Riverside Drive Marina, Whangarei.

Riverside Drive Marina, Whangarei.

Sadiqi was hauled out on December 21 at Riverside Drive Marina, Whangarei.

Some of the cruisers in the marina or on the hard standing:

“Eagles Wings” Ken and Beth from Chicago

“Kismet” Dave and Mary from USA

“Second Wind” Art and Nancy from Seattle, USA

“State of Mind” Rod and Brenda from Australia

“Sofia” Jonathan and Anne from UK

“Georgia” Paul and Chris from Seattle.

“Northern Rose” Glen and Pat from UK.

“Golden Age” Herbert from Switzerland.

“Suluk” Peter from Holand.

“Midnight Sun” John and Wendy from Australia

“Wakaya” Gary and Jan from USA

“Katie M II” Martin and Angela from BC, Canada

“Journey” Wayne and Dana from Washington State USA.

“White Hawk” John and Lynette from California.

“Lavinda” Sven from Norway.

Sadiqi Haulout

Thanks to the friendly Riverside Drive Marina staff: Karl, Shane and Louise.

Local environmental rules had to be complied with to scrape and remove heavy metals (copper) in the old anti-fouling paint. This meant erecting tarpaulins around the boat and laying drop sheets on the ground to contain the mess. I purchased an Ozito vacuum cleaner to contain the scrapings and dust.  

The work of scraping the anti-foul paint off Sadiqi's bottom continued. It is a hard and filthy task. I would start early in the morning when it was cool and stop around midday exhausted.

Sadiqi tarped up and ready to be scraped!

Scraping the hull

I replaced all thru hull fittings and sea cocks with Trudesign composite fittings. These fitting were epoxied into place. 

www.trudesignplastics.com

On February 1 I removed the drop cloths from around Sadiqi having removed the old anti fouling paint and sanded back to a reasonably clean surface.

Bare bottom

March 3 installed the AirHead composting toilet. A small computer/muffin fan had to be wired in, which runs constantly. I had ordered the Airhead from Australia, as the local NZ agent couldn't be bothered. The Australian agents ‘A Better Way to Go” were very helpful and knowledgeable.

www.abetterwaytogo.com.au

The composting head

March 10 the rudder was returned after having been split apart, the stainless steel welds checked and rudder epoxied back together. The workmanship was fine, the creative invoicing was annoying. I was reminded of why I try to do all the work on the boat myself – why should I pay someone else to stuff things up on the boat when I’m perfectly capable of doing it myself.

March 10 I applied an Epoxy primer coat. Carboguard 504 Marine & GP Epoxy Primer.

Simon of SK Painting sprayed Epoxy Barrier coat. Carboguard 640 Immersion Grade & GP High Build Epoxy.

Epoxy barrier coat

March 30 I had assistance with applying Copper Coat. I had purchased the product through Bruce of Manaia Yacht Services. Bruce, Nick and Jan assisted with rolling the 5 coats of copper epoxy. 

www.coppercoat.com

Sadiqi had to remain out of the water for at least 4 day after CopperCoat was applied. The product consists of 1 litre of solvent-free epoxy resin mixed with 2 kilos of ultra fine copper powder.

Rolling on the CopperCoat

Sadiqi's new copper bottom

March 7 Sadiqi was floating again much to the relief of the skipper.

Sadiqi re-floated!

On May 1 Sadiqi departed Riverside Drive Marina and motored the 15 miles down river to the Whangarie heads.

New Zealand

http://www.noonsite.com/Countries/NewZealand

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_zealand

Opua - misty morning

After several days on a mooring near Opua Sadiqi's skipper felt like he was starting to emerge from under the rock that he seemed to have crawled shortly after leaving Australia. Times had moved on in the first world, despite the miles sailed, the skipper had not. A few weeks, either moored or anchored near Opua in the beautiful Bay of Islands, I motored two miles and anchored near the Russell Boat Club. Russell is an enchanting small town.

