Moving Around in Fiji

We left our anchorage on the northwestern tip of Taveuni yesterday, planning on sailing around the island and ending up on the eastern side where we'd be well positioned to jump off to the Lau Group.

Unfortunately, when we weighed anchor, we almost immediately ran into heavy squalls and pouring rain. Piko and Dilligaf were both within a mile or two of us, and I lost my visual on both boats due to how heavy the rain was.

Getting around Taveuni isn't as easy as it sounds. There are a pile of reefs that require dodging, and if the visibility is poor that becomes a pretty dangerous proposition. We decided to reroute ourselves to a clearer anchorage, and we're now tucked into Katherine Bay in the island of Rabi (pronounced "Rambi").

Moving through reefy waters anywhere is scary, but in Fiji it's particularly bad. I've been playing with a program called MaxSea (Dominic, look into it if you haven't) which allows for a comparison of the two major electronic charts companies (CMap and Navionics) as well as a satellite image. It's a horrifying exercise - if you overlay the two electronic charts in places, they only vaguely resemble each other, and it becomes particularly scary to overlay the satellite image (which we'd presume to be accurate) and see that both sets of charts read like a novel "loosely based on a true story". No where else have we had the charts be off like this.

It's pretty infuriating - the charts are extremely expensive, and those companies should be fully capable of performing the same Google Earth comparison that we're making. I realize we're living a ridiculously cushy life navigation-wise (sextant who?) and maybe I should just be grateful.

We've heard of too many boats being lost on reefs here. In fact, a boat we made landfall with was lost about 10 days ago on a reef.

So, we're being cautious. Waiting for better weather and getting ready to explore Rabi.
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At 11/22/2011 8:38 PM (utc) our position was 35°18.69'S 174°14.80'E

Visiting the Village

Yesterday we wandered ashore to check out the school that's here in Viani Bay. It was pretty impressive and an odd juxtaposition of familiar grade school elements (math posters on the wall, map of the world, too small desks...) in a setting that is about as exotic as it gets. There are 59 kids (some walk to school, some are bussed and some are picked up by the "school boat" which makes perfect sense, but totally cracks me up), 3 teachers a few computers and a campus that feels like the very best of the third world - water catchment, solar, barefoot kids, a few more dogs than you'd expect, but extremely clean and sort of impressive.

Anyhow, we checked out a trail that lead away from the school and found a "village" about a mile back into the bush. Quotes used because it's really just an extended family home. There are 20 people who live there, all of whom are related (and two of whom are mentally handicapped - I wondered if it was a genetic predisposition or perhaps a lack of variety) and all of whom were incredibly sweet, kind and happy to have a few gringo visitors. They're 100% subsistence livers from what I could tell, and there was a vibe that reminded me a lot of being home in Alaska.

I'll post pictures when I can - I got a good one of Amanda, Lauren Girl and about half the town.

The next few days are forecast to be rainy. Having the solar power to write a blog post in the rain still blows my mind.

Snorkeling in Viani Bay

These are from two different snorkeling excursions, both in Viani Bay near the pass in the reef.

Cool coral formation

My favorite new fish of the season; the red and purple one in the middle.

Blue fish taking shelter in the coral

Not sure what kind of this fish is, but it's cool

Coral garden perspective

Brown and cream spotted clam- new to us this season.

This one is new to us too; love the teal and brown coloring

Krister is free diving 50-60 ft these days

Swimming over awesomeness

Sue's birthday snorkel on s/v Katie M II with crew from Piko, Britannia, Sea Esta, Hokulea, Sea Bride, and Vixen 7

Buddy boats; Britannia, Piko and Diligaf anchored in Viani Bay

Viani Bay

We made it out of Savusavu and are now anchored in Viani bay, a short sail up the coast. It's gorgeous here - the anchorage is calm and the snorkeling is breath taking. It feels good to get out of town and be back out in the real world again.

