Change of Weather-Change of Plans

Magogai Island - hoome of a former leper colony

Our chartplotter showing our route through the reef infested Fijian waters

Spectacular sunrise at Nanan - I-Thake Island anchorage

Sugar Mill in Lautoka

Trucks delivering sugar cane stocks to the sugar mill - small gauge railways are also used.

Change of Weather-Change of Plans

July 31 2015

We had hoped to leave Savusavu last Sunday but the weather still had not calmed down. Instead, we cleared out Modayn and moved to an anchorage near the pass out of the bay. All four boats did that. Since it was Klaudia's (on Tahawas) birthday the next day Chapter 2 hosted a birthday dinner. Well celebrated by all!

The first half of Tuesday's trip was pretty boisterous still as we had to go upwind into good winds. Our wind indicator stopped working during that day and for the 3 day trip. That is more a nuisance than serious, as you take whatever you get anyway. Today, Firday, Rob went to the mast top and redid the connections which seems to have solved that problem for now. It was good we left when we did as the next 2 days travelling were beautiful, before another batch of bad weather this weekend.

The first night we anchored at Magogai Island. This was a former leper colony for Fiji. They, at least, had good scenery and a safe anchorage. The next days were traveling inside the reef up the east, then north coast, of the large southern island, Viti  Levu.  Day 2, the anchorage was huge and deserted off  Nananu-I-Thake , another spot you could spend more time. The trip reminded us of travelling along the ICW in US going from waypoint to waypoint down narrow channels, except if you make a mistake you are on a coral reef not mud.

Late Thurs we got to Lautoka, the Sugar City, and second largest city in Fiji after Suva on the south coast. We spent the day searching out chandleries, buying food, and seeing the town. The sugar mill dominates the town as it is right near the water and has a fire burning all of the time. There are other sugar cane burning fires around the landscape with their red glows at night. You can always smell it and there is a black ash that drops on the boat. I can't imagine that it would be good for you all the time. The 2 cab drivers we used had a cough. We couldn't find any marine stores, so eventually took a cab to a marina 10 miles along the coast where we found some of the things we needed. It was fun to see the fancy resort/marina complex and have lunch there.

Customs on the Queen's Wharf in Lautoka or that marina, Vuda Point, are the choices for checking out of the country. We wanted to visit them to make sure we know the most up to date requirements and hours. There was an interesting boardwalk with lots of info about Lautoka and its history on the walk from the main wharf into town. Overnight Saturday we hope to visit another marina/resort complex 20 nm from here, Musket Cove. It is a famous favorite in the cruising community.

It is about 600 nm to Santo where Dan is arriving next Sat. We thought we should leave today, Friday, as you can't checkout or in on the weekends in either country. But another bad weather system is arriving this weekend. We are going to aim for Monday now but have to travel to the checkout and then to the pass which will take half the day. Our new plan is to sail to Port Vila in Vanuatu which is only 500 nm and try to get there to check in Friday. Then we can do the next 150 nm to Santo, hopefully with Dan. We'll see how that works out.

First week in Savusavu, Fiji

Carol purchasing Kava roots for chief of local village we were to visit

Curly conducting navigation seminar for BPO| boats

Huge market in Labasa

MAGGIE dressed for the Savusavu Open

First week in Savusavu, Fiji

July 26 2015

We are glad that we made this extra stop in Fiji. It is a difficult place to navigate and not an official BPO stop so we have been on our own researching. I've already touched some coral with the keel while hunting around for our mooring ball. There are now 4 BPO boats here. Curly, who does a morning net, also puts on a 3 hour seminar on Sundays on navigation and regulations here. He was kind enough to do a special session on Fri for us as we need to get moving today or tomorrow and we are all taking one route to the west side. It was very useful. Rob is spending this morning entering waypoints in the chart plotter to weave our way through the coral. The weather is not good for the trip but isn't going to get much better in the short term. When it is windy the wind is accelerated between the 2 large islands by about 10 knots. You also have to spend the first 4 hours beating to windward to get around a reef.

It has been a fun week to be here as the town council has had its first fair ,the Savusavu Open. The usual info booths, food stands, rides and entertainment in the evenings. You could buy a raffle ticket to win a goat and a case of beer. Each night there were 2 more goats there. Surprisingly the speeches were in English, but very long winded. With Hindi and local languages it is the one they all have in common. Entertainment was mostly dancing, either Indian style, contemporary, or the local village historic styles. And it is true that they cannot sing as well as the Polynesians. The town council asked if the boats would "dress up" which means putting up all of our flags. It did look impressive in the harbour. We put up a couple of strands of flags and won honourable mention. We lent another string of flags to one of the BPO boats who shared first prize. The mooring balls are just inside of the mouth of a river so we are close together and close to shore so right in view of people walking along the one street.

