Again a beautifull sail from Suva to Denarau out following the wide access channel through the reef surrounding Suva harbour. South through the Beqa passage avoiding the shallows at Caesar rocks. Then following the South coast outside the reef over a track donated by a generous cruiser.
Our first island anchorage in Fiji is at Denarau Island where we spent a day or so on anchor outside the marina.
Look, our second Fiji island. Baby steps for us as all these islands need careful navigation, all manner of things to look out for
so we are pleased to drop the hook on the edge of the reef around this sweet little perfectly formed backpacker resort
the weather is kind so we spend three days there
one of those days we pay for lunch plus the days activities for the craic you might say back home in Ireland
and the craic was mighty you would also say, joining in with lots of people from different walks of life
we were passengers on a crowded double story large metal boat which brought us a short distance to their reef
where the snorkeling was fabulous
We wouldn’t choose to share the experience with thirty or more people normally but today was very much a different experience to our normal solitary pottering. Returning to share buffet lunch we had interesting conversation with a Chinese girl who was generous with her experience of china and Australia. They had nice things in their exclusive looking boutique where I Stella bought a bikini in a cut price box. Walking round the island only took twenty minutes .
Loved it. What a small perfectly formed little backpackers paradise.
next anchorage is at a holiday resort opposite the city of Lautoka which has a large sugar cane mill
little trains bring the sugar cane from the land to the factory
we dinghy in and have a delicious Indian Tali
its a short sail to Vuda marina. Seldom in a marina, Shelterbay Panama was the last one and that was May last year!
Vuda is a busy and pleasant place. The rules about what you can and can't do are strict which is partly how come it works like it does
Lotti the dockmaster walks round with her gentle managerial air in her big boots and working knee length kaki shorts. I especially admire her hat very cool looking crocheted in pandanus or similar. Everybody is cheerful and helpful staff and fellow sailors too. You should see her calling the directions guiding boats into their tight spot. A true master.
Vuda has a restaurant...fish and chips, that was a long time ago
Stella is flying to Sydney from Nadi to see her son and family
and that is good timing because her latest grand child was just born
meanwhile in the marina there will be a kava ceremony so I have dress appropriately
the ceremony is for a sailor that will represent Fiji at the Olympics in Marseille France
at the end of the ceremony all of us drink a bit of the kava prepared by the local chief
Stefan uses the sugar railway track for shopping in Lautoka 16 km to the north
same place and another delicious tali..the woman says to me 'next time you bring your wife!'
with Stella in Sydney there is some work for Stefan, haul out the boat
all very pleasant, first thing in the morning yoga then watch the Dutch team play at the European Championship soccer
yess....we beat Turkey
Fiji workers sand the boat and apply a intermediate Primacon layer
while Stefan services the bow thruster, C-drive, zincs, ground plate and propellor
It’s very much like camping in a tree house. We do have water coming out of the taps but no waste water facilities on the boat. Up and down that metal ladder is good for our core muscles anyway. It’s great that they let us live aboard while out on the hard.
There are hundreds of boats out on dry land here at Vuda Marina. If they need to work on the hull the boats are supported with metal struts otherwise the capable team drop the boat into a hurricane pit supported at the waterline by copious quantities of tyres.
We are grateful to the team from Summer Electrical Services for the work they did on our boat. Now we can show off again with a perfectly straight red stripe and a new layer of antifouling. Stefan finishes it off with a couple of days of waxing and buffing the topsides.
monday after 16 days on the hard back into the water again
will she still float? there she goes....
success...we celebrate at the First Landing Resort next to Vuda marina
back in Lautoka, this time by bus
of course again a delicious tali, this time with the wife ;-)
always something to do in Vuda marina. This time Pat teaches us textile printing
see the result!
