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Wednesday 18th. As the sun rose we followed Honeycomb (a catamaran) out of the bay and headed to the Yasawa island. With the wind almost behind us we left the main sail down and just used the headsail. We were surprised that it didn’t take long before we overtook Honeycomb. Catamaran are usually faster then monohulls going down wind.

We had the easterly swell and wind behind us all the way to Yasawa, but when we went around the top of the island we discovered there was a south westerly swell coming in the west side of the island. The low island didn’t provide a lot of shelter from the easterly wind, which meant the bay wasn’t the most comfortable place to stay.

The wind seems to funnel between Fijis’ two main islands Vanau Levu and Viti Levu, blowing a constant strong easterly wind through the 6 or 7 Yasawa group of islands. We spent Thursday there before heading south to get out of the wind and swell.

Naviti island was where the wind started to ease off so we stopped in a sheltered bay at Korokulu point. The passing ferry stops in the bay to drop-off and pick up guests from the resort. The guests are transferred from the ferry to the resorts dinghy, which takes them ashore.

On Saturday we went ashore and talked to some resort guests before going for a walk along the beach. Again the swell came in the bay at high tide. We moved to the south end of the bay for a little more shelter overnight.

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Monday morning we awoke to a beautiful sunrise. The Sea was so still all day that sometimes the reflection of the clouds made it hard to see where the ocean met the sky.

With the bay so calm went up the mast with B holding the safety line, to check everything. I discovered the main halyard pully was damaged and has the risk of slicing the Halyard. I changed over the Topping lift and the Halyard as a temporary fix. Next I replaced the deck lights and brackets that had rusted. We had noticed that the stitching on part of the Staysail had unstitched, so we pulled the Staysail down off the furler and got the sewing machine out. With the sail spread across the foredeck we were able to repair the sail. In the meantime B repaired the fraying flag.The wind was just starting to blow a small breeze as we finished hoisting the sail back up the furler.

This morning was quiet again so we took the time to go for a snorkel. The reef was in good shape with an array of corral species. This also meant an abundance of fish life. That was one of the best snorkelling so far.

This afternoon two small yachts came in the Harbour and anchored nearby and crafted together. Four o’clock a squall hit. The two boats didn’t have time to unraft and we’re only held by the anchor of one of them. They dragged a little bit towards us and then seemed to hold. Our concern was they were now very close to where we layed our anchor. We didn’t want them to hook our chain and pull our anchor out of the sand. Both them and us watched the boats movements closely for the next hour and a half. The wind and rain died down a little an the boats separated, one moving off to anchor on his own.

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It was a nice calm morning for going into the marina and filling up with diesel. There were several boats booked in ahead of us, so it was 10am by the time we got to the fuel dock. There were guys at the fuel dock to help us tie off to the dock and pump fuel. Phillips seems to be the Manager and genuinely helped with a smile.

When we left the fuel dock we headed out of the bay and back through the pass we had come in. It was totally different to the conditions a week ago. Its gone from 10m waves to 1m. We headed North West along the edge of the reef. By late afternoon we reached a narrow pass through the Reef which lead us to what looked on the chart as a nice sheltered bay. It was sheltered but because of the reef we had to anchor faraway from the shore and we were quite exposedto the wind, anyway we were out of the swell and spent the night there.

The Saturday morning we continued north up the coast to the next sheltered bay. This one was surrounded by mangroves, which meant mosquitoes, so again we stayed away from the shore. As the next sheltered bay was another 40 nautical miles and it was already mid afternoon we anchored there and had a swim despite the choppy water. When we woke up at sunrise for our morning swim we were very disappointed by the dirty, cloudy water( the tide was going out and being surrounded by mangroves and reefs we assume that was all the seaweed and mud flowing out) so we hauled anchor thinking of going to the next bay up north of Vanua levu island.

After a second thought, checking the map and weather forecasts we decided to head to Yadua island which was our next stop plan before crossing to Yasawa group. It seems that going up north means more mangroves , dirty water and mosquitoes.

