August 10, 2009 - Arrival in Vanuatu

During the radio Sked last night we heard that 4 boats had arrived and were anchored at Oyster Island, Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu. We were 100 miles out, anticipating arrival around mid-day Monday. When it is Monday here it is Sunday in the USA.

We were both operating on sleep deprivation in spite of napping throughout the day, and were ready to be there. At 2:30 AM we entered the first pass through Vanuatu's western islands of Pentecost and Maewo. Frank was on watch. I was fast asleep and fighting to stay that way. When my watch began at 6:00 AM, he informed me that we were in Vanuatu's waters but still at least 6 hours from our destination at Espiritu Santo's Oyster Island. I set the hand line and within an hour and a half had a fish on the line. I woke Frank to tell him I was going to clip on the tether to reel it in. He decided to get up anyway; I guess he was too charged up to sleep so he grabbed the camera and measuring tape as I set about bringing in the fish. It was a Bonito that was crawling with sea lice. Blaah! Yuk! As Frank was tossing it back I reset the line. We had just settled into the cockpit and were halfway through our first cup of coffee when I looked up and said, "Frank we have caught another fish". Out came the camera, the measuring tape and the towel, as Frank brought this one in. He was a large Skip Jack Tuna. No sea lice, but we don't much care for Skip Jacks so over the side he went. He was a pretty thing though. We did not manage to catch any more fish yet that was all right with us. Our freezer is full.

We had one more pass to enter before arriving at Oyster Island and were informed that this one was a bit tricky, was very shallow and could be dangerous, however, special markers guiding the way in had been requested. Knowing our draft, the ICA leader informed us that we would be fine getting through at this time. We had an hour to go before low tide. It is a good thing that someone had seen fit to clearly mark the entrance because all of our chart data was far off the mark. There were three sets of red & green poles sticking up out of the coral laid out in a zig zag pattern marking the way through, the first set being the easy one. The way they were laid out resembled a Croquet field in that each set of markings resembled the "wicket". It was like threading a needle, entering the second one. I was up high on the front spotting, and noting that this was almost too shallow for our dinghy! Frank was calling depths to me, and just after he called "3 feet", we heard CRUNCH! We scraped right over a coral head but continued moving forward. We cleared the second set and just eased through the third with clearance to spare. Frank radioed John and asked if we were going to make it to the anchorage. John informed us that we were home free! We found a spot in the crowded anchorage, were met by shouts of greetings from folks on shore, set the hook and breathed a sigh of contentment. We are here!

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

August 8 - 9: Vanuatu Passage Part 3

Neither of us got much sleep as the storms and squalls pelted us throughout the night and into the wee hours of Saturday morning. Sometime in mid-morning the waters laid down as well as our fantastic sailing winds and we settled in to day 3 of the journey. John Martin from S/V "Windflower", who is our rally leader, made a VHF announcement that Oyster Island Resort (our destination in Vanuatu) has decided to sponsor a fishing contest and is offering prizes to the largest fish caught and the most fish caught during the passage. First prize is a free night at the resort. You could nearly hear the scampering as fellow cruisers ran about their boats to get their lines in the water. We of course joined in the action. I lumbered out to the aft deck to set our newly rigged hand line. Before long we heard yachties reporting in that they had caught: a bill-fish (either a Marlin or Sword), a 1.5 meter Mahi Mahi, a large Skip Jack, and so on. "Free Spirit" reported an amazing catch; two double-header Mahi Mahi's (that's two lines rigged with two lures each meaning they caught 4 fish at one time). Wow! By mid-day, we snagged a beautiful 42" Wahoo. As I was skinning it Frank yelled down to me to stop deboning and skinning because we were to be judged on total weight. Hmmm. Where to put a fish when the fridge and freezer are full? This leads me to wonder what should we do if we catch a lot of fish? But we continued nonetheless, not catching anymore this day. We continued hearing the announcements as various yachts called in their catches. Some of them were using monster lures landing 8-10 foot billfish. We could not possibly compete. This passage has produced the best stocked fishing holes we have yet to encounter since leaving the US. I think my ex-husband would be in heaven were he to troll these waters!

Saturday night we heard "Kiss II" check in on the Sked. They were mobile again and in the fleet. Great news! The lack of wind became monotonous, making it difficult to stay awake on watch. When there are storms and high seas at least your nerves are alive and adrenaline is up so that there is no difficulty staying alert.

