The final day of Te Kaihōpara’s first Yasawa Island cruise had many highlights, we didn’t stop the adventure until the very last minute. Waking up in Paradise Cove was, as the name suggests, paradise. The green trees over pristine azure water kept me distracted while we hauled the dinghy aboard ready for the passage back into Vuda Marina. Amongst the trees, Sally and Kingsley were watching something. It was many fruit bats all jostling for roosting space! I’d never seen bats in the wild and what a fantastic location to see them in. We got the dinghy on the hip (that’s halfway up the outside of the boat) and washed two weeks worth of sand out of it. I think the primary sand culprit was John 11’s reef shoes but we won’t tell him that. Deck stowed, the Gardner was warmed up and we weighed anchor (while watching the bats still) and motored out into the waters between the Yasawa Group and Lautoka.

Magic aromas were wafting up out of the galley where Lisa had conjured up a supersized quiche for lunch in anticipation of a choppy ocean. Luckily, the sea state was magically calm and we managed to set the sails in record time. As it was the last day of voyage, I set the challenge to the crew to set the mainsail and the mizzen at the same time while Callum was holding us head to wind. All ready to go we went and the sails whizzed up! How fantastic! The crew by this stage were well accustomed to Te Kaihōpara and her ways and it was a great little exercise completed with top marks. Proudly setting both headsails, we pulled the engine back to neutral and had a moment of quiet bliss until the boat speed dropped and we had to motor slowly to keep our arrival time.

30 miles later, we were an hour early with no wind to disrupt a feather. With the staysail and genoa rolled away earlier, we were motor sailing with a full main and mizzen. Vuda Marina was only 8 miles away (one hour of motoring) and we had two hours to go until we were expected. Lisa whispered in my ear about a swim which evolved into a big group agreement and a check in with Jo who was sweating away downstairs. Sure enough, engine off we slowed to a measly 0.4kts of boatspeed with the two sails up and not a breath of wind in sight. Over we go! How warm was the water! How clear and blue! How amazing did Te Kaihōpara look with her sails up from the water level! There was a photo of that sight but unfortunately Lisa’s phone got wet and salty and went to it’s final sleep so you’ll have to imagine it, or I can do a drawing - message me if you’d like to see it. The best part was when Jo jumped over and turned back and realised the sails were still up! What a shock! (Disclaimer: it was perfectly safe to be doing this).

Mid-ocean swim, practicing for the synchronised swimming for the Olympics in 2028

On board again, we furled the remaining sails and put the hammers down again. We prepared the boat for our final destination in the west basin of Vuda Marina. This time it was nearly high tide so Jo nor I were watching the depth sounder too closely! It seems like a million years ago we were motoring out with a fresh crew into the unknown. Our very skilled crew handed over the dock lines and manned fenders as we reversed into a tight berth. With perfect timing, a lady came along the dock with a chilly bin of cold drinks which of course we bought one each for our final crew debrief.

Vuda Marina taken by John 11 on his way to a resort.

Vinaka, Hannah - Chief Mate - Te Kiahōpara

Swimming with Sails

One fish, two fish

Speedy Gonzales