The kid boat convoy headed back to Navadra and what a great surprise that Nirvana was there. Then Fluenta showed up and we totaled 6 kid boats in all. The kids camped on the beach for 3 nights and had a great time all together. Thanks to Breeze, Field Trip, and Lumbaz for some of these photos.
Logbook – August 20, 2015 (Viwa to Navadra)
Passage Log Highlights
0745 engines on
0830 SB engine off, main + genoa
1240 SB engine on
1259 engines off Navadra
Daily Notes
Motorsail to Navadra. Caught 2 mystery fish
Nirvana was at Navadra
Kids swim, party on Nirvana
Breeze undersail with Field Trip not far behindHeading back to Navadra
Logbook – August 21, 2015 (Navadra)
Daily Notes
Lots of kid boat fun!
Kids camp on beach. Adult happy hour on beach
Spontaneous dinner with Danny and Genie on Lumbaz
Beach Happy Hour!
Logbook – August 22, 2015 (Navadra)
Daily Notes
Tim/Mark – sewing project on Exodus
Fluenta arrives!
Hike and swim
Happy hour @ other beach – much easier dingy landing
Sewing project.The kids had fun boogie boardingBasecamp 3.0. (1.0 = Fulaga, 2.0 = Gau)We went for a little hike, and although I didn’t go all the way to the top, the photos still turned out pretty good.Beautiful view of the island to the south (Photo by Fluenta – http://sv-fluenta.blogspot.com/)Another beach happy hourNils loved his bowl of pasta and Chico loved anything he dropped
Logbook – August 23, 2015 (Navadra)
Daily Notes
T – spearfish, no fish here, help Mark w/ outboard
Kids on beach all day
S/V Honey arrives
Mom photo exchange on Exodus
Beach potluck
Breakfast campfire (I’m not sure it shows in this photo, but they were roasting marshmallows for breakfast.)Evidence! Marshmallows for breakfast (Photo by Fluenta – http://sv-fluenta.blogspot.com/)Beach photo shootNirvana crewLumbaz crewFluenta crewField Trip crewExodus crewOf course, the Field Trip quad copter made an appearancePhoto by Field Trip – http://svfieldtrip.blogspot.com/Photo by Field Trip – http://svfieldtrip.blogspot.com/Brenden and GigiBrenden and Nils
Logbook – August 24, 2015 (Navadra)
Daily Notes
Adios Lumbaz 😦
Fluenta vs cruise ship
Kids stay on beach all day again – pack up camp at 4pm
Fluenta kids over for Minecraft
Fluenta versus cruise shipThis is what Brenden looked like after camping on the beach for 3 daysSo sad to say good-bye to this special family
Email to Family and Friends dated Aug 24, 2015
Subject: Exodus – The kids have gone native
We have been back at Nevadra for a few days, and we were joined by two other kid boats so that made six in all. The kids have been camping on the beach for three nights, and this morning it was evident that they have really gone native. They are totally dirty, don’t answer the radio, and when Brenden came back to the boat to get water he said they didn’t need any food right now because Alex has gotten them coconuts. Amazing. They also tried to scare the cruise ship tourists who were snorkeling near the beach. They haven’t been doing school, so we need to get back into it, but it’s fun to hear what the kids think of to do on shore for days without iPads or computers (oh the horror!) Yesterday they played a game they called “simple Brenden,” which was basically a game of “would you rather…” and they had to justify and defend their choices to each other. They are such a good group of kids! They are breaking down camp right now because today is a sad day of good-byes as our good friends on Lumbaz are heading to port to prepare for their passage to Vanuatu. We are planning to start heading north of the Yasawa island chain tomorrow and we should be with our kid boat friends on Field Trip and Fluenta for at least another week or two. Love and miss you all, -D.
Viwa is a more isolated island to the west of the Yasawa island chain. The pass was tricky and the anchorage had terrible holding, but our experience there was truly an unexpected highlight. Thanks to Field Trip, Breeze, and Lumbaz for such a good time, and some of the photos too!