Russell Boat Club

Sadiqi will be hauled out of the water for some extensive maintenance projects. The to-do list is almost dauntingly long. I have written about maintenance work before and won't repeat myself so won't be updating the blog for quite some time. Maybe I'll go through and correct spelling, gramma and punctuation – the bears didn't make good proof readers. I have a great deal of work to do on Sadiqi before heading back north to the islands once the cyclone season is over.

This has been a huge year of sailing. Since leaving Panama in January 2015 Sadiqi has sailed close to 8,000 miles, that's a third of the circumference of the earth. It has been an amazing adventure so far. I am still living the dream and I have no regrets. I'd like to thank all those who supported me on this adventure and helped make it possible. A huge thank you to Pats who handled my mail and paid the bills back in the “real world”. Another huge thank you to the ship's surgeon Rob and Susan for medical advice and words of wisdom. Thanks to the many interesting and fun people I've met along the way who became friends. Thanks also to you who have read this Sadiqi blog. This blog has given me the opportunity to share the adventure. With close to 49,000 hits I guess some people managed to tolerate my, deliberate of course, spelling and grammatical blunders. Thanks to those who gently offered suggestions and corrections. I'm grateful to Google for providing the service free of direct charges.

Sadiqi will continue to chase sunsets. 

Sadiqi anchored in Urupukapuka Bay, BoI

 

Fiji to New Zealand

09-11-15 Monday

1145 Sadiqi departed Vuda Marina, Fiji.
Engine: 1746.4 hours

The winds close to Viti Levu, the largest of Fijis' islands, were onshore 10 to 12 knots westerly. These were local conditions.

1550 Sadiqi exited the Nanula Passage – the fringing reef or Vitu Levu. When in the open ocean the winds were 20 to 25 knots south east, seas were rough at 2 o 3 metres. I furled the mainsail to about 3 reefs. The yankee headsail pulled us to windward powerfully. Sadiqi's leeward rail was buried in the water most of the time. Both Sadiqi and the skipper had a good drenching from the green water that came over the deck.

1700 Beer o clock was skipped. The left over pizza from Musket cove, that I had for lunch, threatened to come up for a second tasting. The skipper was getting soft after too much of a good time at Musket Cove.

10-11-15 Tuesday (Day 1)

Over night the wind eased as did the seas. At around 0200 I unfurled the mainsail to about one reefing point. Sadiqi had travelled faster than I had planned. I had worked the passage plan for an average of 4 knots (100 miles/day). The Speed over the Ground (SOG) had varied between 4 to 6 knots.

0800 I reported in to Gulf Harbour Radio (GHR) in New Zealand giving a position and weather condition report.
Sadiqi's position can be tracked on the Yachts in Transit web site:
http://www.yit.co.nz/

Noon 1200 UTC +13 (Fiji on Daylight saving)
Wind  18 knots (T) ESE
Lat: 19 26.41 S,   Lon: 0176 46.55 E
COG: 185 deg M, SOG: 5.5 knots
Engine: 1748.5 hours
110 miles since leaving Vuda Marina, Fiji.
Rolling along nicely on a close reach. Swell to 2 metres. Two reefs in the main.
It shouldn't be too difficult to workout where Sadiqi is headed.

1700 Beer o clock happened with libations to the ocean gods and reflections on absent family and friends.
Wind 12 to 15 knots (T) SE
COG: 190 M,  SOG: 5 knots
Nice sailing on a close reach.  

11-11-15 Wednesday (Day 2)

It was a very pleasant sail overnight with winds 10 to 15 knots SE.
0300 the winds eased and the boat speed started to fall below 4 knots.
I started the engine. I needed to maintain a minimum of 4 knots boat speed. I knew I was entering the subsiding air of a large high with little wind.

0615 winds 12 to 14 knots east south east. I stopped the engine and we were happily sailing again.
COG: 185 M, SOG: 4 to 5 knots.
It was a beautiful sunrise.

