Hızlı ve kolay bir şekilde sende web site sahibi olmak istiyorsan tek yapman gereken sitenin aşağısında bulunan iletişim formu üzerinden gerekli bilgileri girmen. Hepsi bu kadar.
Web Siteye Reklam Ver
Sende web sitemize reklam vermek veya ilan vermek istiyorsan. Tek yapman gereken sitenin en altında bulunan yere iletişim bilgilerini girmen yeterli olacaktır. Ekip arkadaşlarımız siziznle iletişime gececektir.
Web Sitemizin Yazarı Editörü OL
Sende kalemine güveniyorsan web sitemizde bir şeyler paylaşmak yazmak istiyorsan siteinin en aşağısında bulunan iletişim formunu kullanarak bizimle iletişime gecebilirisni
There are so many reasons to fall in love with San Diego, California. The perfect climate. The pristine beaches and ancient bluffs. The sublime sunsets over the mighty Pacific Ocean. Torrey Pines State Reserve. The Gaslamp Quarter. Balboa Park. But it is the palm trees that always get to me. Even though most of them were imported in the 1920s and 30s, for me Southern California is defined by the sun drenched palm tree swaying against the backdrop of a powder blue sky.
Change is the only constant in life and no people embrace change more than Californians. When you live with earthquakes, mudslides and wildfires you learn to live in the moment and meditate on the temporary nature of all things.
There was change on my visit to San Diego. The Flower Hill Mall movie theater in Del Mar is shuttering after giving North County San Diegans thirty years (ten as an Ultrastar chain) of art house films and the latest blockbusters. It is being replaced by a Whole Foods Market.
More change as the Del Mar Highlands Town Center is undergoing a major renovation and expansion. The UltraStar Cinemas there will be adding new auditoriums and there will be a new courtyard and fountain, along with new shops and restaurants. The expansion will replace the auditoriums lost from the closing of the Flower Hill theater.
What better way to spend the Fourth of July then at the sun-soaked SoCal beach. In this case, a walk on the sand at Del Mar Shores in Solana Beach. Enjoy the pictures.
Current Location: Underway from New Caledonia (day 3) Current Position: 23°07.47' S 161°58.02' E Next Destination: Bundaberg, Australia Miles to Go: 545
If passages were always like this, then I can guarantee more people would be out sailing. I, the one who despises passages, can't believe how absolutely beautiful the last two days have been! Yesterday I told Chris that if everyday could be like this then I'd be willing to sail thousands upon thousands of miles. Alright, maybe I'm getting carried away, but, especially after the really crappy passage-making year we've been having, I'm just in shock of how great the conditions are.
We departed Noumea (New Calendonia) on Saturday morning. Once we were out of the pass, the winds were aft of the beam and we were cruising along under full main and jib at over 6kts. The seas were unbeleivably flat, and for the first time this year, they weren't confused; just nice little waves all rolling in from the same direction. To add to the already excellent conditions, the sun was out and there was barely a cloud in the sky. We lost the wind that night, having to motor 12 hours, but in really really flat seas. Yesterday was a repeat of Saturday; winds a bit lighter, seas absolutely flat, and everything aft of the beam. We had just enough wind to carry us along between 5 and 6 kts (we are trying to keep our boat speed average around 5.5 minimum so that we'll make it in to AU by Friday afternoon, thereby avoiding weekend overtime charges). By 10pm we'd once again lost the wind and had to motor until about 7 this morning. Today the winds are even lighter, so we are hoping for just a few more knots, but we are managing along nicely, even if slowly (only 4 - 4.5kts).
This is what sailing was meant to be. In the day the blue sky extends forever, merging with the dark blue sea. Chris and I sit on deck, enjoying the endless sun and relaxing with our books. At night the sky is lit with thousands of twinkling stars; endless galaxies stretching as far as the eye can see ... reminding us just how tiny of a spec Billabong is in this big 'ol universe of ours!
The forecast shows continued light winds, so we are keeping our fingers crossed that they'll be just enough to keep us under sail, but not so much to increase the seas. Keep your fingers crossed for us!
Current Location: Noumea, New Caledonia Current Position: 22°16.65' S 166°26.42' E Next Destination: Bundaberg, Australia
We've had a great time in New Cal. The sun has been shining, the food has been excellent, and the kite-boarding fantastic ... and thankfully the tropical cyclone, Xavier, never made it down this far! But all good things come to an end, and in our case lead to other good things! Tomorrow (Saturday the 28th here in New Cal) or Sunday, we're off for Bundaberg, Australia.
It's about six or seven days ... we'll try to post something along the way. Wish us luck fishing!
Current Position: 22°16.65' S 166°26.42' E Next Destination: Undecided, New Caledonia
I am loving the weather here in Noumea. After months of clouds and rain in both Fiji and Vanuatu, the endless sunshine that has beamed down on us since arriving in New Cal is most welcome. On top of that a cool breeze seems to continuously blow, perfecting the temperature such that even the likes of Goldilocks couldn’t complain!
Living dockside these last few days has also been terrific. No wet dinghy rides, no “car-pooling” or schedule synchronization. We just step right off and on and come and go as we please, either together or separate, no longer having to coordinate with each other. Our location is ideal too … just a few short blocks from the city center. Shopping and sites mere minutes away.
The only huge downer is that Chris has remained off and on sick, so we’ve yet to really be able to explore and take advantage of our great location and the ideal weather.
The language barrier can also be a bit frustrating – very few people speak English, and I only know about three words in French. I had an especially comically time at the outdoor veggie market today. MJ (Island Sonata) and I walked over just to grab a few items. I didn’t have any change or super small bills, but the market here is a bit more ‘advanced’ and hoppin’ then other countries, so I thought I’d be alright. First stop was some terrific looking vine-tomatoes. I grabbed three, the vendor weighed them and I saw the price of 144 (which is roughly about $1.50 US). I pulled out a 1000 bill (about $10 US), and asked, “Change?”. The lady gave me a strange look and shook her head no. I was a bit surprised because 1000 isn’t really that much, but figured maybe she was just a small vendor and business had been slow. Not having anything smaller, MJ spotted me some change. On to another vendor …. this time I’ll buy a few more things so I can get change. I pick out some onions and garlic, and he shows me the price on the calculator (as neither of us can communicate the price) – 680. Ahh perfect! I try to hand him my 1000 bill, but he shakes his head no. What?, I’m thinking and re-look at the numbers of the bill thinking that perhaps I grabbed a 10000 instead of a 1000 ($100 US vs $10). Nope I hadn’t. I kind of look at him again and he still shakes his head no, almost looking at me in slight disgust. Gee, well fine, I can’t believe he doesn’t have some 400 in change, so whatever I think and we move on, telling him we can’t buy it then. By now I’m a bit frustrated, I mean, what’s the deal, I’ve got to have the exact amount??? I’m not giving up yet, we move on, but this time before I pick out my desired capsicums (bell peppers) I pull out the 1000 and ask, “This ok?”. The lady shakes her head no. UGH! But with my wallet open she can see inside and points at my money. So I start digging through it, only seeing larger sized bills, but she is adamantly pointing, so I’m still looking. I pull out another 1000 and she still shakes her head no and points. But there’s nothing smaller in here! Finally I just hold out my wallet and tell her to show me, and she touched another 1000 bill. I just don’t get it, I’m thinking, and say to MJ, “But it’s the sa….” and that’s when I notice that the color and texture between the two 1000 bills is different. A closer inspection and I’m feeling like quite the fool… my other two 1000 are Vanuatu money!!! Neither MJ or I had noticed and the other vendors didn’t speak enough English to tell me …. no wonder they thought I was nuts … trying to pay in New Cal with Vanuatu money! Well, I was able to pay for my capsicums and then went laughing back to the onion/garlic guy and showed him my French money and laughed, gesturing dramatically to let him know I knew what a fool I was. He instantly smiled and laughed along, handed me my items and, still laughing, my change …. in Pacific French Francs!
Current Location: Noumea, New Caledonia Current Position: 22°16.65' S 166°26.42' E Next Destination: Undecided, New Caledonia
Billabong's crew is getting just a wee-bit tired of weather work. It seems this season has been full of it, and honestly it is wearing me down! Not only that but the winds have been higher this year too ... 15-20 if we're lucky, and even then always closer to the 20 knots (which when beating into it is closer to 25 apparent). I long for some aft of the beam, 15 knots apparent, sailing. I know what you are thinking -- stop your bitching, look at where you are! And thankfully that is my saving grace, so far every destination has been worth the effort and sea-sickness to get there.
We spent five, mostly rainy, days in Revolieu Bay trying to get a somewhat decent weather window for the beat back to Port Vila. Finally on the 22nd we were off .... a 12 hour sail against the winds, but luckily in not-to-bad of seas.
We spent a week wrapping up errands around town and on the internet, while waiting for another weather window to get us to New Cal. Early morning on the 28th, we released the mooring and headed towards New Caledonia.
