Yadua Island

This morning the sun is still not quite up. The anchorage is quiet with just six boats gently bobbing in the very tiny swell and a murmur of a breeze coming from shore. Yesterday it was blowing 20kt from shore and every boat was yawing this way and that on their anchor rodes making it noisy up in the cockpit and down below from the howl of the wind over the trees, rocks and each boat's rigging. La Vie's wind generator was going like crazy with an angry buzz like a riled up hornet's nest. And, it was a fabulous day for a sail.

Yesterday was one of the best sails we have ever had in Maggie Drum. We put up the main right at anchor and put the engine in neutral after we got the anchor up and turned in the right direction to go through a fairly wide and well-marked passage through the barrier reef. Then it was on to the relatively open water of Bligh Water, a small inter-island sea, almost an inland sea, between the large island of Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. It was named after the notorious Captain Bligh of Mutiny on the Bounty fame. He sailed and rowed his little boat with the small group of loyal officers and sailors through these waters after he was put adrift off the HMS Bounty much farther east. He made an amazing passage across the Pacific. He wanted to stop in Fiji for water and hunting but the fierce Fijians came out after them in their canoes and wakas and he kept on going as fast as he could push his little boat and got out of there. Later, he made it to a safe haven and eventually most all the mutineers were found and hung. Bligh died back in England I think. And now we are where he was.

We had 15-20kts of wind the whole way just forward on the stern off the beam. We didn't turn to starboard to our intermediate waypoint to keep the wind off of stern just enough to make the sail faster and more comfortable. We rolled some in the waves but not like we would if the wind had been directly on our stern. Maggie was going from 5.5 to 7.5kts which is very fast for us. The water swishes past the hull and gives you that electric feeling that all is right in the universe. It wasn't a perfect day as it was totally overcast, but since we were protected from the south by the bulk of Viti Levu we had nil true ocean swell and just the swell that could develop from the far shore about 30 miles away to where we were. There were low water reefs close to the north of us but we knew they were there and gave them good clearance. It was great!

We got to the south of Yadua and had to turn north so as to make the entrance to the western anchorage at Cucuovu Bay. The passage in to the bay is very narrow with reefs with and a very narrow passage, and one that has a serious dog-leg to the right as you come in. The cloudy conditions didn't help as we could only see the one reef on the south. Jerry on Scot Free II in the anchorage called out on the radio and gave us some help coming in and then we put the hook down in front of boats that from a distance looked like they were right on the beach. Now we are "right on the beach". The wind blew so hard last night we could not fire up the grill outside but had to panfry our steaks on the stove inside. The steak plus fried potatoes and onions and a really good 10 year old bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon topped off a very fine day.

Today is Sunday so we won't attempt the 3 mile walk to the other side of the island where the village is. It is supposed to be much like the old days on this remote island. They are somewhat poor here as the rocky island is not good for growing things so they fish for most of their food. There are also supposed to be many "bures" which are the traditional thatched huts/houses that have been replaced by timber and cinder block in most villages. It is a two hour hike each way so we will wait until Monday so as not to go there on a Sunday which is a strict church day. We will make on sevusevu tomorrow then. Today will be snorkeling and exploring on this side of the island.

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