Aboard Dignity (Lagoon 420) Blog

Snorkelling on the Rainbow Reef

steve — Fri, 18 May 2012 17:57:17 +0000

As the light brightened, Helen noticed that our chain was wrapped around a few bommies. It turned out we’d picked a pretty poor spot the night before. So before anything else, we raised the chain and anchor carefully manoeuvring around the bommies. We found a better spot nearby and dropped the anchor there.

Just as we were finishing breakfast, Jack, the local guide to the spectacular reef, rowed by. He is renowned for taking sailboaters out onto the reef which he knows very well. We knew the Lardos were keen to go out as were we. We called the Lardos on the radio and they were good to go. Jack went over to their boat to pick them up while we prepped Dignity for the trip out to the reef.

We motored Dignity out to the part of the reef that Jack had in mind and anchored there. As he is familiar with the currents and tides the spot we had was safe for the duration of our time in the water. We all (bar Dennis who still has a sore foot) headed out in the dinghy out to a point on the reef where we could drift back to the boat. Jack stayed in the dinghy keeping an eye on all of us. The water was very clear and the marine life abundant so we had a spectacular swim.

Back on the boat we headed back to the anchorage. We were invited over to Lardo for lunch which we accepted. We took everyone over in the dinghy and kicked back and relaxed while Mary Lee looked after us. After a while I was feeling drowsy and rather than repeat my previous nights falling asleep on everyone we headed back to Dignity to relax.

The rest of the day was just R&R for Helen and I while Sam got on with his tutorials. I finally finished the fifth Game of Thrones book with some relief. The series started well but is now dragging on. With each book muscling in at 1,000+ pages it’s become a bit of a drag getting through them.

We finished the day watching a couple of shows on the TV before retiring feeling very tired.

Viani Bay

steve — Thu, 17 May 2012 17:45:29 +0000

The morning was a wash out with heavy rain falling. The forecast suggested it might ease after lunch and it did. Shortly after making the decision to stay another day I made the decision to leave. The seas outside the pass were pretty uncomfortable causing Helen to demand we turn back. Knowing we were to fall off the wind and soon get some shelter from Taveuni I overrode her request and pressed on. Initially we were motoring only but once we did fall off we had enough of an angle to get the head sail out to help us along. It also meant we could drop to one engine. Later, when we were able to make more of a turn we could turn off the remaining engine and sail. We could have gone faster if we’d raised the main but we were too lazy.

Having been through the pass before a few times it was less nerve wracking than the first time entering Viani Bay. We’d made contact with Lardo who we knew were in the bay and agreed to meet up with them for a meal. We ended up anchoring not too far from them in fading light.

By 5pm Mary Lee and Dennis were over. Helen cooked up a great chilli dish. I was an imperfect host when I fell asleep before they left. A long day.

We’ll probably stay here a few days. Sam is keen to put some time into his studies and it’s possible we could get some diving or snorkeling in here on the reef.

Fawn Harbour

KC2RIY — Wed, 16 May 2012 19:59:00 +0000

About 7am, just after dawn, we raised our anchor and headed off. The wind was under 2 knots and the seas flat so it was pure motoring. We ran most of the way on the starboard engine in order to postpone the port engine oil change. We only ran the port engine when raising the anchor and entering the reef at our destination, Fawn Harbour.

On the way we encountered a pod of pilot whales which were just hanging out not doing much. We radioed back to Lardo, a boat we know, who were behind us and let them know where the pod was. They also managed an encounter with them and were happy to have had the heads up.

We arrived shortly after midday then ate lunch before resting through the heat of early afternoon. Just before 3pm we went ashore. The timing was good as this was just before high tide allowing us to make it almost all the way ashore through the tunnel in the mangroves that led to the Pickering property.

Ashore, we headed off to Arthur and Sandra’s home to pay our respects, say hello, catch up and ask permission to visit the hot springs. On the way up to their property we passed through Mona’s home (at least her brother’s home where she stays). She was on the fishing boat when we went out last year. She invited us in for tea but we said perhaps later on the way back as we were on our way to her uncle Arthur’s.