There are a lot more shops and restaurants than in Tonga and the prices are much lower. The food prices are so low that we have mostly been eating out. The first night there were 3 of us with 5 Indian entrees. The total bill was about $15 US. I got my hair cut for $6. We purchased a new smart phone that comes unlocked for about $100. The sim card was $1.50. We are having a lot of fun getting internet on the boat with it! Rob also found the cables we needed to watch the movies on the computer on our large screen. A seamstress repaired the holes in the bimini and someone did our laundry. Alcohol is the exception with a limited, expensive selection.

I took advantage of the fact that there is a clinic in town and had a Dr check my broken toe. I stepped into the bilge when a floorboard was up and I was carrying laundry down the stairs. Three weeks later it is still swollen and sore. It was for my peace of mind to know it is healing ok. He just said I need to rest it more which is a challenge when you have to walk everywhere. Other than that and a few scrapes and bruises we have been very healthy.

We took one tour to a village and waterfall inland on Wed. which was interesting. Sat we took the local bus to Labasa on the north coast, about a 3 hour trip. Mostly we wanted to see the rain forest that you have to cross to get there. It is a larger city with a huge market.  On the return trip I'm sure the number of passengers was double the maximum capacity, with three to a seat and all the aisles full. We have been told to be careful about stealing here which I guess comes with the larger more urban population.

In the marina there are 2 women on the boat, Interlude, which is from Toronto. They have been here for 2 years. Mostly, however, we have visited with NZ sailors. It has been fun for us to learn more about NZ as we will be visiting there in Sept.

School Visit about BPO and Climate Change

School where presentation was made

Carol - overlooking Savusavu Bay

School children in the schoolyard

School Visit about BPO and Climate Change

July 24 2015

An opportunity came up to talk to several local classes about the BPO's mission to highlight climate change. One of the parents saw the splash guards that we have with the BPO logo. He was familiar with the rally and personally interested in anything he could do to increase the awareness among the children here. He arranged with the principal and teachers for us to meet with 2 classes of Gr 7 students on Fri. Despite the short notice and not having photos ready, we were very well received. We talked about any of the things we noticed on the trip, on various islands, that were related to climate change or protecting our oceans. Also we could share what other countries and school children have been able to do.

Some of the things we discussed were the rising water levels and the effect, in particular, on low lying islands like San Blas, and Tuamotos. There is a local Fijian Island where the village is being relocated to the rain forest as their homes disappear. The residents of the country, Tokelau, have also been offered land here. We mentioned a class in the Marquesas that asked the government to protect a local reef and the laws were put in place. Each island has some laws that protect their environment. Being a politician or local activist is just as important as the scientists.

They wanted to know what they could do to help while they are still young. But also what would be some of the fields to study in university to make a difference. Other questions were related to the cause and symptoms of climate change. One thing their class will be doing later in the year is to clean up the mangroves along the creek. This will help with erosion and preservation of plants and marine life. We want to help with the sharing of ideas as we all live in the same world.

Passage to Fiji

Today is Mon, July 20, and we are enjoying a good sail to Fiji. So far we have only used the foresail with moderate following winds and seas. There was supposed to be no wind Sun, but by going a slightly different route we had enough wind for all but 6 hours of motoring. By then, the batteries needed charging anyway. We really miss the hydrogenerator for power on long trips when we use the autopilot and there is no sun overnight. We've been hand steering in the daytime. We have only seen 2 boats but they were large and close, fishing and a cruise ship. The AIS is only working out a few miles but lights and radar tell you something.

You could do this trip in 3 days if you started early am and had good winds. But in Tonga you have to check out at the dock so didn't get away until 11am. We couldn't enter the outlying reefs after dark or arrive at Savusavu in the dark so are aiming for Tues am. That has meant reefing down and travelling slowly. We are travelling through the islands today so it is more scenic than the ocean passages.

Fiji has 332 islands covering 274,000 square miles if you count the water. That is why it is taking a day and a half just to get to the first check in spot. Here we leave Polynesia and enter Melanesia. The word means "black islands". The native peoples came from SE Asia-a very long time ago. But half the population is Fijian Indian, the descendants of indentured slaves brought in to work the sugar cane fields. There is some unrest between the groups as the Indians run most of the businesses. The time zone is UTC plus 12, the same as NZ. That puts us close to a third of the way around the world from our start.

On the Canadian homefront, Rob's dad, Norm had a 90th birthday bash last weekend in Wpg. I hear it was a great event. Mike and Dave's crew flew out from our family. Looking forward to some pictures when we get internet again. Unfortunately, his mom, Nora, had another small stroke this week so is not doing as well. Wish we were closer!

