West Islands of Fiji

July 13, 2005

Position: 17 34.3 S 178 40.6 E

Naigani Island: This morning we rowed to a collapsed and abandoned dock and with difficulty scrambled ashore. The island seems to have only a couple of families living here. We found lines of decaying rectangular concrete tanks along the shore line. Some of these looked used and we approached a workman and chatted to him. He said that the experimental sheep had been shipped elsewhere some years ago and they were now raising "Fiji Giant" clams. The tanks contained small clams and it seems that the process is to take the spawn of a couple of large fertile clams, then raise their offspring in the tanks until they are large enough to move out to the reef and presumably defend themselves against predators with their clam armor. OK clams, no sheep.

Next we walked along a jungle trail parallel to the coast where the leper colony was established. The jungle had reclaimed the buildings with a vengeance. At first there were no buildings but if you looked about carefully, the slabs, walls, culverts and occasionally complete buildings would "appear" out of the jungle. It evoked memories of the movie "Papillon" about the French prison system in French Guiana. In a way this is appropriate, as the facility was operated by an order of French Nuns. The remains of buildings were everywhere and between the trees, were the concrete posts that carried the power lines. It had been a huge complex and it was eerie to see its remains covered in the quiet of a dense jungle, with the call of exotic birds and the occasional "whump" of a coconut crashing through the vegetation. We followed an overgrown trail past the buildings and arrived at the cemetery. The graves of the Mother Superior and several priests were clear of vegetation and well preserved near the "entrance" to the cemetery. From there the rows of decaying concrete crosses climbed over the next hill and disappeared into the jungle beyond. Leprosy was a terrible disease but the treatment center on Makogai must indeed have been a blessing for many of its victims.

At 1100 hours we lifted our anchor and set sail for Naigani Island. The reef exit was far less threatening now, as we had beautiful clear blue skies and sunshine. We sailed under a pleasant beam reach with 10 to 12 knots of wind and enjoyed a visit from a pod of a dozen or so dolphins, who played in our bow wave for twenty minutes or so. We are currently anchored off a pristine white sand beach on the northwest corner of Naigani Island.

July 15, 2005

Position: 17 35.9 S 177 26.6 E

Thursday morning we raised anchor at 0700 hours and set sail for Nananu-i-Ra Island. We were now sailing inside the reef that protects the "big" island of Viti Levu and were heading "over the top" to the east side. The winds were very light and we therefore motor-sailed in near calm conditions. The passage through the reefs was quite complex and required some convoluted turns around and between reefs but in these conditions, it was easy to see the hazards. We anchored off Nananu-i-Ra island at 1300 hours and dinghied ashore to check out the resorts. There are several "resorts" but these did not look as luxurious as the resorts we had visited in east Fiji. We made dinner reservations at a resort called McDonalds (should have been a clue) and then ambled over to the other side of the island where the action was. This is the windward side and several establishments furnish lessons in both sail boarding and kite boarding. The kite boarding looked amazingly difficult as the operators attempt to control a large kite (looks like a parachute) and stand up on and direct a small surf board at the same time. We never saw anyone do this successfully and I was told it was because the winds were too light. Looked like a fun place to hang out. We dinghied ashore later for the resort "barbeque". If anyone decides to spend a week here learning to sailboard, I would recommend bringing your own food. Friday morning we left bright and early and at 1400 hours anchored off the port of Lautoka, where we currently lie. We have "checked in" with Fiji Customs and filled out two copies of the same forms we have filled out about a half dozen times by now. Nevertheless we are now legally here and will not have to visit Customs again until we leave Fiji.

