Navadra. Ups and downs.

Before leaving Denaru we popped ashore one final time to pick up fresh bread and rolls from the bakery. Soon we were heading out of the harbour, not far behind Leu Cat and Sea Mist. I contemplated calling them on the radio for a final, final, final, final goodbye but it had all been said. Once out of the shallows they turned right for Lautoka and their outbound clearance. We pushed on towards our destination. So marked the end of our journey together.

The winds started light and slightly the wrong direction for a broad reach to Naqara. We went wing on wing for a couple of miles to allow us a straight run, avoiding reefs. The wind picked up and soon we were having a fantastic sail. The winds had been recently lighter so the seas were fairly calm. We were flying along at 8 knots even with a knot of current against us. Despite all this I felt a little of the blues as a result of our recent parting of ways.

We had the fishing lines out and at one point we had a catch. Helen pulled in the headsail while I pulled in the fish. It had a lot of fight and turned out to be the largest skipjack tuna we’d ever caught. It’s not our favourite fish but we decided we’d keep it if we couldn’t find a local to give it to. We left it tied to the back step while we continued to our destination.

Once we reached Naqara we spent a while hunting around for a good spot to anchor. We ended up on a patch of sand near to the one other boat here.

By now, perhaps because we were away from the mainland, the skies were blue and the day warm. It feels like, bar just a few exceptions, we’ve been overcast for the last month. Things are looking up.

We noticed a fishing boat near to the shore of the island to our east so we soon had the dinghy in the water and the fish in a bag ready to take. We first visited the boat next to us to say hello. It was an extended Australian family, brothers and sons, who’d bought an ex-charter boat in Tahiti and were sailing it to Australia.

We then took the dinghy to the fisherman who were ashore eating coconuts. They had not had any luck so were very pleased with the fish. They asked us if we planned to go ashore because if we did, we should really do sevusevu in the main village in the islands to our south. Unable to do this they suggested they could take our grog on our behalf. I’m not sure if we were being scammed but it seemed consistent with expectations elsewhere. As they were leaving soon I suggested they come by the boat to pick up our grog which they agreed to and subsequently did.

Later in the afternoon Helen and I went snorkeling. We picked a patch of reef we’d passed by on the way back from the fisherman as it looked interesting with some drop offs. We took the dinghy over and dropped the anchor in a patch of sand. The reef was vibrantly alive and the water reasonably clear. Unfortunately I saw a crown of thorns almost immediately. These can be bad for the reefs if the fish that predate them are overfished. Perhaps all is ok because the reef looked good.

Sticking together we explored the reef. No big fish but plenty of little ones. Then it happened. The moment I’ve been waiting for who knows how long. I spotted a decent sized and definitely alive lobster. My melancholy was forgotten. Right now I had a lobster. I could taste it already. Unfortunately the spear gun was back on the boat so I asked Helen to hang around the area so we wouldn’t lose it while I retreived the dinghy, went back to the boat, dug out the gun, returned and reanchored. With great excitement I was back in the water. I armed the speargun and swum back to Helen. The lobster had buggered off, however, not sharing the same anticipation, at least in the same way, of an evening meal that I was. I searched and searched the area for the lobster or one of it’s mates to no avail. No lobster for me that night.

We spent the rest of the afternoon reading and relaxing. My mind kept returning to the lobster. I decided a night swim was in order. I fixed the broken retaining line on the speargun and forwent my 5pm beer. We had our evening meal and watched an episode of Dexter on the TV. It was now dark and I was ready.

With the evening air cool the water felt warm. With the heavens full of stars and no moon, I swum back to the reef and to my own surprise found the area we’d found the lobster earlier. In the torchlight the water was alive with tiny moving critters and really small fish would swim in and out of the torch beam. Night snorkeling is really an alien environment and quite unlike the daytime experience. The colours are completely different. Different fish are about. The daytime fish can be found dozing or asleep in nooks and crannies.

I explored the area of the reef drop off for a while but found no prey. I headed out further onto the reef shallows. Here I could explore the undersides of the coral for a lot longer as I only had 6-10 feet to swim down to reach the bottom. At one point a reef shark swam close by. I was startled for a moment but not phased. Knowledge is a powerful thing. My mind almost had be wondering about what was outside the narrow beam of my torch but I knew I would be ok and stopped those scary thoughts.

On one descent, after about 30 seconds down, I spotted a decent sized lobster under a shelf. Deciding not to surface and risk the lobster swimming away I took my time, settled myself on the bottom took aim and fired. Got him. The spear was lodged in the back of the lobsters cave having impaled the lobster. I couldn’t remove it using the breath I had left but I knew it wasn’t going anywhere. I surfaced, gathered oxygen and returned to remove the spear. It took yet another attempt to finally dislodge the spear but soon I was heading back to the boat with my prize.

As there is nothing better than fresh food the lobster was soon in the pot for a tasty desert. I showered and cleaned myself off before settling down to a delicious second course. Helen is not overly fond of lobster so only had a nibble leaving the rest of the lobster to me. Delicious.

Today we’re going to explore the island to our south. The locals said there was a cave there so we’ll try and find that. It’s possible we’ll have the place to ourselves this evening so we may also prepare a fire on the beach for sunset ashore this evening.

We’ll be spending a few days here. No internet. No crowds of tourists. Escape.