Today had three or so, highlights. Mighty Mo was later in the day, so I’ll get to that in a bit.

For now, I’m sitting in the cockpit under a full moon that’s reflecting off an absolutely still lagoon with the island silhouetted in the background.

Amazing clear water. The rocks you can see are 30 feet down.

We woke to still water as well. It was an amazing early morning as the water was still and the water is so clear it felt like you could reach out and touch the sandy bottom. I took some pictures of the anchor chain snaking off in the distance along the bottom as well as a couple of stingrays that were out for their morning cruise.

This was followed by banana pancakes! Yay!

Then we went for a snorkel. The coral here is just OK, but the fish population and diversity is amazing. We saw fish that we have not yet seen anywhere else.

Snorkeling done, we then went in to the island for a visit with Matea and Mo. They were waiting for us and anxious to show us a new path to the other side of the island they had been working on. Um, OK (knowing this meant bushwacking behind two machete wielding Fijians). You learn to keep your distance when they swing those things. Anyway, it’s always fun going through deep jungle and then coming out on the other side where the ocean waves are crashing against the shoreline.

On the way back Mo disappeared. He’s always barefoot (how do they do that-even over the sharp coral?!) so you can’t hear him walking behind you. Then you turn to say something and no one’s there. We were almost back to their hut when we heard a whistle. Turning around we could see Mo walking along the path carrying something. As he came closer we saw that he was (very carefully) carrying a huge coconut crab. Mighty Mo had caught Godzilla the crab. These things are huge and their claws can saw open a coconut, so you know what kind of damage they could do to your fingers. Awesome! Then we found out. This was OUR crab. They were going to cook it for us and send us back to Charisma with dinner. Wow. Coconut crab is a delicacy that we have only barely tried once. There was so little of it as it was passed around we only got a hint at its glory. Now we had our very own. Back at the hut, they prepared a pot to boil the crab. While we were waiting for the water to heat they showed us how to clean and prepare it. Simple. One of the unique things about coconut crab is a pouch on the inside of their tail that holds a buttery oil that they collect. It’s literally coconut butter. Delicious when scooped out and spread on the meat (and a homemade English muffin as it turns out).

We saw Mo coming back down the path. What's in his hand?

Handling the coconut crab veerrrry carefully.

Matea and Mo's kitchen.

Chef Matea at his "stove".

Matea presenting us the cooked crab.

So, crab cooked (this beautiful blue crab turned bright red – that’s how you know it is done cooking), they sent us off to our evening. We had no idea just how delicious it would be. I have to say this may be my new favorite of all foods. Too bad because coconut crabs are slow growing and on most islands, it’s not good to take them as they get depleted quickly. Out here on Naqelelevu there’re only two people on the island and they are very respectful of their resource. We saw these crabs everywhere as they are not over-harvested here so we didn’t feel guilty about eating this one.

Luscious dinner and the best part-the two of us could barely eat half the crab (with the coconut butter-like stuff, it’s so rich), so we have more for tomorrow. We’re thinking either crab omelet or crab cocktail with Waldorf Salad. Hmm, we’ll have to see.

I know you’re all tired of hearing this, but it WAS just another day in paradise. However, we’re so glad we’re here experiencing the richness of this simple life.

That’s one of the cool things we saw today. But, it took half the day for the rain to stop so we could go into the beach and see it.

Yes, we were stuck on the boat as the squalls came through and the weather couldn’t decide what it wanted to do. The only consistency was rain. The thing that kept us on the boat until the afternoon was that the wind went north, then west, then built from the west. West is one direction we don’t want in our anchorage. Every other direction we’re protected by the barrier reef or island, but from the west, there is a ten mile fetch to the other side of the lagoon. As we say on Charisma; “that’s no bueno”. So we stayed aboard. And read our books. And watched the wind build and the rain come down. Charisma was rocking and rolling and we almost had the bow going under water in the waves. Just in time to save the day, the wind drifted back to north and settled. Yes! Now we could go ashore.

Nagelelelvu after the rain moved through.

First I should briefly describe this place. It’s an Atoll-which basically is an old volcano that has sunk beneath the sea, the rim of which has been covered by coral that provides a protective barrier for the lagoon inside. The lagoon formed by the barrier reef is about 10 miles long, 2 miles wide and averages 100 feet deep. The entrance to the lagoon is at the far end and was created eons ago by fresh water erosion when this whole lagoon was above the surface. But now, inside it all was see is a white line around us which is the surf line and we hear the roar of the ocean waves breaking on the barrier reef. That’s what gives us protection. On the eastern most side of the lagoon is the only part that is above water-the island proper. It’s barely above water though and also made of coral, it’s about 20 feet above sea level with a lovely sand beach on the lagoon side. Add to that the height of the coconut trees and rainforest trees and that’s all there is. You can only see it from about 5 miles away. We’re anchored on a sandy patch on the edge of the coral a mile off the island. It’s not too convenient, but the good news is this is what keeps the island from becoming too popular. It’s not easy to get to, nor easy/safe to stay here in a boat (and we’re ready to leave on a moment’s notice should the weather turn on us). We’re a bit on the edge, but at the same time thrilled about being the only boat here.

