August 2008: South Pacific
Savusavu, Vanua Levu, Fiji Part 1 (S 16.46.661 E 179.20.067)
We pulled up the anchor for a late afternoon departure from Wallis to Fiji. We heard over the VHF that the cargo vessel that came in a couple days ago was leaving the port of Matu Utu and heading out the same pass as us. We were much closer to the pass and constantly looked aft to check its progress and of course relieved to not have to make room for it. Lots of breaking waves on the edges of the channel on the ocean side with a setting sun created great light angles for pictures. My regular watch is 4pm to 9pm and 3am to 6am; Bob’s watch is 6am to 11am and 9pm to midnight; the other Dave’s watch is 11am to 4pm and midnight to 3am. This particular evening I saw several shooting stars and one in particular stood out. It was a fairly brief event, relatively, but it was slow and left a slightly glowing orange tinted tail. It was quite memorable.
At sea it is easy to see satellites at night. The usual version is a light of the same intensity and size of a basic star but it moves across the sky at a steady rate in a straight line and then fades; something to do with the sun angle changing. There are also satellites that all of a sudden blink really bright about as bright as the brightest of all stars. It stays in the same place, flashes intermittently and then fades. I got lucky and saw several of all of these versions happen within the same half hour. I even saw two satellites cross paths and head in almost completely different directions. I guess what I’m trying to say is that there are many more things floating around up there than I think any of us imagined.
The other Dave is very consistent with trolling on passages. He usually puts out (2) hand lines (hook and line wrapped around a tin can) and one Strike Zone pole with a Shimano TLD30. He seems to get more with the pole than with the hand lines and judging from the size of the Dorado above the gear is well matched. This one took him the better part of an hour to land and that included furling in the jib to slow the boat down. This trolling session paid a Neptune tax in a lure that gave up the ghost. One of the lures on a hand line was bent from a bite and will not catch any more fish. We can’t bend the radius back in as it weakens the metal. Not only does he catch it, he cleans it and produces some fine meals at dinner time. He has well earned the title Chef Dave.
These passages between countries and islands are nothing like driving city to city or state to state. Part of our planning includes calculating time and distance so we arrive in our destination at sunrise or late morning. We prefer a noon approach for a coral infested anchorage and daylight for most port approaches. The unknown variables in our calculations are wind speed and direction. The wind for the first part of this passage was in the high teens and mid 20s and we made really good time. It remained in the high teens and we arrived in the general area of our destination earlier than expected. We needed to slow the boat down by bringing in some sail area to make a sunrise approach. We also moved a little out of the path of two ferries coming in to the same port at the same time.
We arrived in the northern Fiji Islands yesterday 8/21, of which there are 332, and all the islands we passed were teasing us as we could not stop without checking in at an official port of entry which for us we chose Suvasuva.
On this passage we crossed the dateline and moved from the western hemisphere into the eastern hemisphere. On 8/18 at 1043am we changed our clocks to 8/19 943am. Since we are all still connected to the U.S. this little change has resulted in several conversations as to what time it is and what day it is back home. It’s easy to fill your day with the simple things. At this time I’m pretty sure we all agree what day it is.
We picked up a mooring ball at the Copra Shed Marina and instantly liked this place. We are inside some little islands that create a barrier and have some mangroves around them. The winds tend to blow strong but with little fetch there really is no problem.
The day before we arrived here I came up around 830am after having gone back to bed following my 6am watch end and Bob told me the in-mast furling system had broken. An in-mast furler rolls the main sail inside the mast when it is reduced underway or not needed. We knew what broke and what now did not work but we did not know why.
At sea Bob started sending e-mails on the SSB and making phone calls on the satellite phone to Selden the manufacturer. Captain cook really never had it so good. Once on the mooring ball the other Dave found a loose large cotter pin below the mast. Anytime loose nuts and bolts or pieces and parts are found on deck it is incredibly important to find the source. The specs above highlight the found cotter pin and its location on the mast. The cotter pin held up a disc that centered the vertical shaft inside the mast. The vertical aluminum shaft that the cotter pin went all the way through had sheared completely in half using the drilled holes as the weak points. Anytime you drill an aluminum mast it weakens it. The same principal applies to the furling shaft.
Luckily the main sail was completely out when the break occurred so it is usable. In order to strike it we ease the main halyard and try to roll it and sail tie it on the boom. We can sail the boat in this condition but reefing is another issue since there are no reef points or lines. It’s either all the way up or all the way down; in other words a 100% reef. The replacement parts have been located and are 3 days away but we are a moving target with no address. We need to have it shipped to a marina in our care. We are still working out the details regarding this repair and have committed to keep moving forward and reach Brisbane on 10/15.
We planned on doing some scuba diving on this island and took a cab to the Cousteau resort that is pretty close. A few minutes from the center of town on the way out the pavement turns to broken pavement to pretty much base rock. This area sees so much rain that the roads are pretty much a lost cause. The rough roads are another reason why we are not renting a car and doing a road tour of this island. When we leave here on Monday we will tie to a mooring ball at the resort. The other Dave did some re-con and found the watering hole and I found the cement pond. We have every intention of using the facilities. Why not try?
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