June 2-20, 2015
This has been one of our very most favorite places we have visited in our 2+ yearlong adventure.
We were so lucky to be reunited with so many friends! When you say good-bye out here you can never quite be sure you will see each other again and here in this wonderful place we were back together with four other buddy boats (Fluenta, Lumbaz, Nautilus, Nirvana). Unreal.
We also had such a wonderful time we had with the people of Fulaga.
Logbook – June 2, 2015 (Taveuni to Fulaga)
Passage Log Highlights
- 0330 P engine briefly on – autopilot in irons (3rd time)
- 0628 P engine briefly on again
- 0732 P engine on, low battery
- 0745 VHF call from Lumbaz (w/ their position)
- 0757 P engine off
- 0800 Isabella net (NC = Mark Field Trip)
- 1514 Engines on, sails down (prior, untangled fishing line)
- 1530 P engine on
- 1730 VHF call from Lumbaz (w/ their position)
Email to Family and Friends dated June 2, 2015
Subject: Exodus – On passage to Fulaga
After a great several days with Tim and Fran at Paradise Taveuni, we let go of the mooring ball yesterday evening and are now bashing into 15-20 kt winds. Trying to go in a SE direction against the trade winds is a HUGE pain, but Fulaga is supposed to be amazing, and once we get there, we can comfortably work our way back north. Speaking of comfortable, I am anything but that right now, so I will keep this short.
Love and miss you all,
-D.
Logbook – June 3, 2015 (Taveuni to Fulaga)
Passage Log Highlights
- 0350 SB engine only
- 0700 VHF call to Lumbaz, no response
- 0705 VHF call from Nirvana, still at Komo and will come to Fulaga today or tomorrow, but Nautilus is on their way already
- 0730 VHF call from Lumbaz, they are already through the pass
- 0822 P engine on
- 0905 Engines off. Arrive Fulaga
Daily Notes
- Drinks and catching up with Nautilus and Lumbaz
- All decked out in sulus, walked over the hill to village
- First sevusevu
- Assigned host family – Senna & Simon – B eats 8 muffins
- Kids watch movie on Nautilus
Logbook – June 4, 2015 (Fulaga)
Passage Log Highlights
- 0720 VHF call to Fluenta ETA @ pass 0830
- 1333 Engines on
- 1409 Engines off near pass
Daily Notes
- D/A walk to the village to take cookies, they gave us lunch to take
- Moved Exodus near the pass
- D – best paddle EVER!
- B sick – started a Zpack in the morning
- Alex play with kids on Lumbaz
Email to Family and Friends dated June 4, 2015
Subject: Exodus – First Sevusevu
Our efforts of beating to windward for a day and a half are paying off, because Fulaga is absolutely spectacular. It is an atoll like in the Tuamotus, but a younger one, so there is still some elevation to the ring of land around the lagoon and there are many mushroom shaped rocks scattered about the lagoon. We are here with two other kid boats, and two more should be arriving today, so it should be quite the party. We went ashore for our first Sevusevu at about 4pm yesterday, and we are now officially accepted into the village. We have each been assigned a host family in the village, and I couldn’t quite tell based on the discussion in Fiji if ours is happy or disappointed to get the Americans (the other two families are from Spain and Belgium). We did the Sevusevu with the chief as one big group making three offerings of Yaqona, which is the pepper tree root from which they make kava. So, the ceremony itself was somewhat impersonal, and it was entirely in Fijian, so we had no idea what was going on. But after, the chief had each and every one of us to go up to him and introduce ourselves and tell him where we are from. The cutest was when 5-year-old Nils went up. Today we will likely move anchorages over near the pass while the weather is nice.
Oh yeah, the pass. This was very narrow, and we entered about 1-2 hours after the slack high tide, so we had current flowing out against us. Not too bad, only about 2 kts. I was at the helm, and while Tim was continually commenting about how cool this place looked, I was focused on the coral on either side of us and just hoping it would end soon! Our friends on Nautilus entered later when the current was flowing out stronger, and they had a bumpy ride in the standing waves.
We have no cell service here, so no internet, but we have heard that this is the only place in Fiji without it.
Love and miss you all,
-D.
