08 November 2008 | Vuda Point Marina, Fiji
30 October 2008 | Waya Island, Yasawa Group, Fiji
29 October 2008 | Drawaqa Island, Yasawa Islands, Fiji
23 October 2008 | Somo somo Bay, Yasawa Islands, Fiji
21 October 2008 | Blue Lagoon, Yasawa Islands, Fiji
16 October 2008 | Blue Lagoon, Yasawa Islands, Fiji
14 October 2008 | Sawa-i-lau, Yasawa Islands, Fiji
12 October 2008 | Musket Cove, Fiji
09 October 2008 | Vuda Point Marina
11 September 2008 | Vuda Point, Fiji
03 September 2008 | Musket Cove, Fiji
26 August 2008 | Nadi, Fiji
21 August 2008 | Lautoka, Fiji
20 August 2008 | In transit to Fiji
16 August 2008 | Uoleva, Haapai Group, Tonga
11 August 2008 | Lifuka, Haapai Group, Tonga
07 August 2008 | Haafeva, Haapai Group, Tonga
01 August 2008 | Nukualofa
Just when it seemed so easy.....
15 June 2007 | Apataki
Steve and Susan
Today's photo is of the shore facilities at Gaston and Valentine's piece of paradise.
We left the little cove on Toau yesterday at mid-day when the morning rains cleared and crossed to Apataki about 20 miles to the north; arriving about an hour later than we had hoped because of the late departure. There is a village at the pass and we had planned to anchor there but were unable to find anything but large coral heads for the anchor. We decided to pick our way across to the east where we had seen another boat anchored and the guide said we would find a nice sandy patch for the anchor. The weather had again turned dark with several squalls making it difficult to see the coral heads near the surface as we motored east. The spot was as promised, sandy and lovely, tucked into the SE corner of the atoll, perfect for the prevailing winds from the east and southeast.
While the Admiral was putting the finishing touches on dinner we were treated to a major lighting storm with the attendant rain and gusty winds; when the storm passed, the winds filled in from the north west and blew 15-25 all night. Our lovely spot became a horrible, frightening place with the shore 100 yards behind us and 3-4' waves pounding us continuously. You cannot safely move in the lagoon at night; if the coral doesn't get you the pearl floats/lines will; it was a long night.
We pulled up the anchor as soon as it was light enough to see where we were going and pounded our way north into the wind to the north east corner of the atoll where it is again lovely. Maybe it was just Mother Nature reminding us after two days at the dock in Fakarava, and two days on a mooring in Toau, that she is in charge and "prevailing" is a generalization. We learned a lot about "chafe" that our good friend Bird has been talking about; chafe is what happens to your anchor line when the boat tries to pull the anchor off the bottom every 15 seconds. 20' of nylon rope stretches about 6" every time a wave passes and abrades itself on anything it touches. We had more chafe last night than we have seen in the entire trip. There will be rigging changes by tomorrow to address the problem; nothing is quite as educational as a kick in the pants.