Adventures of Orcinius

11 September 2015 | HOME - Vancouver WA
24 August 2015 | 46 11.4'N:123 51.4'W, Port of Astoria Marina
22 August 2015 | 46 42.0'N:132 09,4'W, 330 West of CR Bouy, Astoria
21 August 2015 | 46 41.8'N:136 13.8'W, 500 West of Astoria
20 August 2015 | 46 22.82'N:140 28.00'W, East end of High
20 August 2015 | 46 22.80'N:140 28.32'W, Middle of High Same as Fish
20 August 2015 | 46 22.79'N:140 28.57'W, Middle of High
20 August 2015 | 46 22.7'N:140 30.2'W, 675 Miles West of CR
20 August 2015 | 45 57.6'N:144 54.0'W, East End of the High
18 August 2015 | 44 38.2'N:147 57.0'W, 1000 NM to Astoria
18 August 2015 | 43 31.0'N:150 28.0'W, 1126 NM to Astoria
17 August 2015 | 41 40.1'N:153 00.1'W, 1200 miles West of Astoria
16 August 2015 | 39 30.1'N:154 53.1'W, West end of the North Pacific High
15 August 2015 | 37 34.5'N:156 00.0'W, 1011 North of Oahu
15 August 2015 | 37 04.5'N:156 23.0'W, 983 North of Oahu
14 August 2015 | 34 12.3'N:157 26.1'W, 800 North of Oahu
13 August 2015 | 31 50.0'N:158 06.5'W, 650 North of Oahu
12 August 2015 | 29 02.0'N:158 51.0'W, 330 North of Oahu
11 August 2015 | 26 32.0'N:158 59.0'W, 330 North of Oahu
09 August 2015 | 23 44.1'N:158 49.4'W, 140 N of Oahu

Benders Aboard

11 July 2014 | 16 56.68'S:177 22.04'E, The Blue Lagoon
John
The Benders Aboard

We settled on a mooring ball on the 2nd of July in Denarau Marina waiting for Deb and Jeff Bender, LisaÂ's sister and brother-in-law to arrive on the 5th. We managed to get quite a bit of work done around the boat in preparation. HadnÂ't changed the oil in any of the three engines so that was a priority. The boat needed some real cleaning also. We sat outside of the marina for an extra hour to top up the water tank knowing that for the next five days we couldnÂ't make water without heading way outside of the bay. Lisa and I got most of our chores done before they arrived at 0530 on the 5th. The only thing we hadnÂ't touched was the V-Berth which had turned into a storage shed. So you might ask, what do you keep in a storage shed, like everyone else only stuff you know you have to keep, isnÂ't worth keeping, will probably never use and for damn certain should have been thrown away.

So we pick the Benders up at the airport. They looked quite alive even after the 20+ hour flights from Minneapolis to LA and then Nadi. We packed them aboard our rental car and headed for the market in Nadi. This is the big open market where local farmers, fishermen, and artisans sell their wares and yes it opens at 0600. We spent an hour shopping for fresh goods to provision the boat and then took a little walk around the town. By the time we started our walk it was nearly 0900 and we were all hungry. We stopped at a small restaurant for some breakfast. On the menu was curry everything and a couple egg choices. I had the everything omelet while the other three had a curried lunch meal with a rotti. After their rotti breakfast we took them first to the hardware store and then to the Hindi Temple. Why the hardware store??? Answer, we needed a place to park ( or so we thought) so we parked in the Hardware store, but of course it wouldnÂ't be wright to park in somones parking lot and not shop there so we had to go in. I had a reason, I needed some dryer vent duct, they didnÂ't have any but that was ok because it made Deb feel better not cheating someone out of some parking time. It is now nearly noon and Deb and Jeff finally hit a wall so we headed back to the boat. After putting all the goods away, Deb and Jeff stretched out for a nap.

