We have decided to leave tomorrow so there are the usual things to do in preparation. There is a dock where we can park the boat and get a fresh water hose for a thorough cleaning. While Mark, Kurt and Andy work with the sponges and brushes, I get us checked out with Customs and do all the grocery shopping. The stores have most of what we need but the items are often in unfamiliar packaging and store locations so it takes much longer than I anticipated. The only thing I cannot find is ham as they are all operated by Indo-Fijians and, as I recall, HIndus do not eat pork.
After the chores are done it is time for haircuts so we rig an extension cord to the dock, sit on an overturned bucket and all get a #2 buzz cut. This is the shortest my hair has been since I was in high school. I will have to be careful in the sun as I have nothing to shade my scalp.
The boat is clean, we are clean and everyone is hungry so we head for a restaurant that has WiFi so we can get one more round on the Internet before we leave. We may be out of touch for a week or more so everyone wants to get up to date with their e-mails and their banks and post the newest pictures on their Internet sites.
At 1600, the marina has a free talk on sailing in Fiji so Mark, Andy and I sit in as a bearded Englishman who has lived in Fiji since forever takes us through his favorite spots and his opinions on what to avoid. Several places we have considered are on his no list, mostly because of the chance of possible unexpected bad weather near the extensive reefs. One island is off limits because the locals do not want visitors who might influence their culture. This is a big contrast from the fairly up-to-date Savusavu. At the end of the lecture, we get some maps and more detailed instructions for our intended route.
After a quick dinner, the crew adjourns to the yacht club for a dart competition and I hitch a dinghy ride to the Top-to-Top boat for a talk with Dario and Sabina. When they give talks in the schools, they discuss CO2 emissions and global warming and they wanted the benefit of a chemist who can edit their talk for scientific accuracy. We sat on the deck under the moonlight and talked while we watched a total eclipse of the moon that started at about 2000 and was still in progress when I finally went back to Southern Star at 2300. The moon was slowly obscured and never completely went dark but instead turned a very dark reddish color. I suspect this has something to do with the umbra and penumbra (our view was of the penumbra shadow) but I am not sure. In any case, it was very interesting to see and our view from the boat was perfect.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Monday, August 27, 2007
Day 172 Drive
Mark and Jim contracted with the owner of the restaurant to drive us to Labasa (pronounced Lambasa) - the larger town on the other side of the island. Tonda is originally German from near Bad Tölz. She is married to a Fijian and has lived in Fiji for 14 years.
The road leaves Savusavu and snakes over the mountain for an hour and a half. At its midpoint we pass a small national park that advertises a rain forest walk with a waterfall and pool for swimming. The waterfall is currently closed from landslide but we decide to take the 90 minute walk anyway. The path, funded by New Zealand, consists of a steep and narrow gravel track with wooden sides. The soil is a slippery yellow clay and would not be negotiable without the gravel. The jungle hangs over forming a canopy that blocks out the sun. This is fortunate as the day is hot and humid without the cooling effect of the sunshade. The pool is cold and clear and a welcome relief half way through the trek. Many birds can be heard but almost none seen due to the thickness of the jungle. This island has several bird species (like the orange dove) that are very rare and only found here.
Savusavu gets over one hundred inches of rain a year but Labasa on the North side of the island gets less than one fourth of that amount. The island looks a bit like Hawaii (for those of you who have flown over Hawaii) where the side of the island facing the prevailing winds is lush and green and the other side is grassy and almost arid.
At one point, we pass through a section of road that could easily be mistaken for Georgia. Both sides have been planted with pine trees. The bare earth side of the road is red clay and wherever there are low bushes and trees they are overgrown with vines (like the kudzu of the U.S. Southeast).
The north side of the island is filled with sugar cane plantations so it is the place where most Indo-Fijians live. Labasa is a hot and dusty town lined with shops that blare Hindu music. Tonda takes us to restaurant where she guarantees that the food is nothing special but at least "you won't get sick". After lunch, we wander through town just as the school kids in starched white uniforms are filling the streets. Here the languages are English and Hindu. Tonda correctly described the shops as having "a thousand different items of which you may want one".
