Fahiti ho!

Viani Bay - Home to the Rainbow Reef.  Maybe tomorrow...  Nick heard there were trails up the hills.  I keep telling him if I die from a heart attack he has to take care of my body. Woke up to blue sky!  That was not in the forecast.  We're supposed to have crap weather for the next week.   And....now here we are an hour later and the crap weather has arrived right on schedule.  Overcast with threat of rain.  This is *supposed* to be the dry season.  At least the 40 knot winds predicted haven't yet arrived. It is impossible to appreciate the beauty of Viani Bay from pictures.  Despite this, I'll try. Right off my boat Look!  Cell towers! Across the bay.  We should go anchor here.  These headlands would protect us from the SE winds predicted better than where we are.

Stardate September30, 2023  Got a weather update from Nick’s satellite link.  (No internet in FH.). Apparently today will be the best day weather-wise for the rest of the week.  Since neither of us fancies sitting a week in FH, we decided to try run the gauntlet again. We waited until noon, as the winds were supposed to die down during the day.  Rounding the reef we could see the breakers on the reef but it did seem less intense than yesterday.  The plan was to barrel through the narrows and get as far as possible straight out from the entrance and get out of the rollers. It was less intense than yesterday.  At least we weren’t sitting on top of waves with no steerage staring at a reef fifty years away.  We managed to claw our way out a mile or so and the rollers did subside. Turning east up the coast I had just enough of an angle to catch the wind with my sail.  I didn’t dare leave the cockpit to raise the main, so I unfurled the jib about half-way.  It was luffing a fair pa

Stardate September 29, 2023 Ok, it’s the next day.  We tried to leave for Vian i Bay.  The surface wind in our little hidey hole wasn’t that bad.  Should have listened to the screaming rigging.   The entrance to Fawn Harbor is like an hourglass, with the neck between reefs at most fifty yards wide.  Add to this a strong east wind producing heavy rollers coming down the vee of the hourglass and you have the potential for disaster.   I tried to hail Nick as we lined up for the run out; he didn’t hear me and kept going.  Holy was!  I have *never* been in rollers like that.  I was pitchpoling, taking water over the bow, then in the next breath burying first one rail then the other.  On top of all this I had rain in my face.  All I could think of was please, engine, don’t hiccup.  Cockpit stuff was flying all over and to top it off, the rain was so intense my PFD inflated.  Or maybe I accidentally pulled the rip cord.   I was having trouble getting distance from Nick’s boat, being

Stardate September 27, 2023 Finally got a slight break in the weather.  Nick and I left Savusavu, on the bay at eight am.  Would have been sooner but I had to raise and secure my dinghy.  Had a dock party last night in honor of us leaving.  Much singing, many laughs, a lot of hugs and promises to keep in touch.  Got back too late to hoist the dinghy, hence the slight delay this am. Fought heavy sea and wind on the nose (of course) getting out of Savusavu Bay.  Once we turned the corner around the big reef, I thought we’d have a beam reach all the way to Fawn.  That lasted a couple of hours.  Then the wind shifted again to be pretty much on our nose.  We had to make FH by nightfall, as the entrance is pretty tricky.  When my speed dropped below four knots I decided to kick in the iron Jenny.  I really hate motor sailing… Got passed by a super yacht doing about 13 knots *towing* a 25 foot Boston Whaler or some such.  Couldn’t believe it.  Then the rains came.  I have a dodger and

 No internet.  At least no internet capable of uploading pics. Stay tuned.

 So when we last left our intrepid voyagers, Dave and Nick were sitting in Rachaels Restaurant in Labasa plotting where to eat lunch.  We had been told that there was a great place to eat that overlooked Savusavu Bay, the Lookout Cafe.  I was I checked on the web (the source of all knowledge) to find out if it was open.  The last thing we wanted to do was step off the bus to find a closed restaurant and us with no way to continue to Savusavu.  It's about 11 km outside Savusavu. And yes!  It is open.  Having heard such great things about it I decided to seek out the menu.  Holy wah, Batman - they have crocodile kebab!  And reasonably priced.  Now I've drank the banana beer in Tanzania, had the fried scorpion in Beijing, I was up for crocodile kebab!  Nick correctly pointed out that there are no crocodiles in Fiji, to which I replied they must be salties from Northern Australia.  I was not to be deterred - we were going to the Lookout Cafe for crocodile. So back on the bus.  I