Mo accepting sevusevu from us (that's kava root in his hands). The smoke is burning coconut husk which keeps the mosquitos at bay.

We really wanted to get back to our new friends Matea and Mo. We had promised some supplies and wanted to make good on our promise, but taking our little inflatable dinghy a mile through the coral bommies to get to the island in adverse wind/waves was a non-starter, until the wind shifted. But finally, shift it did. We stocked up on stuff they needed; batteries, fish hooks, a lighter. Then we added some World Cup Rugby hats that Ann found in NZ and most importantly; sugar. They really wanted sugar for their tea. Oh and even though this wasn’t officially a village, we decided we would bring some kava and do a sevusevu. They really appreciated that and when we finally got to the beach and up in their hut to deliver the supplies, when we pulled out the kava for sevusevu they were touched. A very solemn ceremony followed whereby Mo (the elder on the island at 68 years old) accepted us and we are now not only protected by them, but always considered welcome to their island. Now it was our turn to be touched.

The supplies we brought were reciprocated in kind. After a delightful couple of hours chatting in their hut and then back on the beach, we came back to Charisma loaded down with half dozen huge papaya, two giant stalks of bananas, a large pumpkin and half dozen coconuts that they pre-trimmed for us so all we have to do is cut the ends off to get the milk and meat inside (instead of having to trim off the infernal husk). And as we were getting ready to leave, Mo presented us with the biggest, most beautiful conch shell we have ever seen. It literally took our breath away when we saw it. It’s over 18 inches long and, well, we will have to get a picture up to really do it justice.

Mo presented us with this impressive conch shell.

Oh, and the science project. They have a huge 12 volt battery in their hut that is charged by a solar panel . The battery supplies all their electricity. The problem is, some devices need less than the full voltage. The other issue is what do you do when you want to use multiple devices, such as charge a phone (which they can’t use here since no signal, but which has photos on it so we could see their family back in Suva and a camera they use to take pictures.) The solution it turns out is akin to an old science project that I can barely remember, but which has great practical value here in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The cell phone/camera cannot take the full brunt of the battery, so they use an electrolyte to reduce the amount of current flowing through the line. What is the electrolyte you ask? Seawater. They put one end of the positive terminal wrapped around an iron nail into a bowl of seawater and the other side of the line wrapped around another nail into the other side of the bowl. This lets current flow, but at a slower rate than if it went directly through a copper wire. Also their circuit board was a piece of wood into which they had pounded half a dozen nails. Want to run one device? Connect it to one of the nails. Two devices? Connect to another nail, etc. Brilliant.

It’s been such a privilege seeing how these two manage to live essentially cut off from civilization. They get some supplies from time to time from fishing boats that come by to fish the waters in their lagoon, but as I noted yesterday it’s been over a month since anyone has been here. But they live well. Fish, crab, coconuts and a number of vegetables both wild and domestic are part of their diet. They both are quite healthy based on this diet save for the lack of good dental care that we see all over Fiji (Tonga too).

So…we would like to stay here another couple of days and are watching the weather to see if it will cooperate. If it does, we’re invited tomorrow for coconut crab lunch (they are hunting for them tonight using the new D-batteries we supplied to power their flashlights). We would also like a day or two to just snorkel as this is the clearest water we’ve yet seen. Ann did a little snorkeling yesterday and was giddy with excitement about the number of fish she saw in just her short time in the water. It’s been too rough though to take the dinghy to more remote and interesting spots.

OK, cross fingers for two days of nice weather!

P.S. As I finish writing this, the moon has come out from behind the clouds and the wind has dropped and it’s quite warm. It’s looking like a “lay on the deck and watch the moon” night 😉

What a great day! I’m sitting here finishing off the day watching a dramatic sunset off to the west and an almost full moon coming up and shining off the still water of the lagoon in the east.

The moon is so bright we can see the island.

Dramatic because we seem to be sitting in the middle of a low pressure zone which means all bets are off as to the weather. It’s been fairly still but cloudy today. There have been periods of rain and the wind has shifted out of the north but I’m holding my breath that it doesn’t all just fall apart and leave us having to make a hasty exit to avoid being as exposed as we are. Fortunately our anchor is still buried deep (Ann dove it a couple hours ago on a late afternoon snorkeling expedition. She also saw two stingrays and numerous fish around the bommie she swam over to investigate.) This is an amazing place, and somewhat protected from the ocean swell by a barrier reef, but it’s 10 miles across, so if the wind builds from the wrong direction-we’re in a bad place.

Stingray swimming under the boat, 30 under 30 feet of very clear water.

How often do you get to see your anchor chain on the bottom in 30 feet of water?