Arthur and Sandra were home and invited us in for tea. We gave them some cava and some biscuits. They had one of their daughters there with them and a two year old who they’d adopted.

After some time there we bade our farewells and headed off to and up the river to the hot springs. The trail was quite muddy but we made it. The spring felt hotter than last year but we all spent time in there. The top pool was particularly hot. It was nice for a bit but soon we had to get lower down where the hot spring poured into the cold river.

It was beginning to get dark so we headed back down the river to the road and then back to the village. We stopped by Mona’s to say hello but she was out. Her older son John invited us in as it was beginning to rain. We stayed and chatted for a while but as it was getting darker outside and the rain had stopped we again bade farewell and headed back to the dinghy and then the boat.

We had a BBQ for dinner and watched a couple of shows on TV which rounded off a nice day.

There is no internet here so we’re cut off from the world again. Kind of nice to be unable to do anything about anything. Let’s us off the hook for a while. No doubt things are already piling up.

Overnight we’ve had a lot of rain, perhaps associated with a front which hopefully will bring some wind today.

We plan on moving on making our way to either Viani Bay or Taveuni. But for now we’re staying put as the overnight rain continues to fall. It’s just over 17nm to Viani Bay so we have time to wait for better weather.

Back to Lesiaceva Point

steve — Tue, 15 May 2012 18:32:09 +0000

First thing in the morning we went ashore. Helen and Sam went off for fresh veg while I obtained our coastal cruising permit. They met me at the customs office just as I finished. While they went back to the boat I headed back to the market to collect some cava for sevusevu ceremonies as we travel around the island. Sam met me at the market and on the way back to the dinghy we picked up some extra beer.

Once all were back aboard we headed back out to Lesiaceva Point where we anchored for the night.

Just when I’d been thinking the water maker hadn’t given us any trouble for some time it did. We got another salinity probe failure yesterday. We had a spare so I fitted that. During the fitting a connecter to the feed pump popped out of the control box and I couldn’t find where it had come from. On top of that, the new probe showed the same error message. Doom and gloom. I sent off an email to Spectra for help. I then went back to search again. I eventually found where the connector had come from and when I removed the probe and reconnected it it all worked. Phew. Now all I need is another spare from Spectra.

Today we’re off to Fawn Harbour. The winds are really light so it looks like we’ll be motoring all the way.

Another oil change

steve — Mon, 14 May 2012 18:37:16 +0000

We decided to spend another day off Lesiaceva Point and to use the time to do our first oil change on one of the engines. The starboard engine is up to 46 hours of use, close enough to the 50 hours required for the first oil change.

It is of course two oil changes as both the motor and the sail drive both need to have their oil changed. Extracting the old oil took most of the time. Because this was the first time I took no short cuts focussing first on the engine and then on the sail drive. Next time I’ll save some time by draining them both simultaneously. The foot pump assembly I made back in New Zealand worked really well for draining the oil from the sail drive. All in all it took nearly three hours to complete the work during which time I must have lost a huge amount of sweat working down in the engine compartment in the local heat.

Given the effort it takes to change the oil on one engine I’ve decided to wait a week or two before working on the port engine. It only has about 44 hours on it so it will be easy to stretch this out. The next oil changes are at 250 hours which will be some time away.

In the afternoon we transferred the 20 gallons of extra fuel we carried in jerry cans into the main tanks so we could store the jerry cans forward.

We all had some R&R until about 3pm when we up anchored and moved the boat back to Savusavu where we were given the same mooring ball as before.

In the evening we went ashore to eat at the Back Deck.

We’ve come into Savusavu to get our clearance to the next port. That also means we have to now decide what our next port will be. Chances are we’ll stay just the day and move back out to Lesiaceva Point prior to heading east in a day or two.

Oil change

steve — Sun, 13 May 2012 18:25:42 +0000

Paul left the boat yesterday. I took him ashore to the nearby resort who kindly called him a taxi to take him to the airport. It was my first chance to see inside the resort, it was quite plush. I waited and chatted with Paul until his taxi arrived. This could be our last goodbye as we have no idea if/when we’ll ever be out this way again.