Port Vila to Noumea is another 'beat', we waited for the winds to clock as much as we thought they would and then left in time to hopefully arrive before they clocked South. Our first day out was hell ... and I don't feel as though that is an exaggeration. We had 25+ knots at 55 degrees, with big confused seas. We were tossed and thrown all over the place and continuously punched our bow. Waves threw themselves into our cockpit, and green water ran down the rails, spilling over to the cockpit floor. For the first time we actually took a few waves directly into the cockpit, leaving standing water (even if only a few inches)! I was the sickest I think I've ever been, both nausea and a splitting headache that I'm sure went beyond migraine status. Chris was a trooper and let me lay like a dead fish, barely moving but to let him know I was okay.
Renaissance 2000 had departed the day before us, and on the SSB reported that the first 24 hours was bad, but everything had smoothed out by the second morning .... so there was hope that all would be better "soon". The first night Chris took all the watches, as for only the second time in our three years, I was, as Chris put it, "driving the porcelain bus"!
True to prediction, the following morning was ten-times better, with flatter seas from a single direction. By night fall things were nearly peaceful and the sailing was terrific. We were sailing with 15 knots, at about 65 degrees. I was able to take watch and give Chris a near solid 6 hours of sleep (as solid as one can get aboard a moving sailboat anyway). At 5am, during Chris' watch, we caught a big-eyed tuna (about 30-35 lbs). Surprisingly I didn't mind getting up to help bring the guy aboard -- happy knowing that not only would we be docked or anchored that afternoon but we'd also be having a terrific Sushi dinner!
We couldn't believe the beautiful mountains and landscape as we sailed to Noumea. And as we rounded the last 'corner' the gigantic city emerged before us -- boy was it big. We had known Noumea was great for kite boarding, but we hadn't expected 30+ kite boarders along with numerous wind surfers to be zooming about. By 3pm we were relieved to finally be safely docked and ready to relax. Both of us were feeling a bit under the weather, but we still had to get through the check-in procedures. We lucked out with one of the easiest quarantine searches we've been through, perhaps because it was after 5 on a Saturday night. We'd heard rumors that the quarantine lady was quite strict and would search out our frig in detail ... however she barely glanced into our fridge & cupboards.
That evening was calm and relaxing, we enjoyed the stillness of the marina along with the continuous flowing hot water showers! Unfortunately we were both a bit sick, especially Chris with a low-grade fever and shivers.
Sunday was a combination of relaxation and chores. Chris was still sick, so spent a huge portion of the day in bed, while I took advantage of endless fresh water, to wash down the boat and do laundry. I still can't believe how big of a city Noumea is ... no doubt a culture shock. And with that big city comes big city French prices. On one hand you can buy just about any meat, cheese or vegetable, but on the other hand most of it is beyond our budget! It's especially shocking after the low market prices in Port Vila. It's weird to be somewhere with so many white faces -- even if they are still speaking a different language. And, as with the other French countries we've visited, Noumea is ALL French and nothing but French!!! So far French Polynesia and Noumea are the only tourist areas we've been where signs, pamphlets, etc are not in more than one language .... it makes it a bit tough to get around, but we're making due and dusting off the French dictionary!
Current Location: Revolieu Bay, Epi Island, Vanuatu Current Position: 16°43.68' S 168°08.68' E Next Destination: Port Vila, Efate Island, Vanuatu
Over the last eleven days we've completed a small loop, visiting three anchorages on the South-Eastern side of Malekula (Maskelyne Islands, Port Sandwich, and Banam Bay) and one anchorage on the Northern side of Ambrym (Ranon Bay).
We enjoyed our time in the beautiful and calm anchorage of the Maskelyne Islands, but after three days of on and off sun, the clouds rolled in and have hovered over us ever since. We've been desperately praying to the sun gods to part the clouds and clear the rain, but as of yet they are ignoring us.
From the Maskelyne's we moved up the coast about 12 n.m. to Port Sandwich, a very calm spot to be anchored during some shifty winds. In Port Sandwich we enjoyed some time with a very funny local couple, Ezekiel and Serah. Ezekiel was quite the character, talking non-stop in his heavily accented English, of which we understand about one out of every ten words! They were an extremely giving couple, loading us up with fresh eggs, fruits and veggies after only knowing us less than a day!
Banam bay was terrific, but crowded .... the most boats we've been at anchor with in a long time (about 15)! The village caters to tourist by offering crafts and custom dancing (at a cost of course). The dancing was terrific and energetic, but couldn't compare to the thousands dancing at the Nekowiar festival in Tanna. Still it was great fun, and as always the locals were more than welcoming. The following evening we enjoyed dancing to the tunes of a local string band. We continue to be impressed with the creativity of their musical instruments (a 5-gallon barrel for the drum and a box-stick-string contraption for bass). The fishing just off the nearby reef was outstanding. One afternoon Chris went out in the dinghy and in under ten minutes had caught a dog-toothed tuna! Chris seems to be becoming more and more well known amongst the cruisers for his love and knowledge of fishing, and creative home-made lures. He has now hosted over five lure-making sessions aboard Billabong!
We motor-sailed to Ranon Bay specifically to hike the ash planes of Ambrym's active volcano, only to learn they had "closed" the volcano for the planting of yams (for spiritual beliefs). So instead we spent the afternoon viewing various wood-carvings by the locals. Unfortunately Ranon Bay is extremely keen on tourist, so much so that they charge for EVERYTHING (cruise ships visit this bay, so they are used to getting money for everything/anything). To walk through the village and view the various carvings we had to pay for a "tour" .... granted it was only $4 each, but it seemed weird to be paying to go 'shopping'! Ranon Bay has a beautiful long black-sand beach, which Chris was quite excited about, as it was his first [black sand beach]!
With our visas close to expiring and still having to beat our way back south to Port Vila, we departed Ambrym for a hard on the wind sail back to Revolieu Bay on Epi. We had stopped briefly in Revolieu on our way north, but hadn't had a chance to explore, so yesterday we went on a great walk to a nearby village. There we met a local Peace Corps worker from Idaho. Kevin joined us on Island Sonata for Mexican night and music (he is an outstanding guitarist/singer).
Now we are just hoping for a half-way decent weather window for the remaining trek south to Port Vila. We figure it's going to be a hell-ish trip, but luckily is under 70 n.m., so we'll just have to tough it out! Once back in Port Vila, we'll prepare to check-out and move on to New Cal. As usual we feel our time has been cut short .... but we must keep moving if we are to have any time in New Cal before departing for cyclone season. Oh woe is us ... having too many wonderful places to visit!!!
Current Location: Maskelyne Islands, Vanuatu Current Position: 16°32.05' S 167°46.19' E Next Destination: Malekula or Ambrym, Vanuatu
1000 days .. as of today that's how long we've been cruising! It seems unreal to both of us, especially when we start to reminisce about everything that has happened over those 1000 days. Just yesterday I was archiving pictures and in doing so scrolled through our hundreds of pictures from our first season out; Mexico, Marquesas, Societies, Suwarrow, and Tonga. What a time! I can't help but miss those places, but I also can't help but think, what will the next 1000 days bring???
But back to the current .....
After our outstanding time on Tanna, we sailed back (aboard Island Sonata) to Port Vila with stops at Aniwa and Erromango. We were starting to wonder what our fishing problem was, until Chris & John finally pulled in a Mahi Mahi on the way to Erromango .... it was about time, especially since Chris had just about guaranteed us that one of the lures was absolutely sure to catch a fish!
Back in Vila, it was nice to see Billabong still safely moored and to be back 'home'. We spent the next six days just living the 'town life' with provisioning, laundry and internet. For fun we enjoyed drinks with our friends on Roxanne, a cultural show fundraiser by USP (University of South Pacific), and a snake dance performance at a local resort.
By Tuesday (Sept 5th) we were ready to venture north. We started with a day sail around the corner from Port Vila to Havannah Harbour. Unfortunately about one hour out, the engine started sputtering and thumping. Luckily by then we had just made it out of the harbor and into some wind, so I took over the sails while Chris went to investigate the engine. Bad news -- we had a broken water pump. Over the next couple of hours Chris managed to jerry-rig a fix, while I kept us sailing along. With the "fix" in place we were able to run our engine, but were hesitant to do so for any lengthy period. The anchorage was littered with coral bommies and not very good holding, so anchoring, especially since we were trying to do it fast and under pressure, was a bit tough, but we finally managed. We ended up a little close to a five-foot deep coral bommie, but didn't want to have to start the engine again, so instead opted for a second anchor off our bow to keep us from swinging too far over.
The next morning Chris found the road and managed to make his way back into town (Port Vila). Luckily he returned with a proper fix, and all was once again well on Billabong!
