Photo: Turtle, Makogai Island
The Optimist and Laser races were good fun, even though the local kids were far too good for us Keeler yachties. Apparently 6 of the local SavuSavu kids will be representing Fiji in next years Pacific Championships, still we had fun. The Saturday night 60's party was a good opportunity to farewell friends who are leaving the rally, the band didn't know too many 60's songs but we enjoyed the evening.
We forgot to mention in the last blog update that whilst on a night watch from Tonga, Gail saw the most amazing meteor fall to earth, with a long blue and green tail that lit the night sky. Several of the other yachts in the fleet also saw it as it was discussed on the radio the next day, many thought it may have been a flare it was so bright.
Sunday saw us drop the mooring buoy and head out to Cousteau's resort for an afternoon snorkeling and an early start for new places on Monday morning. We first tried Namena Island, negotiating the reef passage on our way in. It looked a great place but unfortunately the wind was in the wrong direction for the anchorage so we motored out through the reef and carried on to Makogai Island, arriving at 1500 hours. The anchorage here, again through a reef passage, is very good with no wind and no swell. There are two nearby islands to explore by dinghy and lots of snorkeling areas. Only one other yacht in the bay.
On Tuesday we went ashore to meet the locals and present Yaqona (Kava) in the traditional Sevusevu to the local chief. Makogai has a long history as it was the South Pacific Leper hospital for about 40 years and many of the buildings still remain. Today the island is a Government run "giant" clam hatchery. We were shown around the remains of the Leper hospital and the clam hatchery which was very interesting; although the methods look very basic the results are excellent. The villages are still using a generator built and installed in 1911, which continues to run perfectly for 12 - 14 hours a day. About 100m from where we are anchored, a buoy marks the location of several giant clams used for breeding. Several of which would measure close to a meter long. We are also resident with turtles in the bay, several of which we see regularly from the deck of Dol.
Whilst in Makogai Gail made her first batch of ginger beer as we have run out of Bundaberg ginger beer and saw her first reef shark whilst snorkeling over the giant clams.
Wednesday was exploring day on the outer islands and the north east side of the main island. Great shell gathering and pretty good snorkeling; we both swam with a turtle for several minutes also - a great treat.
We are now (Friday) being joined by several other yachts, mainly friends made along the way. It could be party night tonight following a relaxing day.
We would not want anyone reading this to think that the cruising life for us is all fun. It certainly is great but real work and maintenance has to be done also. They say that a month cruising offshore is the equivalent in wear and tear on a yacht and its systems to a seasons sailing back at home. Everything on board needs to work all of the time and all systems are working sometimes to maximum, especially in the tropics temperatures. So maintenance is a big thing, batteries (what a great decision to put Hydrocaps on the house batteries), generator set, main engine, refrigeration, water-maker, pumps everything must be kept up to scratch. We carry many spares on board, including oil and filters for routine services etc but as is usual the one you really want can be "back home". Recently we had a minor Generator problem (we actually still have a small one but that will need to wait until we can get expert help - probably Australia) and as luck would have it this time we did have the correct spare and despite some trial and error in locating the problem, Brian was able to get us up and running again. Replacement spares for those used are always on the list of purchases. Other maintenance is not overlooked either, Gail still doing her stainless steel polishing while hull cleaning and varnish work are all on the list of things to do.
With South Africans, Australians and Kiwi's in the bay, the day of the first Tri-Nations rugby test between South Africa and the All Blacks saw the guys trying to find a way to listen to the game on short wave radio. Finally with a solution in place, it was the girls on one of the catamarans with a movie and the guys on Sol Maria, another catamaran, to listen to the game. By the time the movie and game had finished, the guys had demolished 4 bottles of rum, while the girls had enjoyed dinner and the movie with nothing stronger than juice and tea!!!
The following day despite the numerous sore heads, some people headed off for the next location while the remainder had a quiet day watching dvd's and playing cards. We left a day later for Nangani Island, 12nm away. What a beautiful location, clear blue water, sandy beach and no village or resort. The afternoon was spent snorkeling, walking on the beach and drinks on the Dol.
We were on the move again the next day, 44nm to Nananu-i-ri Island. We motored most of the day as there was only 3 - 5 knots of breeze, with only the last 5 miles or so sailed under headsail. Catina caught a Mahi Mahi so it was dinner on their boat. The following day was quiet and relaxing, sitting around talking, swimming and a movie on Duet in the evening. We are now off to the nearby town for grocery shopping and to update our blogsite. The next update will be the Yasawa islands, which we will update when we reach Lautoka in a couple of weeks time.