Fahiti ho!

So I'm up on deck, scrubbing the accumulated grime off.  Getting ready to leave Nawi for the familiar 'ol stompin' grounds of Savusavu Marina, taking advantage of the free fresh water while I'm here.  And one of those earworms gets in my head:  'Cover of Rolling Stone'.  Remember it?  Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show?  1973?  Yeah, I was there.  I think I even saw them in concert once.  Anyway, it's an earworm.  Tough to dislodge.  So I began to consciously try and remember their other hit songs.  And I remembered 'Sylvia's Mother.' Why is this worth mentioning?  Because of the incredibly archaic lyrics: Sylvia's mother da da da  Sylvia's busy da da da Sylvia's trying to make a new life da da da... AND THE OPERATOR SAYS 'FORTY CENTS MORE FOR THE NEXT TWO MINUTES PLEASE' And it hit me that Gen Beta (or Alpha, or Z or whatever) will have the following questions: What's an operator? Why did you have to pay to talk on the p...

 Well, there was supposed to be a video post showing the intensity of the rainstorm yesterday.  Unfortunately Blogger and I are not completely copacetic yet.  I'll leave it up, hoping the video is just taking forever to load over the cellular link. Trust me - it was intense.   Edit:  I have an as yet unconfirmed report that the video made it through.  I still can't see it.

 Just another day in Fiji.  This is a bit more intense than normal...

 Pretty nice infinity pool with swim-up bar.  Oh, is that dangerous... Only down side is the bartender's insistence on blasting that modern country music that is just shy of being called rap.  (C-rap, anyone?). Jeez, guys, turn this crap down so we can talk.  Brian is hard of hearing anyway.  I tire of having to yell in his ear to make myself heard. Which brings up an apocryphal story related by a Reddit user about a conversation between Kris Kristofferson and Toby Keith: My favorite story is Kris talking down to Toby Keith who wanted Kris to “tone down the Lefty shit.” “I don’t want any problems, Kris — I just want you to tone it down,” Toby then said. “You ever worn your country’s uniform?” Kris said in response. “What?” Toby replied. “Don’t ‘What?’ me, boy! You heard the question. You just don’t like the answer,” he continued. “I asked, ‘Have you ever served your country?’ The answer is, no, you have not. Have you ever killed another man? Huh? Have you ever t...

 Zika One! Zika One!  Come in, Maverick! Zika One here, Zika Two.  What's with the excitement, Goose? Mav - we've been reactivated!  They're bringing us out of retirement!  We get to spread the virus again! Goose, I haven't had any... Yeah, Mav, it just came through my Signal app.  We're supposed to rendezvous with the rest of the squad at 1800 hours.  The SECDEF sent the target, too!  It's... Goose, slow down.  First of all, we have secured lines for these sort of communications.  Nobody - and I mean nobody - is stupid enough to issue attack orders over a public comms app like Signal.  It just doesn't happen.  Can you imagine what would happen if the phone was hacked?  The target would be ready for us with cans of Deep Woods OFF and citronella smoke spirals.  We'd be dead meat before we could land. But Mav, didn't you get the message? Goose, I wouldn't have Signal on my phone under any circumstances.   I do...

 This used to be DuPont's corporate slogan.  What a great slogan.  What an inspiring motto.  What a disgrace when they tried to run away from the term 'chemistry' back in the eighties, fearing a eco-backlash.  Sure, they did some bad things with chemistry; what corporation hasn't (talking to YOU, 3M, with your Scotchguard).  But still, it said a lot about the power of science to better mankind.  I was offended when they dropped the slogan. Got the sails back, installed them yesterday with Brian's help.  The main has always been a bugger to raise.  The slugs jammed in the track and it took tremendous effort (not exaggerating) to winch the main up.  Several times last year I was running out of room off a reef because the damn main wouldn't go up.  But, it went up eventually.  I collapsed into a nap. I realized that I had a spray can of some Liquid Wrench Silicone Spray on board.  Hmmmm...  Says it 'forms a slick coating...

