May 27, 2000
America’s Cup Village, Auckland, New Zealand
A dozen yachts including Moonshadow are lined up here in what was the center of the yacht racing world last Southern Hemisphere summer. In the attached photo (unavailable at this time), Moonshadow is directly below the Sky Tower, an icon of the Auckland skyline. Most of the mega yachts have moved on, the America’s Cup syndicate compounds are in mothballs, and most of the action in the “Cup Basin” these days and nights is in the bars, night clubs and restaurants along the perimeter. Today is the start of the annual Royal Akarana Yacht Club race from Auckland to Fiji. This year’s finish line is about 1200 miles north, off the village of Savusavu on the island of Vanua Levu. It’s a good thing, because with the recent coup in Suva, the capital of Fiji, on the island of Viti Levu, we want to be as far away from the guns, looting and fires as possible. It has been a frenetic couple of weeks for us since we returned from the States, as it always is before a passage, but I think we are prepared. As the New Zealand sun heads north for the winter, we are all ready to change into some more comfortable latitudes.
Passages to and from New Zealand can be very dicey. Even though the distance is less than half of some of our previous passages, this part of the world is prone to some very nasty weather systems known here as “bombs” and “squash zones.” They can be sudden and violent, and have claimed a number of yachts and yachties over the years. This will be my third passage to/from New Zealand and I still find myself more nervous than before previous passages to and from Hawaii (2000 miles) and from Mexico to French Polynesia (3000 miles). The good news is that New Zealand “Weather Ambassador” Bob McDavitt has forecast moderate weather for the passage and winds mainly abaft the beam (i. e. comfortable). Bob is usually spot-on.
“We” for this passage are as follows: My “first mate” and girlfriend Cate Duigan who is a keen sailor and racer, and a first-time passagemaker. Good friend of Cate’s and mine, Amy Drury, also a keen sailor, racer and first time passage maker. Good friend Nick Bullock from one of my favorite cities, Napier, in the beautiful Hawkes Bay region. Nick has traveled all over the world on ships, is presently a harbor pilot in Napier, a keen sailor and will be making his first ocean passage on a yacht. In addition to myself, we have three repeat crew. First is Eric Strasser, a former sailing student from my Club Nautique days and “MooCrew” from the passage from Mexico to French Polynesia. Then there’s Cort de Peyster who raced with us to Hawaii in ‘96 and also sailed from Mexico to French Poly. Todd Meyer, a boatbuilder from Auckland who actively races and cruises his own boat joins us for a second go. Todd was “MooCrew” for the passage from Tonga to Auckland last year. Last is MaiTai, the ship’s cat, who is now nicknamed “Pegleg” because of the cast on her left rear leg. MaiTai is recovering from a broken ankle suffered while she was staying on land during our visit to the States. Land is dangerous! MaiTai now has over 10,000 sea miles under her paws.
After a bit of last minute provisioning and stowing, a final weather forecast, and customs checkout, we’ll leave the America’s Cup basin at noon for a warm up sail and head for Orakei wharf for the 1400 hour start gun.
May 28
Latitude 38 degrees 8 minutes South, Longitude 176 degrees 11 minutes East
It was a beautiful day to start a yacht race in Auckland yesterday-light easterly winds and lots of sun. We were at the line for the starting gun at Orakei Wharf at 2 pm and sailed north along Rangitoto Island, sharing the Waitemata Harbor with quite a few spectators and the fleet from the first day of the local Winter Race Series.
Going was slow for us in light winds. With seven persons on board, all our personal and cruising gear, plenty of provisions and a “cellar” full of wine, we were quickly outmatched by some of the light race boats in the fleet. You know, the kind where the crew come on board with one tiny little duffel bag and toothbrushes cut in half. The six pm radio check in told us that there were ten other yachts racing.
We experienced a variety of conditions from four knots of wind on the nose to 22 knots behind the beam. Winds were shifty and gusty all night long. It was our first day at sea, there are new “MooCrew” and there was lots to be done last night, so I didn’t get a wink of sleep.
Kudos to Cate’s mum Rosealeen for precooking some meals for us. The split pea with ham soup was great last night. None of us had our sea legs, all of us were tired and we were happy not to have to cook at 15 to 20 degrees of heel.
We were looking forward to a fish dinner this evening. I hooked a fish this morning and when I was hoisting the twenty pound big-eye tuna over the rail, I slipped and it came off the hook. Bugger!
