2011 Blog

Taveuni and the \”Far Side of the World\”……

Dear F&F, July 22nd-23rd We upped anchor early in the morning for the short 1 hour run to Mateui Anchorage at Taveuni Island. We were optimistic about getting a taxi to fuel up by Jerry Can, go to the market and find someone with a fax machine to finally get our \”Lau Permit\” sent to …

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Matangi Island….Diving…..

Dear F&F, July 23rd – 24th, 2011 (Eastern Hemisphere). Despite the \”true dateline\” being in Fiji, politically the entire group is in the Eastern Hemisphere\’s time zone. Both Tonga and Fiji want to be in the same hemisphere as their major supporters, Australia & New Zealand, so they\’ve \”Gerrymandered\” the dateline to suit. We upped …

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Bula from Vanua Balavu, Northern Lau Group…..

Dear F&F, July 26th-27th, 2011 (Eastern Hemisphere). Despite actually being back in the Western Hemisphere, we\’re politically in the Eastern Hemisphere. Welcome to Fiji! We thought we were in for a \”downwindjoyride\” to the Northern Lau for the 50 mile sail. However, we got a one day too late start and the wind went poof. …

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More Viani Bay & Diving……

Dear F&F, July 14th-19th s/v \”Migration\” came into the anchorage and with they and s/v \”Quickstar\” as neighbors, it was a bit like old home week. We spent the next several days either anchoring out or doing \”live\” boat dives with Jack and our friends. One day we did some diving with Glenn, Cindy and …

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Savusavu to Viani Bay. Our first dive at \”The White Wall\”…..

Dear F&F, July 12th – 14th We decided to do a dive with Koro Sun, the local dive operator in Savusavu. The experience of diving with hammer head sharks was new for Anja, but I also never tire of the wonder of looking at these prehistoric animals up close and personal. Peter came along with …

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Hello s/v \”Quickstar\”……

July 6th – 9th, 2011 (Eastern Hemisphere) Dear F&F, Friends Diana Young and Peter Bruckman of s/v \”Quickstar\” arrived today. They had with them Anja (An-ya) who is from East Germany. Anja is a PADI Dive Master and sailing instructor. She used to work for Sony\’s Play Station division in Germany and is on a …

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Savusavu…..

July 4th, 2011 (Eastern Hemisphere) Dear F&F, We got up early for the 25 mile journey to Savusavu and the mini gauntlet of Nasonisoni Pass. It\’s 1 1/2 miles long and about 100 yards wide. You cannot see the reef for the most part, but again, the chart was spot on. The Eastern sun was …

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Bligh Water…..

July 3rd, 2011 (Eastern Hemisphere) Dear F&F, \”Bligh Water\” is the area between the two main islands of Viti Levu and Vanua Levu here in Fiji. If you look at a world map of the area, you\’ll see what looks like a nice passage between the two islands. It\’s actually extensively encrusted with coral reefs. …

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Vuda Point Redux……

July 1st – July 3rd, 2011 Dear F&F, Well, after the sail tearing debacle and the up the anchor debacle of Manta Ray Bay Island, we YET AGAIN returned to Vuda Point for repairs. The sail was a total loss and I\’ll have to eventually replace it in Australia. The windlass had what appeared to …

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Manta Ray Bay…..More stuff…..

June 26-27-28, 2011 Dear F&F, Oh My! June 26-27 We headed to Waya Island and found it frankly not overly interesting so we continued on to Manta Ray Bay Island to see the Manta Rays….not so much. We anchored next to friends on s/v \”Wetnose\” and settled in for the night. That night we went …

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