On the way back to Savusavu, Tonda takes us to the home that she and her husband rent. The 25 acre property is directly on the beach and we arrive in time to see the tail end of the sunset. Two native caretakers prepare coconuts for us to drink and we relax on the black sand beach as darkness falls.
The road leaves Savusavu and snakes over the mountain for an hour and a half. At its midpoint we pass a small national park that advertises a rain forest walk with a waterfall and pool for swimming. The waterfall is currently closed from landslide but we decide to take the 90 minute walk anyway. The path, funded by New Zealand, consists of a steep and narrow gravel track with wooden sides. The soil is a slippery yellow clay and would not be negotiable without the gravel. The jungle hangs over forming a canopy that blocks out the sun. This is fortunate as the day is hot and humid without the cooling effect of the sunshade. The pool is cold and clear and a welcome relief half way through the trek. Many birds can be heard but almost none seen due to the thickness of the jungle. This island has several bird species (like the orange dove) that are very rare and only found here.
Savusavu gets over one hundred inches of rain a year but Labasa on the North side of the island gets less than one fourth of that amount. The island looks a bit like Hawaii (for those of you who have flown over Hawaii) where the side of the island facing the prevailing winds is lush and green and the other side is grassy and almost arid.
At one point, we pass through a section of road that could easily be mistaken for Georgia. Both sides have been planted with pine trees. The bare earth side of the road is red clay and wherever there are low bushes and trees they are overgrown with vines (like the kudzu of the U.S. Southeast).
The north side of the island is filled with sugar cane plantations so it is the place where most Indo-Fijians live. Labasa is a hot and dusty town lined with shops that blare Hindu music. Tonda takes us to restaurant where she guarantees that the food is nothing special but at least "you won't get sick". After lunch, we wander through town just as the school kids in starched white uniforms are filling the streets. Here the languages are English and Hindu. Tonda correctly described the shops as having "a thousand different items of which you may want one".
On the way back to Savusavu, Tonda takes us to the home that she and her husband rent. The 25 acre property is directly on the beach and we arrive in time to see the tail end of the sunset. Two native caretakers prepare coconuts for us to drink and we relax on the black sand beach as darkness falls.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Day 171 Sailing
In Tonga you are not supposed to do any work on Sunday but unfortunately we are in Fiji so I spent the morning cleaning the fridge. The curry we spilled two weeks ago was actually quite pleasant compared to the two rotten eggs and the spoiled fish blood. Again, this simple task took half the day by the time the freezer unit had defrosted and I could get everything clean.
After that rather unpleasant job, I needed a swim so I joined the boys in a game of water polo. This is such good exercise (as Tim knows) that I feel more energized than tired afterward.
One of the boat captains organized a half dozen tiny Optimist sailboats for the yachties to use. These are square ended dinghies about 8 feet long with a centerboard, a small mast and a simple sail. The sailing is very basic but follows the same rules as any boat. The wind was not strong - which was probably good as the risk of capsizing was low. Low wind presents a different challenge as it hard to make headway. Andy was in one boat and several other yachties in the others as we all tacked back and forth across the anchorage. We spent over an hour testing our sailing skills and I felt pleased that I seemed to do well compared to the others.
We ended up back in the yacht club swapping stories and met a young couple who work on a dive boat. James is from England and Tara is Canadian. They joined us for dinner at a very nice local restaurant that has a live string band (guitars and singing in Fijian). It turns out that Tara also sings so at one point she joined the group and they moved aside and gave her a space. James had told us that she has an amazing voice but his accolades did not do her justice. The restaurant owner invited her back any time.
After that rather unpleasant job, I needed a swim so I joined the boys in a game of water polo. This is such good exercise (as Tim knows) that I feel more energized than tired afterward.