We knocked off 139 miles in the light winds in the first 22 hours to noon today. Winds have picked up and at the moment we are beam reaching at eight to nine knots, so we expect to do better during the second day.
May 29
Latitude 31 deg. 55 min. South, Longitude 176 deg. 34 min. East-the Fiji Basin.
Greetings from the “Horse Latitudes.” This area between the prevailing westerlies and the easterly trade winds is so called because the old sailing ships used to drop the horses overboard to lighten ship when the winds got light and variable. And that’s exactly what they have been today for us. With no extra horses to throw overboard, we’ve slowed down to two knots at times. The good news is that the lighter winds and gentle 2-4 meter easterly swell has allowed the crew to rest easier and get their sea legs (and paws).
Last night was a bit of work. Winds varied from two knots to 22 knots, sometimes within a short period of time. On their watch, Nick and Amy shortened sail when the winds piped up to 20 knots and had to shake out the reef when the breeze dropped to four knots a half hour later. In all of that, we managed to get 152 miles closer to Fiji from noon yesterday to noon today.
We’ve had some regular visits from sea terns and albatrosses (albatrossi?), and dolphin visits at night are quite spectacular as the bioluminescence is quite strong right now. The dolphins darting here and there around the boat are lit up by the excited plankton and look like torpedoes with no sense of direction. Unfortunately, no visits today by fish. Bugger!
For those of you interested in the race, the fleet is as follows:
Anticipation, An IOR 50′ Ben Lexcen design, Royal Akarana Yacht Club. Black Panther, A 61′ Spencer Design, Onerahi Yacht Club. General Jackson, A Farr 11.6 from Bucklands Beach Yacht Club. Internautic, An Alpha 42 (Sparkman and Stephens design) from Cercle Nautique Caledonien, Nomea, New Caledonia. Jive Talkin’, A Davidson 35 from the Kerikeri Cruising Club. Lightspeed, A Tom Wylie 18.29m from the Royal NZ Air Force Yacht Club. Moonshadow, A Deerfoot 62 (Steve Dashew design), Sausalito Yacht Club. Noumea, Young 11, Cercle Nautique Caledonien, Noumea, New Caledonia. Pipe Dream IX, J 160, A U.S. Yacht with no listed Yacht Club affiliation. Quicksilver, Sparkman and Stephens 41, Roayal Akarana Yacht Club. Witchdoctor, Davidson 14m, Bucklands Beach Yacht Club. Whichway, Davidson 15.8m, Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron.
We are towards the “relaxed” end of the fleet, but not DAL (dead ass last) at the moment.
May 30
Latitude 30 deg. 37 min. South, Longitude 177 deg. 12 min East
During the 0640 radio sked this morning, the Royal Akarana Yacht Club this morning informed us that the race to Fiji has been abandoned due to escalating problems relating to the recent coup in Suva. Bugger!
We are not exactly sure what we will do at this point but in any event we will make the best of a tough situation. At the moment we have diverted to Minerva Reef, one of the very cool “shallow spots in the South Pacific Ocean” that we visited last season. We expect to arrive there on our Friday. We’ll hunt down a lobster dinner, enjoy a day or two on the hook, and carefully evaluate our options over a glass or two of wine.
Most of the race fleet have headed back to Auckland or on to Noumea, New Caledonia. We don’t want to go that far west this early in the cruising season, so at the moment, the options seem to be two for us. If the situation calms down, and air service to/from Fiji continues, we will proceed to Savusavu. If it continues to turn to custard in Fiji, we will divert to the Vava’u Group in Tonga and hang out there and play wait and see with Fiji. Don’t feel bad for us, as Vava’u is not too bad of a place to “wait and see.”
At the moment, we have a weak occluded front passing us and we are motorslogging into 15 knot noserlies. No worries as the latitudes are getting smaller, the weather is getting warmer and we are all healthy and in good spirits.
June 1
Latitude 26 deg. 42 min. South Longitude 179 deg. 12 min. East
G’day to you all. I hope your day is going smoother than ours. The good news is that the weather is getting warmer, vessel and crew are doing well and things are mellowing out in Fiji. The bad news is that the “Phantom Front” that the weather maps say should be passing us has yet to arrive. This means we continue to bash into 2 to 4 meter seas and 20 to 28 knot headwinds. We only covered 130 miles noon to noon as we have slowed down to reduce pounding into the steep waves. Not too comfortable, but we are glad we are not on a 24 footer. Thank God for packaged black beans and rice, Ponsonby Pies (a New Zealand delicacy) and microwave popcorn-at least we can eat well without a lot of galley time and dishwashing.
