Cleone - Leg 9C Day 2 - Fiji Ahoy!

 

And I expect some of you also thought that Hong Kong is one island - but it consists of over 200 separate islands, too.  Enough of the Trivial Pursuits.  We are now 30 miles or so off the nearest part of Fiji,.  However, the main islands are guarded by a series of small reefs and islands through which we have to thread our passage.  These run from North to South, and are about a hundred miles East of Vanua Levu and Viti Levu, two of the main islands.  Suva and Nandi, the international airport, are on Viti Levu, and Savusavu, where we will make our landfall, is on Vanua Levu.  To get there, we are aiming for the Lakeba Passage, some ten miles wide.  We have to dog-leg through many flanking small reefs and little islands, none of which appear to have lights on them, and none of which we are allowed to land on, deliberately or inadvertantly.  The Skipper is hoping that the charts and the GPS match up, which they did not when we were in Tonga.  We should reach the first of these in daylight, although it will probably be towards or after dusk tomorrow when we actually arrive in Savusavu Bay.  We need to enter and cross this bay in order to get to the Copra Shed Marina, which is up a narrow, winding Nakama Creek - which also appears to be unlit!  He (the Skipper) will be earning his pay at this time (Pay?  What Pay? - Ed, or rather his wife), or maybe we will anchor-off until daylight.

 

All these delights are yet to come.  Meanwhile, the seas have moderated, and it is much more comfortable, particularly for those off watch and trying to sleep below.  The wind was behind us for much of the night, but as forecast (for once) it has veered and we are now on a broad reach, port tack  It has also eased slightly, so we are now not making quite the pace we were.  We have threatened to put up the Mizzen Staysail, and it is standing by in case the wind eases a trifle more.  It's good to keep the boat powered up - Cleone thrives on it.

 

Will has been making a great fight-back, proven by the saussage stew he cooked up last night, and Elizabeth has taken over the navigation as well as the sail trimming.  Norfy is asleep, the Skipper is typing away on the computer.  Clearly neither of them has much to do now.