0700 I emailed my position report to Gulf Harbour Radio (GHR) in New Zealand and listened to the roll call and weather.
Many thanks to Patricia and David for providing the service.
http://www.yit.co.nz/

All sails up - heading south

0830 I raised the small stay-sail – sweet.
Wind  8 - 12  knots (T) SE
COG: 195 deg M, SOG: 5 knots

Noon 1200 UTC +13 (Fiji on Daylight saving)
Wind  8 - 10  knots (T) ESE
Lat: 21 13.21 S,   Lon: 176 04.29 E
COG: 190 deg M, SOG: 5 knots
Engine: 1752.4 hours
114 miles since noon the previous day.
Sailing on a close reach with yankee jib, stay-sail and full main – beautiful sailing in undulating seas.
Barometer rising slowly 1017mb.
Water temp 25.5 deg C.

1700 Beer o clock.
Fridge not working – tepid beer!
Wind  12 - 15  knots (T) ESE
COG: 185 deg M, SOG: 5 knots
Superb close reach sailing.

12-11-15 Thursday (Day 3)

0300 I was awakened, before the alarm, with sails flapping and Sadiqi bouncing around in sloppy seas. The wind had dropped to less that 8 knots.
I started the engine and tightened the sails. Ken, the autopilot took over from Smithy the windvane to steer Sadiqi southwards.

0700 I emailed my position report to Gulf Harbour Radio (GHR) in New Zealand and listened to the roll call and weather report.

Noon 1200 UTC +13
Wind  5 - 8  knots (T) E
Lat: 23 03.48 S,   Lon: 175 25.23 E
COG: 193 deg M, SOG: 4.5 knots
Engine: 1759.9 hours
116 miles since noon the previous day.
Barometer 1019mb, Sea temp 23.5 deg C
Motor sailing. Fishing line out.
I spotted a yacht on the horizon. 

"Zest" motor sailing in flat seas

1215 Chris on “Zest” called up on VHF. I had met Chris and his three crew on the Beaneteu 50 “Zest” at Musket Cove. They had left Vuda Marina the day after I had.
1350 “Zest” came along side for a chat and photo opportunity.
In the calm conditions I took the opportunity to fill the diesel tank from a jerry can. There were several rain cells near by.

1450 Wind increased to 15 knots from the east. I was able to give the Volvo engine a well earned rest.
COG: 170 deg M, SOG: 4.5 knots.

1700 Beer o clock – no fish.

13-11-15 Friday (Day 4)

Sadiqi motor sailed through the night in light winds.
At sunrise the wind was from the SSE at about 7 knots. The barometer was beginning to fall or so I thought.

0800 Wind increased to 10 knots SSE. I gave the Volvo another well earned rest while I sent a position report email to Gulf Harbour Radio and listened to the weather from David. David suggested I should look at an arrival time on Thursday 19 November, before the next cold fronts came through. This meant that Sadiqi had to make an average speed of 4.6 knots, which was doable.

Noon 1200 UTC +13
Wind  8 - 12  knots (T) ESE
Lat: 24 47.62 S,   Lon: 174 33.31 E
COG: 176 deg M, SOG: 5 knots
Engine: 1774.5 hours
114.5 miles since noon the previous day.
Barometer 1018mb, Sea temp 22.5 deg C
Motor sailing in short duration, choppy seas.

1300 Winds increased to 15 knots ESE.
Turned off the engine – sailing again -  ah the silence.
Several rain cells around. 

Beating to windward - jib, stay-sail and main.

1700 Beer o clock
Wind 18 to 20 knots SE
COG: 180 deg M,     SOG: 5.5 knots
Rough seas.

14-11-15 Saturday (Day 5)

Just after midnight Winds 20 to 25 knots ESE
Rough uncomfortable seas.
I furled the head-sail. Sailing with the small stay-sail and equivalent of 3 reefs in the mainsail.
Boat speed 3 to 4 knots – much more comfortable.

Sunrise winds 18 to 20 knots ESE
Swell and seas 2 to 4 metres from the SSE.

0730 I managed to email a position report  to Gulf Harbour Radio. It was too uncomfortable to update the blog and email it.

Noon 1200 UTC +13
Wind  18 - 20  knots (T) ENE
Lat: 26 45.41 S,   Lon: 174 05.53 E
COG: 180 deg M, SOG: 6 knots
Engine: 1776.3 hours
120.4 miles since noon the previous day.
Barometer 1020mb, Sea temp 20.5 deg C
Sadiqi rolling along on a beam reach. 

