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American Spirit II - Day 173; Work Day and a Trip to the Vuda Point Marina; Friday, June 27, 2014



Up at 7:12 AM. Coffee followed by a breakfast of scrambled eggs, breakfast sausage and chilled pineapple pieces.



Today was 'small project day.' As I cleaned the dodger windows with vinegar and water to remove the accumulated salt and dirt, Joel taped all the lifeline fittings on the boat and checked cotter pins and shackles on the boom. A cotter pin on the gooseneck was broken, so finding that was a good find. The gooseneck fitting connects the boom to the mast. If it ever fails, having a flying boom banging into the mast and shrouds would not be pretty. Next I put the canned fruit and vegetables I'd bought the day before away; and stacked cokes and beer in the refrigerator.



We each (sans bun) on the boat for lunch; then went ashore to shower at 1:30 PM. I settled up the last invoice from Yacht Help; bought some bread at the bakery; and bought some more groceries - canned fruit and vegetables; eggs; and junk food.



At 3:15 PM our driver, Naudi, picked us up and we departed for the Vuda Point Marina to have dinner with the the crew of Folie a Deux. On the way there I had our driver divert into the drive thru lane of a MacDonald's where I picked up a coke and French fries. The fries were MacDonald's coffee hot, but there was no salt on them. The drive to Vuda Point was very scenic, with mountains along the way. Our driver, Naudi, and I engaged in conversation about Fiji. We talked about the coups that were common in the country, the last one occurring in 2006. Apparently, whenever there is a general election that the military doesn't like, they 'coup' the results. He even said that there was a new constitution being formulated that said in it that the military could overthrow any elected government that it didn't like. Since 95% of the military were Fijian, versus 5% at most Indian, the Fijian military was going to have its way. Previous coups had occurred because an Indian was elected Prime Minister, or because the Indian party had won a majority in the election.



Newspapers were either organs of the government, or independent of it. However, 'independent' didn't mean that anything could be published. Censorship was practiced, so even an independent newspaper had to toe the government's line somewhat.



Concerning the economy, the 4 top income earners for Fiji are tourism, sugar cane, timber and garments. In Suva, the capital, if you didn't have a job you didn't eat. In the rest of Fiji, rural Fiji compared to Suva (a city of 200,000 people), if you don't have a job your neighbors will help at least to providing food for you.



Once we got to the Vuda Point Marina I was amazed at the way the boats were moored in their berths. All were med moored, meaning they were bow or stern to a concrete wall; perpendicular to it. The space between the boats was only inches, so each boat had to have its fenders out to keep from being damaged by the boat's on either side of it. There were no poles in the water to tie up to like in a US marina. The marina complex itself was shaped like a circle, with the boats berthed along the outer perimeter of this circle. The densest placement of boats I've ever seen.



Eight or nine boats with the rally were at the marina, with a number of them 'on the hard;' meaning they had been hauled out of the water and were undergoing repairs on land. The manner of placing these boats on the ground was interesting. Instead of placing the boats on scaffolds or metal support structures like in the US, most of the boats hauled out of the water for repairs were set on the ground supported by tires on each side. The ground beneath the boats was dug out so the keels and rudders were actually below ground level. This made working on the boats easier;and entering and leaving the boats was also easier because the boats weren't so elevated. The boats at the marina, besides Folie a Deux, included Sweet Peal, Ghost, Vivo, Trillium, Chika-lu and Adela.



We met with Tim and Tracy Ramsey and their teenage children, Brain and Lucy, and had chips and salsa on their boat before departing for a nearby restaurant at around 6:00 PM for dinner. Once there, Dennis and Sherry Day from Trillium joined us. Joel had the buffet and I had an Indian dinner called Beef Massaman. My beef was served in a coconut. During dinner a performance of Fiji warriors was held. This lasted for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, and included audience participation.



We departed the restaurant and marina complex at 9:30 PM, and arrived back at our boat around 10:15 PM. Joel went right to bed while I typed a couple of logs and transcribed some emails.



Brian Fox


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