One of the boat captains organized a half dozen tiny Optimist sailboats for the yachties to use. These are square ended dinghies about 8 feet long with a centerboard, a small mast and a simple sail. The sailing is very basic but follows the same rules as any boat. The wind was not strong - which was probably good as the risk of capsizing was low. Low wind presents a different challenge as it hard to make headway. Andy was in one boat and several other yachties in the others as we all tacked back and forth across the anchorage. We spent over an hour testing our sailing skills and I felt pleased that I seemed to do well compared to the others.
We ended up back in the yacht club swapping stories and met a young couple who work on a dive boat. James is from England and Tara is Canadian. They joined us for dinner at a very nice local restaurant that has a live string band (guitars and singing in Fijian). It turns out that Tara also sings so at one point she joined the group and they moved aside and gave her a space. James had told us that she has an amazing voice but his accolades did not do her justice. The restaurant owner invited her back any time.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Day 170 Hiking
Yesterday's Internet link was slow as usual so I spent a bit more time today to complete the uploading of the remaining pictures. Just when I think I am done, I take more pictures that I want to share so I am back on line uploading more. This is made worse by the fact that we have long periods when we cannot connect so by the time I get an Internet connection, I have a lot of pictures.
I had arranged to go on a hike to the antenna with Dario and Sabina from the boat Pachemama (owned by Top-to-Top.org). Andy and I hiked with the Top-to-Top crew in Huahine and they attended one of our beach parties in Ra'iatea. They are traveling with their 2½ year old girl and their 10 month old boy plus volunteers from the Top-to-Top organization. On this occasion, the volunteer on board is a retired biologist from the Bern, Switzerland Zoo. (Dario and Sabina are Swiss).
We headed up the hill and at the end of a narrow path that pointed toward the antenna, we came into the yard of a house. A man and his 15 year old son came out and asked if they could help us. When we explained our destination, he pointed toward some steps and the son said he would accompany us and show us the way. At the top of the steps, the path got more obvious and as we headed up the boy asked if we would like to drink some coconut milk. A few minutes after we got to the top, he appeared with two green coconuts and a large machete. I watched with some trepidation as he hacked the end off the coconuts hoping that he was not going to lose a finger in the process. Sabina said that they had been served coconut milk several times and each time a small boy used a large knife but always with safe results.
The milk was cool and delicious and the meat of the young coconut was soft and sweet. The boy was proud to welcome us and help us. We have seen this kind of hospitality over and over again and I am always amazed. I would feel almost ashamed to think that this would never exist at home except I have heard some equally amazing stories from yachties about their experiences in the U.S. I remember Reinhard and Marlene from the boat Adio who said when they were in Alaska, some Americans even let them use their car for a week. I guess the welcoming attitude can be found everywhere
I had arranged to go on a hike to the antenna with Dario and Sabina from the boat Pachemama (owned by Top-to-Top.org). Andy and I hiked with the Top-to-Top crew in Huahine and they attended one of our beach parties in Ra'iatea. They are traveling with their 2½ year old girl and their 10 month old boy plus volunteers from the Top-to-Top organization. On this occasion, the volunteer on board is a retired biologist from the Bern, Switzerland Zoo. (Dario and Sabina are Swiss).
We headed up the hill and at the end of a narrow path that pointed toward the antenna, we came into the yard of a house. A man and his 15 year old son came out and asked if they could help us. When we explained our destination, he pointed toward some steps and the son said he would accompany us and show us the way. At the top of the steps, the path got more obvious and as we headed up the boy asked if we would like to drink some coconut milk. A few minutes after we got to the top, he appeared with two green coconuts and a large machete. I watched with some trepidation as he hacked the end off the coconuts hoping that he was not going to lose a finger in the process. Sabina said that they had been served coconut milk several times and each time a small boy used a large knife but always with safe results.
The milk was cool and delicious and the meat of the young coconut was soft and sweet. The boy was proud to welcome us and help us. We have seen this kind of hospitality over and over again and I am always amazed. I would feel almost ashamed to think that this would never exist at home except I have heard some equally amazing stories from yachties about their experiences in the U.S. I remember Reinhard and Marlene from the boat Adio who said when they were in Alaska, some Americans even let them use their car for a week. I guess the welcoming attitude can be found everywhere
Friday, August 24, 2007
Day 169 Fame
In the morning we did some standard boat projects - Mark foraged unsuccessfully for a new nut to hold on the propeller (the old one is still there but badly corroded) while I dropped off the laundry, paid the check in fees to the three government agencies and refilled the propane tanks. These little necessary chores always take half the day.
