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Starblazer - 11/08/2014 - A week in the Mamanucas



We spent three nights anchored off Musket Cove and snorkelled over the reef near to the sandbank twice. On our second visit I spotted a magnificent Lionfish, I managed to get John's attention and we both took several photos.

From Musket Cove we travelled northwards inside the reef then made our way to Monoriki, the island where the Tom Hanks film Castaway was filmed. The beach looks really inviting and sweeps across towards a small rocky islet. There is an extensive reef system around the end of the island on on the other side but was far too rough to snorkel over. A tripper boat had dropped off its passengers on the beach and they were snorkelling just off the beach so we followed their example. The coral was quite good and there were lots of fish! The anchorage, however, left a bit to be desired. The shallow (10 metre deep) shelf was narrow and we bumped coral setting the anchor so, without asking, I quickly pulled the chain back up, pulling the boat back into deeper water. We eventually dropped anchor in 18 metres, using almost all of our 70 metres of chain. The other problem with the anchorage is that there is no shelter from wind or sea unless they come from the west, unusual here! Late afternoon, both days we were there, the boat was turned sideways on to the waves (only little) and the wind making it rocky. We can only guess there was an element of tidal activity or current influencing the boat.

Wednesday morning we set off fairly early heading towards Waya, the southernmost island in the Yasawa chain. Various AIS targets popped up then suddenly Chez Nous came up on the screen. They were anchored in a horseshoe shaped bay surrounded by Navadra Island and Vanua Levu island which are joined by a reef, so we changed our intended destination and worked our way in to join them. The snorkelling was very good but rather deep. Close inshore the waves were breaking on the beach and throwing a lot of sand up which made visibility poor. Further offshore, where the coral was excellent, visibility was a lot better but we had to anchor the dinghy in about 10 metres over sand and swim in which is not my idea of fun. Caduceus came into the anchorage late afternoon but declined the offer of drinks and dinner aboard Starblazer. Chez Nous joined us for BBQ'd lamb chops, homemade ratatouille and tinned potatoes dauphinoise followed by a chocolate pudding. I threw the pudding together in a hurry and misread the quantity of water for the sauce! It tasted very good so I made another one the next evening for a pot luck aboard Caduceus, this time with the correct quantity of water. It's a recipe I will make many times, it was so good.

The problems with equipment on board have sadly increased. There is a diesel leak between the tank and the generator so the fuel line has to be bled whenever we wish to start the generator. The engine fresh water cooling system still leaks, it needs refilling with about 3 litres of water whenever we wish to start the engine. To cap it all, the refrigerator stopped getting cold. Warm beer is one thing, bad milk is totally untenable! Chez Nous left for Denerau early Thursday morning where they had booked a buoy. They kindly booked us an alongside berth in the marina and found a refrigeration engineer who could visit us early Friday afternoon. Thanks Jonathan.

We snorkelled again on Thursday, a bit further along the beach from Wednesday's spot, and had a very enjoyable supper aboard Caduceus. Very early Friday morning (very early for me, anyway) we pulled up the anchor shortly after 0630 to head towards Denerau, about 30 miles away as the crow flies though there are numerous reef areas and small islands to avoid on the way. We managed to get some drive from the genoa and entered the marina at about 1215. Our allocated berth was scary, between two superyachts with a couple of piles to tie bow lines to and a wind blowing us down onto a beautiful yacht! We tied up stern to, with help from Jonathan tying the important bow line and a marina guy tying the other one. He took several attempts to tie a bowline, a good job it was the less important one. I don't have size envy however... We were surrounded by numerous vessels over 50 metres long, both motor yachts and sailing yachts. Yesterday we moved to an alongside berth, more suited to our size.

Pritesh, a refrigeration engineer, came on board on Friday afternoon. He couldn't find a leak so emptied the system and refilled it with a promise to come and check it on Monday morning. We had cool beer but it didn't seem to be as old as it should be. Pritesh came back on Monday. We still had some refrigeration but not good enough so he changed the gas. This time he used a sniffer and found a tiny leak in the evaporator plate. He went out to buy a material he could patch it with by rubbing down the plate, heating the area then rubbing the stick over it to seal the hole. It seems to work.

Hopefully, we will move on tomorrow.

Joyce

Correction. In my last blog I said it was a 50 amp fuse, I should have said a 250 amp fuse!

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