Firefly - An interesting arrival at Vanua Balavu, Lau Group, Fiji

Firefly's passage from Tonga to Vanua Balavu in the Lau Group was very quick and during the second night we had to slow down as the wind kept increasing and we needed good daylight to transit the passage into the lagoon. This led to a particularly uncomfortable night as we reduced sail down to 2 reefs in the main and a fully furled jib. In a moderate sea, with very little sail up Firefly was rocking and rolling and was in fact still going too fast.



Arriving at the Tongan Passage at first light we joined the first of the combined ICA and World ARC rally boats, Heatwave and Astral Express, both 'hove to' waiting for enough light to attempt the passage in moderate onshore winds. Heatwave's patience ran out first and they went through reporting on the VHF that it was wide and relatively easy. Prior to leaving Tongan there had been some discussion about the accuracy of the electronic charts in the Lau Group. Based on our experiences from last year in Fiji, our expectation was that our Ipad would be right and our chartplotter would be out. This being based on the fact that our Ipad automatically updates and is now our primary tool and our chartplotter card is several years old - both are from Navionics - whom we were told have recently updated their Fiji charts.



Feeling fatigued from the previous night we then had a confusing couple of hours before we eventually anchored off Lomaloma. It started with plotting the waypoints we had been given for the Tongan passage. There is an East and a West pass - and having plotted the waypoints for the West pass on both the plotter and the Ipad the suggested track was about half a mile offset on both - the track shown going across land. Therefore we knew (at this somewhat late stage) that we had a problem and that both our charting/GPS systems were unreliable.



So as Heatwave went through the pass we plotted their AIS track. It was a perfect route through the West pass so our 'cautious' conclusion was that both our charting systems were right and it was the provided waypoints that were wrong. Out here in the South Pacific reefs and shallow water actually shows up very well so we used 'eyeball' navigation and also followed Heatwave's track and it all went fine - we were into the calm waters of the lagoon.



We sailed about 8 miles across the lagoon towards Lomaloma and then things became confusing again. Just in case, we kept plotting the course of the 2 boats ahead and as we approached the anchorage behind the island called Yanu Yanu - their track went straight across the land. Very carefully we reached the anchorage again using our 'eyeball' navigation and using their track as a reference as it was clear that in this area our charts were about half a mile out.



Having settled down, rested and thought about it for a while it became clear what had happened. Heatwave had actually entered via the East pass (which we later confirmed with them) - as we plotted their course, by total coincidence it looked on our electronic systems that they took the perfect route through the West pass! So we had actually entered through the East pass too, thinking we were going through the West! Interestingly, as we were being so cautious it was never dangerous, just confusing.



Many of the other rally boats are having similar problems with offset electronic charts - and having checked out the Ipad menus we have found that it does not automatically update and we need to hook it up to the internet and press a button to get it refreshed - that's a bit tricky to do out here in this remote spot and we won't get internet for about another week. We are therefore very pleased that we are re united with our friends Stuart and Pat on Brizo - they arrived at Lau via Minera Reef from NZ, missing out Tonga. Their charts are up to date and since our customs and immigration check in was completed, Firefly has been in Brizo's wake where ever we have gone.



As the anchorage at Lomaloma was small and crowded as our arriving rally boats turned up we decided to leave the same day and sailed (right behind Brizo) to Mbatava harbour about 12 miles to the north. It was stunning fiord like bay with turquoise water and some interesting corals near the shores. The first night we shared the large bay with just 4 rally boats but by the third night everyone had turned up (30 plus boats) for the welcome Sevusevu ceremony arranged by the Dalconi Village (they are actually on the other side of the Island). This was a more formal Sevusevu than we had witnessed before, with 6 head men from the village accepting the Kava root offering from John Martin of the ICA - and then a team of men from the village, shiny with grease on their bodies and dressed in grass skirts prepared and distributed the Kava to drink in coconut shells.



This morning (Saturday 13th June) we left Mbatava harbour and the entire fleet motored around to anchor off Dalconi Village. Going in convoy, John and Lyn on Windflower led the fleet through the stunningly beautiful area called the Bay of Islands. Very enjoyable and reminiscent of our flotilla days with the only drawback being that its drizzling here today - we will go back to the Bay of Islands when the sun comes out and spend some time there. Tonight we have a traditional Lomo and Meze arranged for all the rally participants - traditional food, cooked underground and Fijian dancing. Apparently the village is buzzing with preparations...



Paul and Susie