But, I digress. The day started with a huge squall at 0600. I thought that meant the day was shot but by 0800 the squall passed and it became partly cloudy with boobies. Yup, I was sitting in the cockpit having my morning cup of coffee when an adolescent booby (he still had some white down feathers on his head) did a fly by. Before I could get up to see where he was going to land, he landed on the dinghy tethered about 10 feet behind us. Silly bird. He sat there through breakfast and would likely have stayed all day except we had other plans. I pulled the dinghy in to put our gear inside and the booby didn’t budge even though he clearly saw I was pulling the dinghy in. I called Ann to see. She said hello to Mr Boobie, took a picture and then I decided I’d see what it would take before he became the least bit concerned. Seemed that throwing some of my gear in the boat was the deciding factor. Wow. That’s a bit of an example of how far we are off the beaten path right now. I don’t think this bird really sees much boat traffic and was very unconcerned with our presence.

Get off my dinghy, you, you, Booby!

On the beach at Nagelelevu

So, we finally had weather that cooperated enough that I felt comfortable going ashore. It’s almost a mile across the shallow reef from Charisma to the beach, and I don’t like being so far away in really poor weather. Anyway, the wind moderated from yesterday’s 15 gusting into the 20’s so off we went picking our way through the coral. As we approached the beach we could see a figure walking our way pointing us to a good landing spot. We received a most enthusiastic reception from Matea. He and his uncle Mo are the only two people who live here and they haven’t seen another boat in over a month! Matea was so excited to talk with someone other than his uncle that we had to wait about 10 minutes to get a word in.

Matea.

Matea's Uncle Mo

Here’s the short version of their story: A decade or so ago there was a village here. We’re not sure why everyone left (we think maybe a cyclone destroyed the village), but for about the last ten years there’s only one person who has actually lived here and his name was Tiko. Tiko was Mo’s cousin, but Tiko passed away last year. Mo has lived here on and off for six years or so and now Matea has moved here with Mo and their plan is to make this home. They are not only fixing it up, but working to make the island an example of sustainable living. Matea is very articulate about making sure he is not using resources faster than they can reproduce. They are developing compost to help create vegetable gardens -these small atolls don’t natively support veggies as they are all coral (limestone). It takes effort to make soil that vegetables can grow in. Matea is in his thirties and Mo is 68, 69 on September 5th -Ann always finds this info out- and we were made to feel like members of their family. We were given a very, very warm welcome that just made this trip worth the effort.

Matea in front of their house, getting ready to take us on a jungle tour of the island.

We mentioned that we would like to see the windward side of the island and before we could utter another word, they both grabbed their machetes and we took off. What an adventure! Machetes were definitely needed. With both of them slicing their way through the jungle, it took almost two hours to go what I would estimate as about ½ mile. At most. The jungle/rainforest was so thick, we could hear squalls pouring rain overhead in the forest canopy, but not a drop hit us on the floor. I’m not sure we’ll ever experience anything quite like it.

Heading through the jungle. I learned very quickly not to follow too close. One word: "machete".

On getting back, Matea went and got a bunch of green coconuts for us to feast on. The milk refreshes and the meat inside is delicious and very filling. I could go on and on, but we’re going back tomorrow and no doubt will have more to say about these wonderful folks, so I’ll leave it here for now. They are going to supply us with bananas, papayas and coconuts and we’re going to bring in some supplies-notably sugar which they are yearning for in their tea. We’re just hoping the weather holds as we would like to stay here two more days. One day to go back to visit and spend more time with our new friends and one day to just snorkel the bommies out here where we’re anchored. Since we’re literally inside a coral reef surrounded lagoon in the middle of the ocean with nothing else anywhere close, the water clarity is just amazing. I was taking my afternoon bath on the deck and could see a starfish 30 feet down on the bottom as if it were in my hand. Just stunning.

After the hike, Mo cut us some refreshing coconuts to drink.

Yum...

Here we are in paradise. A deserted island, no other boats around and all day….it rained.

The day started off beautifully, but with clouds in the distance.

But...the squally weather caught up with us making this a stay on the boat day.

Oh well, we are in paradise. Even though it’s raining, we are in shorts and tee-shirts. We did get some stuff done and tomorrow is supposed to be a light wind day. I just hope that means “no rain” day too.

After morning coffee and banana pancakes (more on them below), we tidied up Charisma from our all day sail the day before. We folded the main and stays’l, put covers on both, deployed the dinghy (which means untying it from the foredeck laying it across the main cabin and using the foot pump to inflate it. Probably five hundred pumps, I’ve lost count, but it takes about fifteen minutes to inflate), put on the engine, oars, etc. Ann also did the laundry and I, um, took a nap.