 Ok, STOP.  If the title phrase rings a bell, give yourself credit.  If you can hum the tune, give yourself a beer. Anybody?  Anybody?  Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, the 'Road Pictures'?   And for you Millennials who are asking 'Bing Who?  Bob Who?  Is this like The Road Warrior'?  Your education is manifestly deficit.  For those of you who remember the comic genius of these folks, here's an Easter egg: "Patty cake, patty cake, baker's man..."  You're laughing, right?  I thought so. Anyway, having been stuck in Savusavu for almost a week now and having fixed the head and meeting new folks and having happy hours, Nick and I were bored.  "Let's go to Labasa," said the intrepid Welshman.  (BTW, it's pronounced 'Lam-basa'.)  "Why not?" says I.  "Why?" says Grant.  "There's one row of shops, you walk up the street and back and then get on the bus to come back."  Spoiler alert:  Grant i

 The day I've waited for...Savusavu - with ample resources in case I make a mistake...unclogging the head. Yes, dear reader, I'm still in 'bucket and chuck it' mode w/r to the disposal of bodily wastes.  Actually, I'm kinda getting used to it.  But I digress. After working up the courage to start disassembling the plumbing under the head sink I finally forced myself to squeeze into a fetal position on the floor and pick up the screwdriver.  Of course the hose clamps had rusted to the point where unscrewing them was not an option.  Out with the Dremel!  Carefully so as not to damage the hose itself, I cut away the hose clamps.  Now to get the hoses off the fittings.  That took some time and damaged one hose end.  Eventually got the y-valve off and was able to see into the vertical discharge hose running to the seacock.  Plugged tight with calcium carbonate, aka coral.   Now the conventional wisdom is to use muriatic acid (hydrochloric acid) to dissolve these deposits

 Stardate September 12, 2023 Left Nadi Bay with the east wind shifted now to the *northeast*.  WTZ?  Did a lot of motoring in shifting winds until we could get around the reef in Savusavu Bay.  THEN the winds finally shifted to the SE and we had good going.  Still took eight hours. Rita came out with her dinghy to help us moor.  There was a slight breeze and the maneuvering is tight, so her help was welcome.  Nick took Darryl's mooring and I took the one the big catamaran had used last year.   Time to decompress.  Had a nice welcoming party on the dock with old friends Brian and Rita, Jose and Jeff.  Met a new friend, Grant.  Kiwis, Aussies and Brits all.   They all took turns asking me "Are you Americans nuts?"

 Stardate September 11, 2023 Finally the ####%^$$&&**@@!!! easterly trades gave us a break.  We've been stuck off Volivoli for three days listening to the winds howl.   The forecast said SE at 15-20 knots in the Bligh Water between the islands.  So off we go at first light. Well, not quite.  Both Nick's anchor and mine were stuck fast in the mud.  (Can't fault the holding here.). Managed to shake it loose with the engine and only wasted twenty minutes or so.   The Big Picture: (Hat tip to Eric) Almost eleven hours of sailing.  Winds were more or less cooperative after we got out of the reefs.   Speaking of which... This was our path leaving Volivoli.  Right above the 'O' in Navolau Passage there is a pass between the reefs that I'm guessing is about 70 yards wide.  And it's a comma shape, meaning you have to curve your way through.  Nick was leading and actually radioed me to let me know I was heading onto the reef from his perspective.  I wasn't

 Stardate Sept 10, 2023 Waiting out the winds.  Criminy, the eastern trades are nuts this year.  All the natives are talking about them, too. Went for a hike with Nick.  We wanted to walk around the peninsula where the Volivoli Beach Resort is; Google showed it possible.  The modern gate house and the locked fence said 'No.'  You could have told us that before we walked half way around the freaking hill. We did meet a guy who was harvesting coconuts on his property.  He didn't speak much English, but he managed to convey that he was interested in selling the hill above us.  I asked him 'freehold?'  Freehold is land that foreigners can buy and hold title to.  He shook his head sadly.  I really think he was ready to sell to me otherwise.  Nice guy.  We smiled, waved, and walked on. Too pics of the anchorage from the land.  You can see our sailboats on the RHS. You've got to be kidding... Of course we were thirsty, so we stopped off at Volivoli Beach Resort for lun

 Stardate Sept 8, 2023 Slogged (and I do mean slogged) our way up the coast to Volivoli yesterday.  Intense wind on our nose the whole time.  Somehow, Nick could sail the whole way; I couldn't come close to pointing into that wind.  Especially with reef passages as narrow as 300 yards.  Burned a lot of diesel getting here. So, exhausted and battered as we were, I dropped the dinghy to pick up Nick.  Our intent was to reward ourselves with beer and food at Volivoli Beach Resort.  Got there, tied up, washed the sand from our feet and joined the merry throng of people at the bar.  I caught the bartender's eye and ordered a Fiji Bitter.  Nick asked the wrong bartender if he could pay for a beer, the result was an extended convo re 'Oh?  You're not with the birthday party?'  My Chezsense said 'oh-oh'.  There sat my beer, a big 20-oz inverted cone of frosty thirst-quenching reward to slake my thirst.  It was at my fingertips.  Then the woman in charge showed up.  