Logbook – August 18, 2015 (Manta Ray Resort to Viwa)
Passage Log Highlights
0829 Engines on
0852 P engine off
0812 SB engine off. Spinnaker
1128 SB engine on. Spinnaker down.
1150 P engine on
1229 Engines off Viwa
Daily Notes
Welcoming committee of kids
Sevusevu in village, tour of the resort
Happy Birthday to Elizabeth happy hour on Field Trip
Michael & Nils sleepover on Exodus
A spinnaker run to the west from Manta Ray Resort to Viwa
Email to Family and Friends dated August 18, 2015
Subject: Exodus – Viwa
After spending a couple days anchored near Manta Ray resort where we, you guessed it, swam with manta rays, we are now on a beautiful spinnaker run out to the island of Viwa. As usual, we are a caravan of kid boats. Viwa is a lesser visited island because it’s about 15 miles west of the rest of the Yasawa chain, so we are looking forward to being a bit off the tourist track again. Swimming with the mantas was phenomenal. They come to a pass between two islands to feed every day at max current, and there were a bunch of tourists in the water when we got there, but they cleared out quickly and then we had the mantas all to ourselves. I enjoyed the mantas very much because they just swim around you without caring that you are there, kind of like the whale sharks in Mexico. Much better than the sting rays that mob you because they want you to feed them. Love and miss you all, -D.
The Island of Viwa had a narrow pass and limited anchoring optionsWe anchored on the west side of the islandS/V Field Trip entering the pass. Notice the shipwreck right in the middle of the passInside the lagoon. I think the only place prettier than this was Fulaga.A parade of catamarans (Lumbaz, Exodus, Field Trip) Photo by BreezeOur welcoming committee. They got yelled at by the men in the fishing boat before they reached Exodus though. We aren’t sure if it was because they weren’t supposed to come bother the yachts or if it was because of the strong current.Going ashore for Sevusevu.Sevusevu. The chief is the one leaning against the door in the orange sulu.Genie (Lumbaz) always has a way with the children.All the kids sang happy birthday to ElizabethAll the men in their sulus.These photos were taken at the small resort, not at the village, and no, I’m not wearing a skirt. It was so hot I took it off!“…and the fish swam that way…”All the kids on Field Trip to celebrate Elizabeth’s 10th birthday.Nils, Michael, and Brenden.
Logbook – August 19, 2015 (Viwa)
Daily Notes
Alex plays on shore with boat and local kids
B/T – spearfish – walu + 2 small mystery fish
D – to village/handicraft market
Fun with local kids pulling them behind dingies
D/Genie even rode the banana
Walu dinner potluck on Exodus
Morning after the sleepover on ExodusBoat kids and village kids playing together (Photo by Breeze)Hanging out on Lumbaz (Photo by Lumbaz – https://lumbazander.wordpress.com/)Ainara and Alex (Photo by Lumbaz – https://lumbazander.wordpress.com/)Playing a little uno on Breeze (Photo by Breeze)And here’s where the real fun began. The kids all had a blast.And the sea plane added a little excitement when it landedPhoto by BreezeThe girls got a turn tooAnd the moms too! (Genie and Deanne) – Photo by BreezePotluck on Exodus!The shipwreck in the pass (I took this photo the next day as we were leaving Viwa)
Email to Family and Friends dated August 20, 2015
Subject: Exodus – More about Viwa
What an unexpected treasure Viwa was! The pass was a bit daunting, and the holding was terrible, so we decided to leave today before the wind gets strong again, but seriously, I could have stayed a lot longer. Yesterday, we had a good percentage of the village children out on Exodus and Lumbaz and then they had the idea to get out some water toys and pull them behind the dinghies. Wow, what fun they all had! I’m not sure who was having more fun, the kids getting pulled or the big kids driving the dinghies (Tim, Danny-Lumbaz, and Mark-Field Trip). Genie (mom from Lumbaz) and I even took a turn on the banana boat! The other great thing about Viwa is that there were fish! The guys all went spear fishing and came back with a nice sized Walu that fed all four families for dinner last night. We are motor sailing right now back down to Nevadra for a few days before Lumbaz has to head to a port to prepare for their departure to Vanuatu. Love and miss you all, -D.