Did I say the morning was gorgeous? Someone’s teasing us because it was absolutely cloudless. The purple/blue of the deep water right next to us contrasted brilliantly with the light turquoise of the 20 foot depth water we’re anchored in. There’s a hard line between the two colors that snakes right around Charisma. Off in the distance, about ½ mile away is the white line of breakers on the barrier reef. Really stunning, but off in the distance we saw some squally looking clouds and decided not to go in to the island until after lunch. Well, after lunch, we got hit with the downpour that has continued all day-so it’s a front and not a squall. Oh well.

Last night was stunning. There was a half-moon shining brightly and no clouds. The cool part was that the moonlight shone through the really clear water we’re anchored over and the water had a greenish radioactive looking glow from the moon hitting the sand and reflecting back. All around there were also dark patches where the bommies lurked- hard coral structures growing to within a few feet of the surface waiting to snag an unwary boat. But we see them!

The only other thing about this spot is that twice a day when the tide is high, we get larger waves rocking through our little piece of paradise. At low tide, the reef upwind of us clearly blocks the ocean waves and they break on the hard coral dissipating their energy. But, at high tide, some of the wave makes it over the reef and into our anchorage. It gets pretty bouncy. Right now that occurs about mid-afternoon and very early morning-around 0500 . Not such fun.

But what the heck. If this were easy, it wouldn’t be as much fun, er, right?

As my sister wrote us a while back; “The difference between adventure and ordeal is attitude”. We often find ourselves quoting that line as well as sharing it with our cruising friends who also knowingly nod their heads. Thanks Sue.

Oh, the pancakes! I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to eat regular pancakes again. Banana pancakes are absolutely the best. You just take overripe bananas, smash them in a bowl, then add pancake mix and water to the right consistency. They cook up with a slightly crunchy outside, probably due to the sugars from being overripe. Yummmmmy!

Position: 16 degrees, 05 minutes south; 179 degrees, 11 minutes west (If you put these coordinates in Google Earth, you’ll see that this spot is a mile from the island. There is a shallow reef between this nice anchorage and the island proper. A long dinghy ride tomorrow-and wet if the wind holds up)

(By Ann) 5:30 am announced itself with an alarm clock. Time to get up and get going. It is time for adventure sailing. As cruisers you often get caught up with where others have gone and find yourself following the trail of other cruisers. Fun but not always really special. On Charisma we sometimes like to do it “our way”! Thus the early wake up call.

A little blue water sailing always lifts the spirits.

After a long day, here's where we ended up. Not bad! (you can see Charisma's shadow on the sand 30 feet down)

We picked up anchor at 6 am from our lovely little spot at Budd Reef and had to retrace our steps back to the opening and around the outside to the Rabi Channel which would lead to….the northeastern most island in Fiji…Nagalalevu or Quelaleu – the spelling depends on the chart or map you are looking at.

We knew it was a 40-something mile trip just to the entrance of a large lagoon that is the home of Quelalevu. Oh, and it took another 8 miles to get across the lagoon. Charisma makes about 6 miles per hour so do the math… to hit both passes with the required visibility to avoid reefs, we needed to get moving early. We were rewarded for the early start with a beautiful sunrise which made it easier to get going.

It was a glorious sail up the Rabi Channel. Bob had fun playing with adjustments on the new sails. The repair to the stays’l held beautifully. Charisma was smiling and the day was full of sun and deep blue water. Well most of the day was.

When we took Curly’s class on cruising in Fiji he emphasized “visibility”. Don’t move if you can’t see! Makes sense. So Bob checks the grib files to make sure the cloud cover is not excessive, rain is not expected, and what kind of wind we should expect. It looked pretty good for heading northeast. We jumped at the chance to go somewhere that no one else usually goes. We heard from our friends on Eagle’s Wings that they came to Quelelevu last year and expected to be lonely. They were surprised by five fishermen who were temporarily using the island as a base. We do not know what to expect this year,but anchored here we have seen smoke on the beach, so we do know someone is there.

But back to Curly’s rules: visibility….yeah, we made it to the pass at 2 pm. Unfortunately we could see a squall and some additional clouds coming our way. Our charts showed we still had almost 8 miles to go inside the lagoon to get to the anchorage. Yuk! Later both Bob and I talked about being prepared to get to the anchorage with no visibility and turning around, heading back out the pass and waiting until morning if we just couldn’t see well enough to avoid the reefs. Not our first choice, but a prudent choice.

As JHam would note, our tattoo mana must have been working. (I was silently praying the whole way across the big lagoon too.) Just as the bottom depth started reading 50, 40, 30…the sun broke out of the clouds and showed us the way! I love a little guidance from above. We circled once and dropped anchor on the second pass in 20 feet of pure sand! The anchor dug deep and Bob let out a lot of scope, so we can sleep well knowing we’re well dug in.

(From Bob: The other amazing thing is that for the whole 40 something miles I had Charisma set close hauled. That is to say we were sailing as close to the wind as we possibly could. I wasn’t particularly trying for a given course, I just knew we had to sail as high as possible given the wind direction. Wilson was steering the whole way as well. With that combination-magically we actually were delivered right, exactly, at the entrance to the reef (which is only a few hundred yards wide). It was as if we were meant to be here).

