American Spirit II - Day 161; Rough Ride to Port Denarau Continues & Port Denarau Marina Area is Lovely; Sunday, June 15, 2014

Joel went on watch at 1:00 AM. Since we knew that we'd be making our most trying passage around 4:00 AM, I knew that I wasn't going to get more than 3 hours sleep. During Joel's watch, the wind increased to 27 knots and the waves to 11 feet.



Joel woke me at 4:00 AM as we were getting ready to enter Navula Passage. If the wind and current in this passage were contrary, we could be in for a rough ride. But they weren't. Not only did the land knock down the waves, we were riding a 2 knot current with us thru the passage. And the pass had 2 red range lights and a green and red flashing buoy on each side of the pass, so getting in was easy. Different that the US, where when entering a port its 'red, right returning;' outside the US the green buoys are always on the right when entering, not the red ones. And 'range lights' are lights set up on shore, whereby one is lower than the other, and they are separated by distance. Once you have them both 'lined up,' you follow that line into the area you're trying to traverse. Very cool. And helpful.



At 5:55 AM I saw a large jet fly overhead. That's the same flight that my daughter Angela and her husband Chet will be on June 29 when they come for a visit. So Angela, if you're reading this, your flight from LA should be on time.



The sun rose at 6:50 AM over the mountains surrounding Nadi, Fiji. Very beautiful. By 8:00 AM we were on mooring ball #13 at Point Denarau Marina. How's that for planning? The day before when we left Suva we figured we'd be at our destination in 18 hours. That's 8:00 AM. We were right on time.



Joel went to sleep at 9:30 AM and I followed at 10:30 AM. I got up after Joel did, at 1:30 PM.



Low tide was at 2:18 PM. The boat next to us was aground at that time, and because of that it wasn't swinging as freely as it should on the mooring ball. As a result, both of our boats collided as we were swinging in the wind and the other boat was not. No damage was done as we fended off. But to mitigate that from happening again, we let out more line to our mooring buoy, and put up our anchor sail. This 'anchor sail' stops our boat from 'sailing at anchor.' Meaning, we won't be swinging at anchor or mooring. At 3:10 PM the boat next to us (Stellar) got off the bottom and then swung and pointed the same direction that we were into the wind. Problem over...for now.



We retrieved the dingy from below and inflated it and added the motor. We then headed into the dingy dock, only about 100 yards away. We checked in at the marina office, got our swipe cards to allow us to use the bathroom, shower and laundry and paid for the mooring in advance - $20 per day. I asked to extend our stay 3 more days, but was told that that wasn't possible. So I got us on a wait list. I figured we'd stay the extra days for when Angela and her husband arrived, before leaving and going to another island where our rally rendezvous is being held. About 7 miles away.



After showering we went back to the boat, got our computers and then headed back in to find a restaurant for dinner and that had good Wifi. We found both at the Lulu Restaurant overlooking the water and our boat. The Wifi was interesting in that each person had their own password that was good for only a half hour. So you had to keep changing your password to stay connected. But the connection was very good. Best we've had in months.



Joel had some sort of chicken salad for dinner and I had a filet mignon with mashed potatoes. We both had a small slice of cake and vanilla ice cream for dessert. Plus coffee.



The complex in the marina area is stupendous. Lots of restaurants, shops, a ship's chandlery,etc. We went to an ATM and got some Fijian money. One Fiji dollar equals $.55 US.



Back on the boat at 8:15 PM, where I typed up the last 3 logs. Joel went to bed at 10:30 PM, while I followed an hour or so later. Tomorrow will be an 'early' day as we have to meet our first repair person at 8:30 AM; and the second at 9:30 AM. An electrician and a rigger. Plus we have to order some new boat batteries, get a sail maker to the boat; and more.



321 Days until home.



Brian Fox