Logbook – June 5, 2015 (Fulaga)
Daily Notes
- T/D – dinghy expedition to find sandspit
- T – spearfish
- D/T – snorkel on bombie and in the pass
- T – spearfish again. Small dogtooth tuna
- Drinks on Nautilus
Logbook – June 6, 2015 (Fulaga)
Passage Log Highlights
- 1443 Engines on
- 1515 Engines off near sandspit
Daily Notes
- Move to sandspit, D/T walk along beach
- A/B skimboard
- Dinner on Lumbaz
Email to Family and Friends dated June 6, 2015
Subject: Exodus – It doesn’t get any better than this
It turns out that Fulaga is the reason we have come to the South Pacific. I know we’ve only been here a couple of days, but I am pretty sure this is my favorite place of everywhere we have been so far in our 2+ year journey. Before now I would have had a hard time saying what my favorite was, because I liked different places for different reasons. Fulaga, however, has it all: Amazing natural beauty, friendly local people and a chance to really connect with them and get to know their culture, uniqueness of geography, clear water and abundant sea life and coral for great snorkeling, white sand beaches, and lots of friends here to share it all with. This cruising lifestyle simply doesn’t get any better than this.
The only thing keeping it from being perfect is being so far away from people we love. (ok, can I get a collective, “awwwwww!”) Seriously, though, it’s true.
Love and miss you all,
-D.
Logbook – June 7, 2015 (Fulaga)
Daily Notes
- Sunday church service in the village, all in Fijian
- Lunch w/ host family after
- Kids played on the beach all afternoon
- Loaned Nautilus a dinghy out of gas
Logbook – June 8, 2015 (Fulaga)
Daily Notes
- T/B – 4 hr spearfishing excursion, no fish
- D – paddle in rain & wind. Walk along beach
- Front passes, beautiful evening
- Kid campout on the beach
Logbook – June 9, 2015 (Fulaga)
Daily Notes
- D – early run on the beach
- A – never came home after campout, stayed on beach all day
- T – spearfish
- Beach bonfire and potluck
- A camped on the beach again
Logbook – June 10, 2015 (Fulaga)
Daily Notes
- D – another early run
- Kid scavenger hunt – girls win by 3 points
Email to Family and Friends dated June 10, 2015
Subject: Exodus – Kid Beach Village
We have been anchored in what I’ve been calling “kid boat corner” of Fulaga for a few days. On Sunday we went to the village for church (entirely in Fijian, but the singing was nice) and lunch with our host family. On Monday, construction of the Kid Beach Village began. Our anchorage has a beautiful white sand beach that almost entirely disappears at high tide; however, this did not discourage the kids. They have built huts out of tree branches and palm fronds and pitched several tents, and they’ve basically all been living there for the better part of two days. Brenden is the exception: he spends the day there, but he chooses to sleep in his own bed rather than on the beach because, well, he likes to sleep. Alex, on the other hand, I’ve hardly seen him, since he didn’t even come back to the boat at all yesterday. There are twelve kids in total ranging from Age 13 (Alex and Ainara) down to age 5 (Nils). I can’t get enough of watching Alex and Nils together. Nils is always sitting with Alex on his lap, and he was so excited that he got to sleep in a tent with Alex. Last evening, the parents all joined the kids on the beach for a bonfire and a potluck dinner, but the kids made it very clear that it was their expectation that all the parents go home after sundown! Needless to say, we have no plans to leave Fulaga at this time.
Love and miss you all,
-D.
Logbook – June 11, 2015 (Fulaga)
Daily Notes
- T – spearfishing 😦
- Science experiments with Ainara
- Drinks on Nautilus with Fluenta and Nirvana
- Kids watch a movie on Exodus
Email to Family and Friends dated June 11, 2015
Subject: Exodus – Scavenger Hunt
Yesterday, Tim organized a beach scavenger hunt for the kids. He printed out a list of approximately 35 items for the kids to find or make, like “a live creature,” “a woven mat,” or “3 coconuts for drinking.” The kids broke up into two teams with boys against girls and they all spent a couple of hours doing their best. Wow, what a great job they all did. There was a palm frond dress and a bow and arrow that shot over 3 meters. There were hermit crabs and heart shaped sandcastles. Tim even conned them into cleaning up the beach a bit by putting “10 plastic items” on the list. All the parents were on hand with cameras and smiles while the judge gave rulings, and the scores were computed. The girls eeked out a win by only 3 points in the end, and it turns out that being able to make a woven beer cozy was the difference. Later, when we were all back on our boats, the girls from Lumbaz radioed and gave Tim an exceptional lyrical thank you for organizing the game for them. It was very sweet. Then, a little later, Hans, the dad from Nautilus, radioed and gave Tim another lyrical thank you for helping him to learn to spear fish. Both Alex and I had the same independent thought, “well, it could be worse, it could be the wind turbine song!” We miss you, Lady Carolina!