On the way we put out the fishing lure and caught a decent size Spanish Mackerel. B made a very nice Sunday fish lunch and dinner. We anchored in in the South Eastern bay and went ashore. Like a lot of beaches throughout the Pacific Islands this beach was covered in plastic bottles and other plastic rubbish that had been washed up in storms. By the time we got back to Imagine the wind was coming in the bay so we moved around the corner to Cokuvou Harbour. This bay is very sheltered.

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We have finally got our cruising permit. We have only been waiting since Sunday. This allows us to move out of this bay and cruise around the Fiji islands. Why a cruising permit is an option and more paperwork? How many people would sail to Fiji to sit here in the Harbour? Our next delay is we can’t get fuel untill tomorrow because their repairing the fuel pump. So one more night and another day of not being able to go for a swim.

The shops in town don’t stock any of the correct glue available to repair our dinghy so I have used what glue I have onboard for a temporary fix. We have been into town a few times to the fresh fruit and veggies market, the bakery and the supermarket. We also found the butcher, who seemed to also sell “Builders Mix” but we didn’t need to do any concreting, so we just bought meat. We are now stocked up for a few weeks away from towns.

Weather wise as per usual it is not quite what we saw on forecast neither what we would like, but being stuck here being overcast and showers most of the time keeps us cool as we cannot swim in the Harbour.

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Dispite the ragging-wind outside the bay we had a peaceful night. In the morning we hauled anchor and made our way up the Savusavu marinas between all the moored boats and eventually found a mooring. We again tried calling customs and the marina but there was no reply. We weren’t too happy with it as it was very close to another boat, but we watched all day and we always swung the same way. In the afternoon we had a visit from the marina guy. We thought the mooring were part of the Copra Shed marina, but this one was Waitui marina. He went back and organized customs to visit us.

A few hours later he returned with Health Officer, who cleared us. In the mean time we had swung the opposite way to our neighbour’s and we’re about to collide. I quickly started the engine and moved out of the way. We got the marina guy to guide us to another mooring before he went to pick up the Immigration and Customs Officers. After we cleared in and he returned the officers to shore he returned to tell us the mooring hadn’t been serviced for a long time and wouldn’t hold Imagine. By this time it was dark. He headed off and we were supposed to follow the glow of his phone. We eventually found him at the other end of the marina.The rope on this mooring didn’t look any better but we stayed there the night.

This morning we went ashore to the ATM and then back and forth through town paying the Immigration, Health, Biosecurity and Customs fees. We had lunch at The Captains Table and checked out the local fresh fruit and veggies market (you can also get all sorts of Kava, roots, powder and ready to drink).

When we got back to the dinghy we found the front tube of the dinghy deflated. Our dinghy (RIB) is made up of three tube’s so if one deflates it will still stay afloat. We slowly motored back to Imagine and lifted the dinghy on deck. Once the tube was inflated it was easy to see that the glue on a previous patch had deteriorated and the patch had come away. It could be an easy fix just reglue it with the new tube of glue I had bought in case of an emergency, but unfortunately when I opened up the new tube of glue I found it rock hard, which means it’s useless!

It looks like a trip ashore tomorrow to see if we can buy glue for inflatable boats. For now it will be sit back, on deck, with a wine and watch the sunset.

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Friday night the wind turned a little in our favour, which brought our speed back up to 8kts. Saturday morning the wind was 25kts most of the time with short periods of 30kts with rain most of the day. The waves started at 2m on the beam and built to 5m to 6m making it a rolly ride.

We reached Fiji late in the afternoon passing between Vanau Levu and Taveuni islands. This gave us protection against the swell and most of the wind. As we came out from behind Taveuni to head to Savusavu we got hit. The wind was up 30kts gusting 37kts and the swell had built to 8m with the occasional 10m wave just for fun( not that much fun if you ask B).

To get in to Savusavu we had to go between the reef at the point of the bay and a row of rocks crossing the bay with an 8m swell behind us. We pulled in the staysail the main was reefed to number 2 and lifejackets were on. Off we went. It’s an amazing feeling being lifted 8 to 10m from behind as the boat surfs down the face of the wave. The waves were travelling faster than us so as the crest of the wave reached Imagine, the boat would go from bow down to bow up. One minute looking at the sea at the bottom of the wave to only seeing the grey rain clouds in front of us, then back down again. B wouldn’t let me play Beach Boys music.

