Farewell New Zealand hello Fiji

We arrived in Opua which is our departure port to tidy up loose ends and get the last of the boat projects done.
We needed to change the position of the radar from the mast to the spreader as we were unable to tack the sail through---this of course adds another few years we will have to sail the boat to recoup the money “saved” by adding the solar panel!!!
We needed a new tuner for our single side band radio which we find invaluable on our long passages to let other cruisers know where we are as we travel and find the weather conditions for the boats ahead of us.
It was also a time to catch up with old friends as everyone is gathering to be ready to leave with the first weather window in May.
We took several more shopping trips adding even more weight to our already overloaded boat. It is hard to resist the treats offered in NZ as we know that for the next 6 months we will be limited with what we can get, Mind you I have learned not to buy canned goods that I do not like and therefore will still have on the boat several years from now—i.e. canned peas still on board since Panama!! I intend giving them away in Vanuatu. For some reason canned spinach is not available here—I do like throwing that in a pasta sauce but I may have to used canned peas!!!
Out new crew member Travis arrived. He is a young mechanic who had worked on our boat in Wellington who had jumped at the chance to sail north with us. He will fly home after a week in Fiji. He is a great young man and we only hope he does not get sea sick and we hope that we have time to have any new engine problems before he leaves again!!!
It seems that Saturday the 1st of May is the date to depart. There is a rally of 31 boats going to Tonga and another 10 who are going to Fiji which we will keep in radio contact throughout the trip. The first week we all head in the same direction as most of us are planning a rest stop at Minerva Reef. This is 780 nautical miles north and is very sheltered from seas in big winds.
We checked out of customs and by 1pm the sea was alive with sails---we had hoped to get off a little earlier than most as we will be in the fastest 1/3 of the boats and wanted to avoid passing dozens after dark. It was not to be and we actually left after the bulk but everyone spread widely and it did not become an issue.
Our first couple of days we got back into the rhythm of a long passage with Travis taking the early morning shift it meant Ken and I got a longer and a very welcome sleep. We had favourable winds and made good time
By the the 5th day we were getting squalls with big winds and rough seas which made for an uncomfortable ride. We were taking large waves off the side of the boat so although we were sailing well it was like being on a bucking bronco and it was very tiring. Fortunately the winds were favourable and we were doing 8-9 knots and on the 6th day got to Minerva and were very thankful to join the 8 other boats already taking sanctuary there. Two others managed to get in before dark and we all had a great sleep as we were all exhausted. It was the longest most uncomfortable sail we have had. In the morning we got up to fix the problems that had occurred in the last 30 hours.
The trampoline which we knew was due to be replaced and we had decided to do in Fiji did not last till and we put new grommets into whatever fabric was left with any integrity. No bouncing on the trampolines for a while!! Our salon table which had ripped out some screws and was no longer attached to the floor was reinforced. An escape hatch on our floor had blown out a handle; a stair rail had pulled out when Travis got thrown down the stairs. The hatch cover over my pantry had taken so much water over it that it had leaked all over my canisters and recipes, luckily I only lost some coffee as everything was in sealed containers and I was able to dry out the recipes.
We took the day and repaired everything so we would be ready to leave the next day. Travis being such a practical young man was a great help and was able to help Ken while I dried out the pantry.
As our friend on Mr John commented—I am only 6 days from NZ and already have 2 pages of new boat projects!!! Mind you he had hit a whale on his first day out. Luckily for them it did little damage..
Minerva still reminds me of what I imagine to be a moonscape—we are in the caldera of a volcano and the reef is the width of an airport runway. This time the sea on the outside was rougher than our last visit here and we were still getting 29 knots of wind inside without the rough seas -- no one even put their dinghy’s in the water.
Travis who had never been in tropical water before took the opportunity to snorkel and was very excited—reminded us when Aaron was on the boat with his enthusiasm--they would have both been in the water forever if they had been here together
By the end of the second day there were now 30 boats all taking refuge and getting some hard earned rest.
We left Minerva along with a number of boats going to both Fiji and Tonga as it appeared to be the last weather window for a few days. We have a 420 mile passage to Savusavu in Fiji.
We had favourable winds and with the seas having calmed had a great couple of sailing days doing 8knots. Can we make it before dark on the 3rd day? ---we were counting the miles down needing the wind to stay strong.
At 4am the wind died which meant we had to turn on the motor and we would not get in until dawn the following day---it never seems to matter during a passage only when you are so near and yet so far.
How do you know when you are nearing Fiji?---you check to see when Travis can get an internal flight to connect with his return to NZ and they say the last plane for a month will be going on the 12th as they are going to do maintenance on the plane!! They apparently do not have an extra plane. Luckily we will be in on the 11th so we secured him a seat on the last available plane—he is a little wary of the fact it is the last trip before maintenance—hopefully unlike Tonga they schedule it before it falls apart??
The alternative offered was a ferry ride involving an overnight passage as opposed to a 40 minute flight!! After this 1200 NM trip one more overnight trip did not appeal. Besides after having had so much guilt after we put Marcie and Don on the ferry in Tonga we will never do that again. Actually Tonga buys Fiji’s used ferries so perhaps they are still good in Fiji.
We had already had to sail around the first of the Fiji islands in the night although they do not appear to have any lights on them—generator till dark probably.
The air temperature has suddenly got hotter—about C30 along with humidity.
Dawn came with our first view of an island—lush but not the towering hills of the Marqueses. It is odd to think that we still are in 9000 feet of water and until you are less than 1 mile from land it stays this deep. I guess that means most of the mountains are underwater.
The water temperature is close to the air temperature and Travis did a swim off the back of the boat—attached by a rope—we are always a little concerned a wind will come up and us sail off without whoever is in the water.
The lack of wind meant we could fish—it has been too rough so far on this trip. The first one “got away” without seeing him. Travis next caught a HUGE tuna which he took about 45 minutes to get to the boat and just a he was landing it with Ken on the gaff we realised it was hooked by the gills and as soon as the pressure went off the line it got away!!! It had been a 50lb or more yellowfin which we all clearly saw—what heartbreak for Travis—he had never caught anything near this big before.
Later that day the wind came up and we set sail again finally getting to our weigh point for Savusavu early the next morning.
We called Dolly—the young lady who has the marina organised. It bought back memories of Barillas, El Salvador as we were guided to a mooring buoy where we tied up and waited and shortly after health, customs and quarantine officials came to our boat and with no hassles we were checked in and able to go to shore.
Many cruising friends are here already and others coming in as the season starts.
IT IS HOT here!!! We had forgotten the heat of the tropics and this part of Fiji is particularly humid with the wet season just over is very hot and sticky.
First impressions are more reminiscent of Ecuador or the Caribbean Islands than the Pacific Islands with a distinct East Indian flavour--- they seem to run all of the businesses. This is a small town and the locals are particularly friendly —one reason we had chosen to come here rather than one of the bigger cities to start our Fiji experience.
I will post this later today and we will slowly adjust to the cruising life style again.