Logbook – June 12, 2015 (Fulaga)
Passage Log Highlights
- 1625 Engines on
- 1700 Engines off near village
Daily Notes
- Lumbaz and Another Adventure bring people from the village to the sandspit for a lovo feast
- Friday night kava night
Logbook – June 13, 2015 (Fulaga)
Passage Log Highlights
- 0853 Engines on
- 0935 Engines off (west of pass)
Daily Notes
- T spearfish – 2 barracuda for Tai
- Dinghy to the village (wet ride)
- Tea with Simon and Senna
- Boys to small beach at new anchorage w/ Lumbaz
- B is Nils “new best friend”
- School presentations with Lumbaz
Email to Family and Friends dated June 13, 2015
Subject: Exodus – Friday Night Kava Night
Well, we have officially arrived in Fiji having participated in our first grog last night. A grog is basically a social gathering for drinking kava, which is a drink that is made from a powder of dried, ground pepper tree root. Kava is very important if Fijian culture, not just because of the physical effects it has on you, but because of its central role in the social aspect of society. We’ve been told that they drink kava every night. Not always in huge gatherings or big parties, but often, even usually, with a small group of friends or family.
Yesterday, two of the vessels that were anchored near the village, including our friends on Lumbaz, ferried about 30 people from the village over to the beach where we were to have a big picnic. They put kasava in a lovo (underground oven), fished, caught crabs, dove for clams, made a table and plates out of palm leaves, made coconut milk, and basically made sure that all of us yachties had a great time. I tried everything, even the raw clams and the crab guts, and they even seemed to like my pasta salad. As things were winding down discussion turned to the kava party they would have that evening. So, not wanting to miss a party, we raised anchor and moved to the village for easier access.
When we first arrived it was mostly yachties and only a few locals, but that changed as the night progressed and we drank round after round of Kava. They make the kava right there by putting the ground-up root in a mesh bag and swishing and squeezing it in the water. They serve it out of hand carved kava bowl with small coconut bowls and when it’s your turn to drink you can request, “low tide, medium tide, high tide, or tsunami.” When they offer you the bowl to drink, you clap your hands once (Mom, you would be good at this, because the louder your clap, the better), and say, “Bula!” then it’s down the hatch all at once. When you are done you say, “Maca” meaning empty, and everyone claps three times. Then it’s the next person’s turn. After each round the server waits for the caller to yell, “Taki” meaning something like “let’s drink” before the next round can begin.
The Kava here in Fiji seems to be much better than what we drank in Tonga, and it also seemed to get much better as the night progressed. Eventually, there was singing and dancing, including a conga line that somehow, I ended up leading. Tim ended up making a friend, Tai, whom he chatted with for a while, and when the dancing started, Tai leaned over and told him, “If we act like we are having a very important conversation then we will not have to dance.” Needless to say, Tim was grateful for that!
I have no idea how many rounds of kava we drank, but I think it was more than 10 and less than 20. It’s difficult to describe what its effects feel like. There is a definite numbness to the lips and tongue that you feel right after each drink and seemed to intensify as the rounds racked up. Towards the end I was feeling the numbness all the way down in my throat. Now, they say the kava doesn’t make you drunk and that it’s not a narcotic. But when we got up to leave, I felt seriously bad. It was a lot like being drunk, I felt weak and nauseous, and I stumbled about a bit, but it was distinctly different as well. I finally nailed it this morning: it was like being physically drunk while still having a clear head. And luckily, no hangover!
Love and miss you all,
-D.