I wanted to go up the mast to rig a small block (pulley) for a flag halyard.  It's customary to have a small line run from the deck up to the first spreader to show the flag of the host country.  Or to fly the yellow quarantine flag upon arrival.  Peregrine had no such rig.  So I found a cheap awning pulley at Hussein Hardware (great people, btw) and brought out the bosun's chair. The main halyard was my tow line up and it had to run around the main halyard winch on the mast.  Except the winch didn't turn.  It was locked up tight.  Hadn't been that way last October; salt mist has a way of messing with anything mechanical on a sailboat.  Well, we used it anyway, letting the halyard slide around it before going to the anchor windlass. That main halyard winch is essential for raising the main sail, which I hope to have some day.  More on that later.  Thus, disassembly and cleaning was necessary.  Between the rainstorms.  Luckily I...

There is a new metric out there designed to tell your health.   It's a one-foot balance test.  They tell you how long you should be able to balance on one foot, depending on your age.  The idea is if you're in your twenties, you should be able to balance on one foot for, say, a year.  At my age, the target time was thirty seconds, IIRC.  I tried it at home; I made it three seconds, which means I should be dead or something. Well, I have a rejoinder to these bright medical types lecturing me about my declining motor skills.  Try paddleboarding.  Yeah, try balancing yourself on this floating bubble that is ready to slide sideways at any moment.   So here's the scenario:  You set your bum on the dock and eaaaaaasssseee your way onto the floating pancake of death.  You remain on your knees, no matter how stupid it makes you look.  Meanwhile you try and manipulate this thing called a 'paddle' to propel the pancake forward....

The process of becoming a legal cruiser in Fiji is not an arduous one, but it takes time.  Luckily, the Immigration and Customs offices have the best a/c in Savusavu.  I think the locals go there during the hot afternoons and just hang out.  I see a lot of people just sitting around looking at their phones and they're not in line. There is a simple form you use to list crew on your boat.  I figured, hey, I bought the boat, I need a new list.  The Immigration girl asked to see the old one.  I had it on me.  (Joe and I throw *nothing* away.). "Where are these two people?" she asked, pointing out Joe and Michele's names.  They sold me the boat, they are back in the states.  "They didn't check out."  Uh-oh.  "Uh - check out?"  "If they leave the yacht they must see us to have their names removed."  Now somehow she missed the fact that my name was also on the form, I had left, and I had not checked out either. I gave her my pat...

 I think that's an old Perry Como song.  For those of you who don't remember Perry Como, he was like the Michael Buble' of my parent's time. Who's Michael Buble'?  Don't even start. So the saga of the sails is drawing to a close.  It's a twisted tale of revenge and mayhem, betrayal and redemption.  No it's not, but that sounded good.  I should write a book.   I had sent my sails in for repair before I left Fiji last time in late October '24.  Spoke with the guy on the dock, we went through what I wanted, he made notes.  I told him I would be back sometime next February ('25).  Don't rush.  (Pro tip:  Don't ever say 'Don't rush' in Fiji.). I was getting regular emails into December.  Ok.  Good...good. Sent emails before I left.  Have you got my sails ready?  No response.  Again.  No response.  Finally I get a response to the effect that we will be sending them next week.  Ok, a little...

 Ok, I lie.  Just the most expensive I (almost) ever bought. It was getting on to evening and I was thinking spaghetti.  Needed wine.  Looked out, clear skies.  Hopped in the dinghy and motored across the creek to MaxValue, our 'pink' grocery store.  Real handy, just off the wharf. Got in, did a little scoping re sales.  Then headed back to the liquor corner.  Cheapest Fiji Bitter in Savusavu, BTW.  "I need some of that cheap Australian shiraz.  She comes back with something I hadn't heard of, I said 'Ok'.  Go up front to pay.  The checkout clerk was looking at the till with something akin to horror, so I looked.  $417 dollars.  For two bottles of shiraz, one can of Wattie's beans and a small bag of whole oats.  I looked at her, she looked at me.  "Did you buy really expensive wine?" she asked.  I said, "No. I asked for the cheap Aussie shiraz and the girl back there said twelve dollars."  (Six USD...