Just in time to make the traditional Charisma and enjoy the best Fijian sunset yet. Yep, adventure cruising has its advantages! Tomorrow we attack the shore…which had smoke rising from a hut as we arrived! New friends to meet tomorrow!

Position: 16 degrees, 29 minutes south; 179 degrees, 43 minutes west

A nice little anchorage at Budd Reef.

I couldn’t think what else to call this. A full day. That’s kind of what this day has been-along with a few surprises.

Right now, it’s after dinner, dark, a half-moon illuminating a sky that’s about 80% clear. We’re backed into a sweet little cove at Budd Reef (the lee side of Yavu Island which is one of three islands inside Budd Reef) north of Taveuni Island. We motor sailed here-about 12 miles from Taveuni-in 20 something knots of wind and 5 foot waves. It’s supposed to be an atoll of sorts, but the reef surrounding the inside islands is pretty nonexistent. We sailed through the SW corner and just saw a little greenish/yellow water where the barrier reef was noted on the chart. Not much else except the depth changed from too deep for the depthmeter to register, to about 280 feet the rest of the way in. Anyway, here we are.

We’re anchored stern in, about two boat lengths from a hard shelf reef with a little beach another 10 yards in. A couple years ago I never would have attempted anchoring in a spot like this, but we’re learning to be more creative out here where there’s not always “the perfect spot”. We circled in really close to the reef, then turned straight out about 100 feet. I dropped the anchor on a patch of sand and we backed down letting out chain until we were about three boat lengths from the reef. At that point I locked the chain and we backed down hard until we were ½ boat length from the reef and saw the anchor was holding solid. We slowly eased the engine back to idle and the weight of the chain (in 30-40 feet of water) pulled us out as it settled. So here we are. Ann dove on the anchor and confirmed it’s buried in sand. We know that if the wind blows us hard in to the reef we’ll stop before we get there and with the little back eddy we have, we’ll stay about two boat lengths from the reef all night. At least that’s the plan.

The other notable event of the day has to do with Ann diving naked into the cove-but let’s talk about the morning first. Back on Taveuni we awoke to a little less wind than we’ve had the last two days, but the GRIBS showed it was going to increase. Bummer. We would have been boat bound if we had stayed another day. So we took advantage of the lighter morning winds to put the engine on the dinghy and head in for supplies. We were very low on fresh fruit and dangerously low on ginger ale for our Charismas. At very low tide, it was a little dicey winding out way in through the reef from ¼ mile out where we were anchored, but we made it. We left the dinghy anchored in shallow water (the tide was coming in) and waded in to the beach. There’s a little store about 200 yards to the left and a vegetable/fruit stand about another 75 yards past that. Armed with our heavy carry sacks, we bought enough supplies to last us a while (we’re not sure at this point when we’ll see fresh food again-likely not for at least three weeks as we’re on an adventure sailing leg of the journey to some outer islands where there are few to zero people and supplies). Anyway, mission accomplished and back to the dinghy, brave the reef at somewhat higher water, get back to Charisma and get ready to leave the anchorage.

Only problem with anchoring the dinghy in shallow water, is when the tide comes in if you didn't time it right.

Leaving an anchorage means: unloading and storing all the food, putting up the dinghy engine, hauling the dinghy up on deck and securing it on the foredeck, closing all the hatches, plotting the course out through the reef, getting the snubber off the anchor line, briefing the exit plan, turning on the engine and hauling up the chain, all the while watching out that we don’t hit the reef on either side of us and once the anchor is up, and aiming out through the opening. Whew! Then a nice three hour motor sail up to Budd Reef where we’re poised for the next leg tomorrow. That’s the real destination-Nagelelevu, also sometimes spelled Quelelevu. Anyway, it’s the northeast most island in the Fiji chain. Part of the Ringgold island group. Not often visited, but supposed to be beautiful, wild and unpopulated. For many years it was rumored there was only one “old man” living on the island. Seems like he has passed on and now there might be some fishermen occasionally visiting. We’ll see and report. It should be about a seven hour sail there tomorrow. We’ll be leaving at 0600 so we get there with (hopefully) good light to see the reef for entering the lagoon.