Sunday, Frank and I both finished our books and he announced that I really must read "Getting Stoned With Savages", because it is the author's account of living in both Vanuatu and Fiji. Been to Fiji, heading to Vanuatu so I snatched it up and could hardly put it down. Although Mr. Troost sometimes gets caught up in his impressive literary genius and expansive vocabulary (lots and lots of verbs and adjectives I have to look up), it was a highly informative and entertaining book. He has a great knack for writing. His tales of Vanuatu had us rolling in laughter and quivering in fear. Apparently there are a lot of deadly creatures there, such as a venomous 2 ft. long/2in. diameter centipede that ventured into his home that must be smashed to smithereens to kill because if you just chop at it each piece will continue to thrive independently and regenerate. He eventually was stung by one and became very ill and nearly paralytic! He mentions other dangers that we had read about in our cruising and travel guides such as an alarmingly high rate of malaria and dengue fever, seriously shark infested waters and lots of volcanic activity. We read on Noonsite that swimming at most beaches is not recommended, especially at black beaches and wherever you spot a red buoy in the water. The red buoy is laden with bloody meat to attract sharks! These people are nuts! OK, we are warned but we are also looking forward to discovering the beauty and allure of Vanuatu. If the TV show "Survivor" can allow participants to do a stint in Vanuatu then I think we are going to be just fine.

This was to be another day of motoring with light squalls on and off throughout. We have had some difficulty getting through on the HAM to post our position report, but Sailmail is working for emails. We received sad news that our friend from Denver, Jeff lost his father to a fast attacking and deadly battle with cancer. Our hearts are heavy for Jeff and Jeri Lyn.

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

Augusst 6-7, Fiji - Vanuatu Passage part 2

Day 1 was rather benign hosting clear blue skies and very little winds. We had been briefed on expected weather for the crossing that included light winds and 1-3 meter seas until Sunday when we should anticipate a moderate storm to pass directly over the fleet's rhumb line. Nonetheless we had stowed away most projectiles and loose items on shelf tops and counter tops just in case. Frank was reading J. Maarten Troost's second book, "Getting Stoned With Savages", and laughing a lot. I was reading a really, really intense Jonathan Kellerman book. And we set the hand line for fishing. By nightfall we realized we'd not caught any fish nor had we brought in the fishing line but Frank said to just leave it out. He, the easy-going one. Me the not so the easy-going one yapped at him about losing more lures and/or perhaps catching something that would get dragged through the water attracting sharks, but he prevailed and we left the line in the water.

The night was God's own palette. We witnessed a glorious sunset and as the last vestige of the huge orange ball dipped to the surface of the horizon, we both exclaimed "Green Flash!" We saw it, yes we did. Big one this time. The colors that painted the sky entertained us for a while. Then out came the full moon, lighting up the cloudless sky so that we bright sparkling stars and great visibility for our night shifts. We happily noted that we were literally surrounded by nearly two dozen dancing mast lights and tri-color lights as our brethren sailed on through the night accompanying us.

Day 2 as the sun was finally yawning awake over the horizon and I was coming off watch at 7 AM, I noted a very slack fishing line hanging off the stern. We have a strict rule that unless it is a dire emergency no one leaves the cockpit when alone up top. So when Frank awoke I tried not to sound too "wifey" when I told him that it looked like we had donated another (brand spanking new) lure to Neptune, and then I went on deck to reel it in. We both felt a sinking feeling as we noted it was gone. Frank didn't feel like fooling around getting a new one rigged so we opted out of fishing on day 2. Good thing that we did because by mid-day we began what we now know to be the "preliminary storm dance of the seas". The winds refreshed and out came the Gennaker. Sails up - SOG increasing - engine off! We enjoyed a good day of sailing indeed. As the afternoon faded into evening however, waves began building as squalls appeared on the horizon. What was this? This was not on the forecast and not on anyone's GRIBS. We checked rigging and made sure everything was well secured as the pounding began. This would not be a night for restful sleep. In fact we were both on hyper-awareness as Destiny tossed side to side. The seas were very angry and not well formed. With double reefs in both sails we sped through the night averaging 7-8 knots. At the 19:30 "sked" boats reported in with averages of 25-30 knots of true wind, and speeds varying from 6-12 knots with sails reefed. There are several catamarans in the fleet and two large motor yachts. These guys were probably going to out run this thing and were likely to make landfall a full day ahead of the rest of us. I was in the cockpit while Frank was giving our report when all of a sudden we felt we'd been slammed by a tank. The crash came before either of us could react. Oh Lord, what now?! The laptop and all contents of the Nav station area were sent hurtling across the interior, into the galley, slamming into the paneling of the fridge and freezer leaving deep gouges in the teak before landing in a heap on the floor below. Rogue Wave. I dutifully went below to pick up pieces. Phones had come apart, as had most electronic pieces. eyeglasses, flashlights, flash drives, business cards, pens, pencils, books, charts - you name it had gone airborne. Amazingly none of it was broken - just scattered everywhere. It was a mess, but one that was easily cleaned up. It was to be a very long, wet night. But we sailed it! It was great not to have to turn the motor on for about 24 hours.

