Thursday, November 6, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
It is too hot
"It is Too Hot!
This is a saying that we are banned from using on Windspirit but is certainly true this time. Inside the boat with all fans running, hatches open and wind scoops in place it is 30C. It is even hotter outside. We are trying to keep out of the sun as it is a scorcher. If visiting Fiji, we would not recommend doing so at this time of the year. We just want to leave but every day we get an email from Commander saying "Delay your trip". This is followed by all the reasons. It seems that NZ is still getting bad winter or at least the Pacific Ocean between Fiji and NZ is getting it. At this stage it looks like we may get away on Sunday or Monday. But we will have to keep watch.
Yesterday I went to get us a banana from the fruit bowl and found they had all been pecked. The bowl is in the side cabin and we had not noticed that the bulbul birds had been sneaking in the window there and helping themselves. I put the insect screen in to the window to stop them entering and later Tony went down in to the main saloon to find a bird had flown in the front hatch to get more food. They really are cheeky little devils. It is far to hot to leave the screens in place all the time.
This morning we woke early and before breakfast decided to head out in the dinghy to the sandbar for a snorkel. It was low tide at 7AM. We had a wonderful time as none of the other tourists had risen so early. The number and variety of fish is astounding. We even saw a stingray swimming around but he soon disappeared. The colours of the coral are so beautiful. We had the place to ourselves for over an hour before the tourist boats arrived and by that time we were tired and hungry. So we motored back to Windspirit for eggs on toast.
We had a very pleasant evening the other night as we decided to shout ourselves dinner out at the Restaurant at Musket Cove. After dinner we took what was left of our wine and sat in the lounge and listened to the band. We may do that again tonight after dinner on the boat.
Tomorrow we plan on leaving here and heading back to Saweni Bay which is close to Lautoka. We are running out of fresh fruit and veg's and so want to go to the market on Saturday. Then when we decide to leave Fiji it will be only a short trip to clear customs and head south.
This will probably be the last blog we will do until our return to NZ. We need to return our internet modem to Telecom Fiji for our refund.
This is a saying that we are banned from using on Windspirit but is certainly true this time. Inside the boat with all fans running, hatches open and wind scoops in place it is 30C. It is even hotter outside. We are trying to keep out of the sun as it is a scorcher. If visiting Fiji, we would not recommend doing so at this time of the year. We just want to leave but every day we get an email from Commander saying "Delay your trip". This is followed by all the reasons. It seems that NZ is still getting bad winter or at least the Pacific Ocean between Fiji and NZ is getting it. At this stage it looks like we may get away on Sunday or Monday. But we will have to keep watch.
Bulbul Bird
Yesterday I went to get us a banana from the fruit bowl and found they had all been pecked. The bowl is in the side cabin and we had not noticed that the bulbul birds had been sneaking in the window there and helping themselves. I put the insect screen in to the window to stop them entering and later Tony went down in to the main saloon to find a bird had flown in the front hatch to get more food. They really are cheeky little devils. It is far to hot to leave the screens in place all the time.This morning we woke early and before breakfast decided to head out in the dinghy to the sandbar for a snorkel. It was low tide at 7AM. We had a wonderful time as none of the other tourists had risen so early. The number and variety of fish is astounding. We even saw a stingray swimming around but he soon disappeared. The colours of the coral are so beautiful. We had the place to ourselves for over an hour before the tourist boats arrived and by that time we were tired and hungry. So we motored back to Windspirit for eggs on toast.
We had a very pleasant evening the other night as we decided to shout ourselves dinner out at the Restaurant at Musket Cove. After dinner we took what was left of our wine and sat in the lounge and listened to the band. We may do that again tonight after dinner on the boat.
Tomorrow we plan on leaving here and heading back to Saweni Bay which is close to Lautoka. We are running out of fresh fruit and veg's and so want to go to the market on Saturday. Then when we decide to leave Fiji it will be only a short trip to clear customs and head south.