We originally planned on taking off late on Sunday and heading for the Blue Lagoon some 80 miles from Denarau, doing an overnighter and arriving on Monday. The weather dictates everything. After looking at the GRIB it showed the wind to be blowing 20-25knots for Monday and Tuesday so we changed plans, turned in the rental car and headed for Navadra Island, in the Mamanuca Group some 40 miles away where the wind was supposed to be 10-15 until Tuesday when it was to clock around out of the North and blow 20-25 for Tuesday and part of Wednesday. We settled in at Navadra for a couple nights, did the Sevusevu with the local chief and pulled out on Tuesday morning. Before we headed out we made a little trek to the beach by shuttling in the kayaks. After walking the beach and heading around to the other side of the Island we were almost ready to leave. Just one more thing. I find three newer fallen coconuts and return them to Lisa and Deb and pronounce that I would like to walk around the island before we leave. So Lisa says this is not like John so let him do it. Jeff comes along. We get about ½ the way around the island and run into a moat with another one just beyond it. The moat was 20 feet across with the ledges of the dead coral hanging over the vertical walls. No way to get across by swimming with the overhanging ledge. Ok the tide is starting to come in, so Jeff and I decide to go overland. We climbed to the top of a 800 foot hill using wild goat trails. We see a couple of the critters about 50 meters ahead but they keep their distance. About an hour and a half we reach the summit. We can see the boat where Lisa and Deb are waiting for us to show on the beach. Jeff is wearing a bright red swimsuit so I bark get your shorts off so I can use them to flag the girls. There was only minor hesitation and off they came. I whistled very loud and waived JeffÂ's suit over my head. Jeff has turned the other way and hidden behind a bush so as not to moon the entire anchorage. We canÂ't see the girls on the boat but after we finally get to the boat they admit they could see us.

We headed for Waya Island just 20 miles further North that would give us the protection from the Northerlies that were now predicted to die by Wednesday morning. We managed to do a little snorkeling at both places and then as the GRIB showed the wind died way off and we headed for the Blue Lagoon another 35 miles further North in the middle of the Yasawa Group. I am writing this from the Blue Lagoon (They made a movie here in the 70Â's with Brook Shields and Christopher Atkin). There are some blue spots but I wouldnÂ't call it a blue lagoon.

Yesterday we finally got Jeff into the scuba gear. Not that he didnÂ't want to before, but it just wasnÂ't a good enough spot to dive. We all agree to do a familiarization dive so Lisa, Jeff and I load the gear into the big dinghy and head over to a marked reef area. We went over some of the rules on the way to the spot and got everyone into the water without a problem. While the water looked clear from the surface, once in it was a bit cloudy and visibility wasnÂ't much over 20 feet. It served itÂ's purpose for a fam dive and so today we are going to dive the edge of another reef and be shown where there is a very colorful patch of coral to dive or snorkel. Our guide is the barman at the Nanuya Island Resort named Remi. His uncle is the chief of the island where we sent Deb and Jeff into the village to do the Sevusevu for Orcinius on our arrival. After we did the fam dive, Jeff took Deb over to the reef and snorkeled it. First time she got wet other than to cool off by s tepping down the ladder to her bum.

Today, Remi, the barman took us out to show us where the cabbage patch was and then to the reef dive site. It turned out to be a great dive which lasted about 45 minutes at a maximum depth of 65 feet. It turned out to be a really nice dive.

Tonight we went to shore and enjoyed a very nice dinner at the resort. The main coarse for three of us was the white snapper while Deb had pork (probably pork belly). We all shared a dessert of caramel, cream and banana cake. Truly different and very delicious.

Two other things we managed was to get the small inflatable dinghy out, inflate it and clean it up. Had to work over the 2hp motor by getting rid of the old gas and putting new in. After a gas cleaning she fired right up. The second was pulling everything out of the V-Berth, resorting it and finding homes for all the crap. Managed to get that accomplished before the fam dive.

There is a story among the cruisers about some limestone caves near the Blue Lagoon. Well near is a relative term. It is an hour and a half ride in a boat that does 20knots from the Lagoon. So it is not in the cards unless we were to take the big boat.

All for now. Deb & Jeff say hi to all.

John & Lisa
Comments
Vessel Name: ORCINIUS
Vessel Make/Model: Lagoon 440
Hailing Port: Vancouver, Washington
Crew: John LeDoux & Lisa Danger
About:
Sailing since the mid 90's. Prior to this trip, 4 sailing adventures from Vancouver WA to the San Juan and Gulf Islands in the Straits of Juan de Fuca. Bought ORCINIUS in West Palm Beach Fl in April 2010. Sailed her South through the Panama Canal and back up the West coast to home port. [...]
Extra: Lisa is the real captain. I have never been at the helm when docking or anchoring, she has a great touch to docking.
Home Page: www.orcinius.com

Who: John LeDoux & Lisa Danger
Port: Vancouver, Washington