With a working engine we sailed on to Epi for a one night stop before continuing (the next morning) to the Maskelyne Islands on Friday. During both sails we had tons of HUGE fish activity behind the boat; we saw a the pointed nose of a Marlin and a shadow the size of our dinghy trailing our lures (we believe it was a tuna, because Chris saw its 'wings' spanned out as it surfed through a wave). We didn't hook anything we wanted to keep, but Island Sonata managed to bring in a Wahoo the first day and a Tuna the second, so we've been gorging on fish for the last few days. (Both fish were caught on the lure that Chris had talked so confidently about on the way to Erromango!)
The Maskelyne's are gorgeous ... there are hills, beaches, and palm trees. Big islands and small. Mangroves, coral, and white sand beaches. It seems no matter what type of scenery you go for, you could find it here! The tiny anchorage in the SW corner is crowded, but we've managed to squeeze in. Locals do the rounds daily; rowing about in their home-made outrigger canoes, asking if we need veggies or fruits. On our second day here we walked along the south west beach, where we found hundreds of their "magic rocks" and numerous shells. According the "magic rock" story, if you pound two together you'll see a flash of blue light, and then watch out, as a storm will be a coming. That night John pounded his together .... more than once. We did see a flash of light, but it was closer to orange/yellow than blue. And can you believe it --- the next morning we were surrounded by thick clouds and thunder heads! That day we did indeed have thunder, lightning and rain! We haven't had thunder or lightning since we arrived in Vanuatu -- could those rocks really be magic??? Let's just say Chris and I will be keeping our magic rocks well separated!
Current Location: Port Vila, Vanuatu Current Position: 17 44.72 S 168 18.67 E Next Destination: Ambrym or Malekula, Vanuatu
Since our last BLOG we made yet another attempt to sail Billabong down to Tanna in hopes of attending the Nekowiar festival. This time we tried for a "calm", willing to motor the whole way if need be. But winds & swell were higher than expected and we once again had to turn back. Luckily Island Sonata, with two engines, was able to continue to motor-sail and made it to Tanna. With the Nekowiar date still iffy we decided to just go for it, and booked flights for the 18th, planning to stay aboard IS and potentially sail back with them after the festival.
We lucked out, as the festival finally did start, on Monday the 21st ... and what a time it was. The chant-like singing, foot pounding dancing, and continuous hand clapping shook the earth below us. It was a three day festival, filled with more energy then we could've every imagined.
After the festival we sailed (on IS) around to Port Resolution, where we hiked up to the rim of Mt Yasur, Tanna's very active volcano. Again we found ourselves standing on shaking ground as one eruption after another left is in utter awe. It was a life threatening experience as a flying lava rock shot out of the volcano, landing barely 17 feet from where we stood (or ran in some cases)! We are still high from the adrenaline rush.
Both the Nekowiar and Mt Yasur were too amazing to describe shortly (here in this BLOG), therefore we our planning a full web update soon with pics and all (www.neoscape.com/billabong) -- so check there in about a week or so (our apologies in advance if it takes us longer).
We are now back in Port Vila (having sailed back with IS). After the weekend we plan to sail to one or more of the islands just North of Efate.
We almost got hit by a lava ball! Mt Yasur active volcano tour (where a huge lava ball landed just feet away from us!) Mt Yasur is located on Tanna Island in Vanuatu
3000 villagers from Tanna, Vanuatu get together once every four years and dance for three days/nights straight. The energy they put into this festival was unbelievable; the ground literally shook. We even camped in the village so we didn't miss anything!!
Current Location: Port Vila, Vanuatu Current Position: 17°44.72' S 168°18.67' E Next Destination: Undecided, Vanuatu
I can honestly say there are very few larger “cities” across the Pacific that I’ve liked as much as Port Vila. Dodging the rushing traffic, which cares not about pedestrians, can increase your heart rate, but it’s a hazard we are willing to put up with in exchange for all Vila has to offer. At first it may seem as though the locals aren’t as friendly as the Fijians, but it only takes a few “Halo’s” (hello) to realize that they are extremely friendly, just a bit more reserved and mellow. I love shopping here because there is no pressure at all; they give you a warm Halo, huge smile and then let you be. They are also very willing to talk about their culture and the significance/meaning of various carvings/art works. I never feel guilty not buying, they seem happy enough just that you are admiring and complementing the work. Of course not even here a week and we’ve already accumulated a number of souvenirs!
We have spent a good amount of time trying to track down the date of Tanna’s Nekowiar. A three-day festival filled with nearly non-stop traditional dances. Its purpose is to renew alliances between neighboring villages; done so with gift giving and arranged marriages (apparently during these three days sex between willing non-married individuals is accepted and encouraged). The problem (for tourist) is that they typically do not announce the date of the festival until just 2-4 days beforehand. Not good for people trying to find a weather window! Originally we heard it was scheduled to begin the 9th or 10th, but just yesterday were updated that it is now not until either the 15th or 19th! Tanna is only about 130nm S-SE from here, however it is directly into the trade-winds, which have been blowing over 20kts since we arrived. On Sunday we (along with Island Sonata) made an attempt to sail there, hoping to catch some SW winds on the backside of a low that was passing through. Unfortunately, the low and a trough passed more quickly then predicted and the winds were already starting to clock more South. About one hour out of the bay of Vila we were debating turning back when Chris (with my help of course!) caught a huge Wahoo (5.1 feet to be exact!). So big we had no choice but to just drag him directly into the cockpit, throwing him, along with lots of blood and gooey skin remains, onto the cockpit floor – which he filled! We were thrilled, what a catch! But how the heck we were going to clean this monstrosity? Finally we all (Billabong & Island Sonata) agreed that the weather and swell sucked, so we’d turn back. Once safely back on our calm mooring ball, John (IS) and Chris attacked the giant Wahoo. We ended up with over 15 Ziploc’s bursting with fish. Some of it we were able to squeeze into Island Sonata’s small freezer, some we gave away to neighboring boats, and the rest we have been gorging ourselves on ever since (fish steaks, fish burgers, fish tacos, miso fish, fish cakes, kokoda, and more). I suggested we could probably do fish omelets, but Chris said three times a day might be just too much even for him!
Since Sunday we’ve been exploring the many stores and stalls of Vila, and hoping for sunshine. It has been 100% overcast with lots of rain and drizzle. When we aren’t shopping or eating we’ve been reading and card playing. We are still hoping to make it to Tanna for the festival, but if it begins to look impossible (due to weather or not confirming a date) we might opt to head North instead to Ambrym for their Arts Festival.
The only downside we are discovering about Vanuatu is that it appears the entire island chain has discovered tourism, and perhaps taken it a bit overboard. Apparently EVERYTHING in Vanuatu costs money. Hiking, waterfalls, snorkeling, village tours, dancing; all available for a cost. I’m fully supportive of the natives/country making money off of visitors and willing to pay for a number of activities. Want to see some dancing, sure I’ll pay for that (it is after all a performance of sorts). Tour guides for longer hikes, you betcha! But to pay to “tour” (which in this case is equivalent of walking around) a village and/or to join the children in ‘traditional’ games … this just seems a bit off. I want to join the children in games for bonding, learning and friendship. As with Naviqiri village in Fiji, I would hope that the kids would enjoy our company as much as we would enjoy there’s … and if they didn’t I would hope they would just choose to not hang out with us. The same with hanging or walking around the village, I don’t want a ‘tour’, I want to exchange stories and skills and maybe just bond a wee-bit. Wouldn’t it be just as odd if we charged locals to visit us aboard Billabong? Island Sonata told us that in one village they even wanted money for them to go to the “craft store” to view various artifacts (which were for sale and IS might have purchased)!!! Well, I suppose it is how it is, but I fear some of the villages getting a bit carried away with the charging, especially those on outer islands that receive the majority of tourists via yachts, will find less and less yachts arriving as word gets around … completely killing off a pretty good money source. Anyway, Vanuatu still feels like a great place, full of tradition and culture, and we are sure we’ll enjoy our time here … even if is costs us a few 1000 Vatu !!!
Current Location: Port Vila, Vanuatu Current Position: 17°44.72' S 168°18.67' E Next Destination: Undecided, Vanuatu
When we arrived in Savusavu after our hellacious trip from the Marshall's I thoroughly washed our foul weather gear for long-term storage (cause of course we wouldn't be needing them again, right?). I couldn't believe that barely an hour out of the gate from Fiji (heading to Port Vila, Vanuatu) we were digging out the wet weather gear and settling in for a cold, wet ride. We started the trip extremely fast with 30-35 knots of wind just aft of the beam. Billabong was screaming along, averaging 7 - 7.5 knots (although we can't imagine it is correct, our GPS once reported a max speed of 17.4!). The seas were the biggest we've seen yet, around 12-15 feet, and they were bashing against Billabong hard, sending huge amounts of spray into the cockpit. It was unbelievably wet, rocky and really cold … but hey we were going fast. At our current rate we thought our four day passage would easily be shortened to three.
