It'll be a week tomorrow that we've been in Fiji. You think we'd have more to show for it. And we do if you look carefully. Britannia has almost doubled her solar power- we've got juice even on the rainy days! And Krister changed the oil and the impellar for the first time since Mexico. Also got the windlass working- we think. We're on a mooring ball in town now so the real test will have to wait. We've gone to a few rally functions, met a few new cruisers, walked thru town and eaten a lot of Indian curry. So all those projects are done. We're caught up!
So now we relax... Well not exactly as we'd planned. You know how you always get sick on your day off? Same goes when you're a cruiser. I went first with a sore throat, swollen glands and complete exhaustion . I slept almost 3 days straight- which kept me out of the way while Krister did boat projects. He's said he couldn't relax with all those "to-do's" hanging over him. So just when I'm coming back to life, he's out of commission. Low-grade fever, tired with just a whiff of nausea. Hope it passes as quickly as mine did. It's been rainy the past few days, but sunshine is in the forecast.
A
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Friday, May 18, 2012
Projects...
We've been in Savusavu for the last few days, and it's been pretty much non-stop work on the boat (I coulda sworn I had the boat 100% ready to go when we left Opua. Hmmm.). The big project has been putting up solar panels. We now have 375 watts of power, as of this afternoon (almost double what we had before).
Being able to turn the computer on, even when it's cloudy, and not have to worry about power usage makes it easy to do things like... write a blog post? Yup! Doesn't hurt to have a few cold beers now and then either. More to do, but the boat's starting to feel quite well set up. Michael from Whatcha Gonna Do (great cruising friends from last season) said: "You have to cruise twice - once to figure out how to do it, and once to do it properly". I think there's a lot of truth to that, and this season should be more comfortable as we've got things more set up the way we want them.
Meanwhile...
We got together yesterday with a number of other cruisers and talked with people who have been to Fiji about where the best places to go are and what some of the highlights of previous trips have been. We both got pretty excited - Fiji sounds just incredibly cool.
One of the neat things is that anytime you drop anchor, you have to go ashore and meet with the local villagers, bring a gift of Kava and have sevusevu, which is basically a welcoming ceremony where you get permission to stay and visit whatever island you're on. We're REALLY looking forward to this opportunity to interact with some of the local Fijians - last season was a little insular in terms of our propensity to make friends with the local people. This season promises to be a little different. Apparently it's hard to leave Fiji without making some real and lasting friendships with Fijians.
The cruising sounds awesome too - lots of great diving, well protected and interesting anchorages, and good sailing in between. It really sounds pretty outstanding.
For now, we're in Savusavu still, finishing up a few more boat chores, and waiting out some wind and rain. We were trying to decide when to leave here, and Amanda said "let's leave when we're ready". It's such a simple concept, but hit me like a ton of bricks. Yes! We'll leave when the chores are done, the weather's good and when we want to... no need for an arbitrary date. I'm enjoying the more relaxed pace of this season already.
We juuuuust managed to get an internet connection up and running, so pictures tomorrow. I think.
Being able to turn the computer on, even when it's cloudy, and not have to worry about power usage makes it easy to do things like... write a blog post? Yup! Doesn't hurt to have a few cold beers now and then either. More to do, but the boat's starting to feel quite well set up. Michael from Whatcha Gonna Do (great cruising friends from last season) said: "You have to cruise twice - once to figure out how to do it, and once to do it properly". I think there's a lot of truth to that, and this season should be more comfortable as we've got things more set up the way we want them.
Meanwhile...
We got together yesterday with a number of other cruisers and talked with people who have been to Fiji about where the best places to go are and what some of the highlights of previous trips have been. We both got pretty excited - Fiji sounds just incredibly cool.
One of the neat things is that anytime you drop anchor, you have to go ashore and meet with the local villagers, bring a gift of Kava and have sevusevu, which is basically a welcoming ceremony where you get permission to stay and visit whatever island you're on. We're REALLY looking forward to this opportunity to interact with some of the local Fijians - last season was a little insular in terms of our propensity to make friends with the local people. This season promises to be a little different. Apparently it's hard to leave Fiji without making some real and lasting friendships with Fijians.
The cruising sounds awesome too - lots of great diving, well protected and interesting anchorages, and good sailing in between. It really sounds pretty outstanding.
For now, we're in Savusavu still, finishing up a few more boat chores, and waiting out some wind and rain. We were trying to decide when to leave here, and Amanda said "let's leave when we're ready". It's such a simple concept, but hit me like a ton of bricks. Yes! We'll leave when the chores are done, the weather's good and when we want to... no need for an arbitrary date. I'm enjoying the more relaxed pace of this season already.
We juuuuust managed to get an internet connection up and running, so pictures tomorrow. I think.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Landfall - Savusavu, Fiji
Savusavu, Fiji
The Copra Shed: Maina/Yacht Club
(see Britannia's dinghy at the end of the dock)
Fijians cleaning oysters for pearl cultivation
Enjoying lunch out; Indian curry & Fiji water
(Yeap, it tastes just like bottled water back home)
We're in FIJI!
Savusavu is gorgeous, though we've only checked it out from the boat. We arrived in the afternoon, and customs didn't have time to check us in, so our choice was to pay an overtime fee ($200 FJD) or be quarantined on the boat. So, needless to say, we're on the boat. We were hoping for a meal out tonight, but after a long(ish) crossing, it's nice to have some forced downtime. And the sunset has been unreal - we've spent the last hour in the cockpit, taking the same pictures over and over again because every five minutes the light changes and it's like we're in a whole new world.