We are still on track to arrive in Minerva Reef on Saturday morning for a couple of days of R & R before we sail on. Fiji is settling down and looking pretty good again, and unless something major happens there, we will set sail for Savusavu on Monday morning.
June 2
Latitude 24 deg. 28 min. South Longitude 179 deg. 34min. West
Today we crossed the International Date Line for a quick visit to the Western Hemisphere on our way north. Even though it is now a day earlier, we won’t be shifting the ship’s clocks, so you won’t get this message twice. We plan to stop into Minerva Reef Tomorrow, unless the favorable winds we are now experiencing have any chance of lasting, in which case we will press on directly to Fiji.
We smashed and bashed all day yesterday, and then at about six last evening, the “phantom front” seemed to pass over us, handing us a favorable wind shift and much a more settled sea state. We had a few hours of nice sailing as the wind slowly faded away, and then it was back to the “cast iron jenny” to keep us moving ahead.
Winds picked up again this morning, and once again we were reaching in ten to fifteen knots of what resemble easterly trade winds. Yesssss! The seas are relatively calm and we are enjoying the distinct lack of wild motion. The crew took advantage of this to tidy up the ship, dry out clothes and foul weather gear and enjoy some nice naps, reading, conversation, tasty food, etc. This is what we came here for!
I was thinking to myself as we were bashing along yesterday, this would have been a perfect weather window to sail from Fiji to Auckland!
With our appetites returning with a vengeance, we were hoping the sea Gods would bless us with a tuna, but even with a new lure to tempt our finned friends from the deep, no dice. Not even a strike in three days.
Todd is whipping up a great smelling chicken curry as I write, so don’t worry, we won’t be starving this evening.
If we stop in Minerva Reef, then we would expect to be in Savusavu by Wednesday or Thursday. If we press on, it will be sooner. We will keep you posted of our progress.
May 29
Latitude 31 deg. 55 min. South, Longitude 176 deg. 34 min. East-the Fiji Basin.
Greetings from the “Horse Latitudes.” This area between the prevailing westerlies and the easterly trade winds is so called because the old sailing ships used to drop the horses overboard to lighten ship when the winds got light and variable. And that’s exactly what they have been today for us. With no extra horses to throw overboard, we’ve slowed down to two knots at times. The good news is that the lighter winds and gentle 2-4 meter easterly swell has allowed the crew to rest easier and get their sea legs (and paws).
Last night was a bit of work. Winds varied from two knots to 22 knots, sometimes within a short period of time. On their watch, Nick and Amy shortened sail when the winds piped up to 20 knots and had to shake out the reef when the breeze dropped to four knots a half hour later. In all of that, we managed to get 152 miles closer to Fiji from noon yesterday to noon today.
We’ve had some regular visits from sea terns and albatrosses (albatrossi?), and dolphin visits at night are quite spectacular as the bioluminescence is quite strong right now. The dolphins darting here and there around the boat are lit up by the excited plankton and look like torpedoes with no sense of direction. Unfortunately, no visits today by fish. Bugger!
For those of you interested in the race, the fleet is as follows:
Anticipation, An IOR 50′ Ben Lexcen design, Royal Akarana Yacht Club. Black Panther, A 61′ Spencer Design, Onerahi Yacht Club. General Jackson, A Farr 11.6 from Bucklands Beach Yacht Club. Internautic, An Alpha 42 (Sparkman and Stephens design) from Cercle Nautique Caledonien, Nomea, New Caledonia. Jive Talkin’, A Davidson 35 from the Kerikeri Cruising Club. Lightspeed, A Tom Wylie 18.29m from the Royal NZ Air Force Yacht Club. Moonshadow, A Deerfoot 62 (Steve Dashew design), Sausalito Yacht Club. Noumea, Young 11, Cercle Nautique Caledonien, Noumea, New Caledonia. Pipe Dream IX, J 160, A U.S. Yacht with no listed Yacht Club affiliation. Quicksilver, Sparkman and Stephens 41, Roayal Akarana Yacht Club. Witchdoctor, Davidson 14m, Bucklands Beach Yacht Club. Whichway, Davidson 15.8m, Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron.