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

August 10, 2009 - Arrival in Vanuatu

During the radio Sked last night we heard that 4 boats had arrived and were anchored at Oyster Island, Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu.  We were 100 miles out, anticipating arrival around mid-day Monday.  When it is Monday here it is Sunday in the USA.   We were both operating on sleep deprivation in spite of napping throughout the day, and were ready to be there.  At 2:30 AM we entered the first pass through Vanuatu's western islands of Pentecost and Maewo.  Frank was on watch.  I was fast asleep and fighting to stay that way. When my watch began at 6:00 AM, he informed me that we were in Vanuatu's waters but still at least 6 hours from our destination at Espiritu Santo's Oyster Island.  I set the hand line and within an hour and a half had a fish on the line.  I woke Frank to tell him I was going to clip on the tether to reel it in.  He decided to get up anyway; I guess he was too charged up to sleep so he grabbed the camera and measuring tape as I set about bringing in the fish.  It was a Bonito that was crawling with sea lice.  Blaah! Yuk!  As Frank was tossing it back I reset the line.  We had just settled into the cockpit and were halfway through our first cup of coffee when I looked up and said, "Frank we have caught another fish".  Out came the camera, the measuring tape and the towel, as Frank brought this one in.  He was a large Skip Jack Tuna.  No sea lice, but we don't much care for Skip Jacks so over the side he went.  He was a pretty thing though.  We did not manage to catch any more fish yet that was all right with us.  Our freezer is full.    We had one more pass to enter before arriving at Oyster Island and were informed that this one was a bit tricky, was very shallow and could be dangerous, however, special markers guiding the way in had been requested.  Knowing our draft, the ICA leader informed us that we would be fine getting through at this time.  We had an hour to go before low tide.  It is a good thing that someone had seen fit to clearly mark the entrance because all of our chart data was far off the mark.  There were three sets of red & green poles sticking up out of the coral laid out in a zig zag pattern marking the way through, the first set being the easy one.  The way they were laid out resembled a Croquet field in that each set of markings resembled the "wicket".   It was like threading a needle, entering the second one.  I was up high on the front spotting, and noting that this was almost too shallow for our dinghy!  Frank was calling depths to me, and just after he called "3 feet", we heard CRUNCH!  We scraped right over a coral head but continued moving forward.  We cleared the second set and just eased through the third with clearance to spare.  Frank radioed John and asked if we were going to make it to the anchorage.  John informed us that we were home free!  We found a spot in the crowded anchorage, were met by shouts of greetings from folks on shore, set the hook and breathed a sigh of contentment.  We are here!

Goodbye Fiji! Hello 600 Miles of Ocean! Passage notes part 1

August 6, 2009, departure day. The first horn blew at 9:45 AM, time to weigh anchor and head to Vanuatu. The rally boats have begun the departure dance, sashaying here and there, circling, shouting to one another, bidding farewell to others who are not leaving and positioning to be first in line to make the jump when the whistle blows. As always emotions rise to the surface as excitement mixed with anxiety flows into a powerful adrenaline. There is no feeling to compare with leaving port and crossing an open ocean to head to a new country and a new adventure. We had minutes left on our Fiji cell phone so we used them to call family and friends. As always my Mom cried to hear our voices. She is proud of us and thinks Frank is the hero of the family. He is amazing and the more we are out here the more he amazes me and everyone else. He is still my hero too.

So everyone is ready and we hear a sad appeal from the Kiwi boat K.I.S.S. (you can guess the acronym!); they are having major engine problems. They will not be leaving with us and we feel their pain as they pull out of the rally at this 11th hour. We are second to last leaving - we are not concerned about being in the lead, just relishing these last few minutes in Malolo Lailai's beautiful anchorage. The staff of Musket Cove and some other cruisers sit in dinghies and small long-boats to mark our way out through the Pass and the intricate reef formations, waving goodbye to us all, as the 22 Rally boats begin to spread and reach finding that sweet spot of water to begin the passage. As we clear the outer reefs dolphins shoot toward our bow, swimming along and performing their water ballet almost on queue, as though this is the farewell send-off. Frank and I ran to the bow yelling, "Where is Sandy?". We think they know our boat and were looking for him.

