En route for Fiji
We had a few boat projects before we went back in the water - a new dinghy davit system for our smart new RIB, a dive compressor housing and the solid spray hood. The dinghy davits we’re done within the week: No more building the PortaBote to go ashore!
The dive compressor housing took a bit longer - it had to be painted, and have a new table top made. Once it was in place you could hardly imaging it held a compressor.
The sprayhood took much longer - built from scratch, we can not fault the team from Northern Marine Machining - other than, perhaps, their optimism in believing they could complete the project in 12 days!!
The final project took 2 months - we are fortunately very pleased with the results! Having toughened glass windows instead of plastic sheeting should mean a huge improvement in visibility from the cockpit, the height is such that we can stand underneath it and there are integral handles for added safety when moving around the boat.
The countryside around Whangarei, North Island is beautiful - we did many of the walks around Whangarei Heights as light relief from being stuck in the boatyard.
We never saw the elusive Kiwi Bird, but we did see some fantastic Kauri trees - the Department of Environment works hard to prevent the spread of disease to these trees, there are antiseptic foot baths and brushes provided for use before you enter the forest paths.
Kauri Trees
We certainly had plenty of time on our hands to get the boat ready!
Dressed for anti fouling the boat.
And finally in the hoist - ready to go back in the water and head for the warmer waters of Fiji. We are next to the race yacht Poseidon, a splendid sight with a 4m keel the yacht used to belong to Dennis Connor of America’s Cup fame.
Dion and Doug - the Hoist Operators were a ray of sunshine in Port Whangarei Boat Yard - lower us back into the water.
We completed the New Zealand Exit Formalities with Customs at Marsden Cove and set off on a blustery morning for Fiji - the weather threw just about everything it had at us: Torrential rain, huge squalls, winds over 30 Kts for at least 12 hours with a peak gust of 48 Kts, huge commercial fishing boats erratically changing direction in front of us ... and moments of blissful sailing.
We sailed for several days in winds stronger than any we have experienced so far - and it’s always at night when conditions get really challenging! We were really quite relieved to find we still had a dinghy (stored on the foredeck during long passages so that we can use the self steering equipment on the back of the boat), and also that nothing (including us) got damaged during the crossing.
9 days and 1144 nautical miles later we arrived in Fiji - by then we were well into the routine and considering the conditions we’d experienced, quite well rested!
We had time to do some fishing - we had fish for lunch and dinner for 4 days from this Mahi Mahi.
First sight of land, and our last night of the passage - we are passing Kadavu Island, but unable to stop as we are obliged to first clear Customs and obtain a Cruising Permit from Suva before we can visit the islands.
Once we had been boarded by Health Officers and deemed safe, Biosecurity and Customs came aboard - the next day we had to go into town to pay our dues and collect our Cruising Permit. We are now free to visit the Islands of Fiji.
First stop: The huge Municipal Market to buy some Cava Roots to present as gifts to the island chiefs for the traditional Savusavu ceremonies.
We have caught up with our friends Hugh and Annie here in Suva, and later on we will be meeting up with Kim and Barry as well - and then it’s on to the islands!
We have caught up with our friends Hugh and Annie here in Suva, and later on we will be meeting up with Kim and Barry as well - and then it’s on to the islands!
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