We have moved to Blogspot for future posts and have finally started posting. You can find the blog at iolea.blogspot.com.

Kate and Paul

Well, its a month since we set sail from Fiji to NZ and we have just had a lovely week in Auckland enjoying Clayton and Gayle's wonderful house in Castor Bay. On Monday Oscar and Gudrun arrived from Oz and are now in our first anchorage off Waiheke for Xmas & New Year. So, before we find ourselves in 2016 and Fiji is all but a distant memory its time to update our blog.

This year has been about shore-based family and friends and we've loved it. Its a lot of fun and also makes it easier to talk about the boat and what we are doing when we go home. We decided to limit our sailing in Fiji to the Mamanucas and Yasawa islands. These islands are very easy to sail, have a good variety of snorkelling and entertainment and, most importantly, are perfect for having visitors who are not used to rolling anchorages. They are also on the drier side of Fiji and this year that really paid off. Other parts of Fiji had overcast and windy/rainy weather. We had a little of that apart from a windy period over June and July. For the most part our days were sunny and dry.




Before the troops arrived we moored at Musket Cove on a mooring ball so that Paul could head to Oz as a surprise visit for his mother, Kay's, 80th birthday. His brother Simon also travelled to Australia from France. To say Kay was surprised is an understatement. She was shocked, thinking the only reason they could possibly be there was that something had happened to me or to Simon's wife Nicole! She recovered quickly though and the visit was a great success.




Meanwhile I was left alone on Iolea. We had first planned for me to stay at one of the marinas but this was so much better. The moorings at Musket cove are totally sheltered from swell and most wind chop and are just a short dinghy ride to nearby resorts which have basic well supplied shops and entertainment. The water is clean and the bay has some reasonable snorkelling and lots of nearby walks. All in all its a great place to hang and for having visitors later on.

Being home alone meant I got to run the boat on my own - well almost alone - my girlfriend Gudrun flew from Australia to keep me company which was fabulous. I have to admit to being quite lazy when it comes to running the dinghy and boat systems. Paul is naturally organised and has everything running before I have even thought of it. But with him away I found I enjoyed the routine of running the water maker, checking the batteries and leashing and unleashing the wind turbines to keep the batteries topped etc etc.

The only downside was that Paul became enthusiastic about job swapping!




Before Gudrun arrived I took the opportunity to do some long overdue varnishing which is much easier without a large male moving around the boat (commiserations Peppe). Marion on Zenna adheres to the Dexter approach to varnishing where every possible surface and airspace around the area to be varnished is shrouded in plastic. Mine is a Clayton's version
(Ref).




Having Gudrun to myself for 10 days was a treat. We snorkelled and walked and talked late into the evenings. One particular snorkel in the early morning at the sandpit was really stunning (these colours are real!).






When Paul returned we set off to explore the Yasawas and familiarise ourselves with its anchorages. We settled on 9 spots that we could use depending on time constraints and swell constraints: Blue Lagoon, Somosomo, Manta pass at Drawaqa island, Octopus resort, Yalobi village on Waya, Manna resort, and Honeymoon island, LikuLiku resort anchorage, and Musket Cove with Cloud 9 and the outer reef. All had something special and/or calm, flat waters. Good, safe snorkelling was an important criterion and always a favourite.



Carlos and Ellen were the first to join us. They had 7 nights which meant we had time to see quite a bit of Y&M. They took the Yasawa Fyler to the Blue Lagoon which took most of the day. We had thought of having them come to Manta pass but thought Blue Lagoon better because there is no swell for their first night. We anchored off Nanuya Resort and managed to get in a walk and snorkel off the southern point with the mass of Sergeant Majors before sailing south to Drawaqa Island and the Manta pass the next morning. It was only on a later visit that we discovered the reef on the northern side of Nanuya with its unusual sponges and the walk up from Coralview Resort on Tavewa Island which gives fabulous views across the lagoon.

Swimming with manta rays is a wonderful experience and with both Carlos and Ellen and Brad and Claire we were lucky to see them at the pass. Even better, we had them much to ourselves. At one point we had 7 mantas gliding to and around us their mouths wide open feeding. They are so used to humans here that they will almost touch you which can be disconcerting at times. Even when the mantas are absent the pass itself makes an interesting drift snorkel.



Another favourite spot is Octopus resort on the north west of Waya. Waya island is the southern most island of the Yasawas and, for us, the one that most evokes the magical Marquesa islands of French Polynesia. We collected Brad and Claire from Denereau and made the 5-6 hr sail first to Manta pass then down to Octopus. As we were motoring past Waya in glassy seas a shark swivelled by - we don't see many of those.

