Fun in Fiji

I was lucky enough to celebrate my birthday in Tonga with some boatie friends.  A fabulous day and evening was had with no one falling off the boat (though Craig did get close).

We had looked at the weather and decided to extend our visa by a couple of days to ensure we would have good sailing weather to Fiji.  The day to leave finally rolled around and we set off, as we were leaving the islands we had a small group of whales playing just off to the side of us which was awesome to see.  The sail across to Fiji was pretty uneventful to start with, we had lost the wind heading through the Lau Islands so had put the motor on.  We made the call one morning that in order to get to SavuSavu (check in port) that day we would continue motoring and Craig cranked it up a little more.  All went well for the first 30 minutes then the engine completely died and wouldn’t start again.  Luckily we were well away from any islands and reefs so had time to figure out what had gone wrong.  Looking in the engine bay we saw heaps of oil which Craig figured out had been because of pressure build up due to getting the boat to go faster.  Craig changed some fuses and we waited for the engine to cool down.  We were then able to restart the boat and at a slower pace continue on our way getting into SavuSavu 40minutes after the customs working day.  With their regulations they still had to come out to see us to check us in however it did mean we ended up paying overtime fees which more or less cost us double the price, all good though as we were moored up and able to leave the boat.

SavuSavu is the main check in port at Vanua Levu, consisting of one main road with all the normal small time shops you would expect to see.  We really enjoyed our time in SavuSavu exploring the town, one day taking a local bus across the island to Labasa (the islands city). 

We also had quite a few social opportunities with Kym and Mick from Phyllis and our new friends Paul and Trish from Babe.  Most nights we would all catch up for a quiet drink and chat though a couple of times the few drinks turned into a few more and well you get the picture.

We had put ourselves on a small schedule in order to catch up with friends on another island so one Sunday we set sail and set off with our first stop being Namena.  It was a good sail there and we were able to set anchor.  The next morning we went to put on the engine to get us through the reef and it started but wouldn’t stay on, slightly concerning.  After a brief discussion we decided the safest thing for us to do would be to put up the sails and head back to SavuSavu as we had already sailed that route and knew what to expect.  While we were undersail Craig kept fiddling with the engine and we discovered that it had something to do with the fuel pump.  If I sat down below and manually pumped the fuel the engine would stay on – good to know.  We sailed as close as possible to the marina before turning on the engine and I jumped down and started manually pumping, luckily for us there was a mooring ball close to the marina entrance that we were able to grab.

The next day we purchased some fuel containers and did 6 trips to the garage to fill up on diesel.  Since our fuel pump wasn’t strong enough to lift up the remaining 200L of diesel in the tanks we figured we would just keep it filled up.  A few more checks were made and all seemed good so the next day off we set again early in the morning as we were going to miss Namena and were aiming for Makogai which was closer to Beqa Island which is where we wanted to go.

Again it all started off well then around 8.30am (we had set sail at 2am) we went to put the engine on as the wind had died and the engine would not start (you have to be kidding me).

We heaved to (proper sailoring) then Craig did some hotwiring on our bank of batteries, while he was doing that Paul and Trish who were also sailing to Makogai changed their course and came over and hovered to the side of us to ensure we were okay.  Craigs McGyvering paid off and we were able to get the engine going once again.  Another quick discussion and we decided the safest thing for us to do was to head back to SavuSavu once again.  We waved goodbye to Babe and set back sailing most of the way with me pumping the fuel (to be on the safe side) as we headed into the marina where we were able to grab our same mooring ball.

The next day we went shopping and bought two new batteries and also via the cruiser net found a yachtie who had a fuel pump for sale which was bigger than our one.  The next couple of days was spent working on fixing things on the boat, well Craig fixed things and I was his girl gofer.

Once we were happy we had done all we could we were ready to set sail once again. After our third farewell drinkies with Mick and Kym we set off the next morning, this time our goal was to sail all the way to Suva which meant an overnight sail.

The day sailing went well and then night fell.  Even though we were a safe distance from all the islands it was strange being able to see lights and as new ones would pop up in front of us we had to figure out whether they were lights on an island or a boat.  A couple turned out to be passing boats with another couple being boats that got quite close to us.  Both times the boats (fishing boats) got close I ensured Craig put the engine on just in case we had to manoveour, all was good however as they all had spotted us as we had seen them and were literally just ships that passed in the night.

We reached Suva harbour just as a huge freight ship was leaving, to settle my nerves Craig kindly slowed us down so the freighter could leave the harbour before we went in though once we were in I did realise how much space there actually was and we both could have easily gone through at the same time, still he knows to keep me happy.

We had read in a compendium about a little harbour tucked away which was more sheltered than anchoring in the main harbour so we headed there where we were able to grab ourselves a free mooring ball.

It was very easy for us to take our dinghy in and tie up to some wooden stairs and we were on the main road heading into Suva. There were continuous buses come past and we easily got a ride into town for $1.10 each.  It was definitely strange to find ourselves in a proper city once again with heaps of noises, horns honking, lights, people everywhere, heaps of shops including proper malls.

We stayed 5 days in Suva, catching the bus to different places.  We were able to catch up with our friends Sue and Craig which was awesome.  We were even able to celebrate the 5 year anniversary of our first coffee date.

Unfortunately the weather in Suva was not the best, though it was still warm, every day was overcast and most days it rained.  We discussed our options and decided that we would clear out and start our sail to Vanuatu.  We realise that there is so much more to see in Fiji especially in the smaller islands and we are positive that we will take our time next time we sail through and explore them all, however we need to start heading towards Cairns, so off we set.

We had a great 6 day sail to Vanuatu which is where we are now.  Mick had given me some sea sick patches back in SuvaSuva which I used during this sail and they worked a treat.  It was the first time I really enjoyed a sea passage, wahoo my sea sickness is over (as long as I can find some more).

We will be exploring the Vanuatu Islands for the next month before setting our sights on Australia.