A slow, sweet way to travel (sometimes)

Cross-posdted from Older Travellers at Watsoff's suggestion:

Definitely an OT (known as ‘Crew Available’) reporting from on board a 38’ catamaran, cruising the South Pacific for the season. Since much of my time is spent aboard, apologies if these reports get a bit ‘boaty’.

Each cruising season ends with a long passage north or south out of the cyclone area to a safe haven, then from April-May boats begin making their way back to their pick of South Seas destinations; general boat improvements and local touring complete, we left Opua bound for Fiji.

Our passage wasn’t a tame one, the weather gurus got it all wrong and we encountered far higher winds and seas than predicted, there were later mutters about ‘an unexpected squash zone’. Some gear failures resulted in my capable Skipper jerry-rigging an old sail which flapped but got us going, the seas abated and changed from steely grey to welcoming blue, we sailed past interesting-looking islands, stopping is tabu until formal check-in.

And here we are, back in the tropics tied up in Nakama Creek in Savusavu on Vanua Levu, Fiji’s second largest island, getting used to the hot, hot days. Finding our land-legs we wander this small town full of cheery people with a constant chorus of ‘Bula ’. Coming ashore always means getting together with old and new yachtie friends for drinks, impromptu meals and the obligatory Boat Talk, important as these people are the first to help in an emergencies or small daily tasks. Being weather-dependent, we are especially amazed at the wild weather that recently struck NZ, many thinking about finding a ‘hurricane hole’ and leaving their boat for the ‘off season’.

Anchored inside an island fringed with mangroves means the water, although a great nursery for baby fish and the gangly wading birds in search thereof, is too murky for swimming. While we wait for replacement parts we motor 3 miles to clear water just inside the reef that marks the entrance to this huge bay, to bob at anchor, swim in clear and warm waters and just relax. So obviously a caldera, we are ringed by a high and craggy range of hills which usually glow in the hot sunshine. Gradually disappearing under heavy cloud, rumbles of thunder and lightning flashes so we will be boat bound until this system passes, guests at the nearby Cousteau Resort huddle under towels by the pool or play cards in the communal bure, we plan our sailing for the next few weeks, perhaps we’ll head towards Tonga and the Lau Group……known as ‘The Exploring Isles’.