Distracted
whangaroa harbour, had a great trip from bay of islands, light winds.
maunganui bay (deep water cove), bay of islands great trip up from tutukaka, no storm warnings.
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pacific bay, tutukaka harbour.
great sail from great barrier --
kiwiriki bay, port fitzroy, great barrier island, bit uncomfortable in whangaparapara last night.
graveyard bay, whangaparapara bay, great barrier island.
gulf harbour marina.
on the naked bus tomorrow night, wellington bound.
lighter basin, viaduct marina, auckland.
guess this is the end until next year.
gulf harbour next week
two house bay, kawau island.
anchored outside mansion house, nice sail down from whangeria heads.
urquarts bay, whangeria heads, all motor, no wind, no sail
tutukaka harbour, very nice bay, no swell
matapouri bay, amazing beach and sheltered harbour.
tour from whangamumu to otara bay, very pleasant motor sail
arrived in whangamumu harbour, mostly motor sail from opua, very light ne
Avg: 7.4knts
24hr: 178nm
at opua, 1930, mixed day of rain squalls and thunder storms, cold
Avg: 7.7knts
24hr: 185.7nm
very pleasant day at sea, aiming at boi
Avg: 7.3knts
24hr: 175.5nm
reaching in 20-25kt w, 3-5m swells, but easing now
Avg: 6.4knts
24hr: 152.8nm
frustrating day of motor on motor off, good sailing now, on the wind in sw
Avg: 6.4knts
24hr: 154.3nm
pleasant day motor sailing, light winds, blue sky, hot by day, cold at night
Avg: 7.2knts
24hr: 172.4nm
motor sailing in 5 - 10kt se, good day & night
left noumea 0700 local, making good progree, all well
port mosselle, noumea.
cleared and now waiting for window.
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baa maa first mate back on board and have escaped noumea until departure time, probably late week.maybe.
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baie de l'orphelinat, noumea.
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baie uie, on our way back to noumea.
bindy flying to auckland for her mothers funeral.
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baie nord, baie de prony --
baie de kuto, ile des pins magic trip down, n 10kts just another paradise. if the system forming ne of vanuatu doesn't interfere with our fun we will have a lovely time.
noticed on sunday that roxy were at the top of nc, well done.
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anse kembe on isle ouen.
very pleasant trip sth, 0500 start. in by 1100.
unfortunatly most of this bay has been destroyed by mining, at least they have stopped here.
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been to noumea to drop off our guests, now back at ile uere.
onward tomorrow, sth maybe --
ile uere, stunning ilet not far from noumea --
baie nord, bit breezy this afternoon. hiding from sw.
climbed to lighthouse at cap ndoua, big walk --
ile casy (boisee) abandoned resort & disused nickel mine, easy walk to top of island with brown & black dog for tour guide. amazing snorkelling on coral reef with colourful fish & variety of other interesting sea creatures.
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baie du carenage. very pleasant anchorage, also as far up baie de prony and able to get dinghy to waterfalls and hotpools.
arrived yesterday --
Avg: 36knts
24hr: 865nm
baie ngo overcast, environmentally damaged. probably not repairable.
having a lovely time with our fantastic hosts, very relaxing, lots of love to our girls at home with nana, from erica & steve --
anse serbet, baie de prony.
very attractive spot, sheltered in sw.
guests are now snorkling --
back in noumea, bit breezy, not bad --
back in baie maa bit breezy today, trades in. another green flash tonight, a bright one.
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another day, another ile, ile page, in baie de saint-vincent, no green flash this late pm, land in the way.
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ile ndukue, another green flash (light green) --
pointe moziman, four days' three green flashs', landscape a little less exciting up here but still pretty warm. --
ile abu, there are so many of these things, all stunning, love this place.
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at ilot m'ba a beautiful motu surrounded by coral sand with bountiful small fish and turtles --
left noumea this morning, our first anchorage in new cal, baie maa. quite special, almost green flash, maybe.
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Avg: 4.1knts
24hr: 98.6nm
arrived in noumea, currently in port mosselle marina.
fantastic trip east 10 - 20, going noreast last night, thru havannah passage 0700 this morning.
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Avg: 8knts
24hr: 191.1nm
beam reach in paradise
reaching south, lumpy sea, good to be back at sea. on to new cal, via lifou.
back in port vila, honeymoon over.
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back at havannah, via complete, honeymoon in progress.
back in vila, very nice town
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just dropped anchor in mele bay, hidaway island.
nice sail from havannah, tuna running.
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now back in havannah, very peaceful, early start, some old friends here.
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back in the wonderful anchorage of revlieu bay, epi.
on our way back to efate for a vip and via (appointment)
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moved a little south to get out of sea, still an amazing island, beautiful
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too much wind and sea at ambryn, so off to pentecost, pretty nice, all good. no other boats here.
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at ambryn, nopul bay. fantastic sail, bit of volcanic haze, so can't see either cone. caught nice mahi mahi, ( don't tell dani), broke rod.
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short sail today to epi, revolieu bay, very nice.
heavy overcast sky, no rain, just threat.
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fantastic sail to emae island, salua bay, onwards tomorrow.
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finally on the move again, havannah harbour, almost a home coming.
beautiful.
the villagers are the most special people.
full moon, truelly stunning.
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Avg: 5.3knts
24hr: 126.5nm
arrived in port vila at 0300 this morning.
clearing in at 0900.
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Avg: 7.8knts
24hr: 188.3nm
pleasant night, temp in boat dropping, 26 degrees, easier to sleep. poled out heady
Avg: 8.3knts
24hr: 198.9nm
bumpy night, beam sea 2.5 - 3.0m, good progress, all well
Avg: 9knts
24hr: 216nm
bumpy old night, sse 20 25 on the beam. good progress, all well. no tuna.
Avg: 7.2knts
24hr: 172.7nm
champaign sailing yesterday, full main & no1 heady, lighter
conditions overnight, 1kt of current against us all night
Avg: 8knts
24hr: 191.2nm
champagne sailing for the birthday girl today