July 5 – 19, 2010 - Musket Cove, our favorite Home Away From Home in the South Pacific!

It did not take us long to fall right back into step at Musket cove.
There were so many activities for us to participate in that we just
jumped right in and started having fun. Each morning we took a long
hike over the hills of the little island. I got into Aqua Aerobics in
the mornings after our hikes, and playing cards with the girls several
afternoons per week at the café. I learned to play Baja Rummy and
Shanghai.

Frank spent a lot of time with the boys mulling over boat repairs and
leaks. This is a very social activity for them. They diagnose, then
have a few beers. Later on or the next day they start on the actual
work and then have a few beers. Then they would plan the next repair
and have a few beers. Because Frank was enjoying his repair time so
much I didn't feel terribly guilty about spending so much time with
the girls exercising and playing cards.

The World Cup (soccer) was being televised at 6:30 AM at the resort,
so Frank would awake early on those days to join Paul and Gloria
("Scallywag"), and the rest of the soccer fans to watch the matches.
Not having grown up with soccer, hence knowing nothing of the game, I
took a pass. However, I have become a fast and furious All Blacks
fan. The Tri-Nations rugby matches were going on during our stay and
so on the evenings of those events I joined the mass of humanity that
crammed into the media room at the resort to watch. Fortunately I had
Leanne and Gloria to explain rules and plays to me during the games.
It was exciting stuff indeed.

Most of our cruiser friends came and went on a daily basis to visit
other islands and would return with the timing of sporting event
telecasts. Then there were the steady-eddies among our friends who
stayed around for general R & R like us. We enjoyed a considerable
number of dinners, games and walks with "Bold Spirit" and "Mokisha",
and met lots and lots of new friends. We partied away most nights at
the Island Bar BBQ, sharing potluck dishes with other cruisers.
Sometimes our group was so large we took over the largest tables and
occasionally several tables. We had dinner and played games on each
others' yachts and watched our $2 "first run" movies that we'd
purchased in the video store at SavuSavu. This was the most social
time we have had since leaving the USA in 2008. Neither of us wanted
it to end. But as times passed, so did friends. "Scallywag", "Just In
Time", "Avant Garde", "Mahurangi" all had visitors and so they set off
island hopping with them.

On the 19th, we hugged and cried a lot as we prepared to leave for
Port Denarau. We knew that we will not see some of our friends again,
or that if we do it will be a long time until then. Some were
planning to sail back home to the US, some back to NZ and others to
who knows where. Once again, we left a piece of our hearts behind.

July 1 – 4, Lautoka – Ashes Ashes Everywhere & Happy Independence Day!

We enjoyed a beautiful day of sailing over to Lautoka, with the barrier reef to starboard and the mainland to port – it was another of those days we wished we had professional video equipment to capture the stunning beauty of this country that we feel is touched by God's own hand.  Then all too soon we had traveled 8 hours and were entering the filthy port of Lautoka.  The original plan was to anchor at the small island just across the channel, but prevailing winds made that a no-go.  We dropped the hook just off the wharf and had a restful night in spite of the putrid smell of something burning.

Arising the next day, Frank was about to plant himself in the cockpit to enjoy his morning java, when he popped right back down, breathlessly telling me not to bother going up – the entire boat was covered in black ash, ¼ inch thick.  He tiptoed his way to the anchor washdown hose and spent the next hour cleaning Destiny's decks, cockpit, rails and dinghy.  What a mess!  As my vision sharpened I noted that a fine film of ash had filtered down through the screens of our cabin's hatches, covering our room in back dust.  I stripped the bed, cleaned up the interior, and then we finally sat down to enjoy our coffee.  Afterward we went into the Customs office to "clear in".  That done, we took a cab into town and provisioned up.  We then walked over to the salon in which he and Glen had gotten their $5 haircuts last year.  When we entered the salon, the same gal who'd cut his hair previously jumped up offered him a brilliant smile and said, "It has been a long time! Where is your friend?"  Amazing that after an entire year she had remembered Frank and Glen – of course those two are hard to forget. After we finished our business in town, we returned to the boat to find her beginning to turn black again – this we found is soot from the sugarcane factory located at the wharf area.  We decided to get the heck out of Lautoka and find a better anchorage for the night, because it was too late to make it over to Musket Cove now. 