Logbook – June 14, 2015 (Fulaga)
Passage Log Highlights
- 1422 Engines on
- 1500 Engines off sandspit
Daily Notes
- D/T walk around the island
- T/Boys/Lumbaz search for clams
- Move to sandspit – bonfire on beach
Logbook – June 15, 2015 (Fulaga)
Daily Notes
- T 8hrs spearfishing, parrot fish and trevally
- D – pass snorkel with Lumbaz
- Kids – beach all day, sparring tournament, sleepover on Lumbaz
- Drinks on Exodus
Logbook – June 16, 2015 (Fulaga)
Passage Log Highlights
- 1308 Engines on
- 1336 Engines off near pass
Daily Notes
- Move back to pass
- T spearfish with Hans and Danny
- Alex sick, fever of 102
- Early dinner and quiet evening
Email to Family and Friends dated June 16, 2016
Subject: Exodus – Not ready to leave
I am not sure we will ever leave Fulaga! Well, we are out of fresh fruit and veggies, so I guess we will have to leave at some point. In all honesty, the past couple of days it has seemed like it’s about time to go and explore another island. If we had left yesterday or today, we could catch the very end of a weather window before a big fat high south of us reinforces the trade winds for a few days. But sometimes there are more important things to consider besides which specific islands we have time to visit. Specifically, the boys are having so much fun with the other kid boats! And not just the kids, actually, Tim and I are also enjoying the fun and friendship of this special group of people. So, we will stay here until the next weather window, which could be Sunday or Monday.
Love and miss you all,
-D.
Logbook – June 17, 2015 (Fulaga)
Passage Log Highlights
- 1310 Engines on
- 1351 Engines off near village
Daily Notes
- 25 kts crossing the lagoon
- Gray rainy day, caught 30 gal of water
- Alex fever gone
Logbook – June 18, 2015 (Fulaga)
Daily Notes
- Methodist Youth of Fiji youth rally. Lunch, volleyball, and church
Logbook – June 19, 2015 (Fulaga)
Daily Notes
- Village – Alex played rugby & B played volleyball and tag
- Kava party and dinner at Simon’s
Email to Family and Friends dated 19 June, 2015
Subject: Exodus – mucho viento
There is a big fat high pressure system far south of us causing stronger trade winds this week, so we’ve been hunkered down in the anchorage near the village while it’s blowing as high as 30 kts out there. But that didn’t stop us from heading to the village yesterday for their MYF youth rally, which included participation by all 3 villages here in Fulaga. MYF = Methodist Youth of Fiji, and like most things around here, the center of everything is a church focus. In the morning, the youth, which were really young men, did community work, but then the women of the village prepared a huge feast for lunch, and they invited us to eat with them. Since we really didn’t know what the plan for the day would be, we ate a big lunch on board before heading ashore, but that didn’t stop me from trying new things, like boiled sea cucumber stuffed with fish. I’d say it wasn’t good, but it wasn’t bad either. It tasted like the ocean. After lunch was a volleyball tournament and the villages competed against one another, but somehow Tim and Danny (our friend from Lumbaz) ended up on one of the teams. After their tournament they let all of us yachties play, and even Brenden and I joined in. After volleyball was a church service, which we stayed for, but we left before the choir competition, kava drinking, dinner, and dancing, because we wanted to be back on the boat before dark (and I think I’m still full of kava from the last time).
The winds are supposed to start easing a bit tomorrow, so we are currently looking at Sunday as a potential departure day for heading west.
Love and miss you all,
-D.
Logbook – June 20, 2015 (Fulaga)
Daily Notes
- Hike w/ Lumbaz through the brush
- After dinner – adults on Lumbaz, kids on Exodus
Email to Family and Friends dated June 20, 2105
Subject: Exodus – Farewell to Fulaga
We are most likely going to leave Fulaga tomorrow (local Sunday) for a stop at the island of Matuku. After that will likely be Kadavu and then up to the Nadi vicinity to pick up Marcus and Robin and family. Yesterday, we said our farewells in the village and had a small kava party and dinner with our host family. Before that, we went to the school, and the boys got to join in some of the sports. Alex played rugby with the bigger boys, although he doesn’t really know the rules and he had trouble remembering who was on his team, so he kept pitching the ball to the other team. Afterwards, he said he still had fun, though. Brenden played volleyball and tag, and he seemed to have fun as well. We are looking forward to the next adventure, but we sure have enjoyed our stay in Fulaga.
Love and miss you all,
-D.
In no particular order, here are a bunch more photos from Fulaga that are not date stamped and I can’t correlate to a log entry…
Gresham Family Exodus 