Bula!

After a peaceful night in the bay the early birds were up to watch the sunset and take in the reefs. Megan saw the first turtle of the day in one of her many swims of the day. The second was spotted by Jason as he led a few of us out to an outer reef in the dingy. The coral was vibrant in the morning light with a few Nemos on show and a bright selection of rainbow hued parrot fish crunching their way around. The outer reef felt like a sunken city with tall sheer rocks dropping off to caves and sandy streets below.

Our peace was rudely interrupted by a visit from the PoPo swooping in to board the boat in a dramatic raid. Luckily we got all the contraband overboard before they hauled us off to sea jail. Joking obviously. We did have a very cordial visit from the Fijian Coast Guard however. They popped up to check our paperwork along with some trainers from the U.S. Coast Guard. My version is more fun though. 

The evening was a cultural highlight as we had been invited to a lovo at Yasawairara village. Dressed in our finest fancy clothes we were collected by the villagers and escorted us along the coastline to be greeted on the beach. While the rest of the crew chatted and made friends, Pete and I played a game of touch rugby with the kids. We acquitted ourselves pretty well and the score was pretty even until the older kids (the 8 and 9 year olds), arrived and we retreated to safety for the sake of our knees.

The feast was unveiled from its shallow pit of hot rocks, under a layer of sand and leaves, and presented on a long table as the sun set. Chicken, beef, pork, and tuna with sides of cassava and breadfruit. Cassava is an acquired taste and some of us failed to acquire it in time. The local dogs found a hidden trove buried in the sand (Georgia, we are looking at you!). What was already a magical evening was topped off with a starlit trip back to TK with bioluminescence trailing the dinghies. We slept well.

Friday kicked off with a deep discussion around how to (hypothetically of course) dispose of a body at sea, including what the regulations are and if we had a body bag on board. Resident nurses Megan and Sue gave us a rough estimate of the number of days it would take for the body to explode due to the heat. Storage options included dismembering it for the freezer and  storing it in the dinghy. All of this before coffee.

Fortunately there was nothing stored in said dinghy. As we pulled out for the day’s sail a freak gust blew it across the rear ladder and snagged the engine pull cord, flipping the dinghy around. Bye, bye body! After some rapid and Olympic level bailing by Liv we were back on our way. Heading South to our next mooring at Somo Somo the wind was light and we managed to raise the staysail, bringing our sail count to four. Under full sail! How exciting! The weather was less enthused though, with the wind dropping to a measly 10 knots we had to rely on the motor for any significant progress. 

I blame the wind of course, not my stint at the helm where I did a great job of looking cool and pointing at things. Sue took over from me and we made more progress towards our destination (obviously the wind picked up, nothing to do with me). Liv gave a short and informative passage planning lesson to Sarah, Mike, Susan and Toni covering hazards, tidal gates and weather planning. 

With the increased wind our mooring was a little choppy, but a few of us braved the water and headed over to a nearby reef. Pete and Georgia hit the jackpot in spotting two octopusses (Octopi? Octopussies? Jimmy says octopi), a large crayfish and some clownfish. We also managed to swim through a cloud of selp (Toni made the identification, I take no responsibility). 

 The deck barbie got a solid workout with Sarah battling the wind, armed with her trusty tongs and a head torch as dinner brought another busy day to a close with good old fashioned sausages, mash potatoes and onion gravy. Rogue sausages that escaped to the deck were put aside for bait to accompany Pete’s new fishing lure created using a used coffee pod. Good times.

Ni sa moce! - Daf