This sounds a bit boring but most of the time I spent in a taxi with Dave, Linda and Isaac from Paddy West. I had met them briefly before but not had a chance to really talk to them. I find it interesting to listen to people's stories about how the got into sailing, what they did before and what are their plans for the future. I have not found a yachtie who has a dull life. Dave was a helicopter pilot flying "heavy lift" choppers for lumber operations and fire fighting. They lived in Australia, Korea, Sardinia and Zimbabwe and since they have been here at the anchorage, he received an e-mail offering him a job in Fiji. Like I say, nothing dull here.
After chores were done, I spent some time on the Internet catching up on e-mail and posting the blog and the newest pictures.
I received an e-mail today from Latitude 38, the sailing magazine, saying that they had published some of the photos I sent them on their electronic webmagazine. Check it out at http://www.latitude38.com/LectronicLat/2007/0807/Aug24/Aug24.html. Note this is probably not a live link so you will have to cut and past it into your browser navigation window.
There is also a paper version of Latitude 38 that can be found in any local marina or boating store (like West Marine) so keep an eye out and let me know if we are in print.
This sounds a bit boring but most of the time I spent in a taxi with Dave, Linda and Isaac from Paddy West. I had met them briefly before but not had a chance to really talk to them. I find it interesting to listen to people's stories about how the got into sailing, what they did before and what are their plans for the future. I have not found a yachtie who has a dull life. Dave was a helicopter pilot flying "heavy lift" choppers for lumber operations and fire fighting. They lived in Australia, Korea, Sardinia and Zimbabwe and since they have been here at the anchorage, he received an e-mail offering him a job in Fiji. Like I say, nothing dull here.
After chores were done, I spent some time on the Internet catching up on e-mail and posting the blog and the newest pictures.
I received an e-mail today from Latitude 38, the sailing magazine, saying that they had published some of the photos I sent them on their electronic webmagazine. Check it out at http://www.latitude38.com/LectronicLat/2007/0807/Aug24/Aug24.html. Note this is probably not a live link so you will have to cut and past it into your browser navigation window.
There is also a paper version of Latitude 38 that can be found in any local marina or boating store (like West Marine) so keep an eye out and let me know if we are in print.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Day 168 Date line at Fiji
The 3 boat regatta of Southern Star, Paddy West and Liahona sail between Duff reef and Heemskeraq reef and enter Nanuka pass. Duff reef is famous to readers of the yachting magazines as last year a yacht with a man and his wife aboard ran aground in the middle of the night and had to be rescued. They had been sailing in rough weather for 3 days and fell asleep from exhaustion. They were awakened by the boat hitting the reef. Most yachties seems to know this story.
We cross the geographic date line at 0830 as we enter Fiji waters. This is a little anti-climatic as we had set the calendar ahead several days ago. If we had caught a fish at W179º59.99 and pulled it in at E179º59.99 could we say we had been dragging it for a day?
In the pass, we follow the South shore of Taveuni Island for most of the morning. Already we are getting a feel for the size of Fiji. Taveuni is one of the smaller islands yet it goes on for hours. Finally we round the point and the island of Vanua Levu comes into view. It is the second largest island in Fiji and Taveuni is dwarfed by it. Viewing it from the sea gives two impressions. It is heavily forested with a variety of different kinds of trees from palms to pines. Secondly, there are a lot of individual houses. These are not villages but large houses on the hills overlooking the ocean. Fiji may be a poor country (the lowest GDP per capita of any country we have visited) but there is clearly a lot of wealth in the hands of a fair number of people. Since Indo-Fijians cannot own land, these are either lease hold properties or they are owned by Fijians. The literature says that the Fijians are the poorer of the two ethnic groups so I wonder who owns these houses.
