A regal cruise through the Yasawa Islands awaited Silver Fern, as its crew members trickled into the sunny and joyful shores of Fiji. I was appraised about the dubious concept of Fiji-time, (turn up to any occasion, whilst being nowhere near on time and just blame Fiji for your tardiness) which I think I’ve been working on perfecting since my nascent, pre-pubescent years. The warm sun and clear skies somehow made me feel a bit nostalgic about good old chilly New Zealand. I’m afraid that being the typical Indian that I am, I quite dislike even the slightest hint of unplanned sweat on my brow. Nevertheless, the smiling faces around me in Vuda Marina and the friendly renditions of ‘Bula’, ensured that my time in Fiji has always been just one good day after another.

I reported to our Skipper, the Scottish sensation, Iain. First crew member onboard was the very English, Jo, who was deadly scared of cane toads and an aspiring Love Island, Fiji contestant. She was almost immediately joined by Angie, a kiwi with a thirst for non-alcoholic exotic beverages, with tiny umbrellas in them. Next up, was clipper race veteran, Dot and her ‘dotting’ partner, Ciaran, whose Irish roots and penchant for tobacco made him an ideal candidate to become a Peaky Blinders gang member. Allison, the nurse with an obsession for clean towels, got the bow cabin party started by bringing in some Tasmanian flavour to the vessel. She was quickly joined by Stuart, a credited cast member of all three Lord of the Rings movies and the guy who held Sean Bean’s (Boromir) horse steady during actual scenes of the movie. Looks like we have a real life kiwi-celebrity on board Silver Fern! Rounding up the fearsome foursome of the bow cabin were Sue, a flower-child of the waterworld, with a love for sea-swimming and Gary, a spear-fishing extraordinaire.

The departure from Vuda marina was silky smooth as the onlookers waved goodbye to Silver Fern and her merry crew as they departed for Musket Cove. A short distance away, Musket Cove was the destination for the day as the crew acquainted themselves to the main sail and vice versa. Some drama made itself evident as our approach to anchor at our destination was one of increased difficulty. The engine throttle decided to operate on ‘Fiji time’ and an over-zealous crew member managed to unwittingly guide the snubber overboard, to freedom in the great blue sea. Gluten-free cookies were baked for consumption by only the gluten-free people, but I managed to get a piece because I was intermittently quite nice to the gluten-free people. Proceedings were just about coming back to normal as gin and its virtues were being discussed, amongst other vices before I discovered smoke in the engine room!

As Iain and I ushered our crew out to the muster-stations, the generator and refrigerator were quickly turned off. Once the ventilation fans had done their magic, a through investigation revealed that the Generator’s salt water intake impeller had given way and needed to be changed. I gained new respect for Swiss watchmakers, as I toiled away to remove six miniscule screws from the impeller casing positioned in the most unforgiving angle. Maybe I should’ve taken a few tips and tricks from that contortionist I’d once met during my days in the circus. Upstairs, the crew got back to their agenda for the night, as sausages and pasta made the troubles of the day seem far away. Gary and Ciaran discussed colombian drug deals gone south, whilst elsewhere, the impeller replacement was sourced from within the depths of the saloon hold (a.k.a the coffin) by a deep diving Iain. It was at this point that we decided to call it a night and fight the ongoing repair-battle on a fresh day with fresh minds and less sweaty midriffs.

The next morning was one of greatly masked trepidation, as Iain and I sent some off the crew off to Musket Cove’s luxurious pool bar and the others off on stand-up paddle boards to investigate a local sand bar, as we made quick work of the remainder of the impeller replacement job. Once the generator was fixed and tested, I could breathe easy again and decided to have my second shower in two days. Fiji really does push you to do incredible things! As I write these words, the sun had decided to play its nightly game of hide and seek with us, the wine is flowing and the gluten-free snacks are gluten-freeing themselves away to glory. Silver Fern’s crew readily awaits its first contact with the indigenous villages of the Yasawa Islands tomorrow.

- Arjun Thimmaya, Chief Mate, Silver Fern