If you’ve been reading the blog since the start of the sailing season, you know that last June my parents joined us for a three week cruise around western Fiji. Here, my mom shares her notes about life on the boat, a daughter living at sea, and getting the most out of 40 years of marriage...
Read MoreIt's not all sea fans and adorable baby reef fish out here; often the critters below the surface seem like some of the more diabolical species on Earth. Above, a crown of thorns star fish raises two of its spiked legs to launch an attach on a defenseless piece of coral.
Read MoreOur number one activity in Kadavu has been diving various sections of the Astrolabe Reef. We have visited a few famous hotspots (the Alacrity Rocks, the Naigoro Pass), but most frequently find ourselves jumping in and exploring whatever coral we find near Helios.
Read MoreWe’ve spent the last few days cruising along the northern coast of Kadavu. We’ve been diving the reefs, paddle boarding with dolphin, dodging squalls, swimming with turtles and sharks, and relaxing in the cockpit while the sun paints evening colors in the sky. We’re still eating that wahoo we caught, going on six days of lunch and dinner (and the occasional breakfast) for three. Just another week in paradise!
Read MoreSimilar to the manta pass we found in the Yasawas, Ono has a high current pass filled with microscopic manta food. We dove the pass twice, both times in blustery conditions, but were rewarded with lots of time swimming with our favorite oversized fishy friends.
Read MoreWe left Falaga on August 12 in route to Suva, the most populous city in Fiji and the South Pacific. We really, really didn’t want to leave Falaga, but the ice box and the wine cellar were empty. So when the winds turned a favorable direction, we dove the pass one last time and weighed anchor. The winds were blowing a steady 15 knots from the southeast, making our 200 mile passage to Suva the first downwind sailing we’ve seen since leaving New Zealand in May.
Read MoreAs we hang out on Helios on another rainy day, I thought I'd share a few photos we took while exploring Falaga's lagoon.
Read MoreMoana-i-Cake is the main village on Fulaga, and its inhabitants quickly adopted us as one of their own. After presenting our sevusevu to the 93 year old chief, we were assigned Tai as a host.
Read MoreThe clouds lifted enough by Wednesday evening for us to enjoy some final adventures in Falaga. We went for a dive on the reef outside the pass Thursday morning, spotting two-foot spade fish, an eight-foot grey reef shark, a tornado of four-foot barracuda, and a school of snapper 100 deep. It was magnificent, even if we were racing against squalls looming on the horizon.
Read MoreLast Thursday, we sailed south from Munia to Fulaga, a remote island in the southeastern corner of Fiji. It was one of my favorite sails yet: 16 knots of wind on our beam, the Milky Way hanging low and swollen in the sky, so many shooting stars they were practically falling on the deck until the moon rose blindingly bright around 0300. The seas were mild, and the movement of the boat felt like the gentle rocking of a cradle as we navigated between dozens of islands and reefs that compose the Lau group of Fiji.
Read MoreMy parents are raising a glass to 40 years of marriage this July 31. I remember their 30th, when my dad gave my mom a pair of gorgeous sapphire earrings, and she and I went to Zebra's in Berkeley to have a second piercing put in her ears. The woman with the needle against her ear lobe was amazed that a marriage could last so long.
Read MoreDominic and I spent a long afternoon exploring the abandoned village in Munia. There were frangipani trees in blossom, a lonely dog sleeping in a doorway, a single pig in a pen. There was an old Morris Commercial lightweight truck close to being fully reclaimed by the jungle. Dominic examined a rusted-through leaf spring, dropping it on the pile of other parts with a loud clang. The clanging caused an eruption of eerily human baby-like wails from the tree tops above us.
Read MoreLast Sunday, Dominic and I cruised from Susui to nearby Munia Island. Recently abandoned, the villagers that lived here sold the island to a Japanese development firm and moved to a nearby island, Avea. They left two people behind, an older couple, to maintain a presence on the island, preventing other villages from claiming it. In the wake of Cyclone Winston, the structures were destroyed and the couple moved to Avea.
Read MoreOur other favorite part of Susui: the beach on the far side of the island. The sand was white and soft like sifted flour; sand the likes of which I haven't seen since the last time I dug my toes into a Florida beach; endless sand punctuated by volcanic rocks, impossibly huge trees and collections of driftwood, nautilus and cowry shells, and the occasional rainbow.
Read MoreDominic caught this beauty trolling in the dinghy between Susui and neighboring Munia Island. Not having much luck in the Lau, Dominic did some lure reconfiguration before heading out: heat-shrinking two double hooks together and hiding the new quad hook beneath a skirt of a large orange and pink squid lure.
Read MoreWe have spent the last five days exploring Susui, a small village just off the southern coast of Vanua Balavu. The fun began with a traditional sevusevu ceremony—we presented the waka root when we first arrived and were invited to drink kava with them the following evening.
Read MorePopped my head into the cockpit at 0630 earlier this week and found this gorgeous sunrise waiting for me. It made for an excellent start to a spectacular day—after four days in blissfully empty anchorages, we were bound for Susui, a village on a small island of the southern coast of Vanua Balavu. We had an easy afternoon of motoring into nonexistent winds and have spent the last few days exploring the beaches, reefs, and bountiful seafood with other cruisers and the most generous Fijians we’ve met yet.
Read MoreLeaving Savusavu, we cruised east along the southern edge of Vanua Levu. Motoring upwind (in an unexpected two meter swell, oy!), we spent one night in Fawn Harbor before arriving at Viani Bay, a common cruiser hangout from which to explore the Somosomo Strait and the neighboring island, Taveuni
Read MoreCruising from the Marquesas to New Zealand last season felt like going back to freshman year of college. You arrive in Nuku Hiva after 23 days at sea, brimming with excitement for new adventures, anchored next to strangers who rapidly become your cherished friends.
Read MoreWe had a perfect day of sailing as we left Namena reef: 18 knots of wind, flat seas, and an easy, three hour jaunt north toward Savusavu, the second largest town on Vanua Levu, the second largest island in Fiji.
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