We anchored at Saweni Bay, and decided to have dinner and a movie.  I sent Frank topside to cook some beautiful lamb racks on the grill as I prepared the rest.  He kept swatting at himself, telling me that we had better make sure we have all the screens on because he is getting covered in bugs out there.  Great! The next morning we discovered what all the flying things were that had been attacking Frank.  They were huge bits of burnt sugarcane and powdered ash residue!  We had anchored downwind of the burning fields (they burn the fields after harvest), and Destiny was absolutely covered in the disgusting filth.  This time, the ash had permeated the entire boat, seeping down through the mast, the dorads (vents), the screens, etc.  It was in all of our electronic gear as well.  We just cleared a path to the cockpit and to the bow, enough to get the anchor up and get the heck out of there before it got even worse.  Some of it blew off the boat while in transit, but the inside was just awful.  It took me days to wash everything.

So, we got over that trauma and arrived at a very bustling and full Musket Cove Resort and Marina.  We dropped the hook just beside Avant Garde and Scallywag.  Many of our other friends were there including Mokisha, Bold Spirit, Nomad and Mahurangi.  We were just in time to go to shore for cocktail hour and dinner.  It felt like home.

The next day was our American 4^th of July, so Musket Cove pulled out all the stops!  We enjoyed hamburgers, hotdogs, potato salad, baked beans and apple pie.  There were fireworks on the beach and the music was All-American.  We got a little homesick enjoying this wonderful celebration with our American, Kiwi, German, French, Australian and Fijian friends. 

June 29 – July 1 – Voli Voli Bay and Beach Resort

We left Makongai, shot over to the top of Viti Levu and into Voli Voli
by early afternoon. The day was beautiful and the trip was so
pleasant we were once again enchanted with the beauty of Fiji's
beaches and coastline. Voli Voli Beach Resort stands right on the
point, high atop the bluff, and boasts an incredibly magnificent
panorama. "Just In Time" and "IQ" had also made the trip. Just after
we set the anchor the boys all went to shore for a "re-con" and to
make reservations for dinner. They returned some time later very
cheerful and full of information about the resort. We got dressed for
dinner and arrived on shore in time to share the sunset with resort
guests, and yes (!!!), we saw the Green Flash. It was quite
impressive this time.

The resort beach is very tranquil, facing a crystal clear bay that is
protected on the windward side by mangroves. A short walk up the hill
took us to the heartbeat of the resort. Here we found the restaurant/
bar/pool/activities center. And the best part is: they love and
welcome yachties. A Kiwi family owns and runs the place. It is a
multi-tiered resort and dive center that offers accommodations from
backpacker-level to upscale bungalows, and because the place is fairly
new and is still in the early stages, they are about mid-way to
completing the swim-up pool bar and sports bar. It did not take us
long to get comfy in our new surroundings. We enjoyed a very good
dinner and then spent time getting to know the owners who had stopped
by for a chat. Frank arranged to drop off our leaking dive tank the
next morning, for servicing on our way back out to the boat.

We invited Jock, Leanne, Bill and Val over for brunch the next day,
and then after spending a good bit of our morning eating, drinking
coffee and visiting we went to the resort to spend the rest of the day
at the pool. Yes, this is what we retired for – to laze around the
pool with good friends, although we don't actually get to do as much
of that as most people think. We stayed around to watch another
sunset with the guests and were treated to another brilliant Green
Flash. Wow!!!!! Frank went to the dive center to pick up our tank,
which they were able to repair for us, and when he asked what we owe
for the work they refused to take any payment. They were just happy
to help us out. What wonderful PR! They know we will either be back
or will send others to this wonderful place. I kept thinking how much
I would love to bring Jennifer and Trace here. Maybe someday.