July 18, 2005

Position: 17 46.3 S 177 22.9 E

We had spent Friday night anchored off the port of Lautoka, a couple of hundred yards from the main jetty. By the morning the wind had shifted and we awoke to the stench of an industrial plant - a sugar cane mill. The air was thick with fumes and smoke and DoodleBug covered in a layer of black ash. We hastily raised anchor and set off towards the south, to a marina at Denarau. As we cleared the cloud of pollution, we noticed another vessel approaching from behind. It looked a very familiar type and as it came alongside, we shouted back and forth to the crew of S/V "Serena Azul", an Amel Super Maramu hull number 251 (we are hull 331). We told each other what great looking boats the other had and sailed in company for a few miles until Serena Azul peeled off to go into Vuda Point.  At Denarau we contacted the marina by radio and requested a slip. They directed us to a slip alongside a huge, cruise liner sized, power vessel "M/V Ubiquitous". This was our very first attempt at "med-mooring" to the dock. It is called "med-mooring", as it is the usual way to moor at ports in the Mediterranean. In principal it is quite simple. You drop an anchor and then back into the dock, letting out your anchor line as you go. You then tie your stern on to the dock and tighten up the anchor line to prevent the boat from swinging and to prevent the stern from hitting the dock. In practice, it seemed to require three hands in the cockpit to simultaneously control steering, throttle and anchor windlass. Fortunately the slip was wide and there was no audience on our first attempt. We began to be blown sideways into Ubiquitous and decided to power out away from the dock and try again. Our second attempt was successful and we "med-moored" without hitting either the dock or Ubiquitous, with the crew of  the latter helping with the lines. The crew of Ubiquitous were all splendid in their clean, fresh and identical uniforms. Their captain warned me to not rely on the bow anchor, as the bottom is mud and the holding poor. I did not tell him that by now I had 170 feet of chain on the sea bed with a 66 pound anchor on the end of it. I just hope nobody else lays an anchor over the top of our chain. In this marina we are surrounded on all sides by commercial shipping, ferries and mini-cruise ships. Every few minutes it seems, a hundred or so people are herded along the dock, to board some vessel or other. It makes us feel like we are in a fish-bowl as these vessels tower over us, with their decks lined with sightseers. If one of these monsters should accidentally hit DoodleBug, we will be fiberglass shreds. We have stopped at Denarau to work on the boat for a couple of days and also to meet up with Frank and Jan on Freewind. Frank had suggested that we travel together to Vanuatu. A trip to the marina office confirmed that Freewind had departed the previous day for Suva, on the southeast coast of Viti Levu and we are now diametrically opposite them on the west coast. An e-mail from Frank an hour later, indicated that Frank will be back this side by next week. In the meantime, we have several service items to take care of. The generator died about an hour before our arrival and a quick inspection showed the cause to be a failure of the salt water coolant impeller. The impeller is rubber and has 12 fins. I have recovered the broken pieces and have now accounted for 9 of the 12 fins. Where are the other three fins? They are too large to pass through the heat exchanger and must be hunted down before the repair can be considered complete. The main reason for being here is to service the bow thruster. The latter has been leaking seawater past the propeller shaft seal into its oil. Amel manufactures a special tool to allow the removal of the bow thruster while the vessel is still in the water. We had the tool on board but no instructions on it's use. By Sunday afternoon we had solved this puzzle, removed the bow thruster, replaced the seals and cleaned the mess of thick oil and seawater out of it. It is now almost ready to be replaced. We just have to find a third of a liter of 90 weight oil here in Fiji. Annette asked at the marina office where she could buy some and was told, "Where did you buy it last time?".

July 24, 2005

We are still at Denarau Marina and will meet brother Brian and nephew Ashley at Nadi airport tomorrow morning. They are coming to play with us for a couple of weeks. We have spent the past week taking care of a few small boat chores, visiting gift shops and restaurants and generally lazing around. We did in fact obtain our bow thruster oil on Monday last, at a Mobil station in downtown Nadi. The oil was only sold in 40 liter drums and I just needed a third of one liter. We solved the problem with a plastic coke bottle from the trash dumpster and they sold me a half liter of oil for about US$1.30. The bow thruster is now reinstalled and gurgles away happily with its new oil. We also visited a clinic and picked up prescriptions for anti-malarial drugs for our proposed visit to the Vanuatu Island chain. Vanuatu seems too exciting a place to pass up just because of a malarial threat. It has a live volcano, a "Cargo" cult and the official language is pidgin English. Watch this space for explanations and details.

We had planned on a quick trip this week to the Mamanuca islands west of here before Brian's visit but the weather turned sour with high winds and rain for the past several days. Nothing too serious but not much fun for sailing in reef strewn waters. The current weather forecast indicates improving conditions over the next several days and we will probably sail from here on Wednesday.