This will probably be the last blog we will do until our return to NZ. We need to return our internet modem to Telecom Fiji for our refund.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
The Waiting Game
Over the last few days we have steadily been going through the boat and checking on storage and organising things for the trip home. All the crockery is safely stored and pots and pans stacked so that they don't crash about. We have attached the trysail to the mast so that it can be easily raised in storm conditions (which we don't want). Now it is just a matter of waiting and checking weather updates for a suitable day to leave. The idea is that we look for a large anticyclone over western Australia which will slowly move towards New Zealand and bring good weather and fair winds. We looked at the seven day forecast yesterday and if we had left then we would have received 35-40 knot SW winds just north of NZ. That, we do not want. So now we will keep checking and hope we make the right call when the time comes. Among other internet options we are using the guidance of an American company, Commander, who do weather routing for cruisers world wide.
Yesterday was an inside day as we had several torrential downpours. So now the boat is well washed down and the tanks are full. We did several jobs and then spent the afternoon playing scrabble. As our family will know, it is very difficult to get Tony to play games but he is now enjoying this game. He almost beat me yesterday too. Hopefully the weather will be good today and we can spend some time ashore going for a walk and swim.
Yesterday was an inside day as we had several torrential downpours. So now the boat is well washed down and the tanks are full. We did several jobs and then spent the afternoon playing scrabble. As our family will know, it is very difficult to get Tony to play games but he is now enjoying this game. He almost beat me yesterday too. Hopefully the weather will be good today and we can spend some time ashore going for a walk and swim.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Blue Lagoon to Musket Cove
On Friday morning we woke to a glorious day, clear sky and gentle breeze. We left by the Western entrance sailing south. Our plan was to stop the night at Natuvalo Bay on Naviti but we were having such a great sail and it was still early in the day so headed south to Yalobi Bay on Waya. All went well until we arrived, went to anchor, and could not get shelter from the northwest swell. By this time we were fed up with rolly anchorages. So turned on the donkey and motored north again to Ceva bay on the south coast of Naviti. By this time it was quite late in the day. Normally we would not travel after 3PM because it is hard to see the reefs but we had been there before and had computer tracks which we could follow. We arrived at about 5PM to a calm, smooth anchorage and had a great night's sleep. The next morning our plan was to leave early and head back to Saweni Bay but we received a visitor from a neighbouring yacht who asked for assistance with his autohelm. Tony was sucked in and so we didn't leave until about 11AM. We had nearly thirty miles to travel. After all the windy days what should turn up but a windless day even though a strong wind warning had been issued. We had to motor all the way. Had our fishing line out too but no luck there.
Had a bit of a surprise on the way in to Saweni because the motor did a hiccup and dropped revs. Got a bit of a scare but Tony changed the filters etc once we got to anchor and it runs like a dream again. Must have got some muck in the wrong place but fixed now. Despite being very careful with putting diesel conditioner in the tanks every time we fill up we seem to have a little bit of residue diesel bug. The tanks are over twenty years old now and probably need a clean out. We will do that when we get back to NZ. Also we were running low on fuel which would have accentuated the problem.
We have anchored in Saweni Bay several times but this time we didn't quite pick the right spot because at about 7.30PM the wind turned and when we checked the depth we had only 300mm under the keel. With another two hours to go before low water we were quite concerned. Tony pulled in about 10 metres of chain. We were then had about 500 mm under us. We were reluctant to move because it was dark and we could have made it worse for ourselves. By 10 PM we were just touching the coral but only gently and then all was well again. Guess we have a few scratches on the bottom of the keel now. We made sure that we moved before low water the next morning.
We stayed in Saweni Bay until Monday morning, then motored to Vuda again so that we could do a few things like a rig check and buy fuel. We couldn't believe that it cost over $1200 for fuel (diesel is F$2.28 + 5% credit card fee, NZ$1=F$1.03 after charges). We were getting a bit low on tucker and wanted to stock up on the essentials and went in to Lautoka on Tuesday morning. As soon as we arrived back we set off for Musket Cove, where we are now. We have been doing maintenance and packing up things etc. for the big trip home.
Yesterday we discovered that the water pump for the generator was leaking as a seal had blown and so Tony replaced it at once. Fortunately he carries a spare pump. We can manage without the generator but it uses a lot less fuel to charge the batteries than does the main engine.