1700 Beer o clock.
Wind 15 to 18 knots ENE.
Nice sailing with the wind slightly abaft the beam.
The fridge is working again – intermittently. When the boat is level enough for me to get to the bottom of the fridge I'll find what ever smells like it died in there and throw it over the side.
There is a chill in the early mornings and evenings with air temperatures in the teens.
The Standard Horizon Chart plotter is is playing up. Well, the GPS antenna is. Several times a day the antenna looses the satellite fix and beeps. I recall this happening in the cold conditions off the west coast of South Africa. The antenna seems to be temperature sensitive.

15-11-15 Sunday (Day 6)

It was a lovely sail over night with the winds predominantly from the north and east at up to 18 knots. The skipper managed to get some good lengthy periods of sleep.

Sunrise winds 18 to 20 knots NE
Swell and seas 1 to 2 metres from the SE.

0800 Emailed GHR position report and downloaded GRIB weather files.

0900 Winds 16 to 18 knots (T) NE
Poled out the Jib – nice sailing downwind. 

Sailing downwind with poled out jib, stay-sail and main

Noon 1200 UTC +13
Wind  15 - 18  knots (T) NE
Lat: 28 43.79 S,   Lon: 173 30.34 E
COG: 182 deg M, SOG: 5.5 knots
Engine: 1776.3 hours
122.4 miles since noon the previous day.
Barometer 1019mb, Sea temp 20 deg C
Great downwind sailing with poled out jib, stay-sail and nearly full main. 

1700 Beer o clock.
The wind was forecast to swing to the north west and increase to 25 knots overnight.
I dropped the cute stay-sail, gybed the main and poled out the jib to starboard.

Beer o clock with poled out jib and main

16-11-15 Monday (Day 7)

Sunrise. It was a fast and roly sail downwind over night.

0700 emailed GHR position report.

Noon 1200 UTC +13
Wind  18 - 22  knots (T) NW
Lat: 30 51.96 S,   Lon: 172 50.32 E
COG: 162 deg M, SOG: 6 knots
Engine: 1776.3 hours
133 miles since noon the previous day.
Barometer 1015mb falling, Sea temp 18 deg C
Fast roly downwind sailing.

1700 Beer o clock was skipped. The forecast was for changing winds overnight.

17-11-15 Tuesday (Day 8)

Good downwind sailing in 18 to 20 knot NW winds until 0200 (Dark, cold and wet o clock).
The wind started to shift from the south.
0430 Winds 20 knots SSE.
I  tacked  toward Tasmania to get further south.

0700 emailed GHR position report

1015 Spotted yacht “Pacific Spray” on AIS. Tried to contact them on VHF CH16 – no response.

Noon 1200 UTC +13
Wind  15 - 18  knots (T) ESE
Lat: 32 37.93 S,   Lon: 172 41.64 E
COG: 220 deg M, SOG: 4.5 knots
Engine: 1776.3 hours
106 miles since noon the previous day.
Barometer 1015mb rising, Sea temp 17.5 deg C
Bouncing along toward Tasmania.

1515 Wind 15 – 17 knots (T) SSE
Tacked onto Stbd – raised stay-sail
COG: 120 deg M,   SOG 4.5 knots

1730 Tried to contact NZ Maritime radio on HF 4125, 6215 to give ETA in Opua– no response.

18-11-15 Wednesday (Day 9)

A breezy beat to windward overnight with wind ranging 15 to 22 knots (T) from the SSW.
Seas are choppy and cold.

0700 contacted Kapranga Maritime Radio on VHF 16 to provide ETA Opua for midday Thursday.

0730 emailed GHR position report

During the morning Sadiqi past through several local squalls with winds to 30 knots SSW. I found a few more leaks on the boat. When the port rubbing strake is in the water it leaks into one of the lockers. 

Close reach - jib, stay-sail and main

Noon 1200 UTC +13
Wind  12 - 15  knots (T) WS
Lat: 34 07.09 S,   Lon: 173 25.40 E
COG: 2134 deg M, SOG: 4 knots
Engine: 1776.3 hours
96.5 miles since noon the previous day. (Distance is straight line – does not take into account any tacking etc.)
Barometer 1017mb rising, Sea temp 16.5 deg C
Bobbing along in choppy seas.
North Cape, New Zealand visible 30 miles to the SW.