We caught up with three other kid boats and had a great time anchored near Manta Ray Resort.
Logbook – August 15, 2015 (Port Denarau to Waya)
Passage Log Highlights
1134 Engines on
1725 Engines off – E Waya Anchorage
Daily Notes
Family Trip to the market
Fuel dock
Motorsail to Waya, just can’t make it to Manta Ray with light. Will have to wait one more day to see Lumbaz
Anchored between Waya Island (the island on the North) and Wayalalai
Logbook – August 16, 2015 (Waya to Manta Ray Resort)
Passage Log Highlights
0958 engines on
1015 SB engine off
SB engine on
Engines off Manta Ray
Daily Notes
Re-anchored in order to put out more scope
T – spearfish with Danny (Lumbaz) and Per (Breeze)
D – hang out with other moms
Kids play on Lumbaz then go to beach
Pizza on shore then cake and drinks on Lumbaz
Email to Family and Friends Dated August 16, 2015
Subject: Exodus – Yasawas
After saying good-bye to mom, we spent a very hectic day and a half in the Denarau marina. On Friday, we divided and conquered. I took the bus to immigration to extend our visas and hit the New World grocery store, Tim fixed the port saildrive (yes, again!) and the boys rinsed and brite boy’d all the stainless. The most important thing on my to do list that day, though, was happy hour at 5:00, because there were friends to catch up with that we hadn’t seen in a while. Just like when we arrived in Savusavu a couple months ago, pulling into this basin and seeing True Blue V tied up to a mooring felt a little like coming home. Yesterday we took a family bus ride into Nadi to go to the market for some fresh fruit and veggies and then we motor sailed as far north as we thought we could get in good light. We are currently anchored on the east side of Waya Island, and if there was any wind to speak of this would not be a good anchorage, but it means when we raise anchor later this morning, we will be that much closer to the manta ray anchorage where we will catch up with a gathering of kid boats. Hope all is well with everyone back home, Love and miss you all, D.
Transit from Waya Island to Manta Ray ResortWe anchored off the island of Drawaqa and Manta Ray resort was on the left island of Nanuya BalavuPizza dinner on shoreOur friends on s/v Lumbaz missed Alex’s birthday, so they had a celebration for him with a gift and cake and everything. Here the girls are singing happy birthday to him.And here’s the view from the other side. (Photo by Lumbaz – https://lumbazander.wordpress.com/)Alex got a Lumbaz shirt! (Photo by Lumbaz – https://lumbazander.wordpress.com/)
Logbook – August 17, 2015 (Manta Ray Resort)
Daily Notes
Swim with Mantas!
Tim helps Danny w/ boat project, D gets help from Genie with Spanish
Boys dinghy surf and play on Breeze
There is a pass between two small islands where the manta rays come to feed when the current is flowing. We all got to dive with them, and it was amazing. These photos are courtesy of S/V Breeze.Photo by BreezePhoto by BreezePhoto by BreezeBrenden and the Mantas. (Photo by Breeze)These fish were everywhere, and this picture captures what it was like to swim through a school of them. (Photo by Breeze)Jumping off of Breeze
This is a big tourist center with a marina and shopping mall. We stayed on the dock for two nights, mainly to drop mom off to catch her flight home but we took advantage of the shopping and happy hours.
Logbook – August 13, 2015 (Navadra to Port Denarau)
Passage Log Highlights
0817 Engines on
0845 P Engine off + Main
1352 P Engine on
1407 Engines off Denarau
Daily Notes
Motorsail to Denarau. TBV and Koa here
Dinner w/ Mom at Lulu’s
Bye to Mom 😦
Navadra to Port DenarauPort Denarau (Exodus at the dock)Last night of mom’s visit. Dinner at Lulu’s.If you try you can see Exodus tied to the dock.
The two small uninhabited islands of Navadra and Vanua Levu (not that Vanua Levu) made for a great anchorage for several days.
