Surprise
10/09/2008, Vuda Point Marina

The flight from LA to Nadi, Fiji arrives at 5:10am, and it was nearly 7am before we retrieved our bags and wrestled our way through Customs. The Customs folks ignored the fact that we are on a boat in transit and assessed us duty on $500 (their number) worth of boat bits. The only alternative would have been to get a Customs broker who would have charged us more than the duty. Welcome to Fiji.

It's hot here; October is spring in the Southern Hemisphere. By 10 am yesterday it was close to 100 and it didn't start cooling off until evening when it rained and the wind picked up. The refrigeration system is struggling to get the refrigerator and freezer back down to the right temperatures, as it was shut down while we were gone. Another day of projects and then we hope to slide out to Musket Cove and the Yasawa Islands to start our Fiji cruising. Our plan is to cruise here until mid-November and then have James and Amber sail Surprise to NZ where Davie will pull her out of the water and make her new again.

Photo is from our earlier trip to Musket Cove.

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Surprise
09/11/2008, Vuda Point, Fiji

It was a strange feeling watching our boat and home for the last 5 months motor out of the marina with others aboard.

Davie Norris and family have taken her to Musket Cove for a week. After 20+ years of boat building, this is Davie's first cruise. We think they will enjoy the experience and the boat.

We rejoin Surprise October 9th for more of the adventure in Fiji.

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Surprise
09/03/2008, Musket Cove, Fiji

Musket Cove is a small bay on the lee side of an island about 12 miles from the main island in Fiji. There are several resorts along the sand beaches, a very small marina, and some moorings. You can get almost anything here, well stocked store, cafe, several restaurants, wind surfers, water skiing, diving, snorkeling, fuel; almost perfect. As you can see from the photo of the sunrise, the only thing that keeps it from being perfect is its popularity.

We're out here doing research for Davie Norris and family who will fly up from NZ on Saturday and sail Surprise while we are vacationing in the US. Davie built Surprise 11 years ago. We'll be gone until early October, so don't count on your weekly fix of adventure until then.

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