1700 Beer o clock – beating to windward.

Beam reach with stay-sail and main

19-11-15 Thursday (Day 10)

In the early morning the wind decreased ad shifted from the SE.

0500 I tacked toward Opua.
Winds 8 to 10 knots SE.
It was a beautiful clear sunrise.
Started the engine and motor sailed to make the arranged time of arrival – midday.
It was cold. I welcomed the warmth from the engine for the first time since leaving South Africa. 

A beautiful chilly sunrise at 35 south

Bay of Islands, New Zealand

1200 Arrived Opua, New Zealand – quarantine dock.

Engine. 1784.4 hours.

All things considered it was a pretty good passage from Fiji to New Zealand. Approximately 1100 miles in 10 days, 38 engine hours (38 litres of Diesel).

Sadiqi arrived alongside the huge quarantine dock near the Bay of Islands Marina, Opua. There was quite a tidal flow. I was grateful for the assistance from MPI Bio Security with line handling. There were 4 to 6 yachts waiting to be cleared in. The customs officer boarded Sadiqi – 15 minutes later I was cleared. Two guys from MPI Bio Security looked through most lockers on the boat. Sadiqi's garbage, onions, potatoes, cabbage, garlic, popcorn, mung beans, meat etc were confiscated for disposal. Sadiqi had to be fumigated after arrival, small ants were found on-board. I did declare that I had a gazillion weevils in the rice - none were evident though. There were no charges for clearing into New Zealand and no charge for fumigation and re-inspection. Even if a boat arrives on the weekend to clear in there are no overtime charges. New Zealand is pretty much the first "first world" country Sadiqi has arrived in since leaving Australia.

Opua is chilly! Seriously, I hoped it was going to warm up soon - it's supposed to be summer. There's no palm trees here - that's a worry:-)

Cool sunrise in Opua

windyty

Fiji

http://www.noonsite.com/Countries/Fiji

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiji

Currency Fijian dollar (FJD) 1.50 = AUD 1.00

The health officer arrived at the clearance dock to clear Sadiqi into Fiji. The first piece of paper issued was an invoice for Fiji$254.50 or US$123, then the Certificate of Pratique. She asked if I knew what the boat name “Sadiqi” meant. She is Moslem and said that it means “Friend” or “Simple” in Arabic. The next official was from Bio Security, and what a load of BS that was, charged Fiji$89.70 or US$42. The customs officer sauntered down at around 1645 hours and asked me, amongst other questions, for all ports visited since leaving Australia in 2010. I was charged 2 hours overtime at Fiji$42.80 or US$20. Total charges, including Copra Shed marina facility charges, was close to US$200. The Fijian clearance is cheap compared to that of boats, less then 25 metres in length, arriving in Australia, where Quarantine charges a minimum of AU$480.00 or US$350. That's an awful lot of beer money.

By the time I finished with officialdom it was getting dark. The Copra Shed security guard led me to a large mooring buoy, which I declined. From experience I knew Sadiqi would bump against the large mooring all night. I asked if there was a place to anchor. The security guard dismissed me saying “outside” - not at all helpful or friendly! With apparently no alternative mooring buoys available I went to find a place to anchor. I managed to find a spot in a depth of 12 metres amongst the moorings.

Early next morning I moved onto a Waitui Marina mooring buoy, when it became available. Jolene at Waitui Marina was cheerful, very friendly and helpful. Thanks to Jolene I found my weary sense of humour again. The facilities at the marina can be regarded as having character. I'd have no hesitation on recommending Waitui Marina to cruisers.

http://waituimarinafiji.com

Waitui marina

Sadiqi in Savusavu

Savusavu is an interesting bustling little town. 

Some of the other cruisers in Savusavu:

“Fair Winds” with Sherman and Judy from USA and Austalia

“Second Wind” with Art and Nancy from Seattle USA

“Muneera” with Nick, Andrea, Ella, Millie and James from Australian

“Wairua” with Andy and Megan heading to New Zealand

“Kairos” with Menno from Holland.

