Fiji Time
09 October 2018 | 17 46.39'S:177 11.1'E, Malolo Island, Fiji, South Pacific Ocean
Larry Green
A couple of weeks ago a dear friend reminded me it had been some time since my last blog post. I explained that most of my writing was done while on passage, and that last year when we were passagemaking on a regular basis it was fairly easy to write often. This year has been quite different in that we have only made two passages, New Zealand to Tonga, then Tonga to Fiji. Therefore, my self-rationalization suggested nothing much had changed. However, a moment of introspection made me realize I am fully converted to Island Time. In some cultures, Island Time behavior could be considered lazy or shiftless. (The Thesaurus has ample suggestions for behaviors that perfectly fit) The Antonyms i.e. energetic or lively tell the rest of the tale. That is my excuse and I am sticking to it.
One may wonder what we have been doing in this paradise. Not exactly what we planned, but we have not been exactly idle. Some scuba diving and snorkeling, some racing, some socializing, some small boat projects, some reading and some required paperwork. I shall explain, so please read on.
Malolo Island is home to the Musket Cove Yacht club, which has hosted a sailing regatta for the past 35 years. It is a five-day event complete with three �"days of racing�" pirate themed beach barbeques, regular beach parties and lots of opportunities to meet new people and catch up with others we have met along the way. It is mostly sponsored by the various yachting facilities in Australia and New Zealand who host short seminars on topics like weather in the South Pacific and where to spend money on your boat.
Like most cruising sailors I do not race! Except when there is another boat in sight then this thing happens where tweaking the sails for better speed becomes an obsession. The three races of the regatta were no different except there were nearly 100 boats participating. No handicaps, no allowances for the 4 really fast boats designed for racing. (OK they included a Santa Cruz 52, a couple of one off 55 foot New Zealand builds and a racing trimaran from Hawaii) The balance of the fleet was fairly evenly split between monohulls and catamarans.
The first race was to Treasure Island and all that you really needed to do was get there for the Pirate Invasion. There was not much wind at all so most everyone ended up motorsailing (allowed for this race). There were the usual contests and activities one would expect at a Pirate event on an isolated Pacific island. The fact that nearly half the boats came equipped with young children kept the entire week reasonable.
The second race, called the Sandbar Race started inside the inner reef, went through a narrow pass, 5 miles or so to a buoy and back through the narrow pass. The finish line was where the beach party started. There was a bit of mis communication or perhaps mis interpretation of how the winner would be determined. Our crew, which included Charlene and Slater was augmented with a young couple (originally from the US, now Kiwis) named Inky and Jess. Inky is an excellent sailor and Jess is less experienced and a fast learner. So, this misunderstanding concerned the absolute certainty of part of this crew of 5 that the first female skipper that got to the beach and the host tent would be the winner. So, the two females on the boat had this idea; how about if we jump overboard just after the finish line and swim to the beach and we can say we were the skipper and win a Grande prize. As we sail across the finish line both women dove overboard and swam like mad to the beach. (it looked a bit like they were the advance team at the invasion of Normandy) We guys anchored the boat, launched the dingy and motored ashore, heading for the tent to see this prize. That is where the misunderstanding came to light. No one was quite sure where the idea came from and there was no prize. All the folks on the beach and in the tent were amazed that two women wanted a beer that bad that they leapt overboard and swam ashore. I do thing they got a free beer.
The last, longest (about 25 NM) and most serious race was the �'round Malolo classic. For that race around the island, between the reefs and the rocks on shore was sailed in about 25 kts of wind. Since Slater has raced his entire life he was tactician and called sail trim. We sailed this boat harder than I can remember and our average speed for the course was 9.6. We finished right behind the 5 race boats previously mentioned, and a couple of 60+ foot catamarans. Our prize was labeled First, corrected time; since there were no handicaps being used we guessed that meant we were first of the non-racing machines. The prize was a woven basket with bottles of water and soda along with a couple of beer can cozies. It still felt really good.
Slater�'s plan had always been to get off the boat in Fiji and find a boat going to Australia. He had a couple of leads so after the Regatta we went back to Port Denarau where he finalized plans to sail on a Hylas 54 (nice boat) with a couple from California to Australia. Therein started the paperwork. What many sailors do not understand well is the responsibility the owner/captain has to crew. When you check into a country the ships crew list is part of the paperwork needed. If a crew member leaves your boat the obligation is to have them officially signed off the crew list and, if transferring to another boat, signed on to that boat. It takes a letter from each captain acknowledging their responsibilities, everyone�'s passport and a few official documents. On the surface it sounds like something that could be avoided, but it is not. When we go to get our outward clearance, I have to produce everyone who is signed on to the crew list. If not the first question asked is , �"what did you do with Mr. X and please provide proof you did not dump him over the side or let him enter our country illegally.�" So, pain in the butt, but necessary.
Speaking of paperwork one of my next tasks was completing the 18-page application to import the cats to New Zealand. And obtaining a letter from the Quarantine Facility, much like a reservation confirmation) It only took a day and a half. Also, since we were in New Zealand 6 months and three days, we can not re-enter the country on Visa Waiver (the ability of many countries citizens to show up and be granted a visitor visa on arrival) The rule is convoluted in that if you stay more than six months (in this case three days) you must go through the on-line visa application process. One long day filling out the forms and providing the necessary documentation.
Meanwhile we have been interviewing replacement crew for Slater. I am happy to say we have a husband/wife team flying from Christchurch NZ to Join us November 1st for the passage back to New Zealand.
Maybe I am on Fiji Time, yet I seem to be pretty busy. More later�...�...�...�...�...�...