Next morning we grabbed a cab into the little village of Raki Raki,
which was about a 30-minute ride inland. Our driver excitedly
informed us that this is the last day the village will be a village
because tomorrow it will become an official town. There would be
parades and celebrations all through the new town to mark this
historic and monumental event. We noticed a flurry of activity all
around as we neared the main street. Raki Raki is shockingly larger
than SavuSavu. It had the familiar dusty, dry and tired look of many
other villages yet the fresh market was incredibly large and
overflowing with a good variety of fruits, vegetables and spices. We
walked around a bit, browsed the shops and then settled on a place for
lunch. It was the only restaurant that appeared to be the least
likely candidate for the spread of some kind of God-knows-what
disease. It was an Indian restaurant. We have learned to be wary of
ordering beef, pork or lamb because what we often get is gristle and
fat. We also have learned that ordering fish at a place that is not
near the water may be risky as well, so I settled on chicken curry.
When ordering this dish it is often prudent to order boneless chicken.
So I did. The waiter looked at me oddly, so I asked him, "does your
chicken curry have bones?" He answered, "Oh, yes! We like the bones!
They are nice to eat – very crunchy!" Now I understood why unless the
menu states "boneless chicken" you will no doubt get your chicken
hacked up bones and all in the dish. Live and learn.

So we ended our day back at the resort for a final short visit, then
back to the boat for an early (boneless) dinner. We bid farewell to
our friends and promised to meet up again down the way. Frank and I
were heading to Lautoka while the others were sailing up into the
Yasawas. We hit the sack early because we had a long day of sailing
ahead of us meaning anchor up at 6 AM.

June 24 – 28, 2010 Makongai Island (Former Leper Colony), Fiji

We made another early departure to sail west to an island called Makongai.  We were cruising with "Just in Time", Scallywag" and "Northern Winds".  Everyone had fishing lines in the water and we followed suit.  The going was rough for the first hour or so until we were about ½ mile out of the pass. Just about that time I looked back to check our line as a large Mahi Mahi took flight.  We had hooked a beauty! Frank was just getting up to out of the cockpit to bring the big fish in when all of a sudden it was over – the fish and our rig were gone.  It happened so quickly, we were stunned. When the surprise wore off the realization that we just threw more big money into the sea hit us.  This fishing is costing us a small fortune.  Not much could be done about that.  So we settled in for the 8-hour sail, on a port tack. About 30 minutes afterward I told Frank that I smelled strong raw diesel fumes wafting up the companionway. We went below to check the locker that houses the fuel fill hose, and sure enough the bottom of the locker was sloshing with fuel.  Once again I cursed Island Packet for not only their poor design and installation of the fuel hoses but also for putting our refrigerator and freezer compressors in the bottom of the locker that was now swimming in diesel. I gathered old towels and handed Frank a bucket.  Without going into too much detail, the vent hose had been breached letting fuel literally flow out of the line and pour into the locker each time the boat heeled to starboard.  Frank spent the better part of the passage trying to stay the leak.  He was successful, but by the end of it all we both were suffering extreme nausea and terrible headaches from the dense fumes. Arriving at our destination we were still cleaning up when Jock dinghyed over to bring us a large tuna steak from their catch.  We thank him profusely and I quickly whipped out a large batch of Poisson Cru. By the time it was ready to eat, I could not.  I was so sick from the fumes I nibbled on a couple of crackers and watched Frank gobble down a large bowl-full. The next morning we were to go into shore to present our sevu sevu, but I got hit with a serious bout of stomach cramps and could not leave the boat, so Frank joined the others for a trip into shore. He returned late afternoon with a full report of the adventure.  Makongai Island is a former Leper colony. It is now a fishery, turtle preserve and giant clam farm.  The current inhabitants of the local village are all paid employees of the Fijian government.  The head guy gave our little group a tour of the now abandoned hospital and leper colony facilities.  They had some very impressive amenities, which I suppose were incentives for getting workers to come live at the place.  By 1965 leprosy was no longer an issue (cured maybe???), and the entire place was abandoned until 1982 when the Fijian government decided to install a clam farm and to establish a protected environment for the sea turtles.  Because it is protected the snorkeling is unbelievable – the diving even better.  The soft corals just explode with colors we've never seen anywhere else.  Even the clams are incredibly beautiful and absolutely huge.  One was at least as large as our dining table.  Because the corals are so healthy here great numbers of fish are happily swimming about, completely non-threatened by our presence. And the variety and colors of the fish are mind-boggling.  We could have stayed for weeks and not have dived the same site twice.  Had we not set ourselves a schedule to fly home we probably would have remained there for at least that long. This is certainly a stop worth making again – at least for those returning to Fiji.