We're waiting for a good weather window to head to the Lau Group, and are excited to see an area that's only just recently been opened up for cruising - sounds fascinating...
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At 11/22/2011 8:38 PM (utc) our position was 35°18.69'S 174°14.80'E

Flash back to North Minerva....

It's not often that you can get great photos of you boat in action because- well, usually you are on the boat in the action. So thank you to the crew of Dilligaf for the great Britannia photos!

Ahh doesn't she look good!

Going out the pass- down and...

up again! 

The reef at low-tide. (zoom in to check out the fleet waiting for the weather to change.)

This Place Where We Are

No, it doesn't get much better than this...

Krister and the Piko's lounging pool-side with a few Fiji Bitters- the local beer.

They say when in Rome do as the Romans do. When traveling anywhere it is a good idea  to follow the cultural customs of the place where you are. With that in mind, I want to share a few things to keep in mind next time you're traveling through  Fiji.

Fijians are more reserved and conservative in their dress- no matter how hot and humid it is. For ladies that means covering your shoulders and thighs/knees. For the guys, it means keeping your shirt on, preferable a button down, short sleeve "Bula" shirt. Also no hats or sunglasses around the cheif. It's seen as disrespectful. We're in a more touristy town so they let us slide a bit. But once we're out in the villages, we'll run the risk of offending the locals if we're not dressed appropriately. Also no public displays of affection, touching a Fijian's head is considered an insult as it is a sacred part of the body, take your shoes off when entering a building... and come bearing kava.

The Lauren's from Piko, Bill and Sue from Diligaf and Krister enjoying the ICA rally welcome.

Amanda accepting a welcome basket of local fruits and root vegetables.

We'd heard about this kava stuff when we were in Tonga, but it wasn't until Fiji that we tried it.  We took part in  a sevusevu ceremony as part of the rally and welcome events when we first arrived. We sat crossed legged in a circle. They mixed ground kava root with water. Then they said something in Fijian- like welcome to Fiji and stuff. Then one of the boys delivered a bilo, or cup, to each of us, one at a time. When presented with the kava, you clap once, down the whole cup and clap three more times. It tastes like herbaceous dirt and it numbs your lips with the first bilo. Men start drinking it around age 18, and it can become an all day, all night activity; sitting around talking. Kinda like some of us with our tea or coffee drinking.

Mixing up the pulverized kava root with water in the kava bowl (called a tanoa)

Lauren-girl accepting a bilo of kava during the sevusevu ceremony

It sounds like we're in for much more kava time. For every island and village there is a chief or mayor that you must get permission from before you go tramping about and anchoring in their "backyard." Proper etiquette is to present the village elder with kava root as a gift for sevusevu. If they accept, they will welcome you to the village, offer assistance and invite you to drink and talk with them.  You must accept the first bilo and from what I've heard, stay until the kava bowl is empty. Seems like a great way to get to know the locals and have real cultural experiences.

We'll be on our way soon. The plan is to head east to Taveuni, then hop through a few islands in the Lau group, working our way clock-wise to the Moala group, Kadavu, Lautoka, and finally the Yasawas. That's a lot to do in the next four months- I think we're overly ambitious, but here's to kava and paradise dreaming!

A

Sunset over the fleet in Savusavu 

Cannibals?

So I was checking out Convivia's blog and found pretty crazy story about cannibals.

We were in Nuku Hiva ourselves last year, right where this happened...  wild. We heard rumors about a boat being lost to cannibals last season, and we've heard that less visited parts of Vanuatu still have some semblances of cannibalistic culture, but it's weird to see it actually reported in the news.

Before anyone gets too worried about us, I'd suggest looking for a story about a murder in Oakland, just to put the risks in perspective.

Anyhow...

We're still in Savusavu, waiting for lighter winds.  We heard a boat on the radio this morning say that they tried heading out and had gusts to 36 knots on the nose.  Supposedly conditions should be improving tomorrow, so hopefully we'll be able to finally actually get out and see some of Fiji sooner or later.