Chapter 172: The Yasawas and a Special Guest

Yes, we know. We took a week off. Well, actually the BLOG took a week off. Us? Not so much. We had work to do! To get ready for guests! We have had, frankly, disappointingly few visitors. I think maybe we’re too honest about the various downsides of cruising, perhaps. It may be scaring people off. But, we finally hooked one! And we had to get ready. So, we checked into Vuda Marina for 3 days to take care of some boat projects and, well, get cleaned up. We re-ran our genoa halyard to hopefully prevent the chafe we’ve been experiencing (remember that whole “sail falling down in the middle of the Pacific Ocean” thing? We would like to avoid that in future.) That, of course, involved more time up the mast. And we changed the oil in the engine. We tried to get rid of the squeak in our helm, but that was a fail, so we’ll be living with the squeak. As long as we never turn left, it shouldn’t be a problem. And then…we cleaned. Like, really cleaned. Wiped down every surface inside, scrubbed floors and nooks and crannies-which there are a lot of on a boat. Washed portlights and hatches. Used an actual washing machine to clean sheets, and towels, and napkins, and…well, you get the idea. We also scrubbed up the outside because there’s only so much rainwater can do. We wanted to make a good impression.

Boats staying in Fiji for cyclone season are starting to get ready. In Fiji, they store boats in large pits in the ground-it’s quite a sight!

We also had to provision. That meant a trip to the Nadi Market for more kava for sevusevu as well as to the supermarket. The Nadi Market is an incredible place-it’s huge and you can purchase most any kind of fruit or vegetable you can imagine.

And so, we were ready. Kim’s sister, Michelle, was on her way. We picked her up at the airport at 5:30 AM, got back to the boat, and we were out of the marina by 8:00 AM on our way to the Yasawas. The Yasawas are a family of islands north and west of Viti Levu, the main island. We anchored the first night off Drawaqa Island-not a great start. The forecast had been for wonderful wind for Day 1. Well, that was wrong-we motored all the way. But, as is usually the case, the very MOMENT the anchor hit the bottom, the wind showed up and all of a sudden it was blowing 25 knots. The anchorage was a poor choice-it was very choppy. Michelle says she slept great. Us? Not so much.

The next day, however, made up for it. We sailed (hooray!) up to Naviti Island and dropped the hook off of a closed resort in perhaps one of the most beautiful bays we’ve ever seen. Going ashore, we met the caretakers and took off on a hike up to the highest point on the island. The views were simply stunning. After that, we introduced Michelle to snorkeling, which she took to like, well, a fish! The day was, frankly, “peak cruising”.

The next day we attempted a passage to Yaqeta Island, but wound up with 30 knot winds, so we turned into a lovely bay and the village of Somosomo. This was, perhaps the most welcoming place we’ve yet visited. We performed the sevusevu ceremony with the chief and his son, then got a tour of the village. We were invited to share in a meal in the home of the chief’s son, but the wind was still quite strong and we didn’t want to hazard the dinghy trip from the beach back to Meraviglia in the dark with the wind and waves such as they were.

The next day we were off again for Waya Island. This time, we opted for some civilization and dropped anchor off of the Octopus Resort. We had a lovely lunch (Thanks, Michelle!) and a very relaxing evening aboard. The next morning, we did some kayaking and more snorkeling (in deeper water, this time-still doing great!) and then moved on to Vanua Levu. This is a very small, uninhabited island with beautiful fine, white sand. Unfortunately, it was also fairly unprotected, so there was a lot of rolling going on. Setting out a stern anchor solved some of that.

All was calm and picturesque until the superyacht showed up. I mean, who names their superyacht “The Beast”? This thing has a 37 foot long sportfishing boat as a TENDER. Stored UP ON DECK! There was music. There were a lot of lights. It was a thing. If you’re interested, it’s available for charter. For $215,000. Per week.

Finally, as the week drew to a close, we moved on to Musket Cove on Malolo Island. We spent a relaxing day at the resort there (another great dinner out-thanks Michelle!) before heading off to Port Denerau to return Michelle to the airport. It was, honestly, a fantastic week. The weather was perfect, the company was great-so much fun. And Michelle took to boat life without a hitch. Not even a hint of seasickness when the weather got a little sporty. We hope she comes back! We love company!

And now? Well, after recovering a bit from the quick pace, refueling, and reprovisioning, we are setting our sights south-to New Zealand. This will be, perhaps, our most challenging passage to date. The weather can be quite tricky and can change quickly. It should take about a week. When will we leave? Depends on the weather, of course. Could be in a week. Or a month. We’ll see!