Katie, Kathleen, Gildo & I had a lovely sail up to a fascinating Island
called Namena or sometimes referred to as Namenalala. It is a small island
and quite remote, surrounded by a large beautiful reef and we found out is
privately owned by a couple in Philledalphia, go figure?
The island is the only protected breeding colony for the red footed booby's
(abt 200 pairs nesting in the trees) and because the Booby's are there, so
are the Frigate birds, and lots of them. We got in late in the afternoon (
as mentioned prior ) and were secure on the mooring in this rugged
anchorage. I was up early in the morning to the sound of the birds and the
amazing view of between one & two hundred frigate birds soaring over the
island, just cruising so gently in the updraft, barely a movement. These are
very majestic birds.
A hot day so the sun canopy was over the boom & snorkelling was in order. A
pristine reef system with giant clams, lots of colourful corals, anenomies
and abundant reef fish, some quite large. Katie tried Logan's underwater
camera & we look forward to the result. We spent a lot of time in the water
& when we got back on board, we were all searching for shade ( after the
storm ) A walk on the beach & the land revealed mature trees and lots of
young birds, down covered, nesting and getting ready to fly. A nature
paradise really, above and below the water.
We sailed to another reserve in the Kubulau (Koom-boo-lau) region which has
a very strong Eco awareness. We were all ready for a steady nights sleep (
no rolling ) so had a great dinner of Tuna sashimi & coral trout superbly
cooked by our imported Italian chef, very nice indeed.
We came back to Savusavu yesterday on a beautiful beam reach with Katie at
the helm, steady 7.5 to 8 knots and she is showing her sailing style for
sure.
After some boat organising & shopping at the market, Katie left today after
a fabulous visit, what a treat for me is all I can say. Thanks to all of
those that made this possible (& kept it quiet) but especially to Katie
herself. I am so proud of our girls, sailed 1500 miles with Bob & now this.
Marg here for a month too, all good.
We plan to head towards the Yasawa Group tomorrow if Kathleen is feeling
better, a rumbling tum poor woman, lucky she's a Wilson!