We are towards the “relaxed” end of the fleet, but not DAL (dead ass last) at the moment.
May 30
Latitude 30 deg. 37 min. South, Longitude 177 deg. 12 min East
During the 0640 radio sked this morning, the Royal Akarana Yacht Club this morning informed us that the race to Fiji has been abandoned due to escalating problems relating to the recent coup in Suva. Bugger!
We are not exactly sure what we will do at this point but in any event we will make the best of a tough situation. At the moment we have diverted to Minerva Reef, one of the very cool “shallow spots in the South Pacific Ocean” that we visited last season. We expect to arrive there on our Friday. We’ll hunt down a lobster dinner, enjoy a day or two on the hook, and carefully evaluate our options over a glass or two of wine.
Most of the race fleet have headed back to Auckland or on to Noumea, New Caledonia. We don’t want to go that far west this early in the cruising season, so at the moment, the options seem to be two for us. If the situation calms down, and air service to/from Fiji continues, we will proceed to Savusavu. If it continues to turn to custard in Fiji, we will divert to the Vava’u Group in Tonga and hang out there and play wait and see with Fiji. Don’t feel bad for us, as Vava’u is not too bad of a place to “wait and see.”
At the moment, we have a weak occluded front passing us and we are motorslogging into 15 knot noserlies. No worries as the latitudes are getting smaller, the weather is getting warmer and we are all healthy and in good spirits.
June 1
Latitude 26 deg. 42 min. South Longitude 179 deg. 12 min. East
G’day to you all. I hope your day is going smoother than ours. The good news is that the weather is getting warmer, vessel and crew are doing well and things are mellowing out in Fiji. The bad news is that the “Phantom Front” that the weather maps say should be passing us has yet to arrive. This means we continue to bash into 2 to 4 meter seas and 20 to 28 knot headwinds. We only covered 130 miles noon to noon as we have slowed down to reduce pounding into the steep waves. Not too comfortable, but we are glad we are not on a 24 footer. Thank God for packaged black beans and rice, Ponsonby Pies (a New Zealand delicacy) and microwave popcorn-at least we can eat well without a lot of galley time and dishwashing.
We are still on track to arrive in Minerva Reef on Saturday morning for a couple of days of R & R before we sail on. Fiji is settling down and looking pretty good again, and unless something major happens there, we will set sail for Savusavu on Monday morning.
June 2
Latitude 24 deg. 28 min. South Longitude 179 deg. 34min. West
Today we crossed the International Date Line for a quick visit to the Western Hemisphere on our way north. Even though it is now a day earlier, we won’t be shifting the ship’s clocks, so you won’t get this message twice. We plan to stop into Minerva Reef Tomorrow, unless the favorable winds we are now experiencing have any chance of lasting, in which case we will press on directly to Fiji.
We smashed and bashed all day yesterday, and then at about six last evening, the “phantom front” seemed to pass over us, handing us a favorable wind shift and much a more settled sea state. We had a few hours of nice sailing as the wind slowly faded away, and then it was back to the “cast iron jenny” to keep us moving ahead.
Winds picked up again this morning, and once again we were reaching in ten to fifteen knots of what resemble easterly trade winds. Yesssss! The seas are relatively calm and we are enjoying the distinct lack of wild motion. The crew took advantage of this to tidy up the ship, dry out clothes and foul weather gear and enjoy some nice naps, reading, conversation, tasty food, etc. This is what we came here for!
I was thinking to myself as we were bashing along yesterday, this would have been a perfect weather window to sail from Fiji to Auckland!
With our appetites returning with a vengeance, we were hoping the sea Gods would bless us with a tuna, but even with a new lure to tempt our finned friends from the deep, no dice. Not even a strike in three days.
Todd is whipping up a great smelling chicken curry as I write, so don’t worry, we won’t be starving this evening.
If we stop in Minerva Reef, then we would expect to be in Savusavu by Wednesday or Thursday. If we press on, it will be sooner. We will keep you posted of our progress.
May 30
Latitude 30 deg. 37 min. South, Longitude 177 deg. 12 min East
During the 0640 radio sked this morning, the Royal Akarana Yacht Club this morning informed us that the race to Fiji has been abandoned due to escalating problems relating to the recent coup in Suva. Bugger!