The first 48 hours or so we flew along under Jib alone, covering 164 nm in our first 24 hour period (Billabong's usual average is around 135nm). Then we had an period of calmer winds and predictions of less to come; it didn't look like we'd make it in before nightfall on the third day, so we'd have to slow down and aim for a morning arrival. We reefed in the jib and waited for the lighter winds … and waited. It seemed they never truly lightened up (after our first day the winds stayed right around 25 kts), but by now we were too far behind, so we just had to continue to try to slow down. Eventually we had up so little sail that I joked to Chris the only way we could get up less was to switch out the sail for some of my granny-style undies! I don't mind going slow, but with so little sail up and the still large seas it was one hell of a rolly ride and very frustrating to be bounced side to side and dropped as though riding a roller-coaster. Even with the rolly conditions Chris managed to bring in a perfect sized Mahi-mahi, although cleaning and cooking it served to be more of a challenge with the boat rocking all over the place! On the morning of our arrival, with land in sight, Chris unleashed the full Jib and it was a terrific ride in.
Another set of cruisers had briefly described Port Vila to us as "a bigger version of Savusavu" … that would be the understatement of the century. Port Vila is huge (okay, maybe not compared to LA or Boston, but still it is really quite large). It is bustling with a sense of energy. Full of shops, cafes, and markets. Traffic screams through the streets and locals & tourists wander along the sidewalks. It feels crowded, alive almost, but not in an overwhelming sense. On our arrival we met with Island Sonata and Freebird (both of whom we hadn't seen since our Majuro departure) and strolled through town before having a delightful lunch at an open-air café. By now we'd heard of the awesome supermarket, so of course we had to pay a visit there … truly it is the largest, cleanest, most excitingly stocked grocery store we've seen in the South Pacific (not counting New Zealand of course). In our opinion it even beats the extra large store in Tahiti (it's not as large, but the variety and brands include both French and AU/NZ selections, whereas in Tahiti it was all French … in addition the pricing is a wee bit better here)! We drooled over the fresh variety of meats and got giddy over the blue cheese. We've found cruiser's heaven! That evening we again ventured out with IS and FB, this time hitting an excellent Chinese Restaurant, where we feasted until I thought I'd have to purge in order to continue to breath.
We woke this morning excited to explore all the shops and museums and begin the learning process of yet another culture and country. Chris energetically reads tidbits aloud from our Lonely Planet guide, and my mind races with anticipation of everything there is to see and do. We couldn't be more thrilled to be in Vanuatu!
Blog Location: On route to Vuda Point Current Position: Musket Cove Current Position: 17°46.2' S 177°11.3' E
We awoke early on Monday morning to begin preparations for our trip to Yadua Island. The first thing we needed to do was bottle the beer we had been brewing. We didn't want it to get all stirred up if the passage got too rolly (which of course it did). We hauled up the anchor, sounded our fog horn, and waved goodbye to the village as someone stood standing on the beach waving a huge yellow flag. I immediately put out a fishing line and as soon as we passed around the reef we caught a huge waloo. I had been fishing these exact waters in the dinghy and hadn't caught a thing and now we caught this fish big enough to feed the entire village. I looked at KT and said should we go back and give it too them ... she gave me this look like.. "I got up at 6 am to leave so we're leaving". We motored around monkey face point and once we left the shelter of the reef the wind and seas picked up a bit. We got two more HUGE strikes on our lures, one that broke a hook and another that hit the swivel and split my 400 lb monofilament in half with a huge ball of split line hanging off the lure face.
The Vatu I Ra channel is known to be rougher than most of Fiji in a South easterly blow, and it did not disappoint. We had 25 knots off the beam with full sail up.. hmm time to reef. We had to motor around the point to the anchorage on the South west side of Yadua but it was well worth the effort. The wind died in strength but was still a little gusty under the protection of the cliffs. We met the village representative and the caretaker for the lizards home. The island feels like a scene from Jurassic park and is the only place in the world where the green nested iguana lives. After we finalized our formalities with the two locals we invited them for a cold drink. We also offered them some of our huge fish which they gladly accepted. We also gave them some Kava for our village sevusevu because we weren't planning on going to the village. We tried to talk in our limited Fijian and they were happy to find out we came from Naiqiri village, it turns out their minister was last positioned in Naviqiri only two years before. We asked if it was possible to get permission to visit the iguana island but the caretaker, who was quite young, said no. "Oh well, no Iguana soup" laughed KT .. luckily they both 'got' the joke and laughed along.
We spent the next morning hiking around the island and enjoying the great view back at the mainland and over the reefs surrounding the island. It was good exercise and the views were well worth the effort. We also spent some time trying to get over to a great sand beach that the locals had described on the other side of the anchorage. When we finally got there we were both amazed at the quantity of plastic that was covering the beach. Renaissance 2000 a boat that came in later said they had carried their trash for a couple of weeks and finally dropped it off in a trash can near the government buildings at Coconut Point, only to watch the same bag go floating by later as the sun was starting to set.
I spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning the bottom in anticipation of the motoring we would be doing over the next couple of days. It was a mess, Naviqiri is a very murky bay with a greenish water, I didn't realize how much stuff had attached itself to the hull. I also figured that anything I removed then, wouldn't have to be removed once I got to the boat yard. It was the hardest scrubbing I've had to do, but after almost three years on one paint job I guess I had to pay my dues. We had an impromptu cockpit party after the boat Wandering Star came over to ask if we were "the Billabong" mentioned on Ascension's Website. We laughed at all the friends we have in common, I guess they spent an extra season in Mexico so they were a year behind the friends we knew.
The next day we motored the entire way across to the Nananu-i-ra pass, in company with another boat that was following exactly in our tracks. We anchored in a protected bay and moved across to the other side when the dark clouds and wind start appearing. We caught up with Indra for drinks and heard about their great trip to Rabi Island, although it was to Catherine bay instead of Alberts cove where we had visited last year. The next morning we needed to start early to make the 55 miles before dark. I got up, got everything ready and went to start the engine.. nothing. We have NEVER had a problem with the engine since we've left.. hmm.. Seems like a fuel problem (can't be much else on a diesel) so I started right at base of the engine and noticed that the kill button return spring had broken, about a 30 second fix. I was very happy it didn't break while we were going through a tight pass or really needed the engine. We motored all the way to Latouka and anchored in a very muddy bay just north of the town. It was such a wet mud bottom the hook took 10 to 1 scope to "set".
The next day we started early so that we could get to Sawini bay and I could get a ride to the marina to clarify an email about our haul-out that afternoon. It was a crazy bus ride and the guy forgot to tell us which stop to get off at, even though we explicitly told him where we were going. The marina would be a tight fit but there were some catamarans there so we would easily fit. I got a quick ride back to the boat and got her ready for the boatyard. Right after we left the anchorage the wind picked up to 20+ knots right on the nose. We entered the narrowest channel we've ever been in with the swell behind us. KT put the boat in neutral and we were still doing 4 knots right past a sign that said max speed 3 knots.. oh well. We passed the yacht club bar and I could have had someone hand me a beer from the porch we felt so close. KT did a great job and was very glad to get over her fear of being close to other things while driving the boat. By 3:30 we were on the hard and ready to begin our bottom job.
It took us a week but we got it done. It was probably the easiest haul out we've had because I took advantage of the fact I didn't have any 220 volt tools, to hire the Fijian labor. They wanted $f10 to rent the sander or $f16 to have some one do the work, that comes to paying $3.60 US to have someone else get dirty. Of course the labor isn't exactly first rate so I did rent the sander for a couple of hours to get it the way I wanted. She turned out great and I even splurged and had the topsides polished. Billabong was looking in top shape once again.
In the boatyard, we made friends with an older couple from Canada. Ralph and Ruth, who built their own boat. They had been cruising in the early 70's with their kids and built their second boat exactly opposite of what their first boat was. This one is 60 feet long and weighs almost half as much as Billabong and has a very unique three masted rig that Ralph had built himself. Each mast weighs only 130 pounds and even though she is long and narrow she never heels more than 15 degrees. We went down below and KT said that their saloon was bigger than the living room in her old apartment. It's a pretty amazing boat that is now 30 years old. They had hit a slightly submerged drift net that tore off their skeg, strut and bent their prop shaft so they couldn't motor. Ralph was rebuilding everything and fixing up the paint where the boat who tried to help them crashed into the side. Ralph was quite the character talking about the old days of sailing, cruising with kids and his working life. Turns out Ralph used to be the European VP of Digital and had spent a lot of time in the town of Maynard, the next town over from where I grew up!! Small World. It turns out that ALL of their kids are out cruising now with their kids. I guess life as a cruising kid can't be all that bad. Ruth was a sweetheart and gave KT some canning jars after KT gave Ruth an online cookbook series she has.