 Just thinking of this...'wharf' would make a good Wordle clue. Made the jump back to Viti Levu, the island where we started.  Had to motor all the way against a slight headwind.  Plan is to go up alone the coast to the top where we can wait for a weather window to strike out for Vanua Levu (the other big island).  At least now we should have the wind on our beam when we make the jump. Not much to see here.  Big mud flat with good holding.  Maybe a village over in the corner.  We're off first thing in the morning.

 Yeah, *that* blue lagoon.  Unfortunately Brooke Shields has grown up and moved on.  A nice place to stop over - they have a pretty well-stocked store and you can buy fuel here for only a small markup.  The resort is pretty tony, but they allowed us to drink in the bar during happy hour. Hiked across the hill to Lo's Tea House for her famous donuts.  Fantastic setting.  Jen got a massage on the beach (private shelter) for $30 FJD.  We guys sat there and talked sailboats. Lo's donuts and lemonade

Stardate Sept 3, 2023 Finally I get to snorkel again.  There is a reef at the edge of our anchorage that we have heard is quite good for coral and small fish.   It was ok.  I think the reef off Cousteau last Jan/Feb was better for both, but hey - at least I got to try out the camera. Video on Instagram:  Dave.chesney.353

Stardate Sept 2, 2023 There’s a hill towering above our anchorage.  If you look close at the picture below you can see the path cut into the hillside.  Look to the left of Nick’s mast. So the four of us decide to climb the stupid hill.  I had my Keen sandals which promised to give me good support on the hill.  We met the rest of the German tourists coming down the path.  They were wearing flip-flops!  “Ja, the path gets steep near the top.”  What they didn’t say was that the path was full of rolly pebbles and slick grass.  It took us a good half-hour, maybe forty minutes, to reach the top.  A nice view.  And it was free. Coming down I had visions of slipping and breaking an arm;  That would give a whole new meaning to the term ‘single handing’ a boat.  We all slipped a few times, but managed to get down in one piece.  It was after four pm when we hit the dinghies.  Jen and Den called for sundowners on their boat at five.  A quick swim to wash off the sweat and we made it on time

Stardate Sept 2, 2023 “Someone will meet you at nine.”  So said the village representative at sevusevu when we inquired about these famous caves.  Ok, we’ll be there at nine.  “What is the cost?”  “About $35,” he replies.  Sounds reasonable. We’re there at nine.  Nobody around.  Oh, well, Fiji time.  Longboats start coming into the cove with tourists.  They pile out and walk right past us toward the stairs leading up to the cave entrance.  We sort of thought that rude, but ok.  They’ve come from Blue Lagoon Resort and paid $150 for the privilege, so we’ll cut them some slack.   But wait!  There’s more!  The boats just keep on coming laden with tourists.  So we jump in line up the stairs. Finally the gatekeepers arrive.  “You are on yachts?”  Yeah, Sparky, does it show?  “Fifty dollars.”  Hey, wait - the guy in the village said $35.  “Village does not control caves.  $50.”  Back and forth, forth and back.  Finally we give in and fork over $50 each.  There better be beer in thes

  Stardate Sept 1, 2023 The winds finally died down to the point where we felt safe out on the water again.  Our intent is to get to a point in the Yasawas where we can jump across to Vanua Levu, the other ‘big’ island where Savusavu is.  The problem is the prevailing winds are from the east and will be on our nose during a 60-mile slog.  Through reefs.  And once we get to Vanua Levu, all the anchorages are exposed to the east and will be rolly at best, untenable in all likelihood. So off we go up the chain.  Target: Blue Lagoon (where Brooke Shields made that movie).  We’re zipping right along - I have two reefs in the main and the jib out maybe 3/4 and I’m doing seven knots.  Yeah, the wind was still intense.  A perusal of the Navionics track below gives an idea of how complex the route was. About an hour out I start looking at the chart and plotting how the hell we’re going to get out of the Yasawas, across the big reef, and over to Vanua Levu in one day.  (You really don’t wa