Arrived... Suva; Fiji

Suva Fiji
After a slow day with the wind on the nose it finally relented and moved back to the south. We had a very calm night with enough wind to keep up four knots which is all we needed to arrive here in the morning. All night we had the glow of Suva on the bow. There are extensive reefs around Suva and approaching as it got light was just perfect. We took a few fixes to check the accuracy of the charts and were happy with following our electronic charts in. It always seems far more difficult when looking at the approach on the charts, but once you get there it always seems a lot easier than one presumed. We anchored near the Royal Suva Yacht Club and cleared in with the port captain who told us to contact the yacht club to complete customs etc. We called them on the radio and they said we could check in and pay or wait until tomorrow ... so here we are relaxing and sleeping our day away.
The harbour inside was filthy with tons of oil on the surface as well as general rubbish. There goes our nice clean hull. The harbour is filled with deep sea fishing boats rafted together. These are all long line fishing boats that are stripping the pacific of its pelagic fish. The other thing one notices is that they all have Chinese flags off the stern. All around the pacific the Chinese are taking over putting some money into the country for basic development and then collect all the fishing grants etc and clean out their natural resources. Since arriving we have seen a few of the boats rafted near us dumping their rubbish over the side. It's no wonder that the harbour looks as it does.
On a lighter note while Colin was on watch a bird crashed on deck. Shining a light in its direction he found a rather dazed Bird of Paradise with its squid lying on the deck and it stumbling around a little stunned. It did not have much room to take off so flapped around helplessly. Fortunately it flapped down the side past the cockpit where Colin got hold of it. After trying to calm it he was going to launch it, when it latched onto his finger with amazing power for such a small bird. The beak is serrated to grip squid which are extremely slippery from the surface of the water. It took a while for Colin to pry its beak open and launch it skywards in the dark where it found its wings and got going.
So tomorrow we sign in and will head into town to explore. From the water the town has many new and modern looking buildings. Apparently the shops are also well stocked. There are a few things that we need so hopefully they will be available here. Our last shop was in Tahiti almost two months ago.

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Light winds good eating

Colin and Sandy Cruising with Papillon
On route to Suva; Fiji
00h37 UTC 23 September
Course: 280°
Distance covered last 24hrs until 23h00 GMT: 97nm
Distance to Suva: 89 nm
Position 18°19' S 179°56' E
All's well on board.

So who told the wind that we were way ahead of schedule and who computed the last weather grib files? Since entering the Lau group of islands the seas have been flat and life on board is levelling out. The wind has slowly died and at times we were down to a meagre 1.8kn of boat speed. Not that this is a problem as we have plenty of time. The grib files that we got yesterday reported that we would continue along on our way with 10kn of wind from the SE slowly turning to the east. Lovely! This morning the wind was 6-8kn but was now blowing from the SW and slowly squeezing us northward on a beat as it tracks to the west. So we are beating to Suva in light winds and the sea is still calm.
We caught a big Mahi Mahi yesterday afternoon and released it as it was over 4ft and far too big for us to keep. It took the lure and then started an amazing aerial display that we have not seen from a Mahi Mahi before. As the winds were light we turned the boat until all the sails backed so that the boat stopped while we fought the fish. If we had a freezer it would have filled that. We only keep big fish if we are going into port or an anchorage where we can share it out.
We have passed some beautiful islands that on the charts look absolutely fantastic with good places to anchor. We no sooner pass the one island and the next rises up over the horizon to great you. As slow as we are going it looks like a Sunday arrival in Suva.... so I guess its cough up and pay. If the wind had stayed with us all the way we would have had a very quick passage. So instead the books are being read and food made and being calm ... sleeping. It takes a few days before one gets used to three hours on watch the three to sleep, but it is nice if you can sleep when it's your three hours off.
Well it's time to finish this as its time to cook or bake something.....hmmm cake!! And we have been making water so the engine has been on and the fridge will be cold, so some jelly will be good... maybe with the still weather some chocolate moose might go down even better.
Till next time

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On passage to Fiji

Colin and Sandy Cruising with Papillon
On route to Suva; Fiji
23h00 UTC 22 September
Course: 259°
Distance covered last 24hrs until 22h00 GMT: 159nm
Distance to Suva: 189 nm
Position 18°30' S 178°24' W
All's well on board.

After a busy morning sorting out our clearance and getting the boat ready we finally left Neiafu at around two. The winds have been good with some rain. Today we reached the Southern Lau group of islands that belong to Fiji. We are in the Oneata passage which is around four miles wide. We arrived here as it was getting light so that we were able to get some bearings and see how well the charts lined up with the reefs and islands. The passage is around 15nm long and with the winds being rather variable we are making between three and six knots it should take around 4-5 hours. We are way ahead of our schedule and will arrive in Suva on Sunday morning. This is a problem as we will pay-a-plenty for arriving after hours. So we will have to see what to do to slow down. Otherwise alls well on board and the boat is doing fine.

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Setting sail for Fiji

It's time to move again and after a wonderful stay in Vava'U in Tonga we say goodbye to many of our friends that turn off here to head south to New Zealand. Some of these boats we have been with since the Canary Islands and many more from the Caribbean. There are however many boats that we have met in the Pacific that are headed to Australia and many of them are doing the rally to Bunderberg so we will see them in ports as we head on west. We still have two thousand miles to go and the road gets a little tricky as there are tons of islands and reefs in the course ahead. Most times when we set off we have open ocean and can really relax as long as the weather stays good. The first that we get to is the Southern Lau group of islands that belong to Fiji after about 200nm. There is a pass that we will go through that lies almost in a straight line between here and Suva. After that we have a few islands to go around on route. Unfortunately we cannot stop in the Lau group as you need a permit and need to first sign in at Suva or Savu Savu. These islands are beautiful and the people still live traditional lives in their small island communities.
So if the weather is good we will sign out tomorrow and should take 4-5 days to get to Suva. It's been raining the last few days and we are hoping that the weather will improve. The winds look like they will be light so we will see how it goes. Well that's it for now we will update as we go along.

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Cruising; Vava'U; Tonga

Since arriving here a week ago we have cruised to different anchorages that are not very far apart with lovely clear water and tons of small fish. The bigger ones like the tuna/bonito are all over the place but not interested in the lures we have to offer. One large fish cleaned us out and stripped the reel... it might have been a "GT" -giant trevally - as it was over some deeper reef. There are tons islands that stand to 150 to 250 feet, mostly steep sided with a slight undercut section around the tidal zone and many with their own little beach. The islands are all well wooded with small cleared areas where there is a house or so. Generally there are very few people on the smaller islands. Around the islands are beautiful reefs that are very colourful.
One island has a large cave called Swallows Cave. You can swim in or take the dinghy in. The inside has some stalactites, small swallow nests hanging precariously to the ceiling and deep blue water full of fish below. Sadly it is also covered in graffiti dating back to the whaling ship days and all the way to the fluorescent spray can scrawling. There is another cave that we have not been into as you have to dive down 2m across 3-4m then up into the cave. It is far from a suitable anchorage so one needs to go as a group and do it in relay so that someone stays on board.
There are many anchorages still to explore and fishing to be done, but we will go back into town- Neiafu on Tues/Wed next week to meet up with our friends that arrive next week. Until arriving here we have not met many Aussie and Kiwi cruisers, now every bay has plenty as this is the cruising area for boats that leave from Australia and NZ. The last bay there were five Kiwi boats and one charter boat with folk from Christchurch. This is really a wonderful cruising area.

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