 So I decided to make a Chicken Fried Rice dish.  https://cravingtasty.com/chicken-fried-rice/ Did it look like the site picture?  Yeah, except I didn't have any green onions.  Bottom line is it was very tasty.  However, I think I used every cooking utensil in the boat in the process.  I'm still digging out from the aftermath. "Prep time 25 minutes."  Ha, lady.  You haven't tried to cook on a boat have you?

So, to the saga hinted at in my last post...  I need to change oil.  This is doable - they have diesel engine oil here.  I bought an old 20-L vegetable oil container for the waste oil.  Now all I need is a filter. I have a Beta Marine engine; basically a marinized Kubota tractor engine.  Kubota - huge company.  Gotta be able to get a Beta Marine oil filter here, right?  Ha!  "We have OSK only."  Ok, can you cross-reference my filter?  "I am so sorry, we have to call our supplier."  Ok, Sparky, call your supplier.  "I am sorry, our supplier cannot supply that filter."  Ok, here's a WIX equivalent, a Fleetguard equivalent, a Fram equivalent...  "We don't have any way to cross reference your filters.  Can you bring the filter in so we can match it?" No, I won't drain the oil, pull the old filter off, bring it around so that you guys can hold two filters up and say 'This is the one.'  (Reminds me of the joke abo...

This is not a new problem; Nick and I fought with my gas tanks all last trip.  Actually, the tanks themselves are fine - its the friggin' hose connectors that wear out.  Since this is the integral component that holds the fuel line to the gas tank, it's kind of important that it doesn't leak.  The best scenario is where gas leaks into the dinghy, turning it into a potential source of the Viking funeral that I so desperately want.  (But not yet). Worst case is where the fitting leaks so bad that it allows air into the fuel line, which runs the engine out of fuel. How about both cases at once? So I'm cruising over from Nawi to the Savusavu shore when the motor sputters.  And coughs.  And sputters.  And dies.  I row out to give me some space and manage to frantically pump the priming bulb enough to get some gas to the carb.  The engine starts and I manage to make it (almost) all the way to Copra Shed Marina, where there is a Yacht Shop.  Wi...

 Pics.  I get requests for pics.  I'm stuck in Nawi waiting for my sails, the weather is crap, but here 'ya go. The island in the background is 'freehold' land, available for sale to foreigners.  Pretty nice location for a second home, methinks.

 At least these are the kind that you can see... I pulled the anchor chain out for inspection.  Laid out 50 m of 10 mm chain on the dock, went over it link by link (literally).  Found some flaky rust on a few links, hammered it off, link was solid underneath.  There is still some galvanizing left - I'd estimate maybe 30%.  Didn't find any problems with the anchor chain.  Prudence dictates that I look into replacing it next trip. However...the shackle that attaches the chain to the boat was another story.  I wouldn't have seen it if I hadn't been so determined to pull the whole chain out of the locker.  Had the chain ever jumped off the gypsy (the winchy-thing that pulls the chain up) and free-spooled into the drink, this would have been the only attachment keeping the chain from saying Sayonara to Peregrine.     This is a stainless steel shackle.  Or not so stainless?  It's puzzling how this happened, since there is never ...

 Here below are listed all the comments I have received so far this trip: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. So if you don't comment, I guess I will have to fill the space with the sordid continuing story of Shirley as she makes her way across Papua New Guinea after devastating Vanuatu and New Caledonia.  A truly shocking tale of lust, revenge and...murder.  Will Interpol catch up to her?  Enquiring minds want to know.

Brian's out of cigarettes; I'm out of beer.  We need to get to town.  It's raining.  Been raining all day, FFS.  Brian says he doesn't care if he gets wet.  Well, I do.  I told him if it cleared up in an hour I'd drive - my dinghy is much faster than his.  Have to adjust the carb yet again, though.  The idle is now set too low (below John Deere speed).  One of these days I'll get it right. Made Canned Mackerel Pasta last night.  Had a can of mackerel left over from last trip and the rest of the ingredients, more or less.  It was actually quite tasty.  Used way too much pasta, tho.  Followed the recipe, too.  Now I have meals for three days. Brian's fridge is still leaking freon so he's got my little 12V fridge on his boat.  My fridge is running like a champ. Next big task is the oil change on the engine.  Never having had a diesel, I'm perusing the Owner's Manual that Joe thoughtfully left on board.  Wi...

