Firefly - Clearing into Savusavu, Fiji

Firefly arrived at Savusavu at 0300 on Thursday 19th June - approaching at night was relatively easy as there were no major hazards and we had some moonlight to light the way in. The passage from Tonga took just over 2.5 days and of this the last 10 hours were motoring as the wind faded away as forecast. We are therefore pleased we left Tonga when we did, despite the windy start to the trip as we did sail most of the way.

Customs, Immigration and Biosecurity were all conducted very efficiently - Firefly being closed up for 20 minutes after being sprayed with 'aircraft' insecticide to avoid any mosquitos successfully hitching a ride from Tonga. Co ordination of all this was skillfully arranged by the Copra Shed Marina, and once cleared we moored stern to in their small marina.

Savusavu is quite a bustling little town, the strong Indian influence throughout Fiji being very visible here via the shops businesses and the local people, all very friendly. Having collected Fijian dollars we paid our various fees and then sheltered from the rain at the 'Surf and Turf' restaurant. This was a good choice as the Wahoo was great and just as we were finished a tall man with a bushy white beard started pinning up Admiralty Charts of Fiji on the wall. This gent from New Zealand was Curly Carswell - he has lived and sailed in Fiji for 40 years and on weekly basis runs chart marking and planning sessions for cruising around Fiji - everyone highly recommends them both for the info and the entertainment.

So by good fortune we sat for 3 hours as Curly toured us around Fiji. What was particularly useful were the stark warnings regarding the potential hazards. Certain areas are reef strewn and also subject to venturi effects regarding the wind. Fiji does have some alarming statistics regarding yacht losses. So by the end we were certainly well warned about had built up a good basic level of knowledge regarding the archipelago and were utterly overloaded with potential places to visit and waypoints to request. Curly is very enthusiastic about sailing, diving and everything to do with Fiji. Top of our list is an island in the South of the Lau Group - very remote, traditional and in Curly's words - 'the best place on the planet' - clearly we are keen to go and see if he is right.

By 1200 on Friday 20th we were heading out of the marina, the rain had finally stopped and our cruising permit was all stamped up. We are now anchored off the Jean (son of Jacques) Cousteau Resort about 5 miles south of Savusavu, getting some peace, quiet and rest before heading east to Taveuni as soon as we have good conditions.

Paul and Susie