Fahiti ho!

 Howdy, Pilgrim.  Yeah, we got us a nice little place to homestead here.  Lots are being laid out as we speak!  Get 'em while they're hot!  You could be living in a grass hut on the shore right across from Copra Shed Marina, home of the coldest beer in Savusavu!  And next to the new marina being built!  Have a boat?  This is perfect for you!  Don't have a boat?  We'll sell you one.  (See previous post re Curly's boat.) Yessiree, folks, freehold lots are currently available.  First come, first served.  (Freehold means non-native to Fiji - a polite way of saying 'rich white man.') You want video?  We got video! This magnificent action footage starts with the island that could be YOUR NEW HOME IN PARADISE!  Then pans across YOUR NEW MARINA SLIP, followed by the new tony marina clubhouse (can't see from this angle) and yet ANOTHER BANK OF MARINA SLIPS followed by a sailboat with a dark blue hull (Nicolas' boat and our happy hour locale last Friday night)

 OK, diligent readers of this blog will have seen me write about Copra Shed Marina before.  It's not just the dancing capital of Savusavu, it's also a nice place to have a few cold brews during a shopping trip into town.  Herewith - my view from my table.

This is kava.  Some kind of root that you pound into paste, steep in hot water and then filter through an old tee shirt or the equivalent.  It's the national drink of Fiji.  Apparently it is a slight narcotic, invoking a relaxed and lethargic state.  I say 'apparently' because I have not had the opportunity to partake yet.  I don't need kava to be relaxed and lethargic. However, it is the price you pay to anchor outside any village.  You need to go ashore and present a gift of kava to the chief in a ceremony called 'sevusevu'.  At such time you can also present him with other gifts such as fishing line and hooks, reading glasses, batteries, flip-flops, staples such as rice and sugar.  Cruisers have compiled lists of acceptable gifts over the years.  He will approve of your gifts (or eat you - the last recorded case of cannibalism in Fiji was in the 1970's I've been told) and give you permission to anchor in his waters. Most of the time you have to share

 This little guy paid me a second visit yesterday.  The Apeman was down the first time, so I missed the video of him crawling up the face of the rudder with his two stubby little fins.  He doesn't appear to have legs - only fins.  Still, he's an amphibian since he likes to perch on top of the rudder.  I named him Gollum.  We're going out for beers later today. And a video!

 Ach, Laddies and lassies, 'twas Burns Night last eve.  And a fair one she was.  Oh, with a reading of 'To a Haggis' and the Selkirk Grace and then the haggis itself.  Given a proper preparation by our own Jose and approved heartily by her Scottish husband Jeff.  And scotch.  What would Burns Night be without scotch?  Three bottles there were at the start.  Unclear at the end.  I stood and gave the traditional toast to the lassies.  Lara responded with a personal toast to each of the gentlemen present.  Aye, and Jim and I even stood and recited the last three stanzas of 'John Barleycorn' to a rapt audience.  A good time was had by all. Tony opening the haggis: Auld Lang Syne:

 Ok, you may have heard of HIMARS.  Some kind of weapon system being used by the Ukrainians.  Apparently very successful. Well, my HIMARS is equally successful, if in a different realm of things.  Mine stands for Highly Independent Marine Aquatic Recovery System.   Allow me to explain... Fresh water must be brought to Peregrine by jerry can.   Five gallons at a time from the dock.  Gets to be a bit tedious, making fresh water conservation the order of the day.  But - we get rain almost every day.  Heavy downpours.  Lots and lots of fresh water with microplastics conveniently contained therein.  Is there a way, you ask, to make use of this nearly endless supply of fresh, potable water?  Oh, if only someone would come up with a simple solution.  Harmony among men and world peace would be on the horizon.  But where, oh where can we find a brilliant man with a solution? Ahem. Since pictures are worth a thousand words (excluding deepfakes) I present to you, o reader, the Dave Chesney HIMARS

 "My Queen, I bring you a new treat from the messy human." "What now, o minion?" "It's syrup!  Original Log Cabin syrup!  Here, my Queen!"  *Cough, cough* "Ah, tasty.  Been a long time since I had Log Cabin syrup." "And it has a bit of a tang, too, my Queen."  *Cough, hack, sputter* "Yes.  Interesting.  That tang, I've tasted it before, although not so strongly...  Could it be...boric acid?" "Yes my Queen, but do not fear.  The affects of boric acid on us ants are highly exaggerated by the deep state.  There is nothing to fear if you are not old and sickly, in which case you should die anyway."  *Cough, cough* "And where did you learn this, o worker ant?" "Why, on Parler and Rumble, of course, o Queen.  The ant-right social media."  *Cough, hack, cough* "I'm not so sure, worker ant.  As Queen, I have an obligation to protect..." "The Queen is one of them!  One of the dee

 But not on a pop top. My tender feet had to cruise on back home... I had bought a Sanuk, No need to panic I hope I can fix with some silicone... Don't know the reason, They should last a season, Now I've nothing to show but a broken old shoe... But it's Burns Night tonight, I'll be in the spotlight, Toasting John Barleycorn barefoot and blue...