On the way out I asked about the possibility and cost of having dinner ashore. Yes, it was possible but at $85 per head it’s a bit prohibitive for us.

I had plans to change the oil on the generator and the two engines. It turned out the heat was quite oppressive yesterday and it took until 2pm to have the motivation to do anything. In the end, we just changed the oil on the generator as it was the one who’s time was actually up.

Sam continues to work on his graphic design. He has a project from Paul to do which is giving him some direction.

In the evening we watched a few TV shows. I fell asleep during the last so I’ll have to watch that one again.

Looking at the weather it looks like Wednesday is a good day to sail east. So it looks like we’ll stay here another day then head into town tomorrow to clear out.

Lesiaceva Point

steve — Sat, 12 May 2012 18:07:04 +0000

We’d had enough of the rainy micro climate in Savusavu so it was time to move. We made one trip ashore pick up some fresh fruit and veg before heading off. We motored west to Lesiaceva Point where the Jean Michael Cousteu Resort (and free internet) is.

Here we had a leisurely day. The weather was better than in Savusavu where we could see it was raining frequently. We all went of on a snorkel together. Unfortunately, the moorings for the boats from the resort have disappeared since last year so we couldn’t find a particularly decent spot. Nevertheless it was good to get wet. Paul went snorkelling from the kayak a couple of extra times as he’s trying to pack it in before he leaves today.

As it was Paul’s last night with us, and in fact Fiji, we dined on a BBQ off the back of the boat. This involved replacing the igniter I’d bought ages ago which turned out to be a lot trickier than anticipated. Fortunately, and with Sam’s help, the job was completed without any mishaps. Working off the back of the boat is nerve wracking as one wrong move means a tool or essential part is lost overboard.

After this we settled down to watch a couple of TV shows before we fell off to bed exhausted.

Today may end up being a pretty busy one. The generator needs an oil change and the new engines are close to their first 50 hour change. So it seems a good idea to get all that done today. Messy work.

In the mean time, here are a few pics provided by Paul

Rained in

steve — Fri, 11 May 2012 17:42:49 +0000

The boat is now very clean. That’s the best thing I can say about yesterday. The reality is that it rained all day. Heavily most of the time and lightly occasionally.

Paul, Sam and I had a dive planned with a local instructor but that was postponed until today because of the weather.

We made a few brave forays when the rain looked light – always coming back soaking wet. The main one was to load up on gasoline/petrol for the dinghy and to pick up some groceries and a Fiji courtesy flag.

In the evening we went ashore to eat a BBQ dinner at the Copra Shed Marina. There we saw some Fijian dancing (as we did at the same event last year). Not too many people showed up for the BBQ due to the weather.

Sam went back ashore to meet up with some medical students he’d run into earlier in the week. The dinghy is back so he must be. We’ll find out how he got on later.

This morning we plan to move the boat and anchor out at the resort at the end of the peninsular here. Hopefully the weather will be ok and we can call the dive instructor out for our dive. Otherwise we’ll get a couple of days out of town.

Savusavu has very localized weather. We heard from others who left town for the day that they had no rain at all. Last year we witnessed heavy rain over Savusavu while we were anchored out and had blue skies over us. Hopefully we’ll escape the rain.

A little bit of relaxation in Savusavu (updated twice)

steve — Thu, 10 May 2012 18:42:04 +0000

But not a lot.

All in all it was a good day but it felt, to me, quite busy.

In the morning Paul and I went ashore to formally clear him off the boat. That means I am no longer responsible for repatriating him if he disappears. To clear him off they needed to see a plane ticket which Paul had sorted out the day before. On the way I dropped off our application for a cruising permit. We should get that soon.

We then went next door to book massages for Helen, Sam and myself. As she was free straight away I asked Paul to return to the boat so I could have the first massage and Helen could return for the second. In the end we all had our turn and felt very relaxed afterwards.

For me the afternoon was spent pursuing parts online and repairs.

I rearranged the pulleys we have on the boom using an old slightly damaged one to replace a low load good one which in turn I used to replace the one that had completely broken. Now the traveller has it’s full complement of pulleys albeit two of them damaged. We’ll be fine for coastal sailing.

