Te Kaihōpara is anchored in Yalobi Bay, a personal favorite of mine here in the Yasawa Islands. We arrived this afternoon and anchored only a few hundred meters away from Silver Fern, whose crew has been enjoying a bit of cruising around Fiji before departing for Australia. Shortly after anchoring, we were greeted by Sharon and Juliet, who were out taking their kayaks for a slightly competitive spin around the bay. Onboard, sun downers were cracked and the snorkel gear was donned (maybe not in that order), as everyone was eager to jump in the sea and cool off. 

We departed Vuda Marina this morning after a round of beloved safety briefs. Our crew arrived at the boat yesterday throughout the afternoon, and we all wandered down to First Landing for our first dinner together. We went around the table and shared our stories of where we came from, and what led us all to sailing together this week. We have a full house, every bunk being slept in, as it should be! 

Due to the lack of wind in the lee of Viti Levu, we motored across to Waya island today, taking advantage of the calm water to go over winch training and do multiple man overboard drills. Poor Bob just kept falling off the boat! (Disclaimer: Bob isn't one of the crew but a sacrificial fender tied to a bundle of warp, in true RYA fashion.) Megan and Susan both volunteered to be the swimmer we sent over the side of the boat on a halyard to recover the casualty, and due to the excellent winch training given by yours truly, casualties and swimmers were all happily back onboard every time. I can’t take all the credit though, as anyone who has endured an MOB drill with us knows it is no small effort to recover a casualty, and takes every person onboard working together.

Thoroughly settling into the cruising lifestyle, the barbecue has been broken out and sea shanties are being sung on the aft deck as the sun goes down. A-watch is cooking what smells like an incredible dinner for the crew tonight, and there’s already talk of bacon and eggs in the morning. 

Cheers! -Liv