We caught up with some old friends and made some new ones. All in all it wasn't that bad of a week in the yard.. the only thing that sucked was the cockroaches, they were everywhere. We were sitting in the cockpit enjoying a post work beer when five landed right in the cockpit. We both threw down our drinks and started chasing the little buggers. After we were sure we got them all we relaxed again with our beers only to find out one had flown straight into mine.. luckily I saw the roach prior to taking in a big gulp!
On Saturday, we took a trip into Nadi with Cookie Cutter, some Canadian cruisers we had met last year. We had a great time catching up with them earlier in the week and they invited us to Nadi with them in their rented car. They are psychotic shell collectors and we got to see the rare shell collection at Jack's (a souvenir shop) some costing over $700. Yikes! We had a nice dinner on Denerau island, where a lot of the resorts are.. It was pretty funny to watch as the bartender was trying to make Peter a two person cocktail for $f20. First he fills the glasses with ice, Peter says "a little easy on the ice their eh buddy." and then Peter pours some out. The guy says "I make the drinks" and fills it back up to the top. He starts pouring the booze in the blender and runs out so he has to go in back to get some more, Peter immediately starts removing ice cubes from the glasses. It was too funny to watch. It got even funnier when the guy returned, finished making the drink in the blender and then poured ALL the ice out before added the mixed drink. He was just chilling the glasses. Peters face was pretty funny once he realized the confusion.
We bumped into more old friends and decided it was time to head out to Musket Cove to enjoy the water and sunshine before we leave Fiji for Vanuatu. What a different world it is out here. Full of cruising boats and resorts with no villages. It's a nice change but I can't imagine spending the entire season here and saying you've visited Fiji. Oh well, right now I'll enjoy the amenities, the cheap drinks and the cruising community, knowing what Fiji is really all about and glad that I got to enjoy all my time here!!
Blog Location: Naviqiri Village Current Location: Musket Cove Current Position: 17°46.2' S 177°11.3' E
After the paw-paw bread disaster we decide to bring the village kids out to the boat. I shuttled people back and forth and we ended up with 30 people on board. Everyone wanted a photo taken and loved checking out the boat. They especially loved our electronic zapping fly swatter that says do not touch right on it. Of course they loved the spark and zap it gave them. One little kid Tui was< up on deck while I was explaining things below. We was talking in Fijian, "Chris I can hear you but I don't know where you are!!" I got a couple of good photos, one of all the kids on the right side of the boat, and then the other of the boat while they were still sitting; we must have been out of the water by a good foot on the other side.
Our second week started out rather mellow and slow; Sunday we played cards, a Fijian game called trump, where we tried desperately to throw the cards down with the same oomph as they did. It was amazing to watch, they would slam the card down with almost a whip cracking sound. They laughed hysterically as we tried, and failed to copy them. KT made some banana bread with chocolate chips which the villagers loved. We "had" to leave the village so the kids would go to church, so we went to visit a bush house where the family raised goats. It was rather funny to arrive and have them running a little generator so that the kids could watch a movie. They were having a great time and we thought they understood everything until KT described exactly what was happening.. oh.. they said. Now I understand why Stephen Segal is the most famous actor in Fiji, simple dialog with lots of actions that they can understand. It was a rather fun visit as he explained that he trained the goats when they were young to return to the pen. He takes them up into the hills and then back again, I guess after a couple of days they just keep returning home at the same time. It was kind of funny to watch them come running down the hill to home, only to be sold to the Indians for food later in life.
We spent some time cleaning the boat and working on the computer, but we would always return to the village in the afternoon to play with the kids. We had Sera and Freddy to the boat for dinner again, I guess they've been to a couple of boats now so they weren't as impressed this time. KT made them pizza which they had never had before, can you imagine a world without pizza? We went on a couple of long walks and every time we saw someone they said, "where are you going?". "Just walking" we would say as they gave us a VERY funny look. If we said we were "going moce" (sleep) they wouldn't have had a second thought because THAT was something they could understand. I finally explained that we don't get to walk very far on our small boat so we enjoy it when we get the chance.. they still thought we were crazy!!
One night after a busy afternoon of playing with the kids and a drink of tea afterwards we headed down to the dinghy to go to the boat. Of course we had a bunch of people follow us to wave goodbye as we headed out into the moonlit night to find Billabong. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a black and white striped thing on the engine .. and it began to move. Yikes, holy cow.. what the.. it was a sea snake, one of the most poisonous snakes. We jumped around trying to get it overboard, flailing violently and forgetting about steering the dinghy. We made a couple of circles, headed right towards the reef, and pretty much made fools of ourselves to anyone who didn't know what was happening on shore. We finally got it overboard and we certainly deserved a good beer after that adventure. The good thing about a sea snake is they can really bite you because their jaws aren't big enough. I guess you can get bit in the skin flap between your fingers and toes so I pretty much fought it with a palmed hands. It was funny in hind sight, it's been rather cold in Fiji and I guess it was warming itself on the engine for a while.
The next day we explained to everyone what had happened and after a big sigh of relief, they laughed at us. We invited Aquila and Boxing Grandma to the boat for a breakfast of coffee cake and tea. It was rather funny to watch grandma run to her house, change her clothes and fix her hair, just for a visit in the boat. Not for us mind you, the boat!! She had never seen one before. After a tour and breakfast she said that we could go back and let her sleep there all day and she would be happy.
We spent the rest of the week learning more card games, "5-3-2" and "last card", and ended up giving them a couple of decks, theirs were like cloth they were so warn out. On Saturday the men all went out to the bush to harvest food for Sunday. KT and I played some more cards and I said that I thought we should learn how to make a basket. They use a basket woven from palm leaves to carry the crops back from the bush. KT spent about 45 minutes making a small one while the ladies all called her smart.. "some Fijian ladies don't know how to weave like you" they said. We also spent some time handing out some of the 200 no bake cookies she made to all the villagers, some of them loved them but some of the older ones thought they were too sweet.
The rugby star Oreise came back with his girl friend and was in a much more relaxed mood. You know you've been in a village too long when you end up in bed with the chief. It started out as a simple walk down to "check the boat" our signal that we are going to the beach to take a pee. Of course a couple of kids followed and I had to tell them to wait as I did my business. While they were waiting they heard a woman screaming from the chiefs house... "Chris Chris come quick" they said. I ran to the house as the kids stayed outside. The Chief's daughter was yelling at me to help her. The chief is bed ridden and had fallen over part way out of bed and she couldn't get him back up. Oh yeah and he was pretty much naked! She was pounding on his back and hysterically crying, all while trying to rewrap his sulu. So I leaped over the bed and grabbed him around the chest I didn't realize before exactly how big and heavy he was. I tried pulling him back but he wouldn't move. He was moaning incoherently and was completely dead weight. Finally I pulled with all my might and he flopped backwards onto the bed. She was still screaming and hitting his chest, so I ran out and grabbed one of the chief's helpers and he started pounding on his back as well. Turns out he was taking a pee into the bed pan and started having a heart attack. yikes!! Well word got out and everyone came over .. "Chris you saved the chief", Yet another story the can tell about those crazy white people from the boat Billabong.
On Sunday we brought in coffee cake for breakfast and some more cookies, they made us Fijian pancakes which are a lot like donuts without the hole. We had more people out to the boat; first Oresee, his uncle/dad, and friends came out. They loved hanging out of the boat and wanted their picture taken with their island in the background. They really wanted to see the video of us swimming with the whales and the sharks. I think we gained some new found respect after they saw that, Then we had the "ladies" out to the boat. They were much more excited and required two trips to get them all on board. They laughed and giggled as we gave them lemonade and started asking us all sorts of questions and wanted to see pictures of our family. Then they asked what we were going to do about a family. I was standing down below and I said "we're just practicing" hoping it would blow over.. I have never heard them laugh sooo hard.
We walked around the village saying goodbye to people that weren't hanging out by the shade building, and handed out more cookies. Everyone asked when we would be back, it was hard to explain that we didn't know. Maybe we would return with our family to see everyone grown up. They had a goodbye grog party for us and people gave us gifts of paw-paw, coconuts, bananas and pineapple for "our trip". We tried to explain that it was just a day sail but we excepted their gifts whole heartedly. We said goodbye to everyone but it was especially hard to say goodbye to Sera, Freddy, and Asinaca who walked us down to the beach that night. We returned to Billabong, completely satisfied by our visit and looking forward to our eventual return.
Current Location: Naviqiri Village Current Position: 16°39.4' S 178°35.7' E
One of the main reasons we came back to Fiji was our love of the people, their smiles, laughter and good nature is thoroughly infectious. Our arrival in Savusavu felt like a homecoming with greetings from our old local friends and cruisers alike. The most amazing thing is how all the locals remember our names. We were constantly surprised by the "Bula Chris Bula KT" calls as we walked around town, even the woman at the local vegi market remembered KT. We received a couple of VHF calls from local cruiser residents who have started businesses there, "Welcome Home", and it felt like it.