OK, so you’ve been waiting for the naked Ann diving story, eh? Well, we had both finished bathing for the day. Ann was doing some laundry in the galley and I was in the head shaving when we both heard a sharp “thunk” on the deck. What the heck was that? After rolling some ideas through my mind I realized it could only be one thing. Our internet thingy. I had put it in a rainproof pouch and hauled it up the flag halyard and darned if we didn’t get internet from the island of Rabi about 10 miles away. Problem is it came loose (how in the world that happened, I have no idea), hit the deck and bounced over the side. Once we realized what the noise was, Ann hit the deck in one bound shedding clothes along the way. Grabbing her fins, mask and snorkel she lept over the side trying to get the thing. The last thing I saw was her lily white bum glowing in the late afternoon light as she slid below the turquoise blue of the water. Problem was the package was sitting on the bottom thirty feet (by the depth sounder) down. “Give me the boat hook!” she shouted while I was changing into my swimming suit. I tossed it to her and she dove for the second time trying to get close enough to hook the thing. Even with the boat hook she came up short. Ann has only really been snorkeling and diving for a year or so and while she’s getting pretty good, 30 feet is a long way down. I don’t think I’ve ever free dived 30 feet before, but our internet connection was at risk, so I now jumped in the water (more suitably clothed) and looked where Ann was pointing. Yipes, that’s a loooonnng way down. OK, hyperventilate three times (no more or you can make yourself pass out-not good) hold the last one and DIVE. Down, down, down-almost there-try to grab it, missed-should I go up, no I’m down here, keep going-one more grab, GOT IT! Now up. You look up at this point and see how deep you are-Charisma looks so far away- and feel your lungs burning out and think, “Am I really going to make it back up?” Go, go, go…break the water-BREATH! Wow, that was a deep dive for me. (Yay, Bob!)

The bad news though is the dongle looks DOA. It got wet and likely is dead. Ever optimistic, we have it in a bag of rice hoping that may dry the thing out. We’ll see, but we may be “off line”, other than this blog which we will continue to post daily via shortwave radio, until we can replace the internet thingy. The earliest that might happen is about three weeks or so when we might get to Suva.

Oh well. We’re going to be out of internet range anyway for a few weeks as we visit some outlying islands, so “that’s life”.

Anyone who needs to reach us can either send to our sailmail account or post to this blog. We’ll get back to you when we can.

In the meantime, we have a beautiful night to enjoy anchored off this deserted island.

Wind!

We are anchored at the northern tip of Taveuni. The good part is we’re inside a low reef that pretty much surrounds us, providing protection from the ocean swell. The bad side is we’re fully exposed to the wind. It’s been blowing in the mid 20’s since last night and we’re getting tired of the constant slamming back and forth. Hopefully it will ease later tonight/early morning-at least that’s the forecast.

In the mean time we’re stuck on board. It’s too cloudy to leave-you can’t see the reefs and could slam into one-and too windy to go ashore in the dinghy as it’s at least 300 yards through significant wind chop which would completely soak us through within a minute or two of leaving Charisma.

The answer? Boat chores and books.

Ann read an entire book written by another cruiser about her experiences cruising Fiji and she baked a loaf of (delicious) bread.

I had two things on the maintenance list. It turned out both were more essential than I had thought. Adding water to the batteries was one and they were much lower than I expected, so glad that was not put off by even one more day. Fixing the flux gate compass was the other and the problem there was in the “unexpected” category.

Using alligator clips as temporary fuse holders after the real ones melted down.

The symptom that something was wrong was that the radar was not aligning with the gps. I though it had gone out of alignment due to a shift in the magnetic field (we moved a metal French Press coffee maker out of the cabinet the compass is in). I hoped it would be a simple recalibration (i.e. Push a button on the unit). Alas, it’s never that simple. In looking at the thing, I noticed the status light wasn’t on. Uh oh! No power-bigger problem. After a bit of troubleshooting, I determined it must be a blown fuse. Yup, that’s what it was. A bit of water got into the inline fuse holder and ZAP, all done. In fact, two fuses. One on the positive line and the one on the negative line. OK, I have fuses. I opened the fuse holders. Oops, those are fried too! I don’t have extra fuse holders. Now what?

I thought about just hard-wiring the lines, but if there’s a fault, you fry thousands of dollars of equipment and guarantee they are dead. OK, that option is off the table. Looking around for something to work, I spied four alligator clips in my electronics box. Hmmm, I wonder? Yep, some wire stripping, alligator clipping and black electrician taping later, I now have workable “fuse holders” and we’re good to go. It’s not pretty, but it should work until we’re back in the first world and I can source the right size fuse holders.

Maybe it WAS a good thing we had to stay on board today?

Post by Ann-
Our plan for the day was to go visit the much acclaimed water falls of Taveuni! There are three of them in a row and most people only make it to the second one. Rita and Ulli from Anni-Nad happily accepted our invitation to join the fun. Our taxi driver, Wani (patience is his middle name-call him if you need a ride. 929-0339 in Fiji) told us we should meet him at the boat ramp at 8 am. Ugh! That meant a 6:30 alarm clock – not in our normal time table, but we did it.

Rainy day? No problem...for the frogs! (photo by Uli Pusch)

When we researched islands to visit in Fiji, Taveuni stood out because of these water falls and I (Ann) did not want to miss them! It was a scenic drive around the island crossing several rivers on very low to the water bridges. When we arrived and started the hike we were greeted by a frog hopping along the trail. So cute! Who doesn’t love a frog! But man are they hard to photograph – very shy.

