney…sort of looks like a Beneteau but it’s not…what is it? Anyone know
?
Dinghy in for dinner (btw it was great…pita bread with pesto and chilli mayonnaise + walu in coconut milk with fried vegetables)…sky is looking dark….the freighter that came past the other day comes in and anchors.. AND ties up to the Blue lagoon Cruises buoy… another island trader, Geraldine, comes in and anchors…there’s something going on here …someone, don’t remember who, predicted a low pressure around the
10th..is this the first cyclone of the season..I hope not!
Back on DIVA 2 2000, wet ride in the dink, its’ blowing 20 knots …hmm…nothing on any of the weather faxes or gribs to predict this…need to check the current f’casts
Thursday 10 November
Well nothing happened overnight and in the morning the two commercial boats are gone…nothing happening weather wise…sky is o ‘cast and there’s a steady breeze…hmmm
I think we’ll go…so up anchor, up with the main #1 reef just in case and reach out to Kubo pass
Turn to stbd and coast down the reef towards Naviti Is, genoa is out and we’re doing 6knots …lovely!
But, of course it doesn’t last, once we’re inside the reef at the NE end of Naviti, the wind starts to die…persist with it for a while but by about 1300 it’s clear that by floating around doing 2 knots with flapping sails is not
getting us anywhere…so engine on and off we go at 5 knots…
In the meantime, we’ve got ‘phone signal so I ‘phone Vuda Pt to see if we can get hauled out on Monday…yup OK either Monday pm or Tuesday am….OK, so I’ll try to get as far south as I can today so I can get to Mana Is
tomorrow and get on the internet to change my flights.
November is really getting too late to be here, to be comfortable.
1730 anchored at Navadra…rolly Navadra…but only 15 miles from Mana.
Friday 11 November
After a rolly night, the morning is o’cast, still a bit breezy…tide today is low at 1245….don’t want to go in to Mana on an ebbing tide…it comes out at about 3-4 knots ! so we’ll wait a while and plan to arrive there when the tide begins to flood.
Good to chance to have bacon and eggs for breakfast !
Well went to set off at 1000 and the engine died 2 minutes after starting…oh no, air again ? …looked at it, hmm bled it again, started….2 mins died…hmm….opened the bleed nipple on the secondary filter and it
SUCKED AIR IN !!...hey hang on…that must mean theirs a blockage..its not air…there’s no fuel !...maybe it’s a filter??...rigged up a bypass with a couple of connectors….same thing…died after 2 mins…OK…took it apart and blew down the line to the tank….didn’t go and then brbrbrbb bubbles in the tank…Ah ha….a feed
line blockage !!!...put it all back together…20 mins later engine is still running…OK we’re good to go…..
Set off and of course the wind is on the nose and it builds during the morning…motor sailing just 15 degrees off the wind with the main up manage to make 3- 4 knots.
By the time I get to the entrance to Mana its been blowing 25-30 for the last 2 hours and there’s a bit of a sea running…..sail past the entrance, turn to wind, down with the main…I’m soaked !...then turn back downwind towards the entrance and roar through the dog leg at 6 knots…anchor off the backpackers and its still blowing 25 knots….100 ft of chain out in 20 ft of water….hmmm need more chain I think….
Anyway, haulout at Vuda is booked for Monday/ Tuesday so I’ve a couple of days to get there….
This is all getting a bit too hard !!!