So we have 600 miles of open water ahead of us. We will be checking in on a "sked" at 19:30 each evening on the SSB. We'll also post our position report (the link may be found on our website home page), throughout the journey as long as we are able to get transmission on the HAM. Vanuatu here we come!

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

August 1 - 6: Fiji-Vanuatu Rally prelims at Musket Cove

The afternoon of August 1st we arrived to a very packed anchorage at Malolo Lailai. And as well the marina and the moorings were overflowing with yachts as cruisers gathered for departure to various other places. Having no choice we anchored quite far away from the hub, out by three mega-yachts nearly in the pass but not quite. Surely there were 100 yachts in residence, too many to count. The air was buzzing with excitement, as were the VHF frequencies. We missed the official first two days of rally activities that had begun on July 31 yet there was plenty left to get into. We went to shore to see Marsha and Earl of "Mahurangi", just back from the States the previous day and were moored on the dock. After a quick visit with them we made plans to go to dinner one night at the resort and then moved along to meet and greet. "Upps" was also on the dock - our German friends Tanja and Bernd. Bernd's visiting teenage daughter, Jo, was aboard posing to him a big challenge: what to do with a 14-year old who would rather text-message and listen to her I-pod while vacationing with her father and Step-mom in Fiji. Ha! What has happened to our youth? It isn't just in America that the kiddos are immersed in electronic bliss. This just seems so anti social, but it works for them. She said it was too far to walk to the pool, too much work to go kayaking and far too much effort to walk the beach in search of shells. Such stress for a young person in paradise! As pretty as she was she probably would have had a trail of boys and dirty old men drooling after her, had she gotten out a bit, but she was clearly not interested. Sigh.

The dock was literally crammed fender-to fender with yachts and the dinghy dock was three deep with tenders of all manner of size and type. This is the stuff you either love or hate. I loved it! We were once again reunited with old friends and introduced to new ones. Over the next few days many activities were planned for those participating in the Vanuatu Rally. Tonight was to be "grill your own meat and purchase your sides" at the Island Bar. I had TTD's to be ready for departure, and I wanted to spend some time visiting friends who would not be moving on to Vanuatu, hence I missed a couple of the goings on, although Frank did join in on one that I missed. It was an extravaganza out on the sand bar (the one out in the middle of the bay at low tide); a few hours of games and competitive events mostly centered on drinking beer. There were lots of competitions along the theme of "Kiwis verses the rest of the world". It sounded like a lot of fun from the later reports of everyone participating. I happily got a lot of chores done on board so didn't feel badly about missing it.

One night was "W" night. Everyone was to come dressed in a costume, starting with the letter "W". There were to be prizes. We could think of a lot of things that were "W" things, but the challenge lay in how to dress like them! I finally got out the dictionary and began scanning for something reasonable that we could pull off with no access to a costume shop, a sewing machine or any other means of obtaining props. Finally we settled on "waypoints". I took a couple of t-shirts, turned them inside out and drew nautical waypoints on the blank side. Mine represented Houston and Frank's represented Denver. Not the most creative or impressive, but surely original. The party was a gas! There were people who came prepared and well stocked to be "W" things. There were many witches, whales and wannabe's. One fellow was a Warrior; another was Waste (as in trash!). There were ladies who got very creative as in WC (water closet), Women's Day magazine, Wash (she had dirty laundry including bras and panties hanging off her). There were Workers and walruses. One guy was a Warbler, decked in tree branches and a little birdhouse hanging off his head! We laughed a lot and enjoyed the evening immensely. I'm well prepared for the next "W" party, at least mentally.

I tried to get online to catch up on some internet stuff; emails, uploading photos, etc., but alas the Wifi was so overloaded we hardly got any of that accomplished. We are far behind getting pictures on the website but will get to it eventually, perhaps when we arrive in Australia there will be decent Wifi. We attended some breakfast and afternoon briefings, getting ready to depart. Saturday was spent checking out of Fiji, where once again we were fortunate that being rally participants gave us the privilege of having the Customs, Immigration and Health officers brought to Musket Cove.

Our last two nights were spent dining with friends, foregoing rally suppers. Earl and Marsha were taking Mahurangi to Vuda Point to get their fridge and freezer working, so we dined with them one night. Then we supped on Upps the evening before they departed to take Jo to see a bit more of Fiji (from the boat?).
OK, once again we bid farewell to friends, attended our final rally briefing and prepared to make another 600 mile crossing. Although excited, most of us agreed that we had mixed feelings of pre-departure and open water voyage anxiety that will yield to anticipation of the next adventure as soon as we clear Fiji waters.