Half an hour later we were in the shelter of the bay. The pitch black night meant we had to rely on our charts to navigate. We could see on AIS that there were a lot of boats in the Copra Shed Marina and river. There were even two boats anchored in the mouth of the river, so we decided to stop before the river and anchor for the night.

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This morning we went ashore to return the food containers and banana basket to Alakoka and Mika. We were also going to walk to the shop and petrol station, but Mika insisted on taking us in his ute.

We returned to Imagine with the two jerrycans of diesel and some bread. The wind had changed and the waves were coming in the bay so we hauled anchor and moved to Sainte Marie island. On the south western side of the island there was shelter from the wind, but anchoring was a problem. The Sea bed came up from 35m to 2m very quickly. We managed to anchor in 15m with the wind holding us of the reef. Unfortunately it was only good for a few hours before the tide changed. Anyway we managed to go ashore between the rain and walk the beach before hauling anchor.

We thought we may get better anchorage in the next bay. There the minimum we found was 35m deep. That meant we had to put out almost all of out 80m of chain to hold us. That seemed to be good untill the rising tide allowed the swell to come over the outer reef and into the bay. This meant a rocky night. So we hauled anchor once again and headed back to the lagoon we had sheltered in once before. Hoping for a quiet night.

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This morning we ventured ashore in search of fuel. The rain came down as soon as we made it to shore. Luckily there was a shelter at the boat ramp. Once the rain stopped we started walking. There was a set of outdoor gym equipment set up in the middle of nowhere. We stopped a Police vehicle to ask where we could get fuel . The officer started to explain the way to B (in french) then said get in the back of the truck and they will take us there It wasn’t far to the petrol station.

We filled up our two jerrycans with diesel and went to the roadside, where B used her thumb to flag down another ute in less than 1 minute. How lucky we were this couple lived only metres away from the boat ramp. They showed us where their house was and dropped us at the ramp. They also told us to come across for a coffee any time.

This afternoon we took them up on their offer and went across to their house. Mika poured the coffee as we sat on the veranda over looking at the ocean. As he only spoke French B translated the conversations. His wife Coco came out with food she had been cooking for us . They told us about their family of eight children and life on Wallis. Mika showed us around their property. They had a lot of pigs, banana, bread fruit and coconut trees. As we were about to go Coco came out with more food packed in containers for us to take back to the boat for dinner.

We returned to Imagine with a months supply of bananas, a bunch of fruit that we have only seen in Tonga and here( sorry cannot remember the name), 4 fish and tonight’s dinner.

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On Sunday the wind had dropped to 15kts so we ventured ashore. We found a small beach where some kids were swimming and we carried on to the next beach. There were several local fishing boats tied up in the shallow water. We walked the street looking at the neatly kept gardens in front of all the houses. We came across a building with a lot of women sitting at tables. A closer look saw they were playing Bingo. Back on Imagine and another swim had filled the day.

Monday we were ready for a walk to the largest of the crater lakes on the island Lalolalo Lake. We took the dinghy to “The Marina” big enough for a few local fishing boats. Once on shore we started walking along the road. B with her thumb out. It wasn’t long before someone (Vitollio) pulled over and gave us a lift. He took us all the way to the lake, then waited while we took photos.

Silly us, we though we could spend some time swimming and exploring the lake. There was a lookout over the lake, but thats all. Although the lake is impressive with its cliffs with a shear drop to the water. Unfortunately there was no way back up the cliffs if you jumped or fell.

Vitllio then drove us back down the road to show us a beautiful Chapel. He left us there as he was on his way to work. After the Chapel B put her thumb out again and three young guys stopped to give us a ride. Two were painters and one was a mechanic. They took us back to the Marina, where some fishermen were heading out. It was a slow trip back to Imagine, as the tide had gone out and there was barley enough water over the reef to float the dinghy.