We are not exactly sure what we will do at this point but in any event we will make the best of a tough situation. At the moment we have diverted to Minerva Reef, one of the very cool “shallow spots in the South Pacific Ocean” that we visited last season. We expect to arrive there on our Friday. We’ll hunt down a lobster dinner, enjoy a day or two on the hook, and carefully evaluate our options over a glass or two of wine.
Most of the race fleet have headed back to Auckland or on to Noumea, New Caledonia. We don’t want to go that far west this early in the cruising season, so at the moment, the options seem to be two for us. If the situation calms down, and air service to/from Fiji continues, we will proceed to Savusavu. If it continues to turn to custard in Fiji, we will divert to the Vava’u Group in Tonga and hang out there and play wait and see with Fiji. Don’t feel bad for us, as Vava’u is not too bad of a place to “wait and see.”
At the moment, we have a weak occluded front passing us and we are motorslogging into 15 knot noserlies. No worries as the latitudes are getting smaller, the weather is getting warmer and we are all healthy and in good spirits.
June 1
Latitude 26 deg. 42 min. South Longitude 179 deg. 12 min. East
G’day to you all. I hope your day is going smoother than ours. The good news is that the weather is getting warmer, vessel and crew are doing well and things are mellowing out in Fiji. The bad news is that the “Phantom Front” that the weather maps say should be passing us has yet to arrive. This means we continue to bash into 2 to 4 meter seas and 20 to 28 knot headwinds. We only covered 130 miles noon to noon as we have slowed down to reduce pounding into the steep waves. Not too comfortable, but we are glad we are not on a 24 footer. Thank God for packaged black beans and rice, Ponsonby Pies (a New Zealand delicacy) and microwave popcorn-at least we can eat well without a lot of galley time and dishwashing.
We are still on track to arrive in Minerva Reef on Saturday morning for a couple of days of R & R before we sail on. Fiji is settling down and looking pretty good again, and unless something major happens there, we will set sail for Savusavu on Monday morning.
June 2
Latitude 24 deg. 28 min. South Longitude 179 deg. 34min. West
Today we crossed the International Date Line for a quick visit to the Western Hemisphere on our way north. Even though it is now a day earlier, we won’t be shifting the ship’s clocks, so you won’t get this message twice. We plan to stop into Minerva Reef Tomorrow, unless the favorable winds we are now experiencing have any chance of lasting, in which case we will press on directly to Fiji.
We smashed and bashed all day yesterday, and then at about six last evening, the “phantom front” seemed to pass over us, handing us a favorable wind shift and much a more settled sea state. We had a few hours of nice sailing as the wind slowly faded away, and then it was back to the “cast iron jenny” to keep us moving ahead.
Winds picked up again this morning, and once again we were reaching in ten to fifteen knots of what resemble easterly trade winds. Yesssss! The seas are relatively calm and we are enjoying the distinct lack of wild motion. The crew took advantage of this to tidy up the ship, dry out clothes and foul weather gear and enjoy some nice naps, reading, conversation, tasty food, etc. This is what we came here for!
I was thinking to myself as we were bashing along yesterday, this would have been a perfect weather window to sail from Fiji to Auckland!
With our appetites returning with a vengeance, we were hoping the sea Gods would bless us with a tuna, but even with a new lure to tempt our finned friends from the deep, no dice. Not even a strike in three days.
Todd is whipping up a great smelling chicken curry as I write, so don’t worry, we won’t be starving this evening.
If we stop in Minerva Reef, then we would expect to be in Savusavu by Wednesday or Thursday. If we press on, it will be sooner. We will keep you posted of our progress.
June 1
Latitude 26 deg. 42 min. South Longitude 179 deg. 12 min. East
G’day to you all. I hope your day is going smoother than ours. The good news is that the weather is getting warmer, vessel and crew are doing well and things are mellowing out in Fiji. The bad news is that the “Phantom Front” that the weather maps say should be passing us has yet to arrive. This means we continue to bash into 2 to 4 meter seas and 20 to 28 knot headwinds. We only covered 130 miles noon to noon as we have slowed down to reduce pounding into the steep waves. Not too comfortable, but we are glad we are not on a 24 footer. Thank God for packaged black beans and rice, Ponsonby Pies (a New Zealand delicacy) and microwave popcorn-at least we can eat well without a lot of galley time and dishwashing.