We spent the first couple of days recovering , sharing war stories over happy hour and cleaning up the wet gear around the boat. Bobulona was getting ready to head north to Hawaii (via Samoa) so I spent a couple of days setting him up with some fishing gear. He really wants to catch a Yellowfin Tuna and I've got enough gear to outfit a fleet a fishing vessels so why not. KT and I were both amazed at the fresh vegetables at the market, yum! After dealing with air freighted or even worse ocean shipped veggies in Majuro, the fresh from the earth kind was much appreciated. Little things like mint and cilantro, fresh with root stocks still on them. KT even tried to get some to grow so she could add them to the basil she actually kept alive during the trip south.
She was excited to start testing the Solar oven that Red gave us to give to a local Fijian village. It only took a day to get it out and cranking and soon we had fish, bread, eggplant and roasted chicken all cooked to perfection in the solar oven. It was a little difficult to get the position right in the tidal river of Savusavu but it worked great when we moved out to the point for the weekend to relax and enjoy the nice breeze. KT even saw a Lion fish while she was snorkeling.
We headed back to town, because we could, for more fresh veggies and a nice sushi dinner to say goodbye to Bobulona. We spent the rest of the week enjoying the laid back atmosphere of Savusavu, it's fresh food and cheap beer during happy hour. It's a nice balance between small town atmosphere blended with the cruisers, not too much of either and if you get sick of one you can hang out with the other. KT cooked more things in the solar oven and, hold the phone, the cockpit cushions were made. It's kind of been a standing joke between KT and I because she has been threatening to sew them since we left. They turned out great but we both realized that the light gray color would show every piece of dirt brought aboard Billabong. So we had a happy hour complete with Ginger snap cookies and invited Indra over so we could get them dirty and get over the fact that they wouldn't stay clean forever.
KT joined a couple of our cruising friends another session of Cooking with Luci and made an amazing Tamarind Chutney before we headed out the point for the long weekend. I spent most of my time working of some fishing designs so that I could get Curly (the local rascal who helps the cruisers) to help me test them. I wrote up some "spec sheets" for all the things we've been using successfully but Curly has been out of town for weeks buying a new boat (to him), so I'm not sure it will happen. We returned to Savusavu which was filling up VERY quickly and decided it was time to head out of town. We spent a couple of days getting some supplies for the solar oven (that we could leave with the villagers), checked out and headed out to the point for a quick stop so we could leave early in the morning.
We were both very excited to see our old friends at Naviqiri Village. We had a nice beam reach (hey after 1700 miles of beating we weren't sure we remembered) down to the pass and a reef sheltered sail around the point before the wind died. We fished and caught a large barracuda, which in hind site we should have kept but threw back, and watched as a large shark stalked our lures for about half an hour. We had a choice, we could anchor and get up early in the morning to continue our trip or we could keep going (using our GPS track from last year) and arrive at the village at 10pm. We decided to keep going so that we could surprise everyone the next morning. We anchored just as the almost full moon rose above the clouds and went straight to bed so we would be ready for our exciting day in the village.
We walked in early and went to Sera and Freddy's house only to find out they were both gone!!!! Sera's now baby sits for a school teacher and Freddy was in Nadi. Grandma was there and she was soooo excited to see us. Of course she can't speak a lick of English so she just sat there smiling, laughing, hugging and punching us.. and boy that woman can hit!! Luckily we were greeted by Aquila, Freddy's nephew who spoke fluent English who could explain where everyone was. We walked around the village saying hi, watching in amazement at the expressions on their faces. "Chris, KT you came back like you promised".. it was kind of funny to watch.
Right away they would ask, "Where's Julie and Karl" like all Amercans who have ever been together have to stay together. Of course the kids were the most fun, some of them having grown significantly in the eight months since we last saw them. We said "qito qito" "play play" and they all ran up to the playing field. I pulled out a bunch of Frisbees and threw them as they went screaming across trying to catch them. One kid even grabbed one, held it to the sky and then kissed it and came running back with the biggest smile I've ever seen. KT got out some jump ropes and we all caught up by playing and laughing. Sera arrived after work and invited us back to her place for tea and to explain the big happenings.
Sera said she has a child now named Peter, and that he was white like us. Whoa this was HUGE news because Sera and Freddy have been trying to have a baby for a while. Then it came out that she had adopted the baby and then later that she gets paid $F40 (60 American cents an hour) a week to watch him and cook meals for some local teachers. We knew something was up when KT asked how the parents learned to speak Fijian (being White and all), and Sera gave KT a strange look, as if duh of course they speak Fijian! Anyway we were told we would be able to meet him the next day at the Big party. It turns out Freddy's son (that we didn't even know about last year) was on the Fijian Sevens Rugby team that won the world championships in London recently. This was HUGE!!
Fijian's love rugby and to have a world champion in their presence was beyond comprehension. The plan was to go in and help prepare the feast the next morning, maybe even in the solar oven, and then await their arrival around 1 o'clock the next day. When we went in there wasn't much cooking going on. We sat around waiting and willing to help but the only thing happening was they cooked the Cassava, in the biggest pot I have ever seen. We spent the afternoon killing time by making balloon animals with the kids, which was pretty funny because we didn't have a clue what we were doing.
Heck we still don't. This was going to be a HUGE party, they built a shade structure and decorated it with fresh greens and flowers. This is when we started to realize that even though we are speaking the same language there was a lot that was lost in the translation. Things that we thought we clear weren't.
First Peter was pretty dark (certainly not white) and both his parents were about as Fijian as you can get. Then Freddy and his son arrived at around 4:30 with a bunch of other people. We were told to wait in the ceremonial building as we watched, not having a clue what was going on. First, all the new guests went to another building and then came over to sit with us in a VERY structured way. There was an older couple, Freddy and then his son Oressi. At first the village women (and KT) presented the older man with lots of mats and oils, all laid out in front of him. One of the village elders spoke and the older couple and Freddy were all in tears, the older gentlemen saying "Vinaka" (thank you) frequently. This went on for about five minutes. I thought that this must be someone returning after losing his wife and the village was welcoming him back. Then he gave a speech and Freddy and the other lady were crying hysterically. What on earth is going on? Then Freddy's son was welcomed to a very special mat where Boxing Grandma was sitting. As she went to sit down grandma grabbed KT and pulled her to the mat so that it was this rugby world champ, grandma and KT sitting at the head of the ceremonies. KT kept looking at me like help .. and I was thinking she was going to be presented as a sacrificial virgin to the champion. Anyway there was more crying, grandma was having a fit, hugging Freddy's son and the two Ki-palagi (white) people were confused beyond belief. I think the son was scared out of his wits as well, as he kept chain smoking any chance he got, the weird thing was Freddy or his son didn't say anything.
So this is where we figure out that they do things a little differently in Fiji. Turns out that the older couple was Freddy's sister and her husband and that they had raised Freddy's son and another daughter.. yikes. It also began our investigation into the strange nature of brothers and sisters. Turns out they also call anyone who is actually a first cousin, brother and sisters and people who share the same parents are "real" brothers/sisters. This kind of threw a wrench into everything we thought we knew about all the relationships of the village, but we are slowly clarifying the "real" parts so we can get it all organized in our minds again. Now that I had a slightly clearer explanation for all the emotions I could relax and enjoy the kava and watch the recorded rugby games on the DVD player. Freddy came over and gave me a huge hugs and kept saying "Chris Chris" as he gave me huge hugs and held my hand. It turns out that all the gifts were actually for Freddy's son but they are passed/received through an intermediary.
The next day, of course the sun didn't cooperate so KT cooked the chicken and fish curry on board, made some Pawpaw (papaya) cake and we went in for Church. The party was after church and it was a huge feast where the table of honor rotated as people finished their food. KT got a couple of complements on her Ki-palagi food which was a little too soupy to be eaten by hand but that didn't keep them from trying. We also found out that Freddy's son was going to be leaving that afternoon instead of spending the week, another hiccup in our communication. I felt bad because I thought we would have some time to get to know him; we did have a good time hanging out with his sister. KT also noticed a VERY strange behavior between certain people, especially considering the lack of deodorant; they place their faces next to each other like a kiss to the cheek and then sniff violently. Hmmm!!! We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and sharing some more Talanoa (stories) and Kava (grog). When the generator came on KT got out our DVD and played their part for the village. They laughed and giggled and felt like movie stars as we explained that all our friends and family in America watch them on TV. They watched it three times and all wanted copies.
We spent the rest of the week hanging out in the village and playing with the kids when they got home from school. Luckily we only played rugby a couple of times, most of the village men have gone to Labasa to cut sugar cane, so that I've had a chance to recover between games. We went to the school on Friday to hang out with Sera, Peter, Freddy and the parents. We spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out with the kids and teaching them how to play a modified version of Ultimate Frisbee. It was rather amusing to watch the kids take advantage of the rules as we made them up. First we thought since they're not really good at throwing well or catching we'll make the rule the first person who gets to the Frisbee gets to keep it. Well the boys treated it like rugby and tackled the girls or pushed them out of the way, so we had to change that. Then the boys would throw the Frisbee way down the field and run after it to get across the line, and most wouldn't even catch it in the end zone. So we added a couple rules and then all had a blast. The girls were much better because the basic netball, which they play a lot, one girl even asked KT if she could "pivot". In the end we came up with a good set of rules that worked and everyone enjoyed. Even some of the mothers came out to play, maybe it'll be the new village sport.