Savusavu is a very cruiser focused place from what we can tell, peering out from our boat-cage. Kinda reminds me of La Paz - a good dinghy dock, free water, free showers (if you're staying on a mooring, which we are at least for a few days), and good, cheap food. I'm excited to get out and explore.
We've met exactly two Fijians - a marina employee who took escorted us to our mooring, and the health inspector (the only one of three officials who made it out to the boat today). They were both really sweet people, with easy smiles, kind eyes and a laugh that TOTALLY reminds me of the Fijian scenes from Endless Summer II. It does feel like we're in a little bit of a different culture, caught in the middle between Polynesia and Melanesia. It's cool.
Doing this in two seasons was a great call. I'm really happy to have months here, and not just a few weeks. People say that you can easily spend a whole season in Fiji, and I can see why. Having this be a rush stop on the way to Australia from Mexico would be rough.
We'll report more when we get off the boat, and hopefully we'll be able to post some pictures if the internet is decent.
Stay tuned.
Friday, May 11, 2012
Perfect Sailing
Sunrise at sea
Since leaving Minerva, we've had idyllic conditions - as good as anything we've ever seen. The seas have been small, winds have been light but consistent (at least for the last 24 hours) and the skies are clear and beautiful.
It's hard to accept that the term "sailing" applies to such a broad range of experiences!
The best part has been having a dry cockpit - the sail from New Zealand to Minerva was a soaking mess, and we sat stinking below deck. To sit in the sun, read a book, watch the sky (during the day and night) and have the weather be warm is pretty plush.
We're still about 250 miles away from Savusavu, and it's looking like we may end up not making landfall until Tuesday. I'm not looking forward to heaving too and dodging reefs at night, so it'll be nice if we can make some good progress today and tomorrow. If conditions are good, we'll be in on Monday...
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Saying Goodbye to Minerva
We're expecting to leave Minerva tomorrow morning. The winds have backed, and we should have much improved conditions for the last 400+ miles that we have to cover before making landfall in Savusavu.
This has been an awesome little pit stop for us. We did some great snorkeling yesterday, had dinner with Piko and Dilligaf until late in the night and have managed to get the boat feeling a little more under control than it was when we raced out of Opua. I still haven't mounted our new solar panels, but otherwise we're in perfect shape and in high spirits.
We're doing a little advance cooking prep even (chocolate chip cookies and other fun things for the passage) to make this leg a little more fun.
It's weird how even though we had some pretty uncomfortable conditions the last time we were out, I already feel excited to get underway again...
Go figure.
This has been an awesome little pit stop for us. We did some great snorkeling yesterday, had dinner with Piko and Dilligaf until late in the night and have managed to get the boat feeling a little more under control than it was when we raced out of Opua. I still haven't mounted our new solar panels, but otherwise we're in perfect shape and in high spirits.
We're doing a little advance cooking prep even (chocolate chip cookies and other fun things for the passage) to make this leg a little more fun.
It's weird how even though we had some pretty uncomfortable conditions the last time we were out, I already feel excited to get underway again...
Go figure.
Saying Goodbye to Minerva
We're expecting to leave Minerva tomorrow morning. The winds have backed, and we should have much improved conditions for the last 400+ miles that we have to cover before making landfall in Savusavu.
This has been an awesome little pit stop for us. We did some great snorkeling yesterday, had dinner with Piko and Dilligaf until late in the night and have managed to get the boat feeling a little more under control than it was when we raced out of Opua. I still haven't mounted our new solar panels, but otherwise we're in perfect shape and in high spirits.
We're doing a little advance cooking prep even (chocolate chip cookies and other fun things for the passage) to make this leg a little more fun.
It's weird how even though we had some pretty uncomfortable conditions the last time we were out, I already feel excited to get underway again...
Go figure.
This has been an awesome little pit stop for us. We did some great snorkeling yesterday, had dinner with Piko and Dilligaf until late in the night and have managed to get the boat feeling a little more under control than it was when we raced out of Opua. I still haven't mounted our new solar panels, but otherwise we're in perfect shape and in high spirits.
We're doing a little advance cooking prep even (chocolate chip cookies and other fun things for the passage) to make this leg a little more fun.
It's weird how even though we had some pretty uncomfortable conditions the last time we were out, I already feel excited to get underway again...
Go figure.
Saying Goodbye to Minerva
We're expecting to leave Minerva tomorrow morning. The winds have backed, and we should have much improved conditions for the last 400+ miles that we have to cover before making landfall in Savusavu.
This has been an awesome little pit stop for us. We did some great snorkeling yesterday, had dinner with Piko and Dilligaf until late in the night and have managed to get the boat feeling a little more under control than it was when we raced out of Opua. I still haven't mounted our new solar panels, but otherwise we're in perfect shape and in high spirits.
We're doing a little advance cooking prep even (chocolate chip cookies and other fun things for the passage) to make this leg a little more fun.
It's weird how even though we had some pretty uncomfortable conditions the last time we were out, I already feel excited to get underway again...
Go figure.
This has been an awesome little pit stop for us. We did some great snorkeling yesterday, had dinner with Piko and Dilligaf until late in the night and have managed to get the boat feeling a little more under control than it was when we raced out of Opua. I still haven't mounted our new solar panels, but otherwise we're in perfect shape and in high spirits.
We're doing a little advance cooking prep even (chocolate chip cookies and other fun things for the passage) to make this leg a little more fun.
It's weird how even though we had some pretty uncomfortable conditions the last time we were out, I already feel excited to get underway again...
Go figure.
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