We are still on track to arrive in Minerva Reef on Saturday morning for a couple of days of R & R before we sail on. Fiji is settling down and looking pretty good again, and unless something major happens there, we will set sail for Savusavu on Monday morning.
June 2
Latitude 24 deg. 28 min. South Longitude 179 deg. 34min. West
Today we crossed the International Date Line for a quick visit to the Western Hemisphere on our way north. Even though it is now a day earlier, we won’t be shifting the ship’s clocks, so you won’t get this message twice. We plan to stop into Minerva Reef Tomorrow, unless the favorable winds we are now experiencing have any chance of lasting, in which case we will press on directly to Fiji.
We smashed and bashed all day yesterday, and then at about six last evening, the “phantom front” seemed to pass over us, handing us a favorable wind shift and much a more settled sea state. We had a few hours of nice sailing as the wind slowly faded away, and then it was back to the “cast iron jenny” to keep us moving ahead.
Winds picked up again this morning, and once again we were reaching in ten to fifteen knots of what resemble easterly trade winds. Yesssss! The seas are relatively calm and we are enjoying the distinct lack of wild motion. The crew took advantage of this to tidy up the ship, dry out clothes and foul weather gear and enjoy some nice naps, reading, conversation, tasty food, etc. This is what we came here for!
I was thinking to myself as we were bashing along yesterday, this would have been a perfect weather window to sail from Fiji to Auckland!
With our appetites returning with a vengeance, we were hoping the sea Gods would bless us with a tuna, but even with a new lure to tempt our finned friends from the deep, no dice. Not even a strike in three days.
Todd is whipping up a great smelling chicken curry as I write, so don’t worry, we won’t be starving this evening.
If we stop in Minerva Reef, then we would expect to be in Savusavu by Wednesday or Thursday. If we press on, it will be sooner. We will keep you posted of our progress.
June 2
Latitude 24 deg. 28 min. South Longitude 179 deg. 34min. West
Today we crossed the International Date Line for a quick visit to the Western Hemisphere on our way north. Even though it is now a day earlier, we won’t be shifting the ship’s clocks, so you won’t get this message twice. We plan to stop into Minerva Reef Tomorrow, unless the favorable winds we are now experiencing have any chance of lasting, in which case we will press on directly to Fiji.
We smashed and bashed all day yesterday, and then at about six last evening, the “phantom front” seemed to pass over us, handing us a favorable wind shift and much a more settled sea state. We had a few hours of nice sailing as the wind slowly faded away, and then it was back to the “cast iron jenny” to keep us moving ahead.
Winds picked up again this morning, and once again we were reaching in ten to fifteen knots of what resemble easterly trade winds. Yesssss! The seas are relatively calm and we are enjoying the distinct lack of wild motion. The crew took advantage of this to tidy up the ship, dry out clothes and foul weather gear and enjoy some nice naps, reading, conversation, tasty food, etc. This is what we came here for!
I was thinking to myself as we were bashing along yesterday, this would have been a perfect weather window to sail from Fiji to Auckland!
With our appetites returning with a vengeance, we were hoping the sea Gods would bless us with a tuna, but even with a new lure to tempt our finned friends from the deep, no dice. Not even a strike in three days.
Todd is whipping up a great smelling chicken curry as I write, so don’t worry, we won’t be starving this evening.
If we stop in Minerva Reef, then we would expect to be in Savusavu by Wednesday or Thursday. If we press on, it will be sooner. We will keep you posted of our progress.
June 3
North Minerva Reef, Latitude 23 deg. 38 min. South, Longitude 178 deg. 55 min. West
We arrived at North Minerva Reef this morning at 0700 after six days at sea, four of them a bash to windward.
We had to slow down yesterday to time our arrival after sunrise. As you can imagine, I still have a case of “reef-o-phobia” so we set waypoints well off South Minerva Reef (on the rhumb line 20 miles south) and I was awake most of the night, checking and re-checking my navigation to make sure we were well clear of these obstructions.
North Minerva popped up, right where my GPS (Global Positioning System) said it would be. Thank you Bill Clinton for turning off the intentional degrading of the signal so that we yachties have the same accuracy as the military. ‘Bout time you did something useful.
The roomy pass, or opening to the reef, was easy to spot by the tidal rips flowing out and the standing waves just outside the entrance. Waves breaking on the awash reef on either side marked the goalposts that we had to navigate between to get to our goal–the calm blue lagoon. Two other yachts anchored inside were enjoying this little bit of solitude, hundreds of miles from the nearest sign of civilization.
