Silver Fern is well underway for Australia. Actually, we’re heading straight for the middle of New Caledonia right now but that’s a minor detail. Going back two days ago, we were anchored at Yalobi Bay at Waya Island. We spent two nights in the picturesque bay.

Arriving at the anchorage, we had the bay to ourselves choosing the side which looked a lot calmer than where the other cruising yachts were. This was a great decision and we all had a good night’s rest. We had a sunset swim and inflated the two kayaks. The morning came and we were greeted by stunning blue skies and flat calm water, the sun was peeking over the vertical cliffs and hurting my tired eyes. Once caffeinated, we headed ashore to the village for a look around. We were greeted by a Fijian local called Tim and he was more than happy to show us around, tell us some history and introduce us to humans and animals roaming around.

We were lucky to try a freshly cooked sardine fish which had been marinated in white vinegar, chili and ginger then put over an open flame for a few seconds each side. Tim showed us how they eat it with their bare hands and shared the bones and skin with a lucky cat that followed us around! The cat sat right in front of Sharon and didn’t want to move. Scott and Will were all excited having been invited to go trolling (fishing) with a local fisherman that afternoon. Juliet and I were looking forward to the ladies markets where they lay their ware on cloths on the ground for us tourists. Mo connected with a woman who had family on the Fijian island of Kadavu which is where Mo’s family is from! Will had a handful of coins which were shared among the children and Greg brought his drone ashore which created lots of excitement among everyone! Once we had earnt the trust of our hosts, the whole crew was invited for dinner that evening.

After a walk along the beach and a snorkel for the keen, we headed back to Silver Fern as we thought she might have been lonely. The second load back ended up paddling once we couldn’t get the outboard motor started again… turns out it had just run out of internal tank fuel and wasn’t drawing from the external fuel tank! Ahhh, such fun. Lunch of toasted wraps then we had a lazy afternoon. Will and Scott went fishing with their local captain, Sharon had a nap. Greg and I had a swim while Juliet drank tea on the cabin top and Mo sunbathed. Ross was somewhere on board too! It was now time to get ready to go ashore again for dinner in the village but Scott and Will were still away fishing. Eventually they turned up and we whizzed ashore between the reefs in the dark to the beach to follow our faithful Tim to his house. There we met his wife Mere again and saw the spread she’d conjured! Wow what a feast of delicious authentic Fijian food, served Fiji-style on the floor without cutlery. Joining the fish in 3 ways, we had pumpkin salad, stuffed taro leaves, cassava root and roti bread. I’d totally go back there again, I’m falling in love with the real Fiji! A bell-like noise drifted inside and we went to see kava root being pounded by hand with a pole in a metal bowl. It was now time to go back to Silver Fern and settle in for bed.

Another stunning Fijjian morning, we were surrounded by other cruisers who had copied us and moved to this side of the bay, including the lovely Te Kaihōpara. Juliet and Sharon paddled over to them to say hello while others had a swim or attempted to fish. Anchor up at 10am, we followed Te Kaihōpara out of the bay and raced them to put up sails. We won of course but I don’t think they knew it was a race. Bearing away on a heading to Vuda, the wind died and we ended up motoring most of the way. A surprise Man Overboard Drill kept us entertained, as did more toasted wraps for lunch. We cruised into Vuda Marina onto the customs berth ready to clear out of the country first thing in the morning. A pretty nifty turn in the basin by Sharon set us up well for Ross, Will, Juliet and Greg to throw their lines ashore. Pleased to be here and getting our main adventure underway! It was a great idea to cruise Fiji for a few days, we are all now pretty used to Silver Fern and her ways.

Will cooked a fish on the BBQ for dinner and Mo turned up with a fried rice delivery from the restaurant next door. Dinner had, we tucked into bed, excited for the morning. 8am came far too quickly and we took our passports to get stamped and officially be allowed to depart for Australia. Back to Silver Fern, engine on and docklines ready. The marina staff came out to sing us the traditional farewell song - Isa Lei - then we motored out into the blue to the sound of drums wishing us safe voyaging. Sails up - full main and genoa - then shortened as we neared the gap in the reef. Double reefed we went through the reef and into the deep Pacific Ocean. Up went the stay sail and off went the motor. Bliss at last! Zipping away at 9kts towards the west, we all felt a sigh of relief to be finally underway. First on watch was Greg and Will - ‘The Lions’. After them came Juliet and Scott - ‘Awesome Albatrosses’ - and after dinner we have Ross and Mo - ‘The Eagles’. We are settling in for a good night sailing and there’s a booby on the GPS.

-Hannah - Chief Mate - Silver Fern