July 29, 2005

Position: 17 46.2 S 177 11.4 E

We met Brian and Ashley at the Nadi airport on Viti Levu on Monday morning. They had flown on Korean Airlines with an 11 hour leg from Heathrow to Seoul, 3 hours on the ground and then another 10 hours to Nadi.

Needless to say, they were tired when they arrived. The processing of the passengers through immigration and customs was the slowest I have ever seen, taking nearly an hour and a half to process perhaps one hundred passengers. A Fijian policewoman told me that, "those Asians bring everything with them and we have to search every bag". Brian and Ashley finally popped out of the customs hall and we rushed them back to the Denarau marina to feed them and put them to bed.

On Tuesday morning we left the marina and motor-sailed to Malolo Island in the Mamanutha Group off the west coast of Fiji. The resort here is called "Musket Cove". The island was purchased from the Fijians in 1860 by an American sailor named Louis Armstrong for a single musket. The present owner Dick Smith purchased the property in 1966 for a whole lot of muskets and we ate supper at "Dick's Place" restaurant, with a poolside table overlooking the small bay. The sea was almost mirror calm and the lights from the Plantation Resort on the opposite side of the bay shimmered across the water. Both resorts had Fijian singing groups and the acoustics were such that the Plantation Resort band, a mile or so away across the water, sounded like they were right next to us.

By Wednesday it was confirmed that Brian has contracted a major cold from his Korean Airlines flight. With lots of encouraging comments about SARS, Brian was ordered to rest and lots of fluids....while Annette went on a snorkel dive trip with Ashley.

Thursday Brian was feeling "improved" and we took a boat ride over to the village on the adjacent island. The village was certainly the most prosperous we have visited and was providing labor for several nearby resorts. The villagers had extensive displays of crafts for sale but a quick examination showed that most of the "local" craft items had been imported from elsewhere. We visited the school and were introduced to a teacher with a class of 30 or so, 3rd and 4th graders. Annette asked some children what their favorite subject was and I asked if they had any questions for us, the dozen or so tourists who had invaded their classroom. They of course asked where we were from and then asked how many hours it had taken to fly from the United States to Fiji. They were at first stunned when we told them we had arrived by yacht and the teacher hurriedly produced a globe so that I could show them our route.

Naturally a rugby pitch dominated the school facilities as the Fijians take their rugby seriously. Our tour guide took us to the principals office in order to view the rugby trophies that the school had won. Our guide looked sorta sturdy and I asked him if he played rugby. He said he had played professionally but was dropped from the Fijian national team last year. He is now driving a resort panga and doing $5 Fiji a head, village tours. In the US he could have a Chevrolet dealership or run for Congress.

In the afternoon Annette and Ashley went hand line fishing while Brian and I watched a DVD on board DoodleBug and made sure the Bismarck was sunk. It was well after sunset and quite dark by the time the fishing crew returned and Annette called me from the dock with a handheld VHF to assure us they were both alive and had caught fish! Supper was fish of unknown specie with pine nut / garbanzo bean / couscous. We leave this morning (Friday) for Mana Island, northwest of here towards the Yasawa chain.

July 30, 2005

Position: 17 40.7 S 177 06.3 E

Yesterday morning we slipped our mooring and set out for Mana Island some 15 miles away. Not a long run but the forecast for the next few days is not clear on the trend. The skies were overcast for the first hour or so and the sun finally managed to break through by mid-day. Once we had cleared the entrance reef to Malolo Lailai, we had a pleasant sail under genoa and main on a close reach for Mana. An hour into the passage, we noticed we had a fish on each of the two trolling lines deployed. Two fish at the same time is a first for us and we hauled aboard two chubby tunas measured at 19" and 23". Ashley was delighted with the catch but less than totally enthusiastic with the subsequent butchering process.

