June 13-16, 2010; Return to Albert Cove and a 50th Birthday Party

We spent 3 days back in Albert Cove, two of them rained like the devil meant business. Our second night was spent on "Scallywag", celebrating Gloria's 50th birthday. What a party! The usual suspects were in attendance: "Northern Winds", Just in Time", "Destiny", "Ivory Quays". Paul turned up his i-Tunes, cleared away the table in "Scallywag's large cockpit and we danced and sang like teenagers until 2:30 in the morning.
The next day apparently no one was moving very fast, including Frank. He pulled out the James Patterson book he was reading and settled in for the day. I hitched a ride out to the reef with Kim and Bob ("NW") for a snorkel. This was by far one of my top 10. We couldn't believe how healthy the coral is and how brilliant the colors. There were lots of Christmas tree worms of a variety of colors none of us had seen before, nudibranchts (SP?), huge formations of brain and star coral and a vast variety of colorful fish. Kim and I could have gone nearly all day we were enjoying ourselves so much, but then after a while we noticed that Bob had gone back to the dinghy and was fast asleep so we called it a day. We wished that we'd had good enough weather to dive the outer reef but it was not to be. On the 16th, all but "Northern Winds" left for Viani Bay. The sail over was absolutely perfect. We arrived in time to set anchor and enjoy a quiet evening on board.

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June 8 - 12 -Naqelelevu; Aftermath of a Cyclone, Lobsters, Coconut Crabs and Good Times - Part 2

We all gathered in our dinghies over by the rocky spit of coral reef, equipped with snorkel gear, cameras and spears.

We were armed for battle and ready to fetch some lobsters. The three boys, James, Bill and took us over to an area that looked like lava rock formations. We soon found that they did not need our help in the least - they got down to serious business diving under rocks and craggy coral formations with long spears, working like mad to get into the smallest crevices to hunt the elusive crustaceans and they knew their territory well. Soon they had speared 3, and then were ready to move along to the next area. We all walked along behind them pulling our dinghies and basically frolicking like children watching in awe as the boys continued to snare one lobster after another. By noon they had gathered 7. We continued to snorkel about and try to offer some assistance although everyone knew that they needed no help from us. We managed to see some beautiful marine life in the process, including several beautiful giant clams. At one point, Paul on "Scallywag" asked the boys if they ate the clams and how they prepared them. Their response was that they are lovely, just raw and so they gave us an example. Paul took his dive knife and cut one loose from a rocky outcropping. They pried the large clam's "jaws" open and sliced the flesh out of the shell, taking care to identify the white meaty portion that is edible. We each had a taste and agreed it is delicious! Then James explained to us that we must replace the mussel of the clam and return the shell to its home so that it will regenerate. They are very mindful of protecting this environment and respecting the natural order of things. By just past mid-day, we had a total of 9 lobsters of varying sizes. We took the boys back to their home and agreed to all meet back on the beach at 4 PM for a lobster and crab feast.

I prepared Cajun dirty rice, and we packed up our plates and drinks. Then we made a care package for the three boys, including large bags of sugar, flour, rice, t-shirts, caps, old shoes and some batteries. The other cruisers did the same. They boys impressed us by building a fire on the beach and rigging three thick tree branches to support a large cooking pot. They had already prepared the coconut crabs, but we needed to cook the lobsters. We managed to get three in the pot at a time, but then the last three were so large that they had to be cooked individually. We had so much food that even between the 13 of us, we could not finish 2 of the lobsters. After dinner we stargazed and visited with the boys, and then reluctantly said goodnight and set off for our respective yachts.

The next morning, part of the group went for a snorkel of a sunken Japanese fishing boat out on the outer reef. The current is very strong and can be dangerous, therefore, Frank and I opted out, spending the day just swimming in the lagoon and taking it easy.
Our final day there, we met again at the beach to hike to the lake in the middle of the little island for a swim with the turtles. One of the conservation efforts this community makes is rescuing sea turtles when they are hatchlings, and transplanting them into the lake so that they can grow large enough to be released back into the wild. We were so excited! Regrettably, the plan got aborted after we trudged our way through the fallen trees and managed to reach the lake. The tide was out causing the lake to recede so far that we would have had to wade in mud up to our thighs for several hundred feet in order to get to the water. A few of our men gave it a go and after getting shoes and other items sucked off in the mud they declared it unsafe for us to venture further. We turned back and opted for a snorkel in a nearby lagoon. The snorkeling was great fun. Afterward we walked back over to the "village" area and were met with 2 surprises.