On Saturday KT planned a cooking class to teach the locals how to make banana bread, pawpaw cake and use the solar oven. About 20 people showed up, surrounding KT as she explained everything, they didn't even know about vanilla or cinnamon. She modified the recipes to have oil instead of butter and got rid of some of the extra stuff, and even showed them how they could make zest with a coconut grater. Of course it was overcast so we had tocome up with an oven. We thought a pot within a pot would work good, especially if we put some fire on the top (they use aluminum pots) and raised the bottom with some tin tuna cans. Well I think it would have worked but there were way to many cooks in the kitchen. They kept opening it and looking, then burning the top with too much heat, then removing the outer pan and burning the bottom. Oh well they enjoyed the bread and even liked the burnt parts. The pawpaw cake was even more of a disaster because they completely took over, doing it the Fijian way, without two pots using only ash to insulate the pot from the fire.. it was even more burnt than the banana bread. Oh well it didn't stop a couple of ladies from trying to make it on their own the next day.
The first visit made us feel like what it must be like to be a rock star; with all the attention. The second visit has been even more amazing.. The people of the village who knew us from our first trip are amazed to see us again, some not believing their own eyes. The people who had only heard stories of us, greet us with open arms and are in awe that they get a chance to meet us. It's nice because we've been treated like one of the family, a little less focused on and able to relax and blend in a little more. We just hope we've been able to show them how special they are.
Current Location: Arrived Savusavu, Fiji (from Majuro, Marshall Islands) Current Position: 16°46.6' S 179°19.9' E Next Destination: Undecided (somewhere in Fiji) Miles Traveled: 1787.3 Miles to Go: 0
Yipeee! We’ve done it, finally arrived in Savusavu, and oh what a blessing it is. We officially pulled into the anchorage on Wednesday, May 31 around 7a.m. It’s our first time returning to a location already visited, and it feels a bit like returning home. After nine months visiting flat atolls, the surrounding luscious green mountains of Fiji are breathtaking. And we feel we’ve earned the peaceful waters of the anchorage, as less than twelve hours after writing our previous BLOG (posted 5/25) all hell broke loose.
As the sun was setting on the evening of the 25th, we could see we were surrounded by a number of thunderheads, but nothing so dense to be concerned about. The first squall hit around 7:30pm, marking the beginning of our most exhausting night in our passage-making history. Squall after squall hit, pounding us with enough rain to solve most of the world’s drought problems and with winds between 30-38 knots. They continued the entire night. Twelve hours straight. Hitting so close together that we never got more than 20-30 minutes rest. Our definition of a “squall” was redefined. Once the word “squall” would conjure up images of a large thunderhead throwing down some rain and wind for about 5-15 minutes before passing by … a bit inconvenient, but short-lived. Not this night. These squalls lasted from 30-90 minutes. They didn’t just throw down some rain; they pelted us with water bullets. The wind howled down at us and the waves tossed us around like rag-dolls. It was truly ugly.
Neither of us slept much, if at all, and when dawn finally broke we anxiously looked around hoping to see some break in the system. Depression hit fast when all that surrounded us was a thick layer of clouds and thunderheads. During one of the “calm” periods Chris did a quick deck check and found our main sheet block shackle had worked itself completely out of the threads, the only thing holding it was the pressure of the sail on the line. If it had come loose during a big squall we would have had some serious damage. That morning I talked to a single-hander, Russ (on Hygeleg) on the SSB Radio. He along with Indra and Navire, were a few hundred miles ahead of us. They were all hove-to waiting for a system even further South to break up before continuing on. Russ confirmed that he and Indra had also gone through the system we were currently in, and it had lasted about two days. Not what I was hoping to hear. As the SSB radio net was a twice a day event, Chris later asked me (as I was the one who had been listening in everyday), “How the hell could you have missed them talking about this kind of weather for two days straight?”. In my defense, I didn’t have a copy on Indra or Navire. Hygeleg complained of squalls in addition to a bunch of stuff on his boat breaking; so when he talked about how exhausted he was I attributed it to everything, including him being a single-hander, not just bad weather. I figured, okay so we might hit a few squalls … never had I imagined this! Had I picked up on it, we could’ve pulled into Funafuti, Tuvalu and waited for better weather, but now it was too late, we were going to have to ride it out. What’s even worse is the system had further developed by the time we had arrived. Needless to say, from then on I was much more attentive when I listened to the net.
That day we experienced less squalls, but the winds had picked up to a constant 20-25 knots and the seas were building and extremely lumpy. It was like being in a washing machine. The worst part was that we still had to run close-hauled in order to keep our Easting and not loose our rhumbline heading. The day was dark, dreary, and wet; never did any blue sky seem to poke through. The squalls that did hit were just as intense as the night before, but now we seemed to have a system down and so they didn’t seem quite as bad. Around 4pm I was getting hopefully that perhaps the night wouldn’t be so awful. It wasn’t the most comfortable ride, but with fewer squalls we could at least get a bit of rest. After two meals of granola bars I was thinking something warm and soupy would be comforting and a bit more nutritious. It was still too rough to cook anything ‘real’, so cup-o-soup was on my mind when the next squall hit. The squall packed a punch, making it too rough even for cup-o-soup. I kept waiting for it to end, but alas it was there for the long-haul and I conceded once again to another granola bar meal.
When things are bad, it’s good to remember they could always get worse. And unfortunately in this case they did. Now we weren’t just surrounded by squalls with painful rain and high winds. Now we had lightning. The worst thunder and lightning either of us has ever seen in our lives. LIVES – not just since cruising. Bolts of lightning cracked so bright and so long we had to shut our eyes against them. Thunder that rumbled then roared then growled, all in one continuous long song. There was so much electricity in the air that half the time our instruments didn’t work, reading crazy wind strengths (such as 200 knots). Chris was sure we’d be hit; how could we not? We crammed our oven full with electrical instruments and computers, and threw over our grounding strip. And waited.
Around 10pm, I was down below trying to get in a nap, when Chris called me up. The wind had died and we were stuck in, as Chris called it, the belly of the beast. It was as if we were inside a thunderhead. We couldn’t see more then our boat length away – in any direction. Rain poured down. And everywhere lightning flashed, you could see the bolts darting through the clouds. 360 degrees of surrounding lightning; and here we were sitting there with this huge metal pole standing 60 feet tall. Not a place to just kick it, so we turned on the motor and went full throttle. And went. And went. It felt as though we were doing circles, we had no reference points and it didn’t seem like we’d ever make it out. For two hours we motored and sailed as the winds died and increased. The entire time the thunder roared so loud it shook us to the core and the lightning continued, each flash circling 360 and briefly lighting the surrounding dark masses of clouds.
About an hour into it, I was standing in the center of the cockpit facing starboard, with Chris behind the wheel, when WHACK. “What the hell was that?” Chris, ever so calmly, as if it is a normal occurrence, says “A bird”. “See”, as he shines his flash light on a small bird spread flat on the port side. He was tangled under one of our lines, so I moved the line to free him. Whether dazed, injured, or just plain tired he didn’t make a move to leave. At this point Chris and I were so exhausted and fed-up with the weather that we had nothing but empathy for the poor fellow. He didn’t seem to take well to the motion of the boat (who would), and was having trouble standing. Chris bundled up his sweatshirt and placed the bird into it, providing some assistance against the rocking. Meanwhile the bird’s family seemed to be following us, SQWACK … SQWACK. Our new friend sqwacked back occasionally but made no move to leave. Chris, in his delirious state, actually called out to the birds, inviting them aboard, shining his flashlight onto the decks in a runway fashion. No one else joined us, but they did follow us for a good bit. At one point Chris moved the bird slightly forward of the cockpit, near the railing, to give him a better chance to fly off with his mates, but the bird stayed. So we left the guy, desperately trying to maintain his balance and looking at Chris and I as though we were fools to be on such a moving beast, in the cockpit to rest.
Around midnight, we finally we broke out. Seven hours of nasty lightning finally coming to an end. It was blowing 16-20 and still raining, with occasional lightning flashes here and there, but the clouds no longer blended with the seas and the lightning no longer circled us. Chris finally attempted to rest while I took watch. Eventually our bird friend moved, practically flew into my head, scaring the you-know-what out of me. I thought he wanted to leave, so I lifted the cockpit wind-curtain, but at the same time a wave hit and the bird lost his balance and fell on the floor. I scooped him up and held him to the hole in the wind-curtain. Just about then another huge wave hit and the bird half fell and half jumped from my hands, landing on our swim step. He didn’t look happy at all, but there was no way I could reach him, so I left him, hoping he’d fly away before another wave washed him off the step. The next time I looked out he was gone. I had to convince myself that he surely flew off to safety before a wave came and washed him out to sea.