We then arrived off the reef entrance to the Mana lagoon around 1100 hours to face a bewildering array of reef markers. The cruising guide stated that the entrance was "clearly marked". We carefully examined the possibilities with binoculars while bobbing a couple of boat lengths off the reef. Some of the markers were broken and so their original purpose was indeterminate. There were also hazard markers with an arrow pointing away from the hazard. There are two problems with these. First, there is no way to determine how far back from the edge of the hazard the marker is placed. Second, the wind can blow the pointer to the opposite direction and the pointers can also be reversed by mischievous Fijian teenagers. Then there are the markers that are completely missing - the norm for Fiji. I called on the VHF to get "local" information and raised the Mana Resort office. They suggested we wait five minutes or so and then follow their semi-submersible "Yellow Submarine" reef watching tourist boat through the reef passage. This we did and although the depths were in the 15 to 20 feet range, we briefly got a zero reading but did not touch bottom. We anchored in clear water on a sand bottom and Annette began to fix fresh tuna with coconut / banana rice for lunch....

I know our dedicated fisher people need to sample their catch but I am beginning to really lust for a nice steak after days of steady fish diet.

August 1, 2005

Position: 17 46.3 S 177 11.3 E

On Saturday, Annette, Brian and Ashley took a trip in the Yellow Submarine for reef watching. The Yellow Submarine looks like a small barge, with glass windows in the hull allowing the passengers to view the reef and marine life. In the meantime, I (Ed) drove the dinghy plus a portable depth sounder, out to the reef entrance to see if I could work out the pattern of reef markers for use during our eventual exit. The route through the reef was relatively straightforward until the critical turn. This turn is quite abrupt with only a narrow gap between the reefs.

The marker on the landward side was broken and gave no clue as to the "safe" side to pass. The seaward side marker was reversed - directing the vessel onto the reef. Since the passage everywhere else was both obvious and correctly marked, one has to wonder if the mismarking at the critical location was deliberate. Anyhoo....mystery solved.

The reef watchers had a great time looking at fish, squid, starfish etc. and decided to continue their biological extravaganza with a bout of serious beachcombing. In the evening the entire crew headed to the Mana Island Resort hotel for their Fijian "lovo" evening. A lovo is the traditional Fijian method of cooking the food in a fire pit, covered with layers of leaves and dirt to hold in the heat. The food was pleasant but Annette and I have been forever spoiled by the feast we had at the Bula Rey in Savusavu and this "lovo" was not in the same class. The wind had been rising across the anchorage all day and although our dinghy ride to supper was downwind and relatively dry, after supper we expected and received a very bumpy and wet ride back to DoodleBug across the dark and choppy bay. Sunday morning dawned clear but windy and we sailed safely past the reef markers to the open sea and set a course for Navandra Island at the northern tip of the Mamanuca Group. Navandra is paired with Vanua Levu Island and is described by the cruising guide as "excellent beaches, diving, snorkeling and uninhabited". Sounded great. The sky was clear, the day sunny and we broad reached under a full spread of Genoa, Main and Mizzen. The navigation was tricky weaving through an array of reefs and shallows but the conditions just about perfect for sailing and the reef colors and island views fantastic. We were a few miles short of Navadra when we saw a sloop powering towards us. We raised S/V Foxy Lady on the VHF and asked them about the anchorage at Navadra. They had just left and informed us that the anchorage was now "closed to yachts" and would remain so for the next two weeks for the filming of a so called "reality" survivor show. This is a popular area for these programs and the relevant beaches are completely evacuated of all sign of inhabitants, fishing boats etc. for the "reality" look. The movies "Castaway" and "Blue Lagoon" were both shot nearby and the film crews must have enjoyed the proximity of the resorts. We were disappointed to be banned from Navadra but it was 1100 hours and plenty of daylight available, so we reversed our course and returned to Musket Cove. The wind was now on the nose but still fairly light so the ride was not too uncomfortable. As we passed down the east side of Malolo, we caught two tuna on our trolling lines but they were both small and were photographed and returned to the sea to grow bigger. The wind began to increase and the ride to the marina became more exciting with the bow plunging into the waves with sheets of spray. We are currently at a mooring at Musket Cove.

August 1, 2005 - August 7, 2005

Position: 17 46.3 177 22.9 E

For the past week we moored at Musket Cove as the winds continued to blow hard across the Fiji islands, with rough seas and "strong wind warnings" in the marine forecasts. We have been loaded down with the heavy tasks of sun-bathing, swimming, beach combing and barbequing.

