[password]waiknot
[position]17 13.159S 178 58.026W

[status]
Have now arrived in Vanua Balavu, in the northern Lau group of Fiji. This morning we left Matagi at 6.15am, as soon as we had enough light to see. All day we had brilliant sunshine, calm seas and not much wind! We started sailing, but without enough wind our speed dropped to 2.5knots! So it was back to motoring for most of the trip. Sometimes we are not sure why we even bother having a mast on the boat! With the help of our trusty motor, we arrived through the pass into Vanua Balavu with the sun still high, giving us good visibility to get through the reefs. The electronic charts here are out by a long way, so the only way to navigate is by seeing the shallow patches. In fact, out track as we came in, looked like we were going over reefs and some of the anchorages are on land!
The main village here is Daliconi, where we are anchored now. We have been to visit the Chief, who is 83 years old and looking good! Tomorrow we have arranged to take reading glasses and sunglasses into the village, to give to those who need them.
We do not seem to have internet here, so it is back to the satellite phone for communication.

[weather]Sunny skies, 10 pct cloud. Wind 10 knots NE. Baro 1011. The front has not arrived yet!

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