As part of our preparations for the trip home I have made bread today and Tony cut it up and I made and froze sandwiches I am trying to make easy food for us. I made some pastry yesterday and today will make a bacon and egg pie and cut it into meal size pieces and freeze them. I will also make a pizza and cook some NZ chicken thighs which I managed to buy at the supermarket. I would have prefered to buy chicken breasts but didn't want to buy Fiji meats. I will pre cook them as well. Then we wont starve on the trip home.
We have a few more jobs to do, like put on the trysail and the perspex shutters on the dodger windows etc.
Then we will just wait for the weather window and hope that we pick it right. From the sound of other yachties it might be next Monday or Tuesday. But who knows. There are a lot of people just waiting here for the same reason at us.
Have had a swim both afternoons. Can't work all the time. Also, it is too hot. We meet some very pleasant Canadians in the pool yesterday. He was 82 and his wife, 80. Until two years ago they were still doing Ocean cruising but decided that they were now too old. They are having a boating holiday with their son and wife and their two sons. They have been here for three weeks. What a great couple. They are an inspiration to us all. We will have dinner with them tonight at the Island Bar where barbeques are set up for the cruisers. We can buy meat and veg packs at the little shop. As we are now running out of meat that is a great option for us and the men do the cooking.
Had a bit of a surprise on the way in to Saweni because the motor did a hiccup and dropped revs. Got a bit of a scare but Tony changed the filters etc once we got to anchor and it runs like a dream again. Must have got some muck in the wrong place but fixed now. Despite being very careful with putting diesel conditioner in the tanks every time we fill up we seem to have a little bit of residue diesel bug. The tanks are over twenty years old now and probably need a clean out. We will do that when we get back to NZ. Also we were running low on fuel which would have accentuated the problem.
We have anchored in Saweni Bay several times but this time we didn't quite pick the right spot because at about 7.30PM the wind turned and when we checked the depth we had only 300mm under the keel. With another two hours to go before low water we were quite concerned. Tony pulled in about 10 metres of chain. We were then had about 500 mm under us. We were reluctant to move because it was dark and we could have made it worse for ourselves. By 10 PM we were just touching the coral but only gently and then all was well again. Guess we have a few scratches on the bottom of the keel now. We made sure that we moved before low water the next morning.
We stayed in Saweni Bay until Monday morning, then motored to Vuda again so that we could do a few things like a rig check and buy fuel. We couldn't believe that it cost over $1200 for fuel (diesel is F$2.28 + 5% credit card fee, NZ$1=F$1.03 after charges). We were getting a bit low on tucker and wanted to stock up on the essentials and went in to Lautoka on Tuesday morning. As soon as we arrived back we set off for Musket Cove, where we are now. We have been doing maintenance and packing up things etc. for the big trip home.
Yesterday we discovered that the water pump for the generator was leaking as a seal had blown and so Tony replaced it at once. Fortunately he carries a spare pump. We can manage without the generator but it uses a lot less fuel to charge the batteries than does the main engine.
As part of our preparations for the trip home I have made bread today and Tony cut it up and I made and froze sandwiches I am trying to make easy food for us. I made some pastry yesterday and today will make a bacon and egg pie and cut it into meal size pieces and freeze them. I will also make a pizza and cook some NZ chicken thighs which I managed to buy at the supermarket. I would have prefered to buy chicken breasts but didn't want to buy Fiji meats. I will pre cook them as well. Then we wont starve on the trip home.
We have a few more jobs to do, like put on the trysail and the perspex shutters on the dodger windows etc.
Then we will just wait for the weather window and hope that we pick it right. From the sound of other yachties it might be next Monday or Tuesday. But who knows. There are a lot of people just waiting here for the same reason at us.
Have had a swim both afternoons. Can't work all the time. Also, it is too hot. We meet some very pleasant Canadians in the pool yesterday. He was 82 and his wife, 80. Until two years ago they were still doing Ocean cruising but decided that they were now too old. They are having a boating holiday with their son and wife and their two sons. They have been here for three weeks. What a great couple. They are an inspiration to us all. We will have dinner with them tonight at the Island Bar where barbeques are set up for the cruisers. We can buy meat and veg packs at the little shop. As we are now running out of meat that is a great option for us and the men do the cooking.
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