We finally arrive at the Copra Shed in Savusavu where they send a man out in a small boat to help us tie up to a mooring ball. The same boatman comes back 20 minutes later with 3 officials who carry out all the entry procedures except the payments needed. Since we have no local currency, we will have to go to the police station tomorrow and pay. The officials are all very pleasant and fairly efficient - maybe because we finally got smart and had some soda on board to offer them.
By the time we are moored, it is dark and we are starving so we head to shore to find a beer and a curry. It is not hard to find a curry since almost 50% of the 850,000 Fijians are Indo-Fijian (originally from India) and they operate most of the business since they cannot own land. The Indians were imported to work in the sugar cane fields because there was a law prohibiting native Fijians from that work. At the end of the day they end up with ethnic tensions, repeated coups and high unemployment. I would love to see Joe Bower's (Harvard Business School) analysis of Fiji and have him explain how they could have messed it up so badly.
We cross the geographic date line at 0830 as we enter Fiji waters. This is a little anti-climatic as we had set the calendar ahead several days ago. If we had caught a fish at W179º59.99 and pulled it in at E179º59.99 could we say we had been dragging it for a day?
In the pass, we follow the South shore of Taveuni Island for most of the morning. Already we are getting a feel for the size of Fiji. Taveuni is one of the smaller islands yet it goes on for hours. Finally we round the point and the island of Vanua Levu comes into view. It is the second largest island in Fiji and Taveuni is dwarfed by it. Viewing it from the sea gives two impressions. It is heavily forested with a variety of different kinds of trees from palms to pines. Secondly, there are a lot of individual houses. These are not villages but large houses on the hills overlooking the ocean. Fiji may be a poor country (the lowest GDP per capita of any country we have visited) but there is clearly a lot of wealth in the hands of a fair number of people. Since Indo-Fijians cannot own land, these are either lease hold properties or they are owned by Fijians. The literature says that the Fijians are the poorer of the two ethnic groups so I wonder who owns these houses.
We finally arrive at the Copra Shed in Savusavu where they send a man out in a small boat to help us tie up to a mooring ball. The same boatman comes back 20 minutes later with 3 officials who carry out all the entry procedures except the payments needed. Since we have no local currency, we will have to go to the police station tomorrow and pay. The officials are all very pleasant and fairly efficient - maybe because we finally got smart and had some soda on board to offer them.
By the time we are moored, it is dark and we are starving so we head to shore to find a beer and a curry. It is not hard to find a curry since almost 50% of the 850,000 Fijians are Indo-Fijian (originally from India) and they operate most of the business since they cannot own land. The Indians were imported to work in the sugar cane fields because there was a law prohibiting native Fijians from that work. At the end of the day they end up with ethnic tensions, repeated coups and high unemployment. I would love to see Joe Bower's (Harvard Business School) analysis of Fiji and have him explain how they could have messed it up so badly.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Day 167 Slow going
The wind was very light today and we repeated many combinations of sail to try to make headway. Little by little, we fell back from the other two boats until by dark we were about 4 miles behind. Finally the wind picked up and we were able to catch up. Obviously, we do better under stronger winds.
By the end of my shift, the wind was really strong and we saw speeds above 9 knots which is unusually high for Southern Star. This was also accompanies by rain and squalls so you take the bad with the good.
The moon was half full and even though there was a lot of cloud cover, it was very bright outside and the sails of the other boats ahead of us on the dark sea was very striking.
Our beautiful Dorado gave us two more meals of which one was a very creative and delicious fish tacos. Our cupboard is empty of fresh foods so the fish was very welcomed
By the end of my shift, the wind was really strong and we saw speeds above 9 knots which is unusually high for Southern Star. This was also accompanies by rain and squalls so you take the bad with the good.
The moon was half full and even though there was a lot of cloud cover, it was very bright outside and the sails of the other boats ahead of us on the dark sea was very striking.
Our beautiful Dorado gave us two more meals of which one was a very creative and delicious fish tacos. Our cupboard is empty of fresh foods so the fish was very welcomed
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