By the time we reached the first waterfall the sky had opened and the rain came down! The power of the waterfall could be heard well in advance of it’s siting because of the quantity of water coursing over the top! And the rain continued! And continued and pretended to lighten and then continued some more. The swimming pool was getting muddier by the moment.

This lovely Fijian woman and her child were the caretakers of the waterfall trails.

Helpful sign on the way to the waterfall (before it started really raining)

What to do? We decided to wait out the squall and moved to the covered picnic tables. And that’s when we notice the frog party. All over the ground was hopping! Big frogs, little frogs, mama frogs and her babies. All with Ulli chasing them around to get the perfect picture. Yes, it was quite entertaining. But eventually we had to make a decision, press on to waterfall number two or head back. When Bob mentioned that the rivers we crossed were probably getting quite full and rising quickly, the decision was made…head back to the taxi. Sigh.

Wani had also agreed to take us to the grocery store on the other side of the island so off we headed. That’s when Rita and I got the idea to go to some other points of interest…like the Catholic Church. The one with the famous white cross that can be see very far off as you cross over from Viani Bay. The cross commemorates a famous 19th century naval battle where the Taveuni warriors turned back a large Tongan invasion force. Apparently a Marist priest (French) provided the strategy that included Taveuni troops holding a small white cross. The cross on the hill commemorates this victory and a beautiful church was built. It also happens to have a school that is part of it and Wani’s youngest daughter attends it.

At the base of the road, groups of parents were busy cooking LOTS of casaba root to feed several teams of young kids that would be traveling to Suva this weekend to represent Taveuni in a sports contest. The kids were in the field practicing. A great scene to happen upon!

Bet you thought the kids were playing slip n’slide based on the title of this blog, right? Nope! It didn’t rain all day on this side of the island.

Rita asked Wani for one more side trip…did he know where the water slide was? Of course! So off we went up into the hills, off-roading almost! But the rain had stayed on the other side of the island so we were hopeful!

Ulli stopped to check out the prison that we passed on the way up (yes, Wani said most people are in for theft. There were 18 inmates and 17 staff!). The rest of us continued on foot toward the water slides! We found it but it looked more like a series of small waterfalls. How is this supposed to work? Wish and your wish is granted…just as we wished there were kids there to show us how to navigate the slides, two young Fijian men (about 18-20 years old) appeared out of no where!

Ann and Rita hit the slide. (photo by Uli Pusch)

Yippeee! (photo by Uli Pusch)

Did someone say; "Fun"? (photo by Uli Pusch)

Jimmy and Junior could not have been better hosts. Bob was in hiking shoes so passed on getting wet. Rita and I took off up the side of the slides with the boys guiding us and lending us a helpful hand. And after a vivid demonstration by Junior, we jumped in and gave it a go! Such fun! Slide, splash into a pool, slid, splash…all the way back down! Who doesn’t love a slip ‘n slide! And our timing was perfect, just as we finished four cars of “tourists” arrived to play.

We ended the day with a much needed refueling at the local grocery store and the veggie markets on the road side.

So a day that looked to be a wash out turned out to be a blast!

Today, leaving Viani, our Mojo was aligned. Not sure what with, but hey, I’m not complaining. What am I talking about you’re probably saying?

I’m talking about the dreaded task of bringing up the anchor and 200 feet of chain after 8 days in the same place over a rocky bottom. The wind shifted about twenty times around the clock (north, south, east, west and back) during our stay, so we were pretty sure the chain had wrapped around more than a few bommies (big coral rocks on the bottom). In fact, it pretty much had done just that. BUT…it was OUR day-we got it up without too much drama. Took about 1/2 hour or so. Jack was watching from our neighbor’s boat-he rowed out early to say goodbye to us and Southern Cross-so we had a lot of incentive to “look good”.

Turned out the chain WAS wrapped around at least four differnt bommies. You know it because you pull the chain up tight and there’s a sickening grinding sound and the whole boat shudders when a wave passes underneath and yanks the “short chain” with a jerk. But we went forward, backed down, went left, backed some more, tried going right and just worked each one loose. Ann did a spectacular job on the helm and I’m proud to say we did it all without a word. All hand signals until the final one where I put both fists together to signify the anchor is up and she can head out of the anchorage. It was a great feeling and when Jack let out a big Whoop! We knew we had “done good”.

Out in the channel between the islands of Tavenui and Vanua Levu, we motored north (there wasn’t a breath of wind) to Matei on the tip of Taveuni. On the way we saw some dolphins, but they were just teasing as they didn’t come over to play. A little later I spotted something that I thought was a turtle. I called it out to Ann who looked in the binocs. A shark! In fact a rather large one just cruising along probably just enjoying the warmth of the (very hot) sun. The length between the dorsal fin and tail was about 4-5 feet, so I imagine this guy was a 10 footer. He passed about 50 yards behind us, so we never got a real close up view to determine actual length. That’s OK with me.