 R.I.P. David Crosby We were at a birthday party at Copra Shed tonight.  Lara is a folkie who wants to be part of our music group, says she lived in the Canyon back in the sixties.  I asked her:  Did you hear David Crosby died?  She replied:  "I have a photo of my sister and her husband flanking David in Laurel Canyon.  They were concerned about his liver." Then Jeff chimed in:  "I was friends with him for a year or so in LA." What is it about this place?  These people?  I get no impression whatsoever that these are embellishments.  I am blown away. I'm waiting for someone to casually mention they jammed with Stevie Ray Vaughn.  Or maybe Jim Morrison.  

 Yeah, Karl.  What's up with this weather map.  The green lines are low pressure systems.  Irene is going to pass to our south.  Other than that, I'm clueless.

 I've created a monster.  I never expected people to joust over the Friday Night Happy Hour (no patent pending; no copyright).  I have three boats all wanting to host, so with the wisdom of Soloman (Yes, I know it's misspelled - it's a pun.  Live with it.) I told them to figure it out among themselves and let me know.   I'll be somewhere with an ice-cold gin and tonic at 5 pm this Friday.  I don't care where.

 Colin the diver was here again today.  He dove on six moorings.  All had shackles seized with cable ties or the seizing was non-existant.  The man did a yeoman's job, feeling around in zero visibility for the swivel, then following each chain out to its corresponding screw.  He seized four shackles at each mooring.  There are still three or four moorings to check, but we're all quite relieved that at least the shackles won't come apart.  Now if only we could have the same confidence in our mooring lines, which are all ten years old... Fandango's mooring screws have to be found at some point.  They will be in the mud and the only reference we have is the GPS coordinates taken ten years ago when the moorings were set in.  I'm thinking, yeah - time for a big magnet or a drag hook from a dinghy on a calm day.

  5 And lo, it was seen on the fourth day that the Apeman was yet to rise.  The people despaired and rent their clothes, keening with dismay at their misfortune. 6 But one man, he of many talents and much perseverance, sought out the wise Google and posed thus the question to him: 7" Why is it that my stupid camera won't work, O sage?  Is it because I lack piety?  Is it because I am selfish and vain?  Do I not read directions?" 8 And the Google answered, "Verily, thou art imperfect in many ways.  However, look not to your shortcomings but rather to the state of your microSD card." 9 And the penitent man sought out a replacement microSD card and went to have a cold beverage while the rains pelted the roof above his head. 10 And he saw that it was good - that the microSD card allowed access into the settings on the Apeman.  And a factory reset was performed with much reverence and solemnity.  And the people held their breath.  11 And lo!  The Apeman rose from the

 Ah, the things you learn... The anchorage I have been referring to as 'Cousteau' apparently is more widely known as 'Misty'.  The story is that Curly (now deceased) of project boat fame used to run a cruisernet - a daily radio show keeping cruisers and liveaboards connected on VHF.  He told jokes, offered folks a chance to sell stuff, made announcements of restaurant specials in town, etc.  Something we experienced in Grenada and I wish we had here. Anyway, when giving the weather report, Cousteau Point was always referred to as 'Misty.'  Legend has it that Robin Williams (Mork) had a catamaran called Misty and that that spot was his preferred anchorage in Fiji.  Curly wert so far with his homage to start every one of his cruisernet shows with "Goooooooooooood Morning, Savusavu!" It's legend, sure.  And Curly is no longer around to ask.  So let this pass into the internet ether as fact:  Mork had a boat in Fiji named Misty. The legend would have b

The plan was sound:  Ian and Lesley were going out to Cousteau, anchor and snorkel the next morning.  I was going to delay a day then go out and join them.  I offered to cook spaghetti on Peregrine.  There was serious discussion of stepping off the day after for Fawn Harbor, about thirty miles to the east. Ian and Lesley got out of Nakama Creek and hit big swells.  Thunderheads on the horizon - they said bugger this and came back in to their mooring.  Good thing - last night we had big rains.  The South Pacific Convergence Zone is having its way with us.  Cousteau probably would have been bad for visibility. This morning after swimming, I look over to Fandango and see a white fender in the water.  I hollered over to Ian, "You have a fender in the water."  "I know," he yelled back.  "Our mooring let go." WTF? Hopped in the dinghy right away and went over to help.  The fender was holding up the mooring lines which, indeed, were no longer tethered to anything

 The Iceman cometh?  No Eugene O'Neill fans out there? Note to self:  Next time buy the GoPro.  My little Apeman sports camera, the one that has taken all those neat underwater pics and videos, not to mention the up the mast trip, has bit the dust.  It is no longer taking commands from its owner, going off on its own to take video of the table top, among other things.  I can barely get it to shut off.  No access to Settings, no access to Wifi, no access to look at the already stored media.  Yougetwhatyoupayfor.  $40 at WalMart. But the really annoying part is the complete non-response from the Apeman company.  I sent two email missives to two separate 'Contact Us' addresses and got zero responses.  A google search turns up nothing on troubleshooting, either.  I even tried the old wet cell phone trick of putting the camera in a baggie with rice and leaving it in the freezer for a couple of days.  Nada. So, there will be no video record of the big shark that ate my foot when

