Gresham Family Exodus

The island of Taveuni is a large, lush island lying east of Vanua Levu (where Savusavu is located). On the southwest side of Taveuni is a dive resort called Paradise Taveuni, which is quite cruiser friendly. There’s actually a brief write-up about the resort in the Fiji Shores and Marinas 2015 guide, and they have a couple of mooring balls that are free of charge (although I’m sure they expect that you spend some money at the bar and/or restaurant.)

Our main, perhaps only, reason for going there was to see Tim and Fran, who are the parents of Tim’s brother’s wife. Got that? Tim and Fran have always been dear to us, but they have become especially dear since this whole cruising adventure began. Even before we left, they provided one of the few family voices of full and enthusiastic support for what we wanted to do, and since we’ve left, they’ve been some of our biggest followers. They are avid scuba divers. In fact, a couple of years ago when I ran the Cayman Island Marathon on Grand Cayman, they were there on a dive holiday at the same time! And now that we are in Fiji, we’ve had the stars align to once again be in the same place at the same time. They wrote us many months ago letting us know when they would be in Fiji to celebrate their anniversary, and at the time we thought that probably lined up with when we would be there, but it’s always difficult to predict exactly where we’ll be when. And there were so many factors working against us, well, mainly one big factor: the weather. We left NZ later than we thought and then we stayed at Minerva longer than we thought and then we needed a weather window to get from Savusavu to Taveuni. But it all worked out. From Savusavu to Taveuni, the winds went light right when we needed them to, and we were able to motor upwind to get there the last weekend Tim and Fran would be there.

It’s a modest, but extremely comfortable resort with private bures, an open air bar and restaurant, and a pool overlooking the ocean. They cater specifically to divers, and Tim and Fran were doing two dives each day. When we showed up it was as if we were VIPs, since Tim and Fran were staying there. Someone came out to help us pick up the mooring, and we headed to shore straight away for afternoon drinks with Tim and Fran and their friends, Randy and Sue.

(Note about the moorings: at a later date our friends on Chara were moored at Paradise Taveuni with a substantial blow, and they actually dragged one of the moorings. They are a large vessel and the winds were strong, but it’s just a reminder to always check the rating of a mooring when you use it.)

Our first afternoon while Tim and Fran were diving, Tim and Brenden went for some spear fishing, but didn’t have any luck. But we did have some luck in that it was “Fiji Night” at the resort, which included a four course meal, dancing, and kava drinking. Tim and Fran graciously treated us to dinner, and we were happy for the first opportunity to wear our traditional Fijian clothes that we bought in Savusavu. We went ashore for happy hour, and Brenden got the honor of beating the drum to announce the start. Our clothes were a big hit. I think every woman on the staff commented to me, “nice chumba!” Dinner was good, and so was the dancing. After dinner we had a kava ceremony, which was a lot of fun. After leaving Taveuni we would go on to drink kava many times with many different villages, so this night at Paradise Taveuni was our training session. Where they showed what you say, when to clap, and emphasized that in the end it’s all about fellowship and storytelling. When it’s your turn to drink you can ask for “low tide, medium tide, high tide, or even tsunami.” I had several “low tides” and that was enough for me. The kava in Fiji is much better tasting than what I had had in Tonga last year, though, which is good, cosidering how many times I would be drinking it.

The boys kept themselves entertained playing on a hammock and in the trees and also catching frogs. Later we learned that there are poisonous frogs on Taveuni, so either these weren’t the poisonous ones, or we just got really lucky.

The next night we had Tim and Fran out to Exodus for dinner. We cooked up the last of some of our fish, I can’t remember if it was tuna or mahi mahi. It was an enjoyable evening, and Tim brought his dive computer that needed fixing. It had leaked and stopped working, so Tim (Clepper) and Tim (Gresham) took it apart and cleaned it. We had some high percentage rubbing alcohol to use and Tim (Clepper) shared the tip with us that makeup applicators are good for cleaning electronics because they don’t leave behind cotton bits like cotton swabs. I told Tim (Clepper) that he’d fit in just nicely with the cruising community, because this is basically what the guys do. They fix things or talk about fixing things while they drink beer and swap knowledge. And of course Fran fits in too since she can bake, sew, and likes to drink wine. We told them they can crew with us any time!

Our last day at Paradise we went for a day sail with Tim and Fran and their friends Randy and Sue. The kitchen at the resort packed them all sorts of snacks so along with the stuff I had prepared we had quite the spread. We were a regular cruise ship! Sailing on flat seas in the lee of Taveuni was quite enjoyable, but we did sail down past the southern reef and out into open water for a little more realistic sail. Tim even caught a fish, which we ended up giving to someone that works at the resort.