A little later, WHAP!, our hand line slapped on the deck tearing the clothespin off the lifeline. FISH ON! We hoped for a tuna, but a Mahi it was. Oh well, they are delicious and a welcome change from our vegetarian diet of the last week (we’re pretty much down to eggplant and Bok Choy that we’ve been trading with Jack for flour and sugar). I’m going to make some ceviche with the wild limes we collected from our hike and we have about 10 more fillets as well, so fish dinner for the week!

After landing Mr Mahi, we got back under way and in a few more miles saw that there were two other boats in the spot we were headed for. In a past life I would have said: “damn, there are other boats there”, but now it’s more; “hey, there’s “Puddy Tat”- the very nice folks who we met in Viani and who hosted us on the Cabbage Patch snorkel expedition, and “Anni Nad” our friends Uli and Rita from Germany who we became friends with in Whangarie and came to our wedding.

I’ve said it before. Cruising is about the people you meet as much as about the places you go. We’ve been very fortunate to meet so many wonderful people and it’s great that we’re able to catch up with some of them here.

This must be sounding boring, but it’s such a beautiful place, it’s hard to tire of it.

Yesterday, we got Jack to guide us on a hike through the bush to the other side of the island. Sounds like a bigger deal than it is since we’re on the upper end of a peninsula. Still though, it was a 1 1/2 hour hike each way through the jungle. Really fun with Jack, since he was able to point out many exotic fruit and medicinal herbal trees and plants. And, we got to hear three more hours of his stories! (We took turns with who got to walk right behind Jack).

Jack leads the way across the island.

In the jungle with Jack

There was a little farm about half way across where we stopped for a break (with Mark and Viki from Southern Cross)

The day actually started with a tour of the local school which covers K through 8th grade. After that, it’s boarding school. The kids were a kick and a half and we spent some time in the 5/6 class where the teacher quickly sensed an opportunity for a teaching moment. He had each student stand and tell us their age, best subject and what they wanted to be when they grew up. Of course when it was my turn I made sure to note that I was never going to grow up!

Kids heading to school on the morning school-boat.

Entrance to school (click to read the sign)

The path up to the school.

Look familiar? A universal schoolgirl pose even in Fiji.

Ann had a brilliant idea and grabbed their world map off the wall and gave them a geography lesson showing where we came from and talked about the island groups we had visited. As always, she had the kids enthralled. We did this with Mark and Vicky from Southern Cross who are both teachers and they pitched in with their expertise as well. I’m sure the students will talk about our visit for a while.

Some of the kids.

We got to meet the 5/6 grade class where the kids all stood up and told us about themselves.

Ann wowed them all with a geography lesson on where we came from.

Also today, more diving! I’m definitely hooked. Especially the drift dives where you “bomb” along in the current. Sometimes it moves really fast, and you feel like you’re on a freeway but with no brakes. It can be a little scary (for this new diver) because stuff can happen really fast on this kind of dive. It’s definitely on the edge and you’re at the mercy of the current and swirls up, over and around the coral reef. Anyway, we saw more beautiful coral and so many fish, you just get numb. I did notice a new, unique one though. The Unicorn Fish. Look it up-it’s pretty cool looking.

The dive boat ride out to the reef.

Coral Madness!

OK, finishing the day-back on Charisma then an hour or so paddle boarding and a pot luck dinner on board Southern Cross. What did we have? Fortunately Jack rowed out and brought us Bok Choy and Eggplant from his garden, so the dinner menu was easy! We traded a package of dried beans for the veggies.

A new boat came in late afternoon. A Lagoon 38, named Pelagic. By the time we got over to Southern Cross Mark had already secured cocktails on Pelagic tomorrow night. Ahhh, such a busy social calendar out here cruising!

So now, we’re back on Charisma and there’s (wait for it!) LIGHTNING on the horizon somewhere. We can see the flashes but can’t quite tell when it is. Sigh. At least I can rest a bit knowing that today we fixed a little problem with our anchor. After spinning around for a few days as the wind shifts, our chain has fairly hopelessly snagged on the rocks below. We got what’s called “short chained”. Basically, it’s like a dog that goes round and round a tree on a leash until it chokes itself if it’s not careful. In our case, the chain lost its “catenary” which is the bit of sag that absorbs shock from wind gusts. It just went straight down to the rock it was wound around so as we “bob” up and down there’s no shock absorption of the chain-it just jerks the boat. It can be a bit unnerving to hear and feel. Anyway, we spent about twenty minutes maneuvering with the engine on going left, then right, back and forth, trying to untangle the chain. Finally a bunch of it came up, so we put a float on it to keep it from tangling again and let a bunch back out. A long story to say that if the wind comes up tonight from the lightning, I’ll be less worried now that we’ve at least sorted that bit out.

OK, that last bit was boat geeky-for our friends who are not cruising yet, but will be.

View of our anchorage earlier in the day.

It's Charisma time!