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

Fire Walkers! Robinson Crusoe Island - home of the best entertainment in Fiji and the best prices for everything - July 25 - 30, 2009

We stuck around Vuda point for a few more days before leaving for RCI…Robinson Crusoe Island. We hoped to catch up to James but never did and will probably see him down the way in Vanuatu. Anyway, we heard two important tidbits about RCI; it is so cruiser friendly that we would probably want to stay for a while and that although it's bay is stunningly beautiful, the reefs surrounding it have claimed many a yacht. We decided this was a must-do. Sadly we left TDM at Vuda while they awaited the arrival of their generator, autopilot and a goody package from home, as we trailed Baraka out and away for the 5-hour trip. It was a beautiful day with the wind on our nose - not so nice for sailing. That's OK; it was a pretty day and a fair journey. Upon arrival at the reef we hailed the resort - as is the prudent thing to do, but which some not so smart cruisers before us had not done and hence ended up either bumping into or landing squarely on the reef. The resort sent a guy out in a small boat to guide us in and show us exactly where to drop the hook. We took a look around and liked what we saw! Our friends, Tom and Colleen on Mokisha were there and had kindly made us all a reservation for dinner and the Saturday night show. Perfect! We got cleaned up in time to go ashore to get our yacht club membership which is really just a discount card for resort goods and services and then they clanged the bell announcing happy hour had officially begun. This truly is a great place. Dinner and the show(s) both pre and post meal cost us F$10 per person because we were official members. Prior to the dinner bell, they gathered everyone around the Lovo pit (earthen oven) where the meal was ceremonially uncovered. After all of the food was removed from the fiery stone-filled pit, the head entertainment guy told us that we were about to witness something very special. Sidenote: Fijian Firewalkers are a very special breed of men, descended from sacred ancestors. They come from the island of Beqa. They are the ONLY people in Fiji who can literally walk on hot coals without getting burned. We had read about them and were sad that we would probably not get an opportunity to visit Beqa. Well, RCI happened to have 3 young men present from the island of Beqa, who came out and danced into, stood in and wriggled their feet down into these red-hot stones. And not just for a few seconds did they perform, rather this went on for several minutes each. We the audience stood agape and sickened as we watched the display. We would cringe and gasp and react very loudly and shudderingly as these young men smiled and danced and walked and buried their feet. When it was all done, the emcee asked if we all believed that the coals were really, really hot. Most of us exclaimed in the affirmative, but a few doubting Thomases were not so convinced, so to prove that these coals were scorching hot, he poured some water on them and they sizzled and smoked and coughed up sparks! Wow. We gasped again as we stood around stunned for a few minutes and then went to the buffet. The food was excellent! Afterward the show began with singing and dancing like we had never seen - all the way across the South Pacific the entertainment wasn't even a close second to this. The choreography was professionally done and the dancers professionally trained. They used every prop imaginable; swords, fire batons, fire spears, clubs, rings of fire. Some of them swallowed fire. Once again I wished for a video camera that would shoot at night. They performed for well over 2 hours. All of this for $5 US per person!

We spent the next two days at RCI doing absolutely nothing. I had a F$30, 45-minute massage (are you kidding me?), and we walked around a little but mostly just enjoyed the view and the tranquility and the quiet of being away from civilization again. On Wednesday, along with Baraka we took the river ride through the mangroves in our dinghies. At the end of the lone we anchored and walked over to the Intercontinental Hotel. Another WOW! It sits in a pretty bay with more hues of blue than the eye can behold. The hotel itself is fairly new and just perfect. We so wanted to stay! We browed the shops, took photos and had a lunch that made our taste buds tingle. For dessert (had to have that) we ordered the banana tempura sundae. Bliss in a flute! It was so good we wanted to lick the bottom of the sundae glass. Frank and I inquired at the desk about rooms and rates and were so impressed that we are thinking of taking a long weekend trip here from Australia early next year.

Thursday morning we returned to Vuda because our friends Jaime and Christine had returned that morning from a month long trip back to CA, and we had some birthdays to celebrate. Christine's is July 31, Frank's is August 2nd and Jan's will be August 10th. Frank called ahead and asked Glen and Sally to make a reservation at the yacht club for dinner and to gather everyone there that we knew to join us. Dinner was a great celebration, and we were joined by friends from Scarlett O'hara and Toketie as well. It was so nice to see everyone again. We didn't stay long because we had to be back at Musket Cove by August 1 to join up with the rally group headed to Vanuatu. I had a really difficult time saying goodbye to Sally. She and I had become very close and seem to be so much alike one another that I felt part of me was being ripped away. She and Glen have become very precious to both Frank and I over these past few months, so when it was time to go I got pretty teary. We vowed to see them again and know that we will because they live in our very favorite US city: San Diego. They will be leaving Fiji soon to make their way back to California, via Hawaii. We send them our prayers and our love.