“State or Mind” with Rod and Brenda from Australia and New Zealand

“Navire” with David and Janet from New Zealand

“Boxing Kangaroo” with Brett and Lynn from Belgium.

“Amelie IV” with Mark and family from Canada.

The South Pacific Convergence Zone SPCZ dominated the weather in Fiji. Many of the the cruisers in Savusavu were waiting for an opportunity to cruise the islands or head to their next destination. Around the middle of October the Fiji weather bureau announced a tropical depression several hundred miles north east of Fiji. The official Cyclone season starts at the beginning of November. The news of the tropical depression caused some angst amongst cruisers.

One evening, with rain beating heavily on the old corrugated iron roof of the Waitui marina club house, Nancy from “Second Wind” gave cruisers a solo violin concert. Nancy is a concert violinist and teacher from Seattle.

Savusavu Calm weather

Yachts began to leave Savusavu on Monday October 19. For the first time in two weeks the strong south easterly winds abated. Sadiqi was not able to leave the mooring in Savusavu as the skipper had torn a muscle in his back and was almost immobile. A stewing in the hot springs baths at the medical clinic near by gave the skipper much relief. 

Nakama creek Savusavu

22-10-15 Thursday

I made ready to depart Savusavu – stocking up with food, water and beer.

Fiji is a challenging cruising area. The islands cover a vast area of the South Pacific, unfortunately it also has a veritable minefield of coral reefs. This is not an area for complacency. Departing and arriving between the hours of 0900 and 1500, with good visibility, is smart navigation. Also, the C-Map charts that I use are not accurate. There are very few reference points to identify chart errors. Navigation marks shown on the charts have been lost over the years due to cyclones etc.

2225 Sadiqi dropped the mooring at Savusavu and headed to Makongai island, aprox 50 miles south.

Engine: 1729.4 hours.

The winds were around 4 knots easterly in the lee of Vanua Levu Sadiqi motor sailed out of Savusavu bay. The winds steadily increased to 10 knots. The engine had a rest until 0500 hours when the winds dropped to 4 knots easterly in the lee, west of, Koro island. The seas were sloppy.

23-10-15 Friday

0920 Sadiqi entered the pass to Makongai island. This was when I noticed that the C-map charts were roughly 0.08 nautical miles out to the north.

1010 I dropped anchor at Makodgroga island.

Engine 1734.4 hours.

I went for a snorkel to check the anchor. I was amazed with the beautiful coral closer to shore of the island. The anchorage at Makodroga island was not suitable – it was roly and Roxy the anchor dragged almost 100 metres over the sand covered rock.

1600 I moved to the main sheltered anchorage of Makongai island less than a mile away.

24-10-15 Saturday

0600 departed Makongai island

Engine: 1736.0 hours

It was nice sailing in 10 to 12 knots ESE once clear of the Makongai fringing reef. Just after Levuka, Fiji's former capital, on Ovalau island the wind dropped to 5 to 8 knots easterly. I started the motor again to get through the slop. It was a trying days sail with wind shifting and easing near the rain showers that past over.

1700 Beer o clock. Winds were 12 knots ESE – very nice sailing toward the south west.

25-10-15 Sunday

During the night it was a pleasant drift downwind at between 2 to 3 knots SOG under mainsail. Around 0400 hours the AIS alarm sounded. I steered clear of the ship travelling at 17 knots headed for Suva. I made several course changes to sail to the island group of Beqa. I knew Nick, Andrea and family on Muneera were heading to Beqa.

1120 Arrived at Malumu bay, Bequ.

Engine: 1739.5 hours

I anchored alongside Muneera. There were no other yachts in the beautiful, sheltered bay of Malumu. 

Muneera in Malumu bay, Beqa

26-10-15 Monday

1030 Sadiqi departed Malumu Bay, Beqa

Nick, Andrea and the zoo onboard Muneera headed for a small island nearby for the four kids could do the Gilligan's island thing and wreak havoc.