June 17-23rd; Back to SavuSavu for a great week!

Although the snorkeling was fantastic at Albert Cove we were getting itchy to move along and start heading east, and besides we were out of fresh rations.  Weather reports did not look promising for the next few days, yet if we didn't go now then we would be socked in.  By the time we had our coffee, we figured we'd rather face a possible rough ride for 5 hours than just sit doing nothing in a soggy bay.  "IQ", "Scallywag" and "Just in Time" had all reached the same decision so off we went in a little caravan. Surprisingly, the sailing was very good.  We made fast tracks to the leeward side of Vanua Levu where the wind dropped completely leaving the waters flat calm for the last hour of the trip back into Viani Bay. Frank and I just spent one night at Viani opting to shoot straight to SavuSavu early in the morning.  "Ivory Quays" joined us.  This leg was surely the rougher one.  We had winds of up to 35 knots on the beam and 3-meter seas astern, making it a fast ride.  Happily we arrived in SavuSavu just at dusk. Our friends, Ian and Julia ("Moasi") had arrived from New Zealand, via Tonga so we made the best of our time with them while we could.  Many of our Kiwi friends were also in the anchorage making it a very festive week. Julia told me about a lady named Una, who does the best massages she has ever had, so of course I booked an hour for the next morning.  It was pretty darn good – and even better when Una charged me $30 (Fijian).  I scheduled another for the next day.   During my second massage, Una told me about her 1-½ hour body treatment for rejuvenating the sun abused skin cells, using lots of fresh fruits and veggies.  I was intrigued, so of course I booked one for the following Monday.  I have to describe it because it was so amazing.  She met me at her door with a large bag full of goodies fresh from the market.  As I disrobed behind the curtain I heard her shredding, crushing and grating cucumbers, pineapples, watermelon, ginger – it smelled heavenly! She started out with a sugar/ginger/coconut scrub.  After that she smeared me with crushed pineapple and cucumber.  She placed cucumbers on my eyes and then gave me a watermelon/cucumber facial.  Then she wrapped me up tightly while I fermented into a fruit cocktail.  After she rinsed all of that off, she gave me a honey/ginger/lime "polish."  Oh my!  I felt like a gooey dessert.  When I prepared to pay her she told me the cost was $35.  I told her NO WAY.  I paid her $60 and told her I would not consider giving her less.  The poor woman nearly cried!  I can't begin to imagine what this would have me in a spa.  So of course half the anchorage began booking treatments with dear Una.  She probably made her annual income in the few short weeks that is high season for cruisers in SavuSavu. We don't know where the time goes, but Frank and I spent most of the rest of ours getting on the internet making travel reservations to fly home in July.  One of his friends from the States is getting married in St. Louis and my daughter has just purchased her first home giving us at least two good reasons to go back for a visit.  So now that we have decided to fly home we have a lot of planning to do.  We spent a considerable amount of time doing that, shopping for food provisions and other necessities and getting together with cruising friends.  All too soon, a week had gone by.  We said good-by to Julia and Ian and several others, and in the 23rd departed for Makongai Island.

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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