What a Welcome to Fiji
08 October 2019

It was a wild ride four days outbound from Tonga to Fiji with an even bigger tropical storm nipping at our heels. Max speed of the boat was 10 knots and max winds were mid 40's for several hours. Tabu Soro did real fine; still I was very happy when we reached the lee of the island of Viti Levu for a reach up to our Vuda Point Marina which is close to Nadi and the airport. Once again I am black and blue and band-aids on my forearms and even John had some boat bites from trying to reef in gusts of 30's. Check out the arrival picture as it almost passes for approach to Richmond Yacht Club with the fuel tanks on the hill.

Staff at Vuda Marina met us at the customs dock with a lie for the boat, guitar and a snappy welcome song by about 15 of their staff. For John it is like coming full circle after 20+ years since he fell in love with this country and met the fisherman that unwittingly named our boat Tabu Soro. I had not thought it was a big deal for me except the end of our first cruising season until about mid-welcome song I began to weep. All the smiling, singing faces began to look concerned and then started to laugh. The staff formed a reception line past the boat and proudly told us their names and what they did at the marina or adjacent boat yard. The one lift and ways here even look like Cree's at BMC!

Next came check-in with Bio, Health, Customs and Immigrations who all came to the customs staging dock and onboard. All were very friendly and asked about the boat name which in their language is "don't give up". The Customs man had even looked up and read our sail blog site?? We had always said "Never Give Up" which a waiter later confirmed after he too had asked the origin of the name. The only traumatic part for me was that the Bio Hazard lady literally confiscated all our fresh vegetables, including my precious green and ripening tomatoes, eggs, onions, garlic, basil and then asked if I had any honey on board. I wanted to cry as we turned over our last precious jar of home honey. Apparently if I had cooked everything or boiled the eggs before their arrival she would have left them for on-board eating as long as nothing went to shore (found out after we were in the coral). For John the alcohol sequestering was the traumatic part as the Customs Officer sealed off in one compartment all our remaining unopened spirits & wine except the couple liters allowed per person. Now its not like there is an awful lot left after nearly a year out; but I though John would cry as Customs first took pictures then sealed off the compartment until we leave Fiji. He explained they want us to buy locally. What's with that? I know, we get it.

So docks are not an option here. We were required to have six fenders, three per side and they shoe horn us in (stern-in during cyclone season) in a compact circle with a long line to the over large buoy in the center and two lines to cleats on land-looks much like conestoga wagons. John did an excellent job negotiating the placement despite his hearing aids going out and multiple staff giving directions from the water and land sides. Just think how much RYC would save in docks and added spots. It is a bit close like when we stayed in private apartments in China.

So we are settling in and getting shade canopies and mosquito nets installed until boat parts and new inverter arrive so repairs from the season's damage can begin. We slept soundly through the night not even noticing the many bites until morning. We still hope to get out for some local sailing before the cyclone season truly sets in here.