The few days we spent at Paradise Taveuni with Tim and Fran were a lot of fun, but it was time to cut the cord to the resort scene and head south to more remote areas. A reasonable weather window opened up to get all the way down to Fulaga in one shot, so we jumped on it.

Way back when we first started telling people about our plan to go cruising, many had a very remote and isolated lifestyle in mind. And sure, at times, cruising can be that way, but most of the time it’s been a very social lifestyle within the close-knit cruising community. It was pretty awesome to arrive at a foreign port for the first time and know so many people who were there. In fact, our entire time in Savusavu was one of reunions as we caught up with old friends and met back up with the ones we traveled from New Zealand with.

It started immediately as we were just entering the harbor. Reminiscent of our arrivals in Atuona (after our Pacific crossing), we were met by Craig and Leann from True Blue V in their dinghy, and they came bearing fresh bread from the bakery on shore. What a treat! After our clearance process, Craig and Leann joined us for our safe arrival cocktails. Yes, it was 10:00am, but c’mon, we had just arrived in Fiji! And nothing says safe arrival like morning bloody mary’s. And it was this little get together where Craig and Leann first put the bug in our ear to consider going to Marshall Islands instead of Australia for cyclone season. We extended the party to lunch on shore for burgers and beer at Surf ‘n’ Turf, and then the Exodus crew was ready to catch up on some much needed sleep. But when we got to the dinghy dock, Field Trip was in a berth at the dock and Lumbaz was at the quarantine dock clearing in. So, of course that meant a couple more safe arrival beers on Field Trip.

The next day was a girls shopping excursion ashore. Since True Blue V had spent the cyclone season in Fiji, they knew what was what in Savusavu. So, Leann took us around to the fabric stores and seamstresses to look into having chumbas and sulus made. What a fun day we had: Exodus, True Blue V, Field Trip, Lumbaz, and Et Voila. The labor cost of having clothing made is embarassingly cheap, so the main cost is the fabric, and it was fun to browse around and pick the exact color and fabric you wanted. Because I needed a pretty fast turnaround with my order, I ended up having my stuff made at one of the fabric stores, since they were the only ones who could have it done on time. Not to go on too much of a tangent, but it was kind of funny when I went to pick up my stuff and tried them on for the first time. I absolutely could not get the chumba on down over my shoulders or up over my hips. It seemed to me that the zipper was too short. When I told the seamstress about it and suggested the zipper was too short, she blatantly disagreed with me. That’s the length zipper she always uses. She said she just needed to take it out at the waist. I was skeptical and told her that I think the dimensions are correct, I just can’t get it on. She said she didn’t have a longer zipper anyway, so I went to another fabric store and bought a longer zipper. The seamstress reluctantly replaced the zipper, and as I suspected, I was then able to get it on over my shoulders and then zip it up for a perfect fit through the waist and hips. Later, it ocurred to me that she is used to making the chumbas for the Fijian women, and it’s a rare Fijian woman whose waist is narrower than her shoulders, so of course the shorter zippers are not a problem!

OK, Back to fun with friends. A few more of our dear friends arrived to Savusavu over the next couple days. The first was Chara, and I was in town when they arrived, so I had no idea they were there until I heard someone hail them on VHF. I perked up, “What!? Chara’s here?” That’s when Alex and Brenden told me that, oh yeah, they forgotten to tell me that Chara was here. Apparently, the boys were on shore playing so they were there to catch the lines when Chara arrived at the quarantine dock. So, there was some catching up to do with Chara, and I had a lovely impromptu glass of wine with Joyce (Chara) and Wanda (Et Voila) at one of the outdoor tables at The Copra Shed.

Our friends, Helen and Stefano, on the boat called Novae, also turned up in Savusavu while we were there. We had said good-bye to them in New Zealand as they departed a week or two before we did. It was good to have a chance to see them again and we enjoyed a wonderful happy hour on their boat along with Theo and Wanda from Et Voila. The boys didn’t join us for this “non-kid boat” fun, instead they opted to run around shore at dusk with no shoes with all the other kids. Can you blame them?

Speaking of kid boats, we were quite ecstatic as Fluenta arrived. Backing up a bit, Fluenta was planning to go to Tonga this season, so had pretty much resolved ourselves to the possibility that we might not see them again. Luckily, while underway from New Zealand to Tonga, Liz had an epiphany during one of her night watches and they decided to alter course. Her logic was flawless to me… why not cruise Fiji this year with all their friends and save Tonga for next year? After all, they’d be cruising Tonga with new people this year, why not do it with next year’s new people? So, Fluenta joined us in Fiji, and spoiler alert… we are SO glad they did.