Tim's boat has no navigational gear.     None.     Not even a depth sounder.     He wanted me to take Peregrine and lead him to the close dropoffs near the reef so he could anchor and fish.     A firm NO squelched that idea.     I said I have the iPad, I have Navionics on the iPad and that will have to do. And now Tim is unclear where to go.    He sits down with my iPad and starts scrolling around.    Ian and I exchange furtive worried glances.    Finally Cap'n Tim points at a spot on the chart and says "We go here."    It's a hump about two miles due west from Cousteau.    Thirty feet down, got nice sharp dropoffs all around it.    Looks like a good spot, so off we go.   Ian had brought some lentil curry soup he had made.    Thank goodness, because Tim didn't have any food.    "We eat fish!"    Yeah, well Dave hasn't had any food since breakfast, so pass the soup, Ian.    Delicious. We get to the hump; it's about 100m in diameter, I would gu

Ok, you're reading this...you know I survived. Cap't Tim wanted to go fishing.    He wanted company.    He recruited Ian and me.    And Joka.    Joka never showed up.    Ian and I figured, hell, we'll go out for a few hours, wet a line, catch no fish, be back for supper.   Oh no.    Tim wants to go overnight.    Fish in the dead of night.    That's when the fish bite.    Oh. Second question was 'where?'    "Go past house, white house, fish reef."    He gestured out past the creek entrance.    Ok, seems modest enough.    We'll venture out into the harbor and bob around for awhile. Oh no.    'White house' was actually 'lighthouse' when we finally pinned him down.    He was talking about going out past Cousteau, where we go snorkeling.    Ok, that's a whole different ballgame now.    Ian and I look at each other.    A mute understanding passes between us:    Oh shit. Tim says we need ice.    Yeah, in this climate if you don't h

 Eight days since my last post?  I am losing my touch.

 It's been hot and wet here.  Even the long-time liveaboards are complaining.  Still, nothing comes between Dave and his liquor! Happy Hour (non-copyrighted, patent not pending) Friday night had to wait until the squall went by.  Then it was a beautiful night on Jeff and Jose's trimaran.  Cap't Tim had heard rumors of a cyclone next week and the group spent most of the night telling cyclone stories and gaming out what to do if one were coming.  Pretty interesting discussion.  I bought cube ice again from the filling station so ice cold G&Ts were the order of the day. Full Moon party last night.  Watched the space station fly by and saluted it with our glasses.  Really good food except that after a hot day I have little appetite.  That and the fact that I forget that to make a macaroni salad you have to boil water...in the galley...in the boat...when it's steaming out.  And then - then you have to cool the macaroni.  With what?  The water in the holding tank is bathw

 There is an onion shortage in Fiji.  I used my last onion for my tuna macaroni salad for the full moon party last night.  I know in light of all that's going on in the world this is a pretty small thing.  Maybe I should go back to playing 'Fifteen Degrees of Kevin McCarthy'. https://www.fijitimes.com/fiji-government-works-with-nz-authority-to-monitor-onion-supply-shortage/

 "Zika one, Zika one.  Zika two, over." "Zika one.  What's up, Goose?" "Maverick, I think we found him.  Nine o'clock, white and blue boat." "Goose, I do believe you're right.  We should drop down for a closer look." "On your six, Mav." "Good eye, Goose, that's definitely him on the deck washing clothes." "He hasn't lost any weight since Panama, has he Maverick?" "No, Goose, he hasn't.  Let's buzz in for a visit." ************* (Buzzing noises on deck.)  "Hi, Dave." "Hey!  It's Maverick!  And Goose!  Haven't seen you guys since Panama.  What brings you to Fiji?" "Actually we stowed away in Shirley's pubes.  Made getting through agricultural customs much easier." "Yeah, and we met some new relatives.  That Crabb family was really nice, putting us up and all." "That's right, Goose.  Nice kids.  Whole lot of nice kids.&quo

 Not Cap'n Ron.  Yet.   Tim is a fellow from Hanoi, Vietnam who has spent a couple of years working on his boat at the dock in the marina.  Completely overhauled the engine and electrical systems.  Boat is a 40' Valiant; apparently a good cruising boat in its day - before it was cannibalized for anything removable.  So Tim got a cheap boat.  Good for him.  Lots of sweat equity gone into that boat, but the engine starts and runs fine.  And the refrigerator works.  And Tim is very proud of his boat.  There's only one problem:  Tim doesn't know how to sail. But he ropes Ian and I into the inaugural cruise on his yet-unnamed boat.  (I seriously suggested 'Unsinkable II' but I don't think he got the pun.)  We'll just go down the creek, out into the bay and check out the engine on an extended run.  He's puttered around the mooring field but never taken it past the reefs before. So off we go, all full of esprit de corps and buoyed by the confidence of havin