This trip has been much anticipated as the final leg of our journey from French Polynesia before we leave the boat for a month or so to head to Aus and then the UK to sort out some family business.
After the long trip to Tonga this one at a mere 3 days seemed liked a snip. Funny how perspective changes with experience, but never a reason to be complacent. At just over 400nm we could do it in less than 3 days, but we had to time our passage through the Lau Group on the eastern end of Fiji. This is a mass of islands and reefs and the charts here are not 100% reliable, so this had to be a daylight passage. This meant 2 days to the Lau group, then a further 24hrs to Savusavu.
Turned out to be a wonderful passage. Definitely our best sailing one yet. We set out with a following wind of 15knots which had us running along, main with 3 reefs and jib out to windward at 6 to 7 knots. We have discovered that this is a great downwind rig. The main fills the jib but does not interfere. With 3 reefs in it also means that it is very easy to handle (even at night) if the wind gets up or we hit a squall. The second day the wind dropped a little so out came the new asymmetric spinnaker we got delivered in Papeete. It went up without hitch (not a guaranteed event) and the boat went so well – 7 to 9 knots and smooth running. We were very happy – especially when we succeeded in bringing it down again at the end of the day (not going to push our luck at night). Of course, all this meant we were now ahead of schedule and had to slow down to make sure we got to the Lau group in daylight. The wind was supposed to drop, but it stayed steady which in any other circumstance would have been perfect.
Anyway, once through the reefs we had the wind at 15 to 20knots directly behind us. So feeling adventurous again we hoisted the symmetric spinnaker. The seas had flattened once we inside the archipelago and it was just perfect. 6 to 8knots and super quiet. We both felt that sitting in the saloon you wouldn’t even know you were moving – could have been in a calm anchorage for all the quiet. So good.
Once again, though we had to slow down overnight as we reached towards Savusavu needing to arrive in daylight again both for navigation and to have the authorities up and about to check us in.
Dawn arrival in Savusavu was very peaceful as the wind died completely and we motored the last 10nm slowly. Like most countries now, you have to give comprehensive early warning of you arrival days before. We were indeed buzzed by a patrolling aircraft the day before. With AIS and satellite tracking there is no way to hide if you wanted to.
So, into Nawi marina. What a lovely welcome and so much easier than anything we have experienced so far. At the entrance channel they met us in a RIB, guided us to the checkin wharf, organised the health/customs/biosecurity/immigration folk to come down and then took us around to our berth where 3 (!) guys were there to take the lines. How good. And the marina, which is brand new and still being enhanced is as good as any you would find anywhere. We have been enjoying the excellent pontoons, the beautiful infinity pool, the bars and restaurants and the landscaped gardens. And tomorrow Deb is going to have a massage at the spa! Couldn’t be happier to be leaving the boat here for a few weeks.
Savusavu is also a fine place. Not really a tourist destination, just a busy Fijian town. The people are universally delightful and we have enjoyed exploring the market and the various shops in town. The market, in particular is terrific. A new building, and the range and quality of the fresh produce was wonderful. After so many months from FP to here where we got used to making the most of what we could find, it is so good to be able to find such lovely stuff.
So now we are packing up the boat a bit, although there isn’t much to do. Using lots of fresh water from the hose which is another luxury we haven’t had for 15mths. Deb has run down all the provisions (mostly in preparation for our Fiji entry, as there is very little biosecurity let you bring in) and all the laundry got done in Tonga. So now we have a few days to relax and enjoy the resort before heading to Aus in a couple of days. It will, of course, be great to see family and friends, but it will be a bit of a shock to the system – not least because it is mid winter and bloody freezing!