Ashley attended a seminar on opening coconuts "Fiji style" given by the local "Coconut Man". After the demonstration, Ashley used "Coconut Man's" large spike made of angle iron to husk a coconut, while the" Coconut Man" himself raced Ashley at husking a second coconut using just his teeth. While watching this huge man rip the coconut husk off in large chunks with his teeth, I could not help but remind myself that these were the "Cannibal Isles

The following day we continued our beachcombing around the bay and Ashley attempted to beat his way into the working parts of the various coconuts we found scattered along the beach. This was reminiscent of Tom Hank's similar efforts in the movie "Castaway", that was filmed on nearby Monuriki. Tom Hanks played the part of a Federal Express employee who was marooned on an island in the Pacific for four years. Monuriki is actually jammed between the islands of Yanuya and Tokoriki and lies about five miles north of Doodlebug's mooring at Musket Cove. It took Hollywood magic to move this pretty island into the isolated flyspeck in the vastness of the Pacific, as depicted by the movie. Ashley had not been able to find "Coconut Man's" metal spike and we had just been commenting upon the various uses of ice-skates (if you can't follow this log - go rent the movie!!) when we came across Tom's raft lying on the beach. It was completely intact and still had the plastic porta-john toilet "sail" attached. The "wings of freedom" were still painted on the underside of the plastic sail, although I would have sworn that the latter blew away in the storm. We were stunned to find this famous movie prop lying completely unprotected on the beach, pulled up just clear of the high water mark under some coconut trees. The "logs" were still lashed together with video-tape. Some of the logs showed deterioration and damage and we could see that the raft has a metal frame (sorta like a Hobiecat) and the logs are made from "sprayed on" urethane type foam. The shaped foam was then painted to look like logs and branches. Really cool!

Wednesday it was still blowing fairly hard and Brian and Ashley set off in the dinghy to try hand line fishing off the reefs. About an hour later I noticed them directly down wind and with binoculars, was able to determine that Brian was now rowing the dinghy upwind and across the reef towards us. The outboard motor was in it's lifted position and we surmised correctly, they were unable to restart the motor. There was little we could provide in the form of assistance and I sipped a cold beer as a gesture of solidarity, as Brian slowly worked his way towards us. Needless to say, the fishermen were tired by the time they reached DoodleBug. As soon as they were safely aboard, a neighbor from the trimaran they had passed some thirty minutes or so earlier, dinghied over to ask if they needed any help. Peculiar timing!

The crew decided that perhaps beachcombing was safer than fishing and Annette proved that when deprived of good sea shells, she is versatile. She collected a large quantity of some kind of large bean from pods found on the beach. We have seen these beans used to make jewelry and although we now know what the pods look like, we have still to identify the tree from whence they derive. We walked the reef at low tide and Annette won the explorer's prize by capturing a three foot long Manta Ray from the shallow water. It was examined closely and photographed before being returned to it's muddy hole to sulk. On Friday we motor-sailed to Denarau and med-moored at the marina where we presently lie. On Saturday, Brian and Ashley shopped for souvenirs in downtown Nadi and we returned to the marina in the afternoon to meet Frank and Jan on S/V Freewind, who had "pulled an overnighter" to sail over from Suva to join us. We first met Frank and Jan in Samoa last year and again in Tonga. We have decided to sail together to Vanuatu in the next few days. Freewind had caught a mahi-mahi on their passage from Suva and invited all to a delicious barbeque aboard Freewind that evening.

By Sunday, the wind had now dropped in strength and it would have been much more pleasant for island hopping. The joys and risks of cruising! In the morning we received an e-mail from Helen - daughter and web mistress - requesting us to call on an urgent matter. We were delighted to hear that she is pregnant! Annette has now informed the entire population of Fiji of this news. She has determined that we are now "Boom-boo" and "Ta-ta" - grandmother and grandfather respectively in Fijian. The crews of DoodleBug and Freewind celebrated with dinner at a very nice Indian restaurant in downtown Nadi, that was conveniently open on Sunday evening. On Monday morning we dropped Brian and Ashley off at Nadi airport to brave the hospitality of Korean Airlines as they headed home to England for work and school. They will spend a night in Seoul and arrive in London on Tuesday. We already miss them and hope they had fun in Fiji. We in turn have spent the day buying groceries beer, wine, propane and diesel etc. and preparing DoodleBug for sea.