I ordered the replacement pulleys and spares as well as the rubber piece I had to cut to remove to jury rig the traveller while at sea. I’ve progressed on ordering the batten cars for the sail. I also had to order a sump drain pump for one of our A/Cs as that went a little mental when we ran the A/C while doing a morning wash. Also ordered is some colour printer ink. Even though I rarely use colour I seem to have to replace the cartridges fairly often. We are in danger of running out of the ability to print. All these items will go to our Florida mailing address and be forwarded to us in Denarau later this season.

We also picked up a voice mail regarding Sam’s passport. They don’t accept payment by personal check. Why they couldn’t have told us the first time around I don’t know. We had a number to call to register credit card details which we did straight away. Hopefully no more snags on that front.

I spent some time with Vodafone support as I have no means to check on my bandwidth availability. I am supposed to be able to send an SMS message but that doesn’t work. I went through two support calls and got nowhere. I now have to take my laptop to someone in town.

Both Paul and Sam took trips out on the kayak. Sam landed on the island beside us and tried to reach the summit. He came back in hurry having been bitten by around 20 hornets.

In the evening we ate out at the Chinese restaurant in town. Average food but an excellent price. Can’t complain. We finished off with some ice creams from another store.

I’ve decided that clearing out of Savusavu today with all these pending items would be a little too hasty. I checked with customs and it’s ok for us to leave the port without clearing out as long as we don’t go past the lighthouse at the end of the peninsular. Paul has booked a dive for himself, Sam and me for tomorrow. After this we’ll head out and anchor off the resort for a couple of nights. We’ll return here on Monday and leave either the same day or on Tuesday depending on how things have progressed.

I’d rather have not had all these things to do on arrival but that’s boating for you. It’s often called “fixing your boat in exotic places”. It’s an apt expression.

Here are some pics from our passage and arrival

Sweating it out

steve — Wed, 09 May 2012 18:34:58 +0000

We were complaining about the cold in New Zealand so I better not complain about the heat here. But it is hot. Hot enough to make you forget the cold we left behind. And it’s humid too being the end of the wet season. Nevertheless, it’s all good.

Yesterday we got into arrival jobs. Once we’d all woken up (I slept very late) we all went ashore and headed off in separate ways. Paul sorted out his flight home and a local SIM for his phone. Helen picked up some food and the meat we’d had set aside the night before. Sam and I set off on a number of quests. We also arranged a local phone number. We also spent some time in the Courts receiving technical support from their guru to get our internet working. The fix could not have something I could have guessed so I’m glad I went. Now we’re up and running. We then took a long walk to the hospital to pay our quarantine fee. It’s really a tax because all the quarantine guy does is come aboard to let us fill out a form. For that we are charges F$172. I asked. This all goes to the government, not the hospital.

Leaving the hospital we bumped into Paul who’d come for the walk. We headed back to town together picking up some ice creams to cool us down. I checked out the chandlery at the Copra Shed Marina in case they had any suitable spares for our damaged traveller. They didn’t. Paul bought us a beer there which was pleasant. Before returning to the boat Sam and I showered at the Waitui marina with whom we have the mooring we are on.

We had a few hours to relax in the afternoon. Sam got on with his tutorials. With my new internet connection I dealt with what the outside world had backed up over the last week and I researched the parts I need to repair the traveller.

At 5pm we had Jack & Zdanka from Kite and Joy & Gordon from Promise over for sun downers and to share information about Fiji. We’d chatted to both of them on the way up over the VHF. They’re both 2011 puddle jumpers having got to know each other first in Fatu Hiva. We’re all on a similar plan this year so we could well be meeting up again.

After sundowners the crew from Dignity headed ashore for a meal at The Deck. The food wasn’t quite as good as last year and the price had gone up but we enjoyed it all the same. By the time we returned to Dignity we stayed up a little chatting until fatigue washed over us.

It wasn’t long ago when we slept with a sheet and two blankets over us and were still cold in the mornings. Now, nothing is required. Nice.