Once inside the reef, the calm was a noticeable and welcome difference to the pitching and rolling we had become accustomed to (and tired of) for four days. Anticipating a wind shift to the southwest tonight, we headed for the southwest part of the reef.
Cruisers call this place “Minervous Reef” because many yachts bound for New Zealand from Tonga and Fiji stop here and nervously wait for the right “weather window” for the passage south. The patch of water between here and New Zealand can be heaven, and on occasion can be hell. So far, my score is one and three. The Minerva Reefs are volcanic cones that reached nearly to the surface of the ocean and then became dormant and overgrown with coral. The perimeters are a few feet above the surface at low tide and the inside is a lagoon that averages 50 feet deep, strewn with coral heads, teeming with sea life and lots of giant clams. North Minerva is about four miles in diameter.
We picked a nice spot to anchor and let the hook go. With it went the bow roller assembly. Four days of bashing had loosened the long bolt through the bow rollers and donated it to the Sea Gods somewhere between here and Auckland. The good news is that the assembly itself has a bale on it that kept attached to the anchor rode. A bit of underwater time, a spare bolt and some teamwork got the whole affair put back together in an hour or so.
Today was a day to clean up and dry out. We cleaned our little floaterhome from stem to stern and dried out clothes and aired out bedding from the last four days of mayhem. We also reinstalled all the little bits and pieces that had come undone below decks in the pounding.
Low tide was about noon, so the crew went for a little walkabout on the reef, a mission to hunt for some lobster for the dinner table. The walk was good but the lobster eluded the pot–this time. Many “bugs” were spotted, but they are fast on their feet–and tails–and hang close to the “pukas” where they retreat for safety from predators like yachties and eels.
We are looking forward to a bar-b-que dinner by Chef Todd, a few glasses of vino, and a good night’s sleep–calm and level with no midnight watches.
The weather gurus are calling for winds out of the southwest tomorrow so we will weigh anchor in the morning and press on North to Savusavu.
June 4
After a relaxing day and a half pit stop at North Minerva Reef, we are under way again, approximately 460 miles south of our destination of Savusavu, Fiji.
After a tasty Kiwi bar-b-que dinner and a few bottles of great New Zealand wine, we turned in for a great night’s sleep on the hook inside the protection of the reef. The wind howled out of the north last evening, and we thought we might be in for another day or two of R & R. By mid morning all the boat chores were done and we were looking for things to do.
We checked in to Des at Russell Radio at 0730 and he told us that the wind would be easing and possibly backing to the west. It did ease a bit and backed bigtime to the southwest, ideal for the passage north.
We set sail after lunch with a small jib and full main and have been reaching along at eight to nine knots in rolly seas ever since. If the breeze holds, we should make landfall in Fiji on Wednesday.
June 5
Latitude 21 deg. 03 min. South, Longitude 179 deg. 20 min. West
The last twenty four hours have provided us some of the most pleasant sailing of the entire passage. This is the way it is supposed to be. Light southeasterlies of 10 to 15 knots have been moving us along at five to seven knots, the overcast has kept us relatively cool and the CD player has kept us entertained. It is really nice to have the wind behind us for a change, and we’ve all been just eating, sleeping, reading and chatting. Not much else to do.
The only external entertainment is the occasional break in the cloud layer that gives us a view of the beautiful southern night sky, and the random visit by one of a variety of sea birds who swoop in for a closer look at this strange intruder to their world.
Moonshadow is pretty much looking after herself. The autopilot is doing most of the steering, the GPS’s doing the navigating and the drag generator is making most of the electricity to power up the aforementioned. Other than the occasional gibe (0330 this morning-ugh!) to avoid the plethora of reefs out here in the Lau Ridge, the crew are just passengers along for the ride in this big floating Clorox bottle.
We covered a lazy 115 nautical miles from our departure from Minerva Reef yesterday at 1430 to noon today. That leaves us about 260 miles remaining to Savusavu. That should get us in by happy hour on Wednesday.
From the chat we get on our radio skeds, the coup is pretty much status quo. Ya gotta love a government that can be overthrown by just seven dudes with guns. Suva is no place you want to be, but the rest of Fiji is pretty much unaware of the fiasco, with the exception of the eight o’clock curfew imposed upon the entire country. Welcome to a Banana Republic. I heard the U.S. State Department only just issued a warning to travelers not to go to Fiji. (Laugh) Are they asleep at the switch out there or just too focused on one little boy from Cuba? Maybe the Coconut Telegraph is running a bit slow these days.