A few parting thoughts on Tonga. The economy is based on foreign aid and Tongans sending cash home after moving to other countries. Expats seem to run all the businesses. We noticed another customer in a restaurant wearing a Wpg Blue Bombers tshirt. Of course, we introduced ourselves, with Rob wearing his Banff tshirt. The couple have moved to Neiafu and had just purchased a local restaurant that they hope to improve and make a living from. We wish them luck but I hear the success rate is not that good.

We have met some cruisers that we have crossed paths with in previous ports. Especially the young Norwegian couple from Milla that we have seen in 5 locations since Feb. They have sold their boat here to Kjell, another Norwegian who represented the BPO for us here .Also went to brunch with a single hander from Italy who anchored next to us in the San Blas in Jan. The king was to visit this week so missed that.

We will miss waking up to the sound of church singing and bands on shore. And the relaxed pace of life.

More Feasting Farewell to Tonga

MAGGIE at Tapana Island

Dancing girls after our feast!

Hanatele (sp) showing us is botanical garden

We enjoyed the feast more than the pig!

More Feasting

Farewell to Tonga

July 16, 2015

We have been making our preparations to check out tomorrow, Fri, despite the fact that Friday leavings are considered unlucky in the sailing mythology. We have enjoyed the visit here and certainly have been well fed. Last Sat we did some more eye testing on Vaka'eitu, followed by a Tongan feast. Our 5 BPO boats were there as well as a charter boat anchored nearby. There is just one family living on the island but they have 11 children! The parents were good singers with a guitar and some of the girls did some dancing for us. The food was plentiful and delicious and included the usual roasted pig.

We had been in the anchorage near Tapana up to that morning and left again Sun am as we had made reservations for the Sun brunch at the Botanical Gardens. As well as the good food we enjoyed meeting some other cruisers and tourists. The 22 acres of gardens looked interesting enough that we booked a several hour tour for Tues along with Wendy and Dave on Elysium. I think the highlight was the guide, Hanatele (sp?). Before retiring he was the agriculture minister for the government. He had many interesting stories of visits with the king, the pope, and getting protective legislation instituted here. He even had meetings in Ottawa with the AGO. He had owned the first 8 acres since age 8 and had his father garden for him during his working years. It is the only place in the country where a variety of plants and trees are being cultivated and protected.

I mentioned that last week we visited an anchorage off Tapana island. There is a good Spanish restaurant on the island but was not open while we were there. The Ark Gallery features the art of owner, Sherri. She and her husband live on the floating houseboat. We finally took the bikes in the dinghy to shore. From there you could ride all the way to town. It was a bit of a challenge as many of the moving parts are well rusted. Also one of the pedals wouldn't stay on. But it was fun to cover more ground.

Last night, Wed, there was a fundraiser at Aquarium Restaurant to raise funds to buy the local police a VHF radio. Up until now if there is a marine emergency it has been the cruisers that use their radios for contact. They showed a short video of a large square rigger sailboat rounding Cape Horn in 1929. The filming was amazing considering when it was done. That,  plus a silent auction of donated boat parts,  raised the necessary funds. We parted with a few things like the dinghy pumps for our past 2 dinghies.

Depending on the weather, it will be about a 3 day trip to Fiji. We have spent some time here tracking down enough info and charts to travel through the country. After the first stop in Savusavu, it will still take 3 or 4 more days to reach the west coast. We need to leave about a week to get to Vanuatu after that. Dan arrives there Aug 6 so time to get moving.

Anchored between Kapa and Nuku Islands

Kapa Island with Nuku Island in background

Swallow's Cave - dinghy right in!

Definitely more pigs than people!

Carol on Nuku baech

Anchored between Kapa and Nuku Islands 

July 7, 2015


We are enjoying a quiet respite from traveling and thoroughly enjoying this anchorage. The small island of Nuku has a beach and reef but nothing else and most of the time we have been the only ones here, or one other boat. It is well sheltered from the wind and waves. The engine has started a few times now with no problems so we are starting to relax about it.

We have hiked around a few places on Kapa. They say there are more pigs than people and I would believe it now. We took the dinghy to the end of the island where there is a large cave, Swallows Cave. You can drive the dinghy right into it ,huge in width and height, and clear to the bottom. pretty awesome sight!

There has been a NZ boat next to us that we met in Lape. When we arrived they invited us for dinner .There are 4 aboard. The captain, Jeff, has made the trip to this area for 8 years now so has a wealth of info to share. It was particularly helpful to talk to someone about Fiji, our next stop, and get their ideas. It is not a scheduled BPO stop so we are light on reference material. We photocopied pages from a guide book and copied some charts. Fiji is a difficult area for navigation with lots of islands and reefs and rules about where you can go. We had them back for dinner last night and got to talk more about NZ. We are looking forward to a visit there (by plane) in Sept. They have offered lodging in the Hawks Bay area if we would like.