August 9, 2005

Yesterday evening, while I stowed diesel cans and checked DoodleBug for departure, Annette made her final laundry run using the large machines at the marina office. When I finished up it was dark and I walked over to the office to make sure Annette wasn't being gang-raped. She was in fact busy teaching the security guard how to play solitaire and had given him a gift of a deck of cards. The employee at the adjacent office maybe thought we were making too much noise and stuck his head through the door to warn us that there was a security guard. A confused conversation ensued, until "our" security guard was grumpily dragged away from his game, to ask the newcomer what the hell he wanted. The entire marina has probably been robbed by now, due to the total disruption of their security.

This morning we took a cab to visit the "Sri Siva Subrahmaniya Swami Temple". It is the largest Hindu temple in the Southern hemisphere and was erected by local worshippers in 1994. The intricate and colorful sculptures and paintings were fascinating. It made me realize how little I know about the Hindu faith. At the entrance to the temple, the faithful could purchase offerings of coconuts, oranges, bananas, balls of saffron etc. on a decorated tray. The temple was surrounded by a number of shrines to the various deities and each had an offering box for cash. There was a lot we did not entirely understand but the guide was "sick" that day and although we interrogated one of the priests, he seemed to be in mid-ceremony and we were disturbing his process.

We next moved on to the "Garden of the Sleeping Giant". This was a property that was purchased and developed by Raymond Burr the actor. For you children, he played a famous TV attorney "Perry Mason" - probably the only attorney that has ever been liked and respected (sorry you legal guys). The extensive gardens have been planted with an incredible variety of orchids, bushes and trees. The number of variants of palm trees alone was boggling. This was a delightful walk and made a great finale to our visit to Fiji. Annette started a minor riot on the dock in the evening by providing the 3 children on S/V Blue Dawn with water pistols. Their noise wasn't a problem as the security guard was busy......

August 10, 2005

Position: 17 35.9 S 177 26.6 E

We raised anchor and motored a dozen miles or so, to the port of Lautoka to check out of the country. When we arrived at the customs shed we were informed that they were going to lunch and would return at 1300 hours. We took the opportunity to walk into Lautoka and visit the post office to mail a couple of parcels. It took close to an hour to select and purchase stamps for the two parcels. Annette chose stamps that were all different, bright, colorful and nearly two inches each. This process would have got you shot in the USA but nobody in Fiji seemed to get upset with the delay.

After hitting the food markets for some last minute shopping of fruit and vegetables, we returned to the customs shed and spent the next two hours completing paperwork - essentially the same form, filled out five times with minuscule variations. I noticed that the three customs / immigration officers managed to process a total of three yacht crews for their afternoon's endeavors.

We spent the night anchored off the port at 17 35.9 S 177 26.6 E. At 0200 hours the anchor alarm went off to indicate we were dragging. The wind had changed direction and was gusting over 25K. We weren't dragging - I just hadn't allowed enough range on the alarm trip threshold. S/V Moon Shadow was moored nearby and they did drag anchor although it reset itself. No problem as it turned out but sleep was difficult to come by after this, with the high winds and boat motion.

August 11, 2005

Position: 17 18.6 S 177 07.3 E

Today we had a beautiful sail in company with S/V Freewind with a comfortable beam reach to Yalobi Village, Waya Island. At 1100 hours, Annette caught an 18" tuna on her trolling line. Not too big but certainly two meals each. An hour later we caught a much, much larger tuna. When it was brought on board we discovered that we had the front 40 percent of the fish. The rest of the tuna had been cleanly bitten off by something with a LARGE bite radius. The fragment we had left was about six servings. Annette has even less desire to go swimming now.....

We are anchored tonight at 17 18.6 S 177 07.3 E and will leave for Vanuatu in the morning.