Our store of avocados all reached peak ripeness in the last few days. Thank goodness we have a dryer full of tortilla chips to help solve the problem.
June 6
Latitude 18 deg. 31 min. South, Longitude 179 deg. 37 min. East - the Koro Sea
We made landfall around ten o’clock this morning as we spotted the lush volcanic Fijian island of Matuku. The winds have been fresh from the southeast and we have been easily reaching along at eight to nine knots. At this rate, we should reach the leading light at Savusavu Bay just before sunrise tomorrow (our Wednesday) morning. Other than the endless overcast, sailing conditions have been nearly perfect–warm, comfortable and reasonably fast since we left Minerva Reef.
The fishing curse continued today. First, our line became tangled in the drag generator and we lost a good lure. The drag generator is a propellor attached to a piece of stiff line that turns a generator attached to the stern of the boat, which is plugged into our battery charging system. It makes nearly enough juice to power up our daily needs when we are doing at least six or seven knots.
I put on another lure and noticed a flock of birds “hunting” up ahead. Birds hover over bait fish which are usually followed by feeding pelagic or open ocean fish such as mahi-mahi, tuna or wahoo. We were headed right for them, and sure enough, got a big strike as we passed through. The line played out and promptly snapped. Bugger!
An hour or so later we were finally vindicated as we hooked and boarded a 20 pound mahi-mahi. The frozen pizzas thawing for dinner promptly went back into the freezer. It’s fresh fish for dinner!!
At this point, we are winding our way through the islands in the Koro Sea and have about 100 nautical miles to go to the entrance to Savusavu Bay. We are all looking forward to being on the level, tied to a dock and having a meal out at the Savusavu Yacht Club tomorrow night.
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June 8
Bula From Savusavu, Fiji!
After a beautiful four day sail from Minerva Reef, we spotted the island of Vanua Levu, Fiji as the sun rose yesterday morning (our Wednesday). The island is lush and green with jagged topography reminiscent of the islands of French Polynesia and there was an early morning haze over the low lands along the coast.
The beacon marking the entrance to the gorgeous Savusavu Bay was easy to spot and the pass was wide enough for a night approach. We spotted our friends Cindy, Tim and their crew anchored off the Cousteau Resort near the entrance of the bay. We motorsailed by to say hello and then continued northeast along the palm tree lined coast into Nakama Creek. The sight of a cluster of masts was a clue that we were headed to where the yachties were hanging out.
We handily med-moored to the dock at the Copra Shed, a renovated copra shed that now houses the Savusavu Yacht Club, a cafe, a chandlery, and assorted other small businesses. Being the only yacht from the Auckland-to-Savusavu Race, we received a warm greeting from everyone there. Before the agriculture and health officials could get on board, we were handed a large tray of ice cold Fiji Bitters (great beer) and a huge wooden tray full of pizza.
After being granted pratique, we relaxed a bit, had lunch and then I set about the task of clearing customs and immigration. Forms for this, forms for that, forms for other things. Fiji wins hands down for the most paperwork to get checked in. All the officials were very nice, but operate on Fiji time, which is way slower than Auckland or US time, but maybe just a bit faster than Mexican time. The process only took about two hours.
MaiTai still has a cast on her back leg due to her broken ankle. She has worn out the bottom by her foot so that the splint makes a clacking sound as she walks. Arrrghhhh! There be a peg leg on deck! She gets a soft cast tomorrow and should be bionically correct in two weeks.
The eight o’clock curfew had been lifted yesterday, at least for this island, so after happy hour at the Savusavu Yacht Club, which is about ten steps south the boarding gangplank of Moonshadow, a group of about 15 of us went in to beautiful downtown Savusavu for a great Indian meal. All the great food we could eat, and all the beer and wine we could drink ended up costing about $8 per person. Why cook?!
All on board enjoyed a good night’s sleep in this quiet, if not very hot and humid marina.
Fiji is gorgeous, and we can’t wait to do some exploring and diving. We are pretty much sorted out after the passage, the “to do” list is still short and we are off to Koro Island, about 30 miles south, this Saturday with another yacht race. Hopefully, there won’t be a coup there to muck things up.
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