With True Blue V, Chara, and Fluenta all there, we just had to have a Mexico reunion party on Exodus. Of course we were missing one cream colored mono-hull whose captain fancies bright yellow skimpy clothing, so the party just wasn’t quite complete.

Overall, being in Savusavu was like reunion week as we caught up with old friends and met back up with the ones we traveled from NZ with. However, it was somewhat of a whirlwind since we had all the usual chores to take care of before leaving civilization for more remote areas.

In Savusavu we purchased sim cards for Tim’s iPad and iPhone and one for the dongle for my computer, so we were all set up for 3G internet. It was fast, just as fast as New Zealand. And it was cheap, cheaper than New Zealand at $25 Fijian for 8G for one month. And surprisingly, many of the islands across Fiji have 3G available. Of course, many didn’t, like Fulaga and Yadua, and sometimes even if the island had it, we couldn’t always get it in the anchorages. But overall, we were internet spoiled during our stay in Fiji.

We intentionally arrived on a Monday morning, because we’d been told that you can rack up quite a bill with the officials because of overtime fees if you arrive on a weekend. In some countries, you can’t even clear in on the weekend. You’re just supposed to stay on your boat with your Q flag flying until Monday morning (with varying degrees of the level of enforcement of this rule). On the other hand, New Zealand allowed clearance 7 days/week without any fees at all never mind fees for overtime. Tonga will clear you in on the weekend if you want, but you have to pay overtime fees, or you can just stay on your boat until Monday, you choose. Apparently in Fiji, there is no choice. If you arrive on the weekend, you still must clear in, and you must pay overtime fees. So, we avoided that headache by simply arriving on a Monday. Luckily, there was no surprise public holiday.

Arriving to Fiji from New Zealand, clearing in at Savusavu is not the automatic choice. A lot of boats go first to Suva since it is fewer miles and there are more services there. However, we chose Savusavu, because it is the furthest east. This is important if you want to go to The Lau group, which is east of all ports of clearance, so the further east you can be the better your chance for getting a break in the trade winds for a weather window to Lau. Additionally, we had heard from other cruisers that Savusavu is just nicer and less industrial than Suva, so since we didn’t need anything from Suva, we decided to clear in to Savusavu. It didn’t hurt that all of our friends were going there too.

There is no Port Captain in Savusavu, so in order to clear in you are supposed to radio one of the Marinas to announce your arrival and get instructions. Our friends had told us to call The Copra Shed Marina, because they have a clearance dock, but we later learned that Waitui Marina can also organize your clearance for you, and they will shuttle the officials out to your boat. Also, as we learned much later, Waitui has a much friendlier staff. But anyway, we called Copra Shed and since there was already a boat at the clearance dock, they instructed us to pick up a mooring and wait. When it was our turn we moved Exodus to the dock, but it was sort of a comical situation, and luckily our friends on Et Voila had given us a heads up. It turns out the clearance dock is a very short dock, probably only 2/3 of the length of Exodus, and it was a bit rickety as well. We put our stern in line with one end of the dock and let the bow stick out, that way boarding would still be possible. In hindsight, maybe having officials shuttled out to our boat wouldn’t be so bad. Especially since when we were back in Savusavu at the end of the season they weren’t making boats wait on a mooring for their turn (since the moorings were full) they were just having them raft up at the clearance dock. One day, they were four boats deep.

Before I go on to tell you about what happened when the officials arrived, I need to provide a little background. Fiji is only the second country we’ve visited where you have to provide advanced notice of your arrival, the first being New Zealand. And it’s obvious that Fiji has copied their processes from New Zealand, because the forms they use are all identical. So, like New Zealand, Fiji requires you to email an advance notice form at least 48 hours prior to arrival. Since we wouldn’t have any sort of internet access along the way, I emailed the form the morning we left New Zealand. I emailed it first thing in the morning, but by the time we were tossing off the dock lines at mid day, we still hadn’t received any sort of confirmation email back. They don’t typically send back a confirmation, but I had been told by other cruisers that if you specifically ask for them to respond back then sometimes they will. So, all the way from New Zealand to Fiji I fretted about whether or not our paperwork had been received. I even tried to have my Dad and my friend Colin access my yahoo email while we were offshore to see if a confirmation email ever arrived, but I had set up an inpenetrable security defense on my yahoo account so they weren’t able to access from a new computer. I asked about it on the SSB net, and some people had gotten an email back but most didn’t, and everyone said not to worry about. So, I tried to stop worrying about it, but there was always a little nagging thought there.