I wouldn't want to be in NZ right now. We are getting their cold forecasts as part of our marine weather. Locals have never seen it this cold for so long. There was an earthquake in the Tongan trench each of the last 2 days, 5.2 and 6.2, 50 nm away. That is 8 so far this month. Another unusual weather event has been tropical cyclone, Raquel, in the Solomon Islands. This is well past the "safe" season. There have been 3 more in the Pacific just north of the equator, which is unusually early for there. The remnants of Raquel are crossing Tonga today but further south.

An aside: One other year when Jeff was in this same anchorage, he extended an invitation to drinks then dinner to a boat anchored next to him. At the end of the evening when they exchanged contact info, the captain said he was the producer of Lord of the Rings. Another time it was the director and a dancer from the Sydney Ballet.

Eye Testing on Lape and Kapa Islands

Carol participating in eye testing on Kapa Island

Starfish - pretty, but apparently they destroy coral!

Reef at Lapa Island at low tide

Eye testing on Lape and Kapa Islands 

July 8, 2015
 
The two out islands we have been visiting this week were chosen because we had arranged with the chief to do eye testing on the children there. Once again, many of the adults also wanted their eyes checked. We will try to stock up on more inexpensive reading glasses to distribute to them when we can. These islands are small so there are not many children total, but two boys will be sent glasses for distance from the company in Germany. One teenager and one adult were referred to the eye Dr at the hospital for more serious problems. Mon and Tues were school holidays because of the coronation so the kids were free to meet us in Felavai on Kapa. They start the study of English in Gr 3 so we got along fine with directions with help from the older ones.( In high school they add learning Japanese!)

On Sat we were anchored off the small island of Lape. The islanders put on a Tongan feast for us and any cruisers who would like to come. There were 40 of us for dinner. There was a tour of their island and the work they do. Mostly they do weaving and tapa cloth for sale in the markets. The feasts are done occasionally as fundraisers. So far they have built a concrete dock and started a public washroom with the money. There are only 26 residents.

The food was absolutely wonderful, with fish dishes and salads. It was centered around the 6 month old pig, which might not appeal to all. It was a chance, also, to visit with other cruisers. The majority here are from New Zealand.

Sun morning we awoke early to the music of whales "singing" and blowing. They come to this area of Tonga to breed this time of year. There are many tour boats going out to see them or swim with them. Despite keeping a look out we didn't see them, although boats next to us did. During the day, we dinghied over to a shallow coral reef to do some exploring. Lots of interesting creatures that were new to me, like sea cucumbers and dark blue starfish, and things that look like brown sticks with feet. Also saw sea urchins, octopus and jellyfish. Right off the boat I saw my first Portuguese Man of War.

Happy Canada Day from Tonga

Mt Talau view looking east

Mt Talau view looking south

Ian from Trouble in Paradise? working on our engine

Happy Canada Day

July 1, 2015

Well, all of Canada will be celebrating tomorrow but we have out the red hats. A local bar is serving poutine tonight. We are having a much too long visit with Ian, the mechanic from Vancouver who worked on our engine. Rob went to start the engine to change the oil and it was a repeat of Swarrow, with the engine not starting or even turning over. Ian and Rob have been working all of Tues and Wed so far. A relay needed to be replaced  but the bigger issue is that one of the cylinders has sea water in it. It is amazing that we got it to start to get here. They are also looking at where it might be getting in. Ian's company is called appropriately "Trouble in Paradise". Since he retired and moved here he hasn't stopped working. I won't send this until I get an update.

Sunday after church we hiked up the highest hill here, Mt Talau. There is a National park with the hike and look outs. It was worth the climb to see the layout of all the bays and islands. Four local teenaged boys sat with us at the top and asked if they could sing for us. They did a good rendition of several English and Tongan church songs. We enjoyed them although they did eventually ask for money for their "church".

Chapter 2 is now in the bay after a rough passage from American Samoa. Yesterday we spent the afternoon with them and Tahawus doing eye testing. We are scheduled to do more children on another island on Sat. They have invited us to a Tongan Feast afterwards. Janet had inexpensive glasses of various strengths to give the adults. They were very appreciative.

The day before we arrived here we could hear one side of a  conversation on the VHF regarding a rescue operation. We have heard a follow up on the local net as the owner is safely in town here. They had to abandon his boat. The rudder was stuck to one side and the engine didn't work. The seas were too high for a tow in. Someone may find this boat as it is still floating and heading to Fiji. Another boat to the south also had crew rescued but their boat was sinking. We heard of another abandoned boat on the trip from Galapagos to Marquesas. They had a rudder breakage with water entering. We are considering ourselves lucky to be having trouble in a safe place.

July 2

The engine is working now! Ian finished up after dark yesterday. Today Rob purchased a clamp for a leaky pipe and new coolant that was drained. Then he is going to change the oil. And we should be good to move in the morning. The only remaining question is why and how did that sea water get into the system so we can prevent a repeat?