Day 176 Tough sailing

Dawn is barely visible through the rain which is coming down in torrents. Liahona is determined to move on to Suva and since we are using their anchor and nervous about our own windlass, we decide to follow them out of the pass and sail South.
Once we are clear of the lee of the island, the wind and waves pick up. The rain is coming down so hard it is hard to see more than a few 100 feet. The wind direction is still from the Southeast requiring us to tack in order to make headway toward Suva. We sail Southwest for an hour and then turn East Northeast for the next hour and then repeat. After 6 hours we have made only about 14 miles in our intended direction. Finally Andy wins the catch-a-wave-over-the-bow prize and we all decide we would rather sit at a bumpy anchorage than sit on a boat that is being tossed around violently. For lunch we had some granola bars because it was too rough to do anything in the galley so we can't imagine what dinner will be like. It is time for a right turn to the town of Levuka on the island of Ovalau off the East coast of Viti Levu.
The pass is wide and well marked but the harbor faces East and the shore runs North to South so it is open to wind from 3 directions (S, E and N). Although the waves are stopped by the barrier reef, the SE wind is blowing 20 to 25 knots. With the help of some hand cranking, the windlass works again and we drop the main anchor in 40 feet of water and then set a second anchor by taking it out in the dinghy. The shallow shore area is not far behind us but the two anchors do not move and we feel securely set.
Only one other sailboat (Moonraker) is in the harbor and we hail them on the VHF to ask about the security of the anchorage. They confirm that the wind is strong but their anchor has held them without problem for two days. At 1700, Moonraker calls back and invites us for a drink. They even volunteer to come and get us in their dinghy which we welcome since our little rubber boat is very wet when there is a "wind chop" in the water.
Luke and Max pick us up in a very plush Zodiac with a 40 HP Honda engine ($$$). They are wearing white polo shirts with the name Moonraker on them - usually this means paid crew. Once on board, we meet Graham and Janet the English owners and our genial hosts. We have a nice visit and exchange experiences, things we have seen and names of other boats that we both have met. They have been about 2 weeks behind us at most of the islands and know many of the same people that we have enjoyed.
Moonraker is a sight worth seeing. It is 78 feet long and has a beam (width) that must be almost twice as wide as Southern Star. The stateroom would make most luxury apartments look shabby. Appointed in white wood it is sparkling clean and nicely decorated with paintings and even a (silk) flower arrangement. It does not seem to rock at anchor and one could imagine we are in an expensive hotel or condo. The boat was built at the Kelly shipyard in Auckland, NZ in 2000 but looks absolutely brand new. Graham is the third owner having bought the boat two years ago in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. It is appropriately registered in the Cayman Islands.
After a nice visit, we return to our little kingdom for a welcomed spaghetti dinner.