Logbook – August 8, 2015 (Mana to Navadra)
Passage Log Highlights
1004 Engines on
1036 P engine off. Genniker
1148 SB engine + genniker + genoa
1339 P engine on
1355 Engines off Navadra
Daily Notes
Dinghy surf landing at Navadra
Hang out on beach, boys ride the surf on the paddleboard
Drinks on Et Voila
From Mana up to NavadraAnchored at NavadraThe tiny waves provided a fair amount of fun
Drinks with Et Voila
Logbook – August 9 (Navadra)
Daily Notes
No school – T/B spearfish with Et Voila
Alex to shore, brought back coconuts
Met m/v Domino, granddaughters on board
Tim helped another m/v look for their lost paddle – received a bag of mahi mahi
Tim and Brenden heading out to spear some fish (no fish here!)At least Brenden was prepared
Logbook – August 10, 2015 (Navadra)
Passage Log Highlights
1020 Engines on to reanchor
1040 Engines off
Daily Notes
Surf day! Mom swam to the beach, D tried to boogie board
Email to Family and Friends
Subject: Exodus – Navadra
It’s beautiful here at the anchorage at the island of Navadra, between the mamanuca and yasawa island groups. The weather hasn’t been great with strong gusty winds, but at least the sun is shining. The water is a few degrees warmer here, so even mom and I have been doing some swimming. There is some swell that comes through the anchorage, but it’s not terribly uncomfortable or anything. The boys love it because it makes some small waves on the beach at high tide, and they can surf on the stand-up paddle boards. Brenden is even small enough he can ride the small waves on a surfboard. Being fun size has its advantages sometimes! I tried to boogie board, but no success. Later, when I saw that Brenden couldn’t even catch a wave on the boogie board, I didn’t feel so bad. The surf dinghy landings have been interesting, but mom’s been a good sport. Yesterday I even dropped her off a little way from the beach and she had to swim in while I went back to Exodus and took a paddle board in. Like I said, she’s been a very good sport! Spear fishing on this side of Fiji hasn’t been so great, so mom isn’t getting to experience all the great fish we normally have, but Tim’s managed to get a couple small coral trout so she’s at least tasted our beer batter recipe. Yesterday, Tim put his good neighbor skills to work and helped some people on a fishing boat try to find their paddle board paddle that had found its way overboard. They didn’t find the paddle, but for his efforts, Tim was rewarded with a small bag of fresh caught Mahi Mahi, so we savored that for dinner last night. The first couple days we were here with our friends on Et Voila, who have a lagoon 450 catamaran, so it’s just like Exodus only bigger and nicer! We also met a nice couple from California on a cruising power boat who had their granddaughters with them, so Tim forced the boys to go over one evening to socialize. They never want to make new friends, but they are always glad when they do! We will stay here a couple more days and then go to the marina at Port Denarau to drop mom off. Love and miss you all, -D.
Logbook – August 11, 2015 (Navadra)
Daily Notes
T – spearfish, no fish
Boys clean hull
Floated for 2 hours! (This refers to the health of the batteries)
The boys cleaned the hull…… and after cleaning the hull they had a little fun
Logbook – August 12, 2015 (Navadra)
Daily Notes
Games with Gramma
Play at the beach
Tim works on anchor windlass
Tim still hasn’t given up on our windlass chain counterSpoiler alter: when we return in a few weeks we will climb this
Mana is a small island not too far north from Musket Cove. There is a narrow, shallow pass, but with good visibility it’s really no problem. The weather wasn’t going to make it easy to move around a lot during mom’s visit, so we thought this would be a good place to say for a few days since it is a flat anchorage, and it has a beach and a village.
Logbook – August 3, 2015 (Musket Cove to Mana)
Passage Log Highlights
1123 Engines on
1142 SB engine off. Genoa.
1242 SB engine on
1325 Arrive Mana
Daily Notes
Move to Mana, 1.5 kts current in the pass
T/B/Hans spearfish, B shoots tiny fish for Gramma
Boys are enjoying Gramma Nay being hereThese are the kinds of photos grandmas take, right?Alex on the anchorCan you say “lee shore”?Spearfishing on this side of Fiji has been pretty dismal. Brenden just HAD to shoot something for grandma, though
Dinghy surfing, oreos (homemade), cake & ice cream, party w/ Nautilus and Nirvana
Making something yummy for Alex’s BirthdayThe annual tradition – homemade oreo cookiesDinghy surfing on Alex’s birthdayAlex and his new headphones that grandma brought him – just like Andrew’scake, cookies, and ice cream with Nautilus and NirvanaAlex and Fien are in some serious TV lala land!
