Day 175 Makogai Island

S17º26 W178º57
We sleep fitfully because of the rough water in the anchorage and our concern that the anchor may not hold. At 0630 we are headed out of the reef pass and turn South toward Makogai Island. The plan is to sail for two hours, anchor at Makogai for lunch and then sail overnight to the Astrolabe reef near Kadavu Island.
As we proceed Southward, we find the wind has shifted so that it now comes from the Southeast. This means the wind and waves are 30º off our bow and we are in for a wet and bumpy ride. Liahona leads the way and we easily find the pass through the reef. By the time we drop the anchor, everyone is ready to relax a bit and leave the rough seas behind. We anchor off of another isolated beach - this time with no sign. The book says that Makogai was a leper colony years ago but now is an aquaculture research station. At about noon we see a boat with native divers heading around a point North of us.
For some time now, the windlass (the electric winch that lowers and raises the anchor) has been acting up and as we put the anchor down this time, it appears to be on its last legs. Something must be wrong with the electrical contacts inside. The combination of this situation and the rough seas outside the pass precipitates a change of plans. The two boats decide to spend the night at this island and wait out the wind and then go directly to the city of Suva on the big island of Viti Levu to try and get the windlass repaired. Suva is by far the largest city we will have visited (with a population of over 350,000) and we should be able to find the proper services for the windlass.
Although our anchorage is in an idyllic setting and the snorkeling is good, the wind is still strong and creates a concern about swinging on the anchor (being turned by the wind so the boat is closer to the shore) or dragging the anchor. Liahona is already too close to a submerged coral head to be satisfied with their anchorage so they pull up the hook and decide to motor around the point to investigate. A short while later they come back in their dinghy to report a much calmer anchorage in front of the research station. The windlass gives us one more effort and we follow the dinghy around the point.
Because it is very calm here and Liahona is safely anchored we decide to tie onto their stern and drop a small anchor that we can retrieve by hand from our own stern so that we do not drift into them. In this way, we use their main anchor and save the use of our windlass.
We have a pot luck dinner on Liahona with the curry that Mark made a few days ago along with a chocolate cake that Andy baked. Altogether a fine meal. The night is peaceful so we all get a good night's sleep.
My impression of Fiji has been changed markedly by these visits. All that I have read before this trip was about Polynesia but Fiji was never included as it is in Micronesia even though the same people populated both island groups. I somehow thought of Fiji as small and more isolated than Polynesia and the press coverage of the ongoing political turmoil gives one pause about visiting. What I have seen so far is quite a different story.
I had already determined that by population, land area and number of islands, Fiji is larger than the combined size of all the island groups we have visited so far. My impression of Savusavu and the island of Vanua Levu is one of a fairly modern place with reasonable infrastructure (roads, electrical service, telephones, Internet) and a beautiful and varied landscape. There is no evidence of political instability - no military vehicles, no overbearing police presence, not even any apparent tension between the Fijians and the Indo-Fijians. They all seem to work peacefully side by side. Even the seemingly restrictive land laws (only native Fijians can own land) leave enough freehold land to attract foreign investors who are building new resorts and wealthy Australians, Europeans and Americans who are buying land and building million dollar vacation retreats.
From a yachtie perspective, the place is a perfect spot to spend months exploring. The navigation is challenging due to the extensive coral reefs but with good charts, a GPS and enough time to be very careful, it seems possible to see more pristine uninhabited island beaches with clear lagoons than anywhere we have been to this point. Also, the people we have met are all very friendly and welcoming of visitors - as has been their reputation since they stopped eating their enemies a few hundred years ago. Everyone we have met speaks English and all the signs and official forms are in English as it is the only common language between the two populations.
From what I can see, I would recommend Fiji as a travel destination for anyone who wants the beauty of the South Pacific and who wants to be able to see it at an affordable price.