Met the new chef yesterday.  I was walking by and they were testing pizza recipes from the new oven.  Apparently they have given up on the wood-fired oven (good thing).  The two types I tried were damn tasty, if I say so myself.  They laughed when I mentioned the burnt crusts that I had back in October. Jeff the chef told me the marketing plan for Nawi.  They are going to eschew (see what I did there?) most Fijian food for more upscale fare aimed at the boating crowd.  The Mexican restaurant is up and operational and the Italian restaurant is due to open this coming Monday.  I told him about making chicken tortellini for Mitch and Marisa and he asked "Did you make the tortellini yourself?"  I laughed and confessed to using frozen.  He said, "Otherwise I'd put you in the kitchen."  Thanks, but I have enough on my hands giving out eyeglasses.

 Word's gotten out.  I had four guys come by already today and it's just noon.  Seems that Bill the boat captain is telling everyone to come to P2 11 to get reading glasses.  I'm not even taking the carry-on back down below now, just leaving it in the cockpit.  One positive of this is I'm getting to know all the help on Nawi.  This is better than having a dog.  Probably not quite the allure of free beer, but still...

 So I'm taking a shower at Nawi.  The shower block has inside access and all the showers are open to the outside, with privacy walls and nice little gardens, etc.  Very cool.  Emphasis on 'open to the outside.'  These are big showers. Several of the showers are for couples - or at least they have two separate shower heads.  You can easily hear the water running in the next shower.  Some people haven't learned that. So like I said, I'm taking a shower and hear the couple next door.  The wife says "Honey, can I ask you a dumb question?"  "Sure, dear."  "If I bend over can you see if I need any shaving around my ass?" No, I didn't lose it like a seventh grader.  However, it took all the self-control I don't have to bite off my "Looks fine to me!"contribution to this little drama.  I know some of you will be disappointed.  Frankly, so am I.  I was still weighing the pros and cons as I left.  Next time I'm going to bu...

 Last trip out I had about fifty pair of used eyeglasses to hand out to the folks out on the islands who don't have any kind of access to vision care.  I had checked with my optometrist who confirmed that I couldn't do any harm to the recipients.  He even donated a couple dozen readers. I solicited used eyeglasses from friends and family this trip.  And sent communications around to the various Lions clubs.  The Keweenaw Lions responded big time; I think I got a hundred and fifty pair from them.  Got them all packed up in a carry-on to take to Fiji.  While waiting for the plane at HoCo, I got into a conversation with a lady who was very interested in collecting for next time.  Her son was sitting next to her and allowed as his wife had just died and he had about ten pair of her glasses that he wanted to donate, so I gave him my card so he could contact me in June.  And Adam R. even gave me the pair off his head!  Thanks to all! And the g...

Ok, on a scale from U.P. winters to Hell on Earth, the first two days in Savusavu clocked in just under Bill's sauna.  There was no wind and no cloud cover.  And of course the boat had no Bimini, haven been taken down for storage.  So first item of business was to get the Bimini up. Ok, that went smoothly.  Dodger, too.  Still, the sun beat down on the top of the boat, making the cabin a sweatbox.  So I started digging.  And - at the bottom of the lazarette - was an old gray tarp.  Perfect for a sun shade.  Only problem was, I have lazy jacks for the main and the tarp has to go over the boom.  (Lazy jacks are a harness-like construction that is supposed to keep the main sail on the boom when it is lowered.  Nice concept; spotty functionality.). Ok - lazy jacks get lowered and secured aside.  Tarp goes on the boom and it's a perfect fit as a sunshade.  Very effective at lowering cabin temperature, even if it looks like the ...

"Zika One, Zika One.  Zika Two." "What's up, Goose?" "He's back, Maverick.  I saw a grey tarp being used as a sunshield over his boat." "I'll believe it when I see it, Goose.  Remember the last time?  How he promised to keep up his blog?  See how well that worked out?" "Yeah, I know, Mav.  It's just that...that...this time it looks like he might mean it." "Ok, let me rephrase...I'll believe it when I read it." "Understood, Zika One.  Goose out."