Because of Cindy’s trip back to Texas to spend time with our new grandson, and my decision to stay in Musket Cove during that period of time, our routing around Fiji has not been what you would call ideal. After spending time in the west, we made our way east along the northern shore of Viti Levu Island before hopping off to go northeast to Savusavu on Vanua Levu Island.

The first part of the trip was inside the reefs along the commercial shipping route. Before you get the idea that this means a nice pleasant sail without concern for reefs, etc, that is not the case. Yes, there is a well marked route on the charts, but there are reefs and shallow areas all around, and no real Nav Aids to help position yourself. This means that you only travel during daylight and you always are watching where shallow water is suppose to be to help confirm your location. We did have one commercial ship pass us going the other way as we were leaving the major port of Latoka. (That encounter actually reminded us of being on the Columbia River!) Otherwise, it was a lonely passage. Because of a number of factors, we choose to motor-sail most of this section. Our first night was spent in Saweni Bay, along with a number of other boats. Holding was good and we saw winds from most every direction overnight. Each morning we would get an early start (6:30 to 7AM) to give us the best chance of avoiding adverse winds that would arrive in the afternoon and at the same time have enough daylight to see.where we were going. Our second night we anchored in Drautana Bay. Luckily we only had to fight the 25kt headwinds for less than an hour before making it into the bay. We went as deep into the bay as we dared trying to find protection from the wind and seas, anchoring in less than 20ft. Again, the holding was great in mud/sand, and we were glad given the conditions. The next day we made it the 32nm to Volivoli Point, the NE corner of Viti Levu. Once again, the winds greeted us with the bay in the distance, gusting to 40kts. We actually did pretty well anchoring in these conditions as Cindy fought to maintain control and hold the boat into the wind. Luckily within an hour the winds had backed off and we had good holding well up into the bay. That night we got a good rain.

This bay is the home to Volivoli Resort, who we found very hospitable to cruisers. We really enjoyed their Fish and Chips! They also made arrangements for us to get a cab for part of the day to do some touring to Raki Raki, the sugar mill that was destroyed in the cyclone (a new one is planned to be built), the tomb of a Fijian chief that ate all of his enemies that he beat in battles, and a Catholic Mission that has a beautiful mural of native Fijians bringing gifts to Jesus. We waited out the weather before moving to Nananu-I-cake Island. Here we took the dinghy around exploring the numerous private homes and resorts in the area. We went ashore with some other cruisers and hiked around a nearby island meeting up with folks that had come from Australia to sailboard there.

We took advantage of a forecast light wind day, hoping that the rain would hold off until the afternoon to move south to a point where we could move outside the reefs. As we arrived in TobaBasaga Bay and got the anchor down a light rain began to fall. Within 30 minutes we had heavy rains, thunder and 30kt gusts pushing us around. I noticed that in the gusts we seemed to be dragging the anchor, so before it got dark we pulled up anchor and re-set. Yes, the winds were blowing and it was raining, but it was good that we brought up the anchor because it was fouled on a large tree limb and red shirt! Once I got over the shock of hauling up what I first thought was a body, we go anchored and could relax. At this point we had almost circumnavigated the island of Viti Levu since arriving in Suva 2-1/2 months ago.

The next day we took off for the island of Makogai, some 35nm away to our east. Finally we were able to sail, but the wind and seas were on our beam, making for a bouncy ride. As we came into the outlying reef, we powered through the pass and approached the anchorage, with winds approaching 25kts. We would have loved to have stayed longer in Makogai, but the weather window was closing for the sail to Savusavu, so unfortunately we left without being able to explore much of the island. The next morning we left for the 52nm passage to Savusavu. We actually had some nice sailing - and some frustrating light spots. We reefed and let the the reef out and then reefed again and let it out again, and then finally put the screecher up. The sea-state had settled and was much more to Cindy’s liking than the day before.

It was fun returning to Savusavu where we had spent almost four months last season. It was great to meet old friends again, and see how the Marinas, town and people continue to move forward after Cyclone Winston.