Cleone - Leg 9 (C) Day 1 - Rolling, Rolling, Rolling

 

Without any pre-consultation, four Skippers left Neiafu, Vauva'u at exactly the same time.  Andante and Talulah Ruby and non-World ARC yacht WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction? Ed) all refuelled together, having cleared out from Tonga first, so maybe it was not that surprising that we all found ourselves heading out to sea at the same time.  All of us are bound for Savusavu, one of Fiji's closer Ports of Entry.  The first part was like a race - it was getting towards dark, and we all wanted to be clear of the poorly lit and windy passage before dusk.  We all made it, and soon the sparse lights of Vauva'u were fading behind us.

 

For the first hour or so, whilst we were in the shelter of land, a good following breeze blew us smoothly forward, but as night drew on, the irregular, short swells became increasingly uncomfortable.  This did not seem to disturb the Skipper's slumbers, but at one tricky point during a gybe (deliberate - we needed to change course - Ed) the Skipper's face appeared suddenly in the cockpit wondering what had woken him so suddenly.  But all was under control, and soon we were running once more, but this time on the starboard tack.  As dawn broke, the seas started to settle, and it has become more comfortable as we run along under poled-out Genoa, Mainsail and Mizzen.  We slip back into our sea-going routine very quickly now.  Watches are always the same - Norfy with the Skipper (the Old Crocks) and Elizabeth and Will forming Team Young Turks.  One of Norfy's excellent beef stews got the night watches off to a great start, but Will has taken his time to find his sea-legs again.  But he's never missed a minute of his watch, and now his guitar has been fixed (by the Resident Guitar Man of the Bounty Bar - each moment needed Will's close supervision, which explains the long, presumably anxious, hours he kept in this establishement - Ed), he will be back on top form very soon.  But soon, we should anyway have reached Fiji.  The challenge is to reach in daylight the Pass through the reefs that protect Fiji from the East, and subsequently to try and avoid a night-entry into Suvasuva; apparently most of the navigation lights don't work.  But this is something we should be getting used to.  It's only when we are far away do we realize how lucky we yachtsmen are in European and American waters, where lights are numerous, always in their charted location, and lit when they are supposed to be.

 

So hopefully we will arrive in Fiji sometime on Monday (ours, not necessarily yours).  We'll keep you posted.