So, now we are on the dock in Savusavu, and the first officials to visit us were from Health and Biosecurity. They were two very jovial and friendly men, and for a few minutes I didn’t think about the paperwork. Unlike New Zealand, they didn’t take any of our meat, vegetables (if we had them), or anything else even though their process said they would. They just made us promise we wouldn’t take any food we brought with us off the boat. Easy enough.

Then the customs and immigration officials arrived. The lead customs official was a small, slender woman with a stern face, and the first thing she said to us was, “We have not received any paperwork from you. Do you not understand the regulations here in Fiji?” Unbelievable! Seriously, at first I didn’t believe it. My first thought was that somehow, some way, Tim had gotten to them and they were playing a practical joke on me. But no, that wasn’t the case after all. They really didn’t recieve our paperwork. So, she said that since we didn’t send advanced notice they would have to search our boat. This made me a little nervous since we had so much alcohol on board, way more than the official import rules allow, but I calmly just said, “OK, no problem, go ahead.” The “search” turned out to be a complete joke. Clearly they were just checking the box in response to this situation that neither one of us wanted to be in. All they did was look around the salon, open the silverware drawer, and poke their heads down into each hull. Needless to say, we checked out OK. Also, I was able to show them the emails I had sent while we were offshore updating them on our ETA as we progressed from New Zealand to Minerva Reef to Fiji. This proof that we had in fact been following the rules and somehow technology was to blame went a long way, I think, to cause the laid back attitude regarding the search.

Once we were all cleared in, Tim went to ask the marina, The Copra Shed Marina, about a mooring ball for a few days. He came back and said that they have a space on the dock, and he seemed eager to take it. For some reason, I couldn’t stand the idea of being at the dock, it just seemed more appropriate to be out on a mooring or even at anchor for our much deserved safe arrival drinks. So, I had to go talk to the marina again and after they originally told us they only had the dock space they finally relented and gave us a mooring. I think they were just trying to sell the dock space to us because it’s more expensive.

The administrative process of arriving in Fiji wasn’t quite complete, even though at that point we were allowed to take the Q flag down. We still had to do the following:

1) Get our island cruising permit. You get this from the Itaukei Affairs Board, and I’ve read that you can go to the office yourself in Savusavu to get this, but most people just pay the marina 10 Fijian dollars to take care of it. So, that’s what we did too. This document is written in Fijian, and it is the official letter to the chiefs and village headmen of the islands so that they know you have permission to cruise there. We were told that you should always bring this document ashore with you the first time in case they ask for it, but no one ever asked us for it.

2) Get our coastal clearance. This is a document you get from Customs that is basically your permission to leave your port of entry, in our case Savusavu. On our third day there I went to customs to take care of this, and they didn’t make me wait at the window line but rather brought me to the back office for this. The man who helped me was young, and he gave me a chair to sit in while he finished the process of typing up the email that he was in the middle of. No problem, at least the office was air conditioned. He got the permit all typed up, printed it out, and then realized he made a mistake and didn’t update one of the fields. So, he fixed it and printed it out again. Then, when I thought we were just about done, he asked to see my receipts for paying my health and biosecurity fees. Of course, I hadn’t done that yet, as those were going to be my next to errands of the day. You could tell he wasn’t quite sure what to do, so he just made me promise that I would pay the fees since he wasn’t supposed to give me the coastal clearance until those fees are paid. Of course, I crossed my heart and hoped to die.

3) Pay the Health and Biosecurity fees. If you arrive with Fijian dollars, you can pay these fees on the spot when the officials are on your boat, but if you don’t, they write you an invoice and it’s your responsibility to go to the offices at your convenience to get them paid. As mentioned above, the check on this is supposed to be showing your receipts to get your coastal clearance, but I managed to unintentionally circumvent that process. But of course, I paid the fees anyway. Both offices are on the other side of town from where the customs office is, and Alex joined me for the walk around town. Everyone was friendly and getting the fees paid was easy. It was $87.70 Fijian for Biosecurity and $172 for Ministry of Health.

We arrived in Savusavu, Fiji on a Monday morning, May 25. We spent a whirlwhind 4 days there clearing in and taking care of all the necessary chores after being offshore for so long. On Friday, we headed East over to the island of Taveuni and took a mooring ball at Paradise resort in order to spend time with family who were vacationing there. After kickin it resort style for a couple days we took advantage of a marginal weather window to get all the way down to Fulaga in Southern Lau Group, so we took it. We departed Paradise on Monday night, June 1, and our adventures in The Lau Group will be the topic of the chapter.

Savusavu –> Paradise Taveuni –> Southern Lau