Logbook – August 5, 2015 (Mana)
Daily Notes
T/Hans spearfish – not fish
D/Mom/Katrien – walk to the village and beach
Nautilus over after dinner
More dinghy surfing! Alex really enjoyed using Nirvana’s surfboardBrenden got his birthday presents early from grandma
Logbook – August 6, 2016 (Mana)
Daily Notes
First “writer’s workshop.” Not a huge success, but OK
almost 13, but playful as everSay it isn’t so! Nautilus is leaving us to go to Vanuatu. It’s a sad, sad day.Bye, kavakava!
Logbook – August 7, 2016 (Mana)
Daily Notes
Lunch on shore
T – spearfishing with Et Voila
Novae here
We weren’t alone for long… Mana became the cat corner when we were joined by Et Voila and Novae
Relax by pool with Nautilus (after Exodus cleaning day)
Gary (Nirvana) birthday celebration
Physical fitness day (lining up to run the mile). OK, this was a reenactment because I forgot to take the photo the first time.Alex and Brenden in the home stretchTotally wiped outMonkey-ing around after physical fitness day (Photo by Fluenta – http://sv-fluenta.blogspot.com/Playing on the beach
T – spearfish at pass, no fish. Took our dinghy behind Nirvana
Boys play on shore with Johnnie, Axle, Seppe
I took the ferry from Musket Cove over to Port Denarau to meet mom
Email to Family and Friends
Subject: Exodus – Mom comes today!
We are back at Musket Cove and later this morning I will take the ferry over to the mainland to meet my mom. We are so excited she’s here to cruise with us. Unfortunately, there is actually a tropical low-pressure system to the NW of Fiji and it’s going to dump some rain on us over the next couple days. But mom’s coming from hot, hot El Centro, so hopefully it won’t be so bad for her. Here at musket cove, we are back with a few other kid boats, and one of the other ones is also from California, and they had the physical fitness standards with them. So, we had all the kids participate! They were amazing! They ran a mile, did pushups, sit ups, and a few other things. Bottom line is that even without regular sports participation they are all well above the “healthy” threshold, and Brenden and Gigi (12-year-old girl from Nirvana, she and Brenden were actually born on the same day) scored presidential level in all categories. Tim is back with his spearfishing buddy, Hans from Nautilus, so they are going to go out fishing today while I go pick up mom, so it will be up to the boys to finish their schoolwork and chores without reminders. We’ll see how that goes… Love and miss you all, -D.
The kids organized a “September birthday party” because they may not be together on their actual birthdays. (Photo by Nautilus – http://nautilusatsea.blogspot.com/)They included Alex in the party even though his birthday isn’t in september, and here he is sporting his gift (Photo by Nautilus – http://nautilusatsea.blogspot.com/)
We had about a week to kill between the Bellinis departure and my mom’s arrival, and we certainly didn’t want to spend the whole time at Musket Cove. So, we explored a few places in the Mamanuca island group and enjoyed our family time.
Logbook – July 23, 2015 (Musket Cove to Yanuya to Monu)
Passage Log Highlights
1140 Engines on
1218 SB engine off. Genoa + P engine
1411 SB engine on
1431 Engines off Yanuya
1514 Engines on
1553 Engines off Monu
Daily Notes
Max wind on passage = 28 kt
Stop at Yanuya, T/A paddle to shore for sevusevu with “Chief’s son”
Move to Monu. Big swells and swirly winds
Musket Cove to Monu with a brief stop at Yanuya to present sevusevuYanuya is the island on the right and we stopped there for sevusevu and to obtain permission to anchor at Monu (which is the uninhabited island on the left)It was a bit blustery as we were leaving Musket CoveWe caught half a fish on the way (I guess we fed a shark)The anchorage at Yanuya island was exposed and bouncy, but we wanted to do sevusevu before heading to the uninhabited island of Monu. However, it was relatively low tide so we couldn’t get the dinghy through the coral. So….… no problem. Tim and Alex take the Yaqona in a dry bag on the paddle boards.