Sadiqi had a very leisurely sail westwards under mainsail only to Yanuca island.

1305 Arrived in a beautiful bay in the not so sheltered bay on the west side if the island. I managed to find a relatively clear spot in the coral to drop the anchor. Several hours later Muneera dropped anchor near by. 

Yanuca island

Yanuca (pronounced Yanutha) island is a very pretty island. There were two small backpacker type hotels, one of them had been abandoned for several years.

I spent a good deal of time with the zoo on Muneera. Nick, Andrea, Ella and Millie sailed from Seychelles nearly 6 years ago. Nick's brother Chris, with family Jude, and Darcy flew to Fiji from Australia to visit. James, Chris and Jude's oldest, had flown to Tahiti for sail with his cousins and experience sailing the open ocean. I called it a zoo as I was not familiar with all the interaction between the four teenagers and the four adults. The repartee and shenanigans were very amusing to watch and be a part of. Andrea and Jude worked wonders in the galley on Muneera to feed us all. 

Muneera zoo - Nick, James, Jude, Andrea, Millie, Ella, Chris and Darcy

We walked to the village on the east side of the island to visit the chief – hoping to do a traditional Fijian Sevusevu ceremony. This is where Kava (Yagona) root is drank seated with the chief of the village. The Chief was busy making Pandanus mats when we found him. He accepted the Kava, muttered some words in Fijian, then said we were free to walk around the village. This was not quite what we expected. We had tried to follow the Fijian traditions.

Yanuca chief

On the walk back to the boats Andrea, wanted to visit the school. The school catered for up to year 8. The older students went to school across the lagoon on Mbengga island. The younger students sang for us. Andrea enrolled Millie, James and Darcy for school the next day. Ella and Millie have been home schooled on board Muneera since leaving Australia in 2009. This was a unique opportunity for the the kids to experience school in a different country. The local kids wear uniform and shoes were optional.

28-10-15 Wednesday

1615 Sadiqi and Muneera departed Yanuca for a 60 mile overnight sail to Mololo island.

It was a pleasant downwind sail westwards at 2 to 3 knots under an almost full moon.

29-10-15 Thursday

1130 I picked up a mooring at Musket Cove, Mololo island.

Engine 1743.5 hours

Fiji is a beautiful cruising ground - all be it with a lot of treacherous coral reefs. It's not an area to be complacent in. Musket Cove resort is a very yacht friendly resort. Paying $5 for life membership entitles one to use most of the resort facilities.

http://www.musketcovefiji.com

Musket Cove Yacht Club Bar

Early Sunday morning, November 1, resort guests and cruisers gathered at “Dicks Place” to watch New Zealand beat Australia in the world cup rugby. Probably a little too much time was spent either on Muneera, tied to the dock, or in the Musket Cove Yacht Club bar near by. Between socialising with the zoo on Muneera and enjoying Musket Cove a good deal of time was spent analysing the weather for the next leg of the adventure.

November arrived – the official start to the southern Pacific cyclone season. I aimed for a weather window around November 9. The Tasman sea is up there with: north west USA, the Gulf Stream off south eastern USA, northern Colombia, east coast South Africa as areas that can get a little uncomfortable at times. I use several tools – OpenCPN with grib plugin and Android tablet for passage planning. There's also a weather routing plugin that I have had a look at - way too complicated. These are great tools where there is good internet access. Maybe I focused a little too much on November 9 as that was the day I decided to leave.

Prior to leaving Musket Cove I scrubbed the bottom of Sadiqi, filled with water and fuel and prepared for another lengthy voyage. I sent off all the requisite forms to necessary authorities for advance notice of arrival. Sunday evening, November 8, I visited the Musket Cove Yacht Club bar to say goodbye to the friends I had made there.

Early Monday November 9 I headed for Vuda marina to clear out of Fiji. This was relatively painless – filling out a 6 page form of people and boat particulars.

Sadiqi departed Vuda Marina at 1145.

Engine: 1746.4 hours

The winds close to Viti Levu – the largest of Fijis' islands were onshore 10 to 12 knots westerly. These were local conditions. Once I clear the fringing reef the winds should come from south south east.