This morning we had enough wind to unreef the main and put the head sail out. Slowly the wind dropped and swung more north this meant we had to go with motor assist. Most of the afternoon the wind was down to 7kts, but the swell was also down to 1m. Today everyone was feeling a bit better and we were all able to have lunch together, and it stayed down. Everyone is settling into the routine and roster. This afternoon we all got turns to have a nap, with the gentle rock of the waves. Tonight we are going to try Nachos for dinner.
The wind and swell slowly dropped overnight and during today. The two newbies got plenty of sleep, sleeping in the saloon, rising about lunchtime. Julia straight away took a shift at the helm. Still not well enough to eat more then a couple of dry crackers. Austin arose and then went back to bed till his turn on the helm. We are now back to 2 hours on and 6 hours off shifts. It looks like it will be my job to eat all the food we had bought for the passage, as most of it will be confiscated when we get to New Zealand. B is on soup bananas and crackers. That is if we have enough dry crackers to last, for the others. By lunchtime the wind was at a constant 20kts and the swell was down to 1m. Very good sailing. We have the 140% head sail out with the main and mizzen sails. This is giving us a nice 6.5kts of speed.
Friday 6th We all headed into Denarau this morning at 7.30am. It took till 9.30 to clear customs because there were so many boats leaving, there was a que. Once cleared we hauled anchor and set sail. At 12.00 we came across a local boat in trouble. There outboard motor had stopped and they needed help. We called for help on the VHF radio and the Fiji Navy boat was soon on its way. Before it got there another local boat came along and was able to tow the small fishing boat back to shore. It was after 1.00pm when we were able to get back underway. As we ventured out into the 3m swell and 30kt winds Julia and then Austin discovered the swell is different out here and they took a bucket each. By evening the swell had dropped to 2m and the wind was a comfortable 20kts. I was the only one game enough to eat dinner (spaghetti Bolognese). B had crackers.
This morning we welcomed Julia onboard. Austin left us to discover Nadi and sort out some internet downloading. We sailed back to Malolo Lailai island, had a swim and chatted the rest of the day. We went through all the safety procedures with Julia and spent the evening drinking a bottle of wine on the foredeck watching the sun go down.
This morning we set off back to Denarau to do some shopping and get ready to pick up Julia (new crew) tomorrow. B helmed as Austin hauled anchor, leaving Musket Cove behind. Austin took over the helm and sailed us most of the way to Denarau. Once we had anchored and had lunch it was chill time. In the afternoon we all went ashore. B and I looked around the shops and got some supplies, while Austin found free WIFI and caught up on the internet. Austin saw that one of the boats anchored near us was the same type as his, so he took the dinghy across to have a chat. Back on Imagine it was time for cards before dinner.
The wind has been up all night and all day. So this morning after breakfast we all went ashore and walk around the island to the marina. Austin kept his shirt on all day, to cover up his sunburn from yesterday. After walking around the resort we went for a shower. We may as well use their water.
After showering we sat on the veranda and had lunch. Austin then went off to take more pictures while B and I sat on the grass killing time.
When Austin got back we headed to the shop for our ice cream tasting. OMG they were out of Kapiti ice cream. Call the authorities! How dare they run out out of our ice cream?
Reluctantly we trudged back to the dinghy via the coast. On the way back I attacked a palm tree with a long stick, obviously loosening the coconut, because when Austin had a go, the coconut fell to the ground. The tide was still out by the time we got back so I had to drag the dinghy across the reef. Back on Imagine we all went for a swim.
He has only been on the boat one day and Austin has already blocked the toilet!This morning the toilet blocked just after Austin had used it. The problem as with all salt water toilets was calcium build up in the system. It didn’t take too long to fix but as you can imagine it’s not a nice job to do straight after breakfast (or any time). After that was sorted we all went across to the reef and spent a couple of hours snorkelling. Today the water wasn’t as clear, but the fish were still there, swimming through the colourful coral. After lunch was nap time. We went for a walk along the beach late in the afternoon, then sat on deck and watched the sunset
It was a beautiful calm morning. The water was clear without any ripples. We decided to see if we could find the snubber that had broke 5 days ago. The water was so clear that it only took 5 minutes to locate it on the seabed. The snubber was in just over 11m of water. This meant that I needed the Hooker dive system to reach it.
After recovering the snubber we had to celebrate, so we thought we had better go to Musket Cove Marina and test the ice cream again. The rest of the day has just been chilling.
We are still around the corner from Musket Cove waiting for a weather window, so we can head back to NZ. It looks like we will set off at the end of the month. Meanwhile we have explored more beaches and reefs.
While we have been here more and more schools of small fish have gathered around Imagine. This has attracted a seabird that joins us twice a day, diving for it dinner. Another preying on the fish, is a Sharksucker. It’s about 500mm long and it hides under Imagine possibly attaching itself to the hull. It darts out every now and then to score a meal. A sharksucker is known to attach itself temporarily by its modified dorsal fin used as a sucking disc to various hosts such as sharks, rays even sometimes boats.
We have been making several trips into Musket Cove for the soul purpose of quality control. We have to make sure the Kapiti White Chocolate and Rasberry Icecream is of the same consistency and taste every time.
We just sitting in the cockpit writing the blog when a local boat come racing up to us. Shouting out asking for medical help. We quickly went out on deck to see what we could do. There was five in the boat. One face down. They shouted out for a razerblade and needle. We raced inside to get them and the first aid kit. The man had been walking through the water near the sand spit and stepped on a sea urchin. We passed the things across the the boat and the woman digging out the thorn. We then gave them some antiseptic cream pad and bandage. After thanking us they were on their way back to their village, the man still in pain.
The last few days we have been anchored off Malolo Lailai island (around the corner from Musket Cove). Walks and snorkeling in the sun. Last night the weather turned. The swell and wind came in the Bay and made it an uncomfortable night.
This morning started with a bang! I ran out on deck to see what it was. Imagine was being bounced around in 1m waves and 25knt winds. The Snubber had snapped. (The Snubber is a rope that hooks onto the anchor chain and back to the boat. It stretches a little bit to soften the jarring of the chain as the boat rocks with the waves.) I had a spare hook and rope so I quickly, not neatly spliced the hook onto the new rope and connected it to the the anchor chain.
After breakfast we ventured out to the back deck for our morning shower. It wasn’t easy washing and keeping balance while Imagine bounced around but we had fun.
The rest of the day wasn’t as exciting as it was too rough to do anything.