Logbook – July 24, 2015 (Monu)
Daily Notes
T/B spearfish after T helps B with math
D misses Marcus’s clean cockpit
French bread pizza for dinner
The uninhabited island of Monu was beautiful, but it wasn’t much of an anchorage. Quite rolly.
Email to Family and Friends
Subject: Exodus – Escape from Musket Cove
We left musket cove yesterday with the intent of spending a few quiet family days tucked away in some anchorage away from the resort scene. The problem is that there are very few anchorages you can “tuck away” in here in the Mamanuca island group. The fact that it’s blowing 20+ kts (we saw as high as 28 on our passage yesterday) doesn’t help much. We went to the island of Yanuya where there is a village and “did a sevusevu” and were told we could anchor where we wanted, go ashore, and fish where we wanted. The anchorage at Yanuya would be nice in settled weather but the wind chop over the reef made it pretty uncomfortable. So, we moved around to the north side of the island of Monu. It is an uninhabited island, but from what we’ve gathered it is owned or possibly just used by one of the resorts to bring honeymooners to a deserted island. The lady at the yacht club at Musket Cove said we couldn’t anchor here, which is why we went to the village to ask. Ok, back to the village. “Did a sevusevu” was in quotes because it was the weakest ones we’ve done so far. We couldn’t take the dinghy due to the reef and the tide level, so Tim and Alex hopped on paddle boards in 1-2 ft wind chop and took a bundle of Yaqona in a dry bag. According to Tim, they did sevusevu with a young guy who said he was the chief’s son. Or possibly we just gave the kava and the fish head to some kid in the village. The fish head? Well, it wasn’t just a head because we filleted the rest for ourselves, no… it was just a head because a shark took the rest of it before we reeled it in. It was pretty funny, the boys were reeling it in, and I said, “what is it?” and Alex said, “It’s not a fish. It’s half a fish!” A smallish skipjack tuna that would have made a nice sushi afternoon snack. Back to the island of Monu and our current anchorage… It has excellent protection from the wind chop but there are huge ocean swells coming in here rocking us this way and that. Oh yeah, and we don’t have internet. Oh well, at least we aren’t at musket cove! In addition to all the resorts in the area, another big difference of this side of Fiji is the dry weather. Being on the leeward side of the big island, the land and air are both drier, and it’s lost that tropical feel. Kind of like the difference between the Hilo and Kona sides of the Big Island of Hawaii. We’ve definitely had the most sun here than anywhere else we’ve been, but the trade winds still blow! Love and miss you all, -D.
Logbook – July 25, 2015 (Monu to Mana)
Passage Log Highlights
0940 Engines on
1043 Both engines
1140 Engines off at “The Pile of Sand”
1332 Engines on
1420 Engines off Mana Lagoon
Daily Notes
Nukuimana = “The Pile of Sand”
Drove past Monuriki, but didn’t stay
Wind really died in the day, stopped for lunch and a swim at “The Pile of Sand”
Met Eliza, tour boat operator, never met cruisers before
Entered Mana Lagoon
Resorts + 1 village
Boy on kayak came to ask for fishing hooks and food
Monu to Mana with a stop at a sandbar (“The Pile of Sand”)Just south of Monu is the island of Monuriki which was the set of what famous movie set?(Hint: Wilson!)The move set of Castaway. An Exodus selfie for good measureSo, we got the modeling clay out for science, to make models of faults, and what does Brenden do? Make a carrot, a pig, and a few other things.Hey look, a pile of sand. What should we do……go drop anchor, of courseAnchored at “The Pile of Sand”We went for a swimThe boys had fun playing in the waterwow, it kind of reminded me of……these guys!The Mana LagoonSunset at Mana island
Logbook – July 26, 2015 (Mana)
Daily Notes
Sunday on board Exodus
Project day. A – the moon. B – history of metal technology. D – scrambled eggs.