Octopus resort is small and intimate with really good meals and a colourful reef with lots of fish just off the beach. The only limitation is the anchorage which is generally rolly. Only Carlos and Ellen and Brad and Claire had the time to risk a rolly night. We developed a tradition of sundowners and Cranium before dinner at the sunset bar. On one of the nights we were invited to join a movie by the pool with complimentary popcorn. It was tempting but our days were full enough.





The one spot everyone wanted to go to was Cloud9. The idea of a bar floating at the outer edge of the fringe reef is really appealing and although a bit overcrowded times, its a lot of fun - particularly jumping off the top balcony. The keenest were the kids. Tom and Jenna made the most rounds and Mei had the best bellyflop and still came up laughing.



We anchored about 300 metres away from Cloud9 in 5 metres of crystal clear water over sand. The water is so clear that its possible to see worm holes in the sand, or someone holding the anchor!



On three occasions (yes we got to know Cloud9 well) we had the added spectacle of a 57ft sailing yacht that had managed to ground itself on the reef. Apparently, the single handed sailor was sailing from Suva to Vanuatu. We are very puzzled how he managed to end up where he did - it was a sad sight. The boat was hauled off the reef shortly before we left Fiji and its owner has started the long slow and expensive job of making her seaworthy again.




We always feel a little flat when visitors leave and the boat feels cavernous. But it didn't take long to get going again. We started with a shore excursion with Fran and Richard on Red. First up was a half day for the girls with Fiji Hot Glass where we made plates using broken glass and moulds that were fired in a small furnace. Fiji Hot Glass is on the Coral Coast and the workshop is held on the verandah of a small wooden house which looks out through palms to the reef. It was a wonderfully absorbing task, akin to putting a jigsaw together.



Our final stop before getting ready to leave Fiji was back to Blue Lagoon and to the Sports Bar at Nanuya for the World Cup rugby. Paul and Ding on Chiquita dutifully rose at 4 or 5am to watch the finals (we watched Australia go down in flames yet again to NZ in Denereau). We also snorkelled the point this time taking bread with us to the joy of 100s of Sergeant Majors! and Ding and I climbed Tevewa Island. The highlight though, was a visit to Toki's produce farm where he picks fresh tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber, eggplant etc etc.

Arrived in NZ after a reasonable sail down. first few days lovely but the last 36 hours with wind on the nose agh. Still, good to be through it safe and sound. Now heading down south to rendezvous with Gudrun and Oscar for Xmas. Photo is of Hole in the Rock in the Bay of Islands.

We first thought we were ready to head to Fiji in late April. We were provisioned, all the boat's systems and rigging had been checked and we felt ready. Now for a good weather window. One window presented itself in the last week of April. It was essentially a corridor between two lows. Tropical cyclone Pam had brushed NZ a few weeks earlier and seemed to have taken a lot of the puff out of the tropics. Still, we were weary of late season cyclones in Fiji and of running between two lows. We have born the brunt of enough of them so we let the window pass,

In general ,opportunities to go north come round once a week to 10 days. Occasionally the windows close for longer but they are only truly closed when the winds blow hard from the north. The other opportunities depend on your boat type - motor or sail - and taste for risk. We like to sail but we like to avoid being bashed, close hauled, and pounded by squalls.

The next window to appear looked promising, although robust. The high was over 1030 which means its perimeter winds will generally be 20-30 knots. the wind was east to ENE and possibly some NE. We watched to see how it would change before deciding what to do. In the end the ENE element and strength of wind put us off - we would be close hauled all the way which sounded like too much effort. We watched as 20 odd yachts headed out to the window and wondered whether we had been too conservative. We hadn't, the yachts who took the window had a hard passage and quite a few had to have repairs.

Another week and another window. This one was a motoring window. Very little wind and relatively calm seas. We did not want to motor to Fiji and so we let that one go as well. Instead we took off to one of the local bays and had a pleasant day cleaning the hull and enjoying the warm weather.

Back to Opua and waiting again. This time with our friends on Huck. Another trough went by and a new high under 1030 is moving above NZ. The winds are to start from the south and gradually back becoming light easterly winds. There are 2 days where we might have to motor and we are willing to do so. It is cold and rainy and windy in NZ. Time to move on and this time we are ready. And we are on our way.

Yep agreed, one photo does not make a blog. Thanks for the reminder Balvenie! So we have just posted 7 new blogs on our time in NZ (we still have a few more to go). In the meantime these photos were taken from our mooring in Opua. It took a dozen goes but eventually the Shag got it down.

Looks like we will be here for a while waiting for the next weather window to Fiji. The last window just passed but the boats who took it are finding it rough out there with wind on the nose, squalls and reasonable seas. We're looking for a more comfortable ride if we can get it.