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

Fire Walkers! Robinson Crusoe Island - home of the best entertainment in Fiji and the best prices for everything - July 25 - 30, 2009

We stuck around Vuda point for a few more days before leaving for RCI…Robinson Crusoe Island. We hoped to catch up to James but never did and will probably see him down the way in Vanuatu. Anyway, we heard two important tidbits about RCI; it is so cruiser friendly that we would probably want to stay for a while and that although it's bay is stunningly beautiful, the reefs surrounding it have claimed many a yacht. We decided this was a must-do. Sadly we left TDM at Vuda while they awaited the arrival of their generator, autopilot and a goody package from home, as we trailed Baraka out and away for the 5-hour trip. It was a beautiful day with the wind on our nose - not so nice for sailing. That's OK; it was a pretty day and a fair journey. Upon arrival at the reef we hailed the resort - as is the prudent thing to do, but which some not so smart cruisers before us had not done and hence ended up either bumping into or landing squarely on the reef. The resort sent a guy out in a small boat to guide us in and show us exactly where to drop the hook. We took a look around and liked what we saw! Our friends, Tom and Colleen on Mokisha were there and had kindly made us all a reservation for dinner and the Saturday night show. Perfect! We got cleaned up in time to go ashore to get our yacht club membership which is really just a discount card for resort goods and services and then they clanged the bell announcing happy hour had officially begun. This truly is a great place. Dinner and the show(s) both pre and post meal cost us F$10 per person because we were official members. Prior to the dinner bell, they gathered everyone around the Lovo pit (earthen oven) where the meal was ceremonially uncovered. After all of the food was removed from the fiery stone-filled pit, the head entertainment guy told us that we were about to witness something very special. Sidenote: Fijian Firewalkers are a very special breed of men, descended from sacred ancestors. They come from the island of Beqa. They are the ONLY people in Fiji who can literally walk on hot coals without getting burned. We had read about them and were sad that we would probably not get an opportunity to visit Beqa. Well, RCI happened to have 3 young men present from the island of Beqa, who came out and danced into, stood in and wriggled their feet down into these red-hot stones. And not just for a few seconds did they perform, rather this went on for several minutes each. We the audience stood agape and sickened as we watched the display. We would cringe and gasp and react very loudly and shudderingly as these young men smiled and danced and walked and buried their feet. When it was all done, the emcee asked if we all believed that the coals were really, really hot. Most of us exclaimed in the affirmative, but a few doubting Thomases were there so to prove that these coals were scorching hot, he poured some water on them and they sizzled and smoked and coughed up sparks! Wow. We stood around stunned for a few minutes and then went to the buffet. The food was excellent! Afterward the show began with singing and dancing like we had never seen - all the way across the South Pacific the entertainment wasn't even a close second to this. The choreography was professionally done and the dancers professionally trained. They used every prop imaginable; swords, fire batons, fire spears, clubs, rings of fire. Some of them swallowed fire. Once again I wished for a video camera that would shoot at night. They performed for well over 2 hours. All of this for $5 US per person!

We spent the next two days at RCI doing absolutely nothing. I had a F$30, 45-minute massage (are you kidding me?), and we walked around a little but mostly just enjoyed the view and the tranquility and the quiet of being away from civilization again. On Wednesday, along with Baraka we took the river ride through the mangroves in our dinghies. At the end of the lone we anchored and walked over to the Intercontinental Hotel. Another WOW! It sits in a pretty bay with more hues of blue than the eye can behold. The hotel itself is fairly new and just perfect. We so wanted to stay! We browed the shops, took photos and had a lunch that made our taste buds tingle. For dessert (had to have that) we ordered the banana tempura sundae. Bliss in a flute! It was so good we wanted to lick the bottom of the sundae glass. Frank and I inquired at the desk about rooms and rates and were so impressed that we are thinking of taking a long weekend trip here from Australia early next year.