Alex was so happy to be doing his schoolworkand Tim was so happy to be doing boat projects
Logbook – July 27, 2015 (Mana)
Daily Notes
12 year old boy named Male comes to Exodus, wants to take Tim spearfishing
First we went to the village for sevusevu with Dan, the Taraga ni Koro
Village = Yaralevu and there are 2 backpack hostels
People were very nice, visited the school
After school we went back and A/B played with the 3rd and 4th graders (forgot my camera)
This is our friend Male, and he has a few of our fishing hooks.This was taken after our sevusevu on Mana. This is the son of the Taraga ni koro.The school in the village at Mana (we went back ashore after school so the boys could play with the kids, but regrettably I forgot my camera.)Growing carrot greens.
Logbook – July 28, 2015 (Mana to Qalito)
Passage Log Highlights
0950 Engines on
1118 Engines off – reef
1530 Engines on
1715 Engines off Qalito
Daily Notes
Stopped at the reef east of Mana to boogie board and fish. Yummy coral trout
Wind kicked up to 25 kts and we bashed under motor to Qalito
Wind died after we arrived
Mana to Qalito with a day trip out to the reef for some fishing and boogie boardingLeaving the pass at Mana. This photo was taken from Exodus, so yeah, it’s a pretty narrow pass. No current, though, so no problem if you’re a competent driver.A look back at the passI guess we were missing Minerva, because we just picked a random reef and anchored.Anchored at the reefThe resort island of QalitoPaddle boarding at Qalito islandNot one, but FIVE jet skiers coming to destroy my tranquilityCastaway resort on Qalito island. I called to see if we could come to shore for lunch at their restaurant, and they said no. Boo! Boo, Castaway Resort!
Warning: We have now entered Bizarro Fiji where modest villages have been replaced by mega-resorts. View at your own risk!
Logbook – July 20, 2105 (Yanuca to Musket Cove)
Passage Log Highlights
1654 Engines on
1725 P engine off. SB engine + genniker
Slow, overnight passage from Yanuca to Musket CoveGood-bye to YanucaEating chili on passageHeading to the dark side (The west side of Viti Levu is known for its huge resorts. However, it’s not really the dark side, since it’s typically sunnier there.)
Passage Log – July 21, 2015 (Yanuca to Musket Cove)
Passage Log Highlights
0314 Genoa (2 reefs)
0735 Engines on
0937 Engines off Musket Cove
Daily Notes
Vetoed Namotu anchorage – too bouncy
Diverted to Musket Cove, joined yacht club
Lunch and beers on shore
Kids play at pool
Robin basket weaving
D – walk the trails scouting for running
Entering the reef systemWe did a drive by of Nomutu Island, but D vetoed it because it was too bouncyAnchored at Musket CoveThe dinghy dock at Musket CoveBurgers!Ice Cream!They say it’s less windy on this side, but so far it seems about the sameTim told the kids if they built a structure knee high at water level then he’d take them to the pool. They found a loophole and built a human structure!Running across the bay at low tide to the poolIt didn’t take me long to find the circuit of trails and I headed for the highest point to snap some photosA mega-yacht and a sea plane. Like I said… Bizarro Fiji.
Logbook – July 22, 2015 (Musket Cove)
Daily Notes
D – run along the trails at Musket Cove
Lunch on shore, Bellinis take ferry to mainland
Quiet evening on Exodus (Quiet was underlined 3 times!)
Bellinis last day… if you are wondering why Diego is holding a stuffed dog, well……we were reenacting this photo taken 5 years ago after our first charter weekend to Catalina. Miss these little cuties! Notice that Carmen wasn’t even there because she was only three at the time and stayed home with grandma.