We went an entire five hours without a squall hitting. We were overjoyed. The next morning was still overcast, but a bit calmer. Maybe, just maybe it was almost over. BAM. Another squall. A white out of rain. We couldn’t see past our bow. But no wind this time, so we were motoring. Unfortunately the seas weren’t dying and they seemed to be coming from three different directions. The three boats up ahead had started sailing again and were reporting the same conditions. By now we were both beyond exhaustion. We’d hardly been able to sleep, and what sleep we did manage was uncomfortable and broken. It is amazing how your body handles such exhaustion. While there are times that the waves and winds can sound a bit like voices, it is usually easy to tell your mind is just playing tricks on you … unless, that is, you are sleep deprived. On more than one occasion Chris reported hearing voices and music. He was especially thrown off when one day we were within VHF range with Indra. Chris hadn’t realized I was talking to them on the VHF down below, and with the high winds he could barely make out Rob’s voice on the cockpit mike. He thought his mind was playing tricks again until he finally realized he actually recognized the voice this time. We had to be extra careful the more sleep deprived we became. There were times when I was so tired I couldn’t get the instruments to focus; they were just blurry numbers before my eyes. Onetime Chris was checking and couldn’t manage to clear his brain enough to compute what he was looking at on the instruments and what it all meant. He had to just stare at the numbers trying to remember what he was supposed to be accomplishing. Staying awake during watches and alert during squalls became more and more difficult; our watch timer was barely doing the trick of waking us if/when we fell asleep. Thank god is was just about over.
The 28th was our first day without rain since the whole mess had begun. The winds were still up (around 20 kts) and the seas still confused, but what a difference a little sun can make in your outlook. We hadn’t fished since the first squally night, but as we passed over a few shallow banks, Chris threw over one line just for fun. We instantly caught a very funky looking reef fish with big ‘ol teeth and a huge wide-open mouth. Not knowing what he was and being still a bit rough to attempt fish cleaning, we threw him back. Another time the “fish on” snubber was pulled bar tight until the 400 lb test line snapped like it was a thin piece of thread, I would have like to have gotten a look at THAT fish!
The 29th was still lumpy and windy, but now we could see the light at the end of the tunnel, as the next day we’d be in Fijian waters and we knew it would be calmer once we got into the Somosomo straight. After all the crappy bad-weather meals I was looking forward to something real and was excited that Chris would once again be able to fish. The next morning was utter bliss. Clam and near flat. Mostly sunny. No black ugly clouds on the horizon. Fijian mountains in the distance. And Chris fishing. With six lines running, we looked more like a fishing vessel than sailboat, but it paid off. By 8am we had already pulled in a good size Mahi Mahi. We also had caught a Barracuda, but opted to not keep it. We spent the day enjoying the calm seas and light winds. Chris played with his magnitudes of fishing gear in between boat chores, such as draining 25 gallons of water from our forward bulk-head. I straightened up down below and kept the boat on course. It is amazing how many things can get jarred free and end up flying across the cabin. With all the commotion we had also managed to burst a few of our home-brew bottles … Billabong smelled like a brewery. We enjoyed extremely fresh fish tacos for lunch and looked forward to another fish meal for dinner. The winds continued to lighten, so we eventually had to motor. Life aboard Billabong was slowly returning to normal.
Since we had our track and waypoints from last year, we were able to get into the Savusavu bay at night. It was around 11pm and we didn’t want to go all the way into the harbor at night without knowing if and what mooring balls were available, but we knew the approximate location of a mooring ball out at the point (about 3 miles from the harbor). We had never attempted picking up a mooring at night, but the thought of a restful night of sleep tempted us into trying. Surprisingly, it went really well, and we soon found ourselves enjoying a calm, cool, quiet evening. You don’t realize just how loud the wind and rain are until you are still. I found myself enjoying the stillness of everything; the air, the wind, the boat, and myself. We both let out huge “Ahhhhhhhhs”, and then hit the sack. It is technically against check-in regulations to moor or anchor prior to clearing into the country, so we got up at the crack of dawn and headed into the anchorage.
It’s hot and muggy due to lack of breeze, but it’s calm. We’ve seen a few familiar faces and have enjoyed being recognized by some of the locals. Navire, Hygeleg, and Indra all made it in on Wednesday as well, so that evening we went out to share ‘war stories’ over cold beers. Navire, having sailed for 10 years and having been around the world nth amount of times commented that this was some of the roughest seas/weather ever encountered. It didn’t help that early on they tore their main sail and had to use their tri-sail, which makes it difficult to point. Hygeleg has been out sailing for over 20 years and he said this was his worst passage yet. While not the worst weather he’s seen, the confused rough seas and endless squalls combined with a torn main sail and broken auto-pilot made the passage nearly intolerable. Indra had to battle a broken wind-vane, leaks, and a severe burn caused from a pot of boiling water falling onto Margie’s hand when a squall came up unexpectedly. All in all, it made Billabong’s passage seem not-so-bad considering we didn’t break anything or hurt ourselves.
After more than 1600 nautical miles of the 1787.3 mile trip to weather (an approximate 45 degree apparent wind angle) and 373 hours, 19 minutes of continuous moving, we are quite thrilled that we have only day-trips to look forward to for the next month or two!
Current Location: Underway from Majuro, Marshall Islands Current Position: 07 18.20 S 179 54.66 E Next Destination: Savusavu, Fiji Miles Traveled: 1121 Miles to Go: 590
"Gentlemen don't go to weather" is an old sailor's saying, not sure where it comes from, but either it's not true or there are no gentlemen aboard Billabong, as we have been "going to weather" for 10 days now … 1121 n. miles of running close to the wind. When it's calm it's not so bad, but when the wind picks up or a squall hits how I long to be heading downwind. Some mornings I wake as though beaten with a baseball bat; sore, stiff and aching. I do believe Billabong might think she's some type of sea animal as she leaps into the air belly flopping from crest to crest. Not only can it be uncomfortable, but it seems this passage has required more of our attention than others. Typically we can set the autopilot and more or less forget about it, but in this case we have to constantly monitor our wind angle, always trying to keep the angle tight, without pinching. Honestly, it is a pain in the booty and I'm just about ready to be done! Chris continues to keep the carrot out in front of me, assuring me that once we are far enough east we can start to bear off. The question is, when is far enough???
It's slowly paying off though, as last night we finally crossed over the 180 degree line. We are now just about due north of our entrance point into Savusavu, however we must continue making some easting in case the winds clock around, and so yes, we are still going to weather. But it is one of those calm mornings and so life, even close-hauled, doesn't feel so bad.
On the bright side, we seem to not have hit as many squalls, knock on wood, as the boats ahead of us. In addition, I seem to have finally found a sea-sickness remedy that works for me, and for our first passage ever I finally feel like a normal human being at least 75% of the time!
On the fishing front; we caught two small skip-jacks the other day. We don't know what these guys must have been thinking … they must be near starving, as the lure(s) they hit was nearly the same size as them!!! We threw them both back -- a little too small and we are being fish-snobs; holding out for a mahi-mahi, wahoo, tuna or something related.
Sorry! The content you were looking for does not exist or changed its url.
Please check if the url is written correctly or try using our search form.
Bigger Archive Portal
Other portals
World War I , Africa ,United States of America ,Anime and manga ,Ankara ,Anthropology ,Military • Astronomy • Asia • European Union • Azerbaijan • Azerbaijan (Iran) • BBC • Beşiktaş • Science • History of science • Biography • Byzantine Empire • Bosnia -Herzegovina • Jazz • Sexuality • Geography • China • Language • Religion • Literature • Energy • Armenia • Eurovision • Evolutionary biology • Philosophy • Feminism • Fenerbahçe • Palestine • Physics • France • Football • Galatasaray • South Korea • Georgia • Harry Potter • Aviation • Hinduism • Christianity • Iraq • England • Human rights • Internet • Iran • Islam • Istanbul • Scouting • Izmir • Japan • Kazakhstan • Cyprus • Kuwait • North Korea • North Macedonia • Culture • Lady Gaga • LGBT • Liberalism • Madonna • Mathematics • Media • Mexico • Michael Jackson • Mustafa Kemal Atatürk • Music • Middle East • Middle World • Ottoman Empire • Automobile • Free software • Pakistan • Psychology • Russia • Art • The Simpsons • Cinema • Politics • Socialism • Soviet Union • Sports • Syria • History • Technology • Television • Terrorism •Medicine • Theater • Society • Turkish Armed Forces • Turkish history • Turkey • Video games • Judaism • Stargate
Kayıtlar