Thursday morning we returned to Vuda because our friends Jaime and Christine had returned that morning from a month long trip back to CA, and we had some birthdays to celebrate. Christine's is July 31, Frank's is August 2nd and Jan's will be August 10th. Frank called ahead and asked Glen and Sally to make a reservation at the yacht club for dinner and to gather everyone there that we knew to join us. Dinner was a great celebration, and we were joined by friends from Scarlett O'hara and Toketie as well. It was so nice to see everyone again. We didn't stay long because we had to be back at Musket Cove by August 1 to join up with the rally group headed to Vanuatu. I had a really difficult time saying goodbye to Sally. She and I had become very close and seem to be so much alike one another that I felt part of me was being ripped away. She and Glen have become very precious to both Frank and I over these past few months, so when it was time to go I got pretty teary. We vowed to see them again and know that we will because they live in our very favorite US city: San Diego. They will be leaving Fiji soon to make their way back to California, via Hawaii. We send them our prayers and our love.

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

July 17 - 22, 2009; Part 2 – Vuda Point and Suva

Returning to Suva city, we ventured over to the local crafts market where one could buy goods that ranged in value and sophistication from gallery-quality to future garage-sale potential. Some of the vendors had closed for the day so we browsed a bit. Sally bought a couple items and then we returned to the hotel to find the boys, determined to return to the craft market early on Saturday morning. Our guys were happily planted in the crowded hotel bar. This was definitely the after work gathering place for locals as well as hotel guests. Smoking in bars here is still widely acceptable – in fact smoking just about anywhere in Fiji seems to be a popular activity. This bar was obnoxiously smoky. We convinced the guys to adjourn to Glen and Sally's room where we had planned a little wine, cheese and hors d'oeuvres tasting. Jan and Sally had purchased a sampling of wines during our excursion and wanted to try them out before ordering full cases. We had such a variety of snacks that we let that pass for dinner. Saturday was our big day. We walked over to the museum – small but fascinating – taking in the history of Fiji's culture, her people and her evolution from vicious cannibalism to intense Christianity. The first large room contained various nautical pieces, including very large war canoes, fishing vessels, ceremonial canoes and even the remains of The HMS Bounty's rudder (yes of the mutiny fame). Beyond this area were lots and lots of cannibal artifacts, war clubs, kava bowls, jewelry, shells, and so on, and then we came to my favorite room the one housing the beautiful and incredibly made wedding gowns, dresses and other accessories made of Tapa Cloth. I was fascinated at the intricate detail and artistry it had taken to hand tool tree bark into these incredible garments. The Fijian Tapa is much softer and more pliable than what we had seen in the Marquesas and in Tonga. Lovely. In fact several of our friends purchased a variety of Tapa items (table cloths and runners, hangings, etc.) but as rich looking and appealing as they are I just do not have room on our boat to store these things. OK, I digress. The final two areas of the museum were dedicated to the influx of cultures from other nations – the largest initially was from Great Britain, with the missionaries and religion. Many of them were eaten and in fact the museum holds the remains of Tom Baker's (the most famous of the edible disciples) personal effects including the soles of his shoes and his Bible, AND the utensils used to devour him! Other cultures that have infused themselves into Fiji are the Indian and the Asians. Leaving the museum we wandered back over to the crafts market where I purchased some lovely hand woven baskets, our own cannibal fork and another for my brother-in-law who loves to carve. I thought he might have fun replicating this one or just looking at it. Afterward we browsed downtown shops and then over to the fish/fruits/vegetable/kava market. Wow! This is a big one! The fish market was something to behold and difficult to describe. They had everything that lives in Fiji's waters! We did not make a purchase here just looked. Beyond that was a vast "Flea Market" (their name), which was another hand-craft and clothing market. I bought a dress for F$15.00. Frank by now was maxed out and could not take another minute of browsing so he plopped down at a table and prayed for the shopping to be done soon. We made our way back to the hotel, stowed our purchases and got ready for dinner to celebrate Dave's birthday. We chose the Bad Dog Café for our celebration. It was big on ambience but mediocre on edibles. We had a great time nonetheless. We returned to the hotel to find a wedding in full swing. The bride was decked out in the typical white flowing gown but the groom on the other hand was resplendent, decked out in full Tapa ceremonial attire. I managed to get them to pose for me to snap their picture. Early Sunday morning we boarded the bus back to Vuda Point, arriving with plenty of time for Glen to grab his Sax and head over to the Yacht Club to jam with the local band. We stuck around through Wednesday when our order arrived from Cost-U-Less. It was Christmas in July! Frank hovered and drooled as I unpacked and inventoried the scrumptious goodies. We got everything re-packaged and stowed and ready for departure to Robinson Crusoe Island on Thursday morning.

July 14-17, 2009 Back to Vuda Point Marina and Land Travel to Suva (part 1).

Our main reason for returning to Vuda was that we had wanted to take a road trip to Suva, the capital city, for a few days. It isn't feasible to sail over there, and we had heard that Vuda Point is the best spot to leave the boat and arrange land transport. Arriving at the entrance to the pass at the Marina we found James Finan (Mai Miti Vava'u), of the previous duo; "James and Amber", standing on the point snapping our pictures as we navigated into the pass. We knew he was in the area and had hoped to run into him again. He had left his vessel at Vuda Point Marina while away for the season, making yacht deliveries and visiting friends and family at home and abroad. He helped us to get docked and then came by for a visit. We invited him to join us, Glen and Sally for dinner at the yacht club that night. The next morning, Frank, Glen, Sally and I went into Lautoka for a bit of provisioning. Well, actually, Frank and Glen went for the ATM machines. We grabbed a quick bite of lunch and then on the way out, Frank spotted a hair salon. He and Glen wandered in while Sally and I roamed into a bookstore. She and I window-shopped a bit and returned to the salon not much later to find Frank sitting and watching Glen get a haircut. Frank, looking darn good, proudly announced that he just got a F$5.00 haircut! We watched and waited as the gal finished with Glen. After which the boys announced that they were all done with their shopping and were thirsty, so we set off in pursuit of a bar in which to park them. Bars are not easy to come by in downtown Lautoka. We ambled around, made a couple of inquiries and then spotted the perfect spot to plant them. They settled in getting nice and cozy in the bar at the Lautoka Club while Sally and I set about running errands and doing a little bit of shopping – not too much because we were planning a Thursday departure for Suva. We returned to the marina to find that Dave and Jan (Baraka) had arrived in from the Yasawas. So before they got too settled we convinced them to join us on our road trip, which meant meeting the cab at 7:00 AM for a ride to the airport where we would board the bus to Suva. Thursday morning found us packed and ready for our little adventure into the big city! We enjoyed the comfortable air-conditioned bus ride, and arrived in Suva city at about 12:30 PM. Just in time for lunch! But before lunch we needed to find a hotel and stash our bags. The bus had dropped us at the Holiday Inn, just on the outskirts of downtown, so naturally we inquired there first. Frank, Glen and Dave basically got three different stories on "walk-in special rates" and by the time we sorted through the deals offered, we decided to keep looking. We piled into two cabs and literally got "taken" all over hell's half acre by two slick Fijian drivers whose meters had been turned off. After a ridiculously long, dusty, hot and annoying ride, we ended up just blocks away from the Holiday Inn at a fairly new hotel called JJ's, located in the former YWCA building. Great location – great hotel, superb pricing! They were offering a special rate of $115/night (normally $350/night), including breakfast delivered to the room each morning. Yes! When the guys returned to the cabs to get our gear, the drivers wanted to charge us the outrageous sum of $74.00 per cab! After some words Frank tossed one driver a $20 and said that's it! I think Dave paid the other guy a $20. We eventually found out that any cab ride anywhere in Suva shouldn't cost more than $3.00. What a couple of crooks. We loved our rooms, and were very pleased with JJ's. The well-appointed hotel was in the center of Suva's cultural and shopping venues. We enjoyed an excellent very late lunch at Tiko's Floating Restaurant, located just a few steps away. We then set off exploring and planning our activities. Wandering over to the mall and up and down the various streets we enjoyed being in a real city with modern conveniences and amenities. Dave, not to be outdone by Frank and Glen sought out a place for a haircut – we all stood around watching while the stylist went to work on him. She did a very nice job for the princely sum of F$7.00. Big City prices! Thursday evening we dined in the hotel's excellent restaurant enjoying live jazz music. Sally, Jan and I planned a Friday excursion to Cost-U-Less, which is the South Pacific's version of Costco or Sam's Club and is actually based out of Seattle. This we decided was definitely intended to be the highlight of our little road trip adventure. As we headed to the taxi stand, the boys strolled away toward the Royal Suva Yacht Club for a day of male bonding. At Cost-U-Less, we filled our baskets to overflowing with American goods for which we had been pining. Nestles Tollhouse Morsels! Bounty paper towels! Large jugs of Pace Picante Sauce! Quilted Northern bathroom tissue. Dixie paper plates! Tide Laundry detergent! Hershey's chocolate syrup! Ghirardelli's fudge brownie mixes! We were in absolute Heaven! The bonus…we checked out, paid by credit card, handed over a list of perishable items to add to a COD order, gave the names of our yachts and the address of the marina, left the goods and walked out the door to catch a cab for the hotel. Cost-U-Less would have everything packaged up and delivered (free of charge) to us by Wednesday. This is the best therapy I've had in ages. How can it get better than that?