Email to Family and Friends
Subject: Exodus – Musket Cove
We arrived in Musket Cove yesterday, and it’s like we are on a totally different planet. This certainly isn’t Fiji anymore. The Bellinis fly home today, and we were hoping to spend yesterday at the very small island of Namotu before dropping them off on the mainland today, but when we arrived at Namotu the anchorage simply wasn’t fit for staying. Tim was a bit annoyed that I “squashed his fun”, but seriously, if we had stayed it would have been possibly the worst anchorage we’ve ever stayed in. So, anyway, we find ourselves in Musket Cove and it’s basically a huge resort. Even the Fijians who work here seem caught up in Western Ways, too busy for a smile and a conversation. Yesterday, the woman at the yacht club was all business and obviously Tim was also feeling my need to slow down because he smiled a big smile at her and asked where in Fiji she’s originally from. She smiled, and it was like a switch was flipped as she told us she was from Kadavu and we were able to tell her that we had been there, but not to her actual village though. So, maybe it’s not that the Fijians are too busy for a conversation it’s just that most of their western patrons are too busy to care. There is a small marina here, and the owner of the resort has a soft spot for yachties, and there is a “yacht” club that costs only $10 to join for life, and joining gives us access to basically ALL of the resort amenities. Yesterday we enjoyed an expensive lunch and expensive beers, but on the plus side we also enjoyed nice beaches, the pool, and hot showers, and I also scoped out the circuit of trails, so I am already in my running clothes. Also, they have fast ferry service to the mainland, so the Bellinis will take that rather than hauling up Exodus and motoring upwind at under likely under 5 kts. So, now we just have to decide what to do until my mom visits and what to do while she’s here. I’m hoping there’s more to this side of Fiji than commercialism and big resorts. I would like to take her to a village and do at least one sevusevu. We shall see. Love and miss you all, -D.
0404 Vessel – lights + large radar signature 6 mi dead ahead. No AIS.
0432 20 deg course change to SB. Other vessel is stationary.
0608 Genniker only
0623 P engine on to charge batteries
0719 P engine off
0848 SB engine on
1300 P engine on
1320 Engines off Yanuca
Daily Notes
Walk across island to village for sevusevu. Clean and well cared for village
Fish feast with Nautilus on Exodus
The Beqa Lagoon (Beqa is the larger Island)Anchored off the Island of Yanuca (the village was on the other side of the island, but we anchored here for protection from the prevailing wind direction)From the anchorage we walked over the island to the village to do sevusevu, and here is a view overlooking the village.I guess the kids needed a rest
Email to Family and Friends dated July 18, 2015
Subject: Exodus – En Route to Beqa
We are currently on a nice, slow, downwind sail on our way to the island of Beqa. We spent a couple days near the southern pass at Gau, and the consensus was that the diving and snorkeling was pretty amazing. I only snorkeled once, and I have to say that I didn’t think it was anything special, except for the huge school of circling barracudas and the giant grouper. We’ve certainly seen much, much better coral. Anyway, the wind is dying on us right now and we are limping along at under 4 kts but it’s quiet and no one is seasick, so there’s certainly nothing to complain about. It was a clear, starry sky all night and I spent the first couple hours of my watch monitoring a large vessel (fishing?) visually and on radar, and I’m not sure why they weren’t transmitting AIS. They were stationary for a long time, and I was going to pass it about 2 miles away, but then, of course, it started moving towards our track, probably on its way back to Suva. It’s long gone now, and the kettle is on, so I’ll be enjoying a cup of coffee and the sunrise momentarily. Love and miss you all, -D.
Logbook – July 19, 2015 (Yanuca)
Daily Notes
Everyone except D/A dinghy to small island
Dinghy surfing!
Solo snorkeling in the anchorage
Jello & watermelon on Exodus
Tim took Brenden and the Bellinis to a small islet near Yanuca for the day to play.I don’t think the kids had fun.I love this photo of RobinEnough digging, let’s play in the waterMeanwhile, back at Exoudus, Alex was untangling our balls (we always try to drop our anchor in sand not right on the coral, but if there is a lot of coral nearby we will float the anchor chain so it doesn’t drag along the bottom killing the coral in it’s path. However, sometimes in light winds the float balls get wrapped around our bridle.)
Logbook – July 20, 2105 (Yanuca to Musket Cove)
Passage Log Highlights
1654 Engines on
Daily Notes
Last day at Yanuca. Fluenta and Nirvana arrive. Baby duck doesn’t follow when we leave
I didn’t know you could fit so many kids in our kayak……I guess you can’t.A final photo of this beautiful spot before we weighed anchor
Gresham Family Exodus 