June 17-25, 2016
We enjoyed Yadua so much last year that the people of the village had been on our minds while at Makogai witnessing there the destruction of cyclone Winston. At Yadua we were happy to find that they mostly escaped the wrath of Winston. Nine days at Yadua with our friends on Fluenta turns out to be a very fitting and satisfying end to our cruising journey. Many of these photos are by Fluenta (http://sv-fluenta.blogspot.com/)
Logbook – June 17, 2016 (Makogai to Yadua-East)
Passage Log Highlights
- 0322 Genoa only
- 0700 Same
- 0757 Engines on
- 0812 Anchor set
- 0817 Engines off
Daily Notes
- Whale ~100 ft of port beam
- Fish on! Walu
- T – spearfish, gave snapper to local fisherman
- Village for sevusevu – short and sweet
- Grog tabu week
- Village OK after cyclone
Logbook – June 18, 2016 (Yadua- East)
Daily Notes
- Fluenta arrives
- T, B, Max spearfish. Max – snapper
- Potluck w/ Fluenta
Email to Family and Friends Dated June 18, 2016
Subject: Exodus – Yadua 2.0
We had a slow, flat, comfortable, overnight passage the other night from Makogai to Yadua. Yadua is one of the islands we visited late in the season last year, and we really enjoyed it. So, after witnessing some of the destruction of the cyclone on Makogai we started to wonder how the people here of Yadua were doing. As we approached the island we were happy to see all the coconut trees in tact and when we went to the village yesterday for sevusevu, we were even happier to see all of the houses in tact. We talked to a man on shore who told us their biggest impact was losing their root crops, which take a few months to recultivate, but they are just about back on their feet, and they understand how hard some islands were hit, and they are grateful for their situation. We think that the track of the eye of the cyclone was south of here, which means they would have gotten west winds, which means their village on the east side of the island would have had some shelter. Similar to our good luck when we were in Apia, however cyclone Winston was of far greater strength than our little Amos, so you have to think that even though they didn’t get a direct hit here that it still must have been a scary experience. We are here with just Fluenta, both of us anchored in pretty much the exact same spots as last time. It is now T minus 15 days and counting until our flight back to LA.
Love and miss you all,
-D.
Logbook – June 19, 2016 (Yadua-East)
Daily Notes
- Boys + Fluenta kids skimboard
- Afternoon visit to village, Fluenta sevusevu
- Grog
- Drinks on Fluenta
Logbook – June 20, 2016 (Yadua-East)
Daily Notes
- T – fixed Chief’s spear guns. T/Max test them
- A/B + Fluenta kids play on beach
- Dinner (by Victoria) on Fluenta, including pumpkin pie
Logbook – June 21, 2016 (Yadua-East)
Daily Notes
- Quick trip to village becomes 5.5 hours
- No success fixing town hall solar issue
- Tea and grog
- B/J – attempt to walk back
- Rope swing on Fluenta
Logbook – June 22, 2016 (Yadua-East to Cucuvou Bay)
Passage Log Highlights
- 1008 Engines on
- 1030 SB engine off
- 1135 SB on
- 1200 Engines off
Daily Notes
- Move to other side of island
- Hot dog cook out on beach with Fluenta
- Benny says, “Deanne says marbles on the radio.”
- Kids camp on beach
Logbook – June 23, 2016 (Cucuvou Bay)
Daily Notes
- Kids build a “raft” hot and sunburned
- Movie on Exodus
- Dinner on shore with Fluenta
- T/D – naked dance party (well, only T)
Logbook – June 24, 2016 (Cucuvou Bay)
Daily Notes
- Kids build raft 2.0
- D – paddle
- Cookie baking on Exodus then fish cookout
Logbook – June 25, 2016 (Cucuvou Bay to Port Denerau)
Passage Log Highlights
- Engines on
- SB engine off
- P engine off
Daily Notes
- Last day at Yadua
- T/B/Max spearfish, B-coral trout
- Alex – sick
- D-paddle, walk on beach
Email to Family and Friends Dated June 25, 2016
Subject: Exodus – Yadua 2.0
We’ve been at the island of Yadua now for a little over a week, and it seems a fitting end to our “Gresham Family Exodus.” This was one of our favorite places in Fiji last year and so we have been happy to spend time here again. And it also seems fitting that we are ending our journey with our friends on Fluenta, since they were one of the first boats we met way back in our early days in La Paz, Mexico. And last year when we were here in Yadua it was just us and Fluenta, so it’s now been a bit of deja vu. We have spent time with the people of the village; Tim, Max, and Brenden have spearfished; the kids have camped on the beach; and we’ve shared several sunset drinks and dinners together.
We almost left Yadua last night because we had a bit of a fire drill thinking we had to get to Nadi to see EOSII before they left for Fiji, but when we found out they would be in the area a little longer and there was no rush, we were relieved to spend one more day here, especially for the guys to go spearfishing one last time. Brenden almost shot a dogtooth tuna, but came back with a coral trout as a consolation prize.
Tonight we leave for Port Denarau and then it will be a week of hectic activity as we get ready for our flight back to Cali. We now have an interested buyer who is planning to come to Fiji to see Exodus around the time the boys and I fly out. Hopefully Tim will make the sale and he’ll be on a flight home shortly after us.
Love and miss you all,
-D.
Gresham Family Exodus 