The boys had brought back one of the juvenile turtles for us to see. He was beautiful. We got to touch him and watch him walk (scoot) along the beach and them swim around in a sheltered area of the shallows. I got a picture of Frank holding him up. He was quite heavy, measuring about 3 ½ feet in diameter. The second surprise was a lovo feast the boys had prepared for us. A lovo is an earth oven, prepared much like a luau, cooked in the ground and covered by palm and banana leaves for several hours. They had cooked roasted 7 of their chickens for us. They were absolutely some of the most succulent and delicious chickens we have ever eaten.
To end our visit to this charming island, we brought the three boys out into the anchorage - each of us taking a turn bringing them onto our boats and visiting with them for a little while, sending them along to the next yacht with a bag full of goodies and necessities. They were thrilled to get a chance to see how we live and to tour our boats. When we said goodbye to them we all had tears in our eyes. They told us that they have never before had 5 yachts in their bay at one time. In fact, last year they only saw 2 the entire season. I felt a stab of anxiety leaving them and pray that they will succeed in their efforts to rebuild their little home.
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June 8 - 12 -Naqelelevu; Aftermath of a Cyclone, Lobsters, Coconut Crabs and Good Times - Part 1

Anchors up at 6:00 AM, we started out for Naqelelevu (pronounced, Nahng-eh-leh-lehvoo). It is a little known ring of coral, 11 miles across with a tiny little island along the eastern most side of the ring. We had a long trip ahead of us, expecting to arrive in late afternoon, and of course the winds were right on the nose, but the skies were clear and we knew it would be a lovely day to negotiate in and around reef systems. All five of the yachts in our little group made the trip, and most everyone was up for a day of fishing en route.

Arriving at the reef pass we had a feeling of déjà vu. It reminded us very much of the Tuomotus, and in fact was just as lovely if not better.

Once inside the reef the waters were crystal clear aquamarine and dotted with tall coral heads. We chose the deepest passage and made the 1+ hour trek across the lagoon to the anchorage in front of the little island, setting the hook just after 3 PM. Wow! Eye candy. We could not get enough of just sitting and looking at the sandy beach, the swaying palms and the sparkling clear water.

I grabbed the binoculars and saw that there seemed to be some structures on land indicating a village of sorts, however closer inspection revealed a sad state of topsy turvy-ness to the structures. We knew this area had been hard hit in the cyclone. In the meantime, Gloria on the cat, "Scallywag" called us all to inform us that they had caught a huge mahi mahi which they wanted to share if we wanted to pop over with a small container to place it in. We had a delicious dinner of seared mahi mahi and then hit the sack. We were pooped.
The next morning we gathered on shore with bundles of kava, ready to meet the inhabitants of the island. We were in for a big surprise. There were only 3 young men - boys really - who live here at present. The story they told us was quite sad and tragic. Their family owns the atoll, and at the time of the cyclone they had a small village for the 21 inhabitants. When the storm hit, the island was submerged, they had no cave in which to hide, so they all sought shelter in the largest and strongest building. That building and all of the others were swept away. In fact everything they owned was destroyed, but fortunately no lives were lost. One of their three boats made it through the storm. They all fled to the island of Taveuni to live with extended family, but for 8 young men who are charged with remaining on Naqelelevu to guard the interest and to try to rebuild. The 8 boys rotate every few months. The 3 who are here now will remain until August. The youngest is 16 and the oldest is 22. They are all very well spoken and educated and were so excited to see us all. We could see that they had some small lean-tos and not much of anything else. We asked them if they had food and clothing, and how on earth they were getting by. They smiled and said, we eat coconut crabs and lobster and sometimes one of our chickens. God Bless them! They took us on a walking tour of the island, showing us the nesting places of some red-footed boobies and other sea birds, then they took 4 of our 10-person group who had worn decent walking shoes (not us) hunting for coconut crabs. The rest of us returned to the anchorage with the promise to meet them in the shallows the next morning at 9:00 to go lobstering.
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June 4 - 7, 2010 - Albert Cove, Rabi, Fiji

I awoke to Frank dancing around telling me Happy Birthday! I was thinking, "is it my birthday already?" He gave me a sweet card and a beaded necklace as we had our breakfast and then we along with "Northern Winds" left for Albert cove. We had a wonderful 4-hour sail over to the island of Rabi and when we arrived at Albert Cove, Bill from "IQ" came out in his dinghy to lead us through the reef pass. After we got anchored, Frank and Bill went to shore to meet the local family and to ask permission for us to have a BBQ on their beach that night, then went around to the other boats to tell them we were having a potluck on the beach for my birthday. The group was "Scallywag", "Just In Time", "Ivory Quays" and "Northern Winds".
We went into the beach a little early to visit the local family and to take them some kava. This precious family immediately touched our hearts! There were two men, a woman and a young boy. Their smiles were as wide as the Grand Canyon. They spoke little English but were able to communicate with us quite well. They are originally from Tuvalu, another S. Pacific Island Country that is "sinking", but were relocated to Fiji when it was no longer safe to stay in their home village. They are very attractive people, dark-skinned and with lovely silky hair. They immediately invited us into their home, which is little more than a thatched roof covering an area of palm frond pallets on the floor used for sitting and sleeping, and an outdoor area of dirt that has been cleared and covered with woven palm mats. She was busily weaving baskets and filling them with limes for each of us. The men wanted to prepare kava for our guys. They told us about surviving the cyclone of this past season. They had run to a cave and hidden while the storms ravaged the island. The high winds and flooding destroyed literally everything they had; all of their crops including the kava and indigenous fruit trees such as bananas, pineapple bushes and papaya (paw-paw), their homes and cisterns were swept away or mangled beyond repair. Yet here they were sharing what little they had with us, and preparing the kava we had brought them to serve to our group. We invited them to participate in our little dinner party. As the rest of our cruiser friends arrived, they said, "We thought Barb's birthday is tomorrow". Frank said, "No it's today, June 5th". They all laughed telling Frank that today is June 4th! We both felt like idiots. Frank had been going by the date on his laptop, which is set on UTC time, and according to the World Clock it was June 5th somewhere in the world. Well we had a good laugh over that one and partied on anyway. We invited the family to join us. They built a large bonfire and contributed a huge bowl of tapioca - cassava root. They quickly built a long serving table by pounding sturdy tree limbs into the ground and then laying a big piece of corrugated metal on top, covered with palm branches. We had a great party!

The next day we conspired to take care packages to our new island family. Frank and I packed up rice, sugar, flour, hard candy, canned goods, hats and shirts. When we took our goodies in to them they were so excited they could hardly sit still. The lady excitedly weaved headbands for each of us gals as the men attempted desperately to share some kava with the guys. We politely waved off and returned to our yachts.
Jock and Leanne (JIT) came by to wish me Happy Birthday and invited everyone to have a "proper" party on their cat that night after dinner. So once again, we all donned our party smiles and went over for a night of merrymaking. Jock cranked up the i-Pod and as the evening progressed we were all singing and dancing and laughing until our guts hurt.
We had intended to leave the next morning but few in the group felt well enough to travel. Our next destination is a full day sail on the open ocean. It is times like this that I'm happy I gave up drinking, although I must say I envied the abandon with which some of this group partied last night. The day was spent being lazy. I used it to finish a Diana Gabaldon novel that Kim had loaned me which had me pretty well hooked. We had intended to snorkel, but the lazy bones got us.
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May 30, - June 4th, 2010; Viani Bay, Fiji

Protecting Viani Bay, are the reefs that boast world-class diving and snorkeling. In fact we are again cruising in waters that a sailing yacht would not attempt to enter without plenty of direct overhead sunlight so to avoid going aground on a reef or coral bombie, of which Viani Bay had plenty. The sail over from Cousteau's was more of a beat, with winds of up to 30 knots on the nose, putting us there in late afternoon. We had difficulty finding a good area of sand to set the hook, and on the third drop decided that we would have to tolerate the sound and unpleasant reverberation of our anchor chain scraping across coral. Immediately, several of our friends dinghyed over to give us the lay of the land and to tell us about Jack who seems to be the patron of the bay, and through whom all things are arranged; diving, snorkeling, trips to Taveuni, trash disposal, etc. The next day we would dive at 9:00 AM.
Jack charges $10.00 per person to dive or snorkel. He comes aboard your boat and takes you out to the reefs, chooses the spot and then picks you up after the dive. This is serious drift diving. We hauled our gear over to "Scallywag", tied our dinghies to the back and dragged them out to the reef to dive The Purple Wall. Jack anchored the big catamaran and then boarded the lead dinghy, with ours and Jock and Leanne's in tow to the drop point. After we all hit the water, he stood watch up top and then brought the dinghies to meet us at the end of the dive. This was to be a 30-meter dive so we had to drop quickly to the bottom to avoid being swept away in the current. That was the plan. When we hit the water everyone got quickly to the bottom. I let the air out of my BCD but did not have enough weight to get down. I made the mistake of wearing a new wetsuit that was thicker than normal for me, and was only carrying 12 lbs. of weights. On top of that my right ear would not clear, so I was focusing on relaxing my body for descent and trying to clear my ear when one of my fins shot off my foot and got carried away in the strong current. I fervently swam after it and by the time I had gotten it back on my foot I'd lost my depth. I frustratingly tried to get back down and saw Jock swimming toward me signaling, "did I need help?" I had already cut into the others' precious bottom time and waved him off intending to get back to the dinghy, get more weight and then rejoin them down the way. I surfaced about 30 yards from Jack, and by the time I got to him I was worn out. He helped me up into the dinghy and I decided this was not my day to dive so I aborted, and just sat visiting with Jack. We picked up the divers who raved about what a splendid dive is - so much purple. I determined to make tomorrow a better day.
The next morning we took Destiny out to the reef and dived a different area called (I think) Fish City, a 25-meter dive. This time I wore my dive skin that is a full-body lycra suit and did much better. Afterward we were all sitting around deck relaxing and having a snack when we noticed a catamaran approaching. It was our friends, Michael and Jackie on "Lady Kay". That night they joined us on Destiny for sundowners and Jackie gave us a lesson in stargazing. We just marvel at how bright and brilliantly colored the stars are out here. We have a very clear view of stars and constellations that do not appear in our northern hemisphere.
The next couple of days were overcast and rainy so we did boat projects and had a couple of potluck dinners on each other's boats. "Lady Kay", "Liberation" and "Avant Garde" left but we had promised to wait for Kim and Bob ("Northern Winds") to arrive from SavuSavu. June 2nd they popped into the bay. We all got together that night, and then on June 3rd, everyone but "N. Winds" and us left telling us to meet them at Albert Cove on Rabi (pron., Ranbi). We enjoyed a quiet day visiting with Kim and Bob, having Viani all to ourselves.

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