South Pacific « Aboard Dignity (Lagoon 420) Blog

Savusavu

by steve, on May 30th, 2012 (Dreamtime, Endless, Fiji, Inspiration Lady, Wonderland)

In the morning we really didn’t do too much, just hung around, read, played, relaxed. After lunch we moved the boat into Savusavu so I could visit the doctor. We ended up anchoring at the head of the creek as all the moorings were taken up.

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I was able to contact the doctor fairly quickly and soon had an appointment. I went ashore and visited the doctor. I don’t think he had a clear idea of what was wrong suggesting possibly scurvy. He gave me a number of supplement, mainly vitamin C. I’ve started them and, oddly enough, am beginning to feel a little better.

While in the anchorage we got in contact with Inspiration Lady who we’ll probably meet up with tonight. We also ended up chatting with Evi on Wonderland who is here in the creek. We also noticed Endless in the anchorage and on the way back from the doctors I went over to visit. I ended up going aboard where Petr gave me a beer. We chatted for a while and agreed to go out together that evening along with George and Claudia from Dreamtime. I was able to collect the battens he’d brought up from New Zealand.

At 6pm we went ashore to the Coprashed meeting up with everyone there. It was nice to get back together again and catch up. We then went to the Back Deck to eat and have a few more beers. A good evening all round.

Sam met up with some locals and may end up staying out tonight. Apart from that we have a few chored to do around the boat which we’re not doing just yet due to rain. We’re back in Savusavu.

Back to Lesiaceva Point

by steve, on May 29th, 2012 (Fiji, Inspiration Lady, Jackster)

We left Dakuniba shortly after dawn and soon picked up some good winds allowing us to sail most of the way back to Lesiaceva Point.

We had one moment of excitement when we pick up a large fish that was very feisty. Unfortunately it fought it’s way off the hook and we lost it.

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At the anchorage we all settled down to catch up on our internet before relaxing and reading for the rest of the day. We ate dinner and watched a movie before settling down fairly early (around 8pm).

My dizziness is still not going away which is becoming both annoying and a little worrying. I’ve reached the point where I’m desperate enough to try abstaining from evening tipples. Last night was my first go but no apparent benefits this morning.

On the VHF we heard Inspiration Lady in Savusavu. I had a quick chat with them to let them know we were out here. Later I heard them chatting to the Jacksters so they’re here too. We haven’t decided what to do next as the weather picture is not brilliant. Perhaps we’ll all meet up one evening soon.

Pools and Petroglyphs

by KC2RIY, on May 28th, 2012 (Fiji)

Around 10am we went ashore again. This time it was a lot easier as it was close to high tide. We were able to take the dinghy right in and tie it to a buoy. From there we were able to wade ashore. We soon ran into Chris who’d hosted us the day before and, it turned out, was the grandson of the village chief.

We expressed interest in seeing the falls and petroglyphs which we’d heard were somewhere behind the village. He was glad to take us along with a couple of 12/13 year old boys from the village. It took about 20 minutes to reach the falls which were exceptionally pretty. It was really a whole section of cascading pools of different sizes. He said that after church and lunch the village would come up to wash.

From there it was another 5 minutes of climbing to the petroglyphs. The origin of the rock carvings has been forgotten unfortunately. Some memories have been passed down. Apparently, at some point the rocks had been vertical and joined up. In the years since they have fallen and broken.

We ate and shared our lunch at the petroglyphs. We gave Chris a packet of fishing hooks which he appeared very pleased with. We also gave a sewing kit and a bag of boiled sweets. We’d given them all a few boiled sweets along the way which they really liked.

We hung around the petroglyphs for about 30 minutes sucking in the atmosphere. We were embedded in the deep bush with trees and foliage all around us. Overhead, through the gaps in the trees the sky was clear and blue. It was a nice feeling being there.

Eventually we had to move on. Chris and the boys took us back down to the village where we bade our farewell. They invited us back in the evening so Sam could play some more guitar. Unfortunately that would be low tide and really awkward so despite wanting to we didn’t return.

We spent the rest of the day on the boat reading and relaxing and finishing off with a movie over dinner. By 8pm we were spent and, at least Helen and I, crashed out.

Today we may have some wind but for the next few days prospects are poor. So it looks like we’ll head west today. The crew like the idea of heading back to the end of the peninsular by Savusavu where we can get free internet. Sounds like that’s where we’re heading.

I’m still suffering from dizziness. It made parts of the walk yesterday awkward. I’m still on the antibiotics and maybe getting better but it’s hard to tell.

Dakuniba

by KC2RIY, on May 27th, 2012 (Fiji)

We left Somosomo mid morning. The winds were quite strong where we were so we put a reef into the mainsail. Even then we headed off with the head sail out only. We soon encountered very variable winds which ended up down to nothing, all due to the effects of the heights of Tavenuni.

With a combination of sailing, motor sailing and plain motoring we made it to Dakuniba in about 3 hours.

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We anchored near to where we knew the village to be even though it was out of sight. We rested for an hour or so before heading ashore in the dinghy. It was just before low tide so we anchored the dinghy in the mud of low tide and walked into the village. We brought cava so we could perform sevusevu. It turned out all the elders had gone elsewhere but the younger men along with their counterparts from a nearby village were all there. One of them accepted our gift of cava, performed the sevusevu ceremony and welcomed us into the village.

This was all done in a hall where the younger men of the two villages had gathered to listen to a few play guitar and to drink cava. We were invited to join in. We spent about an hour there. Sam played about 6 songs for them on one of their guitars which they all appreciated. (The women were all outside cooking)

Worrying that the incoming tide might take our dinghy away we bade our farewells and headed back to the boat. We had no worries as the dinghy was sitting out in the mud and we had to haul into the water.

Once on the boat we just chilled the rest of the day. The cava we’d drunk had mellowed us out, the weather was fine and so were we.

Somosomo

by steve, on May 26th, 2012 (Fiji)

In the morning we up anchored and headed south, sailing most of the way. From time to time we encountered win shadows from Taveuni which dropped our boat speed down to about 2 knots. Whenever this happened we fired up the starboard engine to push us onwards.

We arrived at Somosomo in good time and dropped our anchor.

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We then went ashore to pick up fresh fruit and veg and perhaps some guitar strings for Sam as one of his had broken. Quite surprisingly we found some strings so we bought two sets. We found some fruit and veg at some road side stands and loaded up. We also bought lunch from the same road side vendors.

We decided not to move on spending the rest of the afternoon at this anchorage. My dizziness is not going away so I’ve started a course of antibiotics in case it’s an inner ear infection.

We finished the day watching a movie and a TV show.

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Savusavu

Back to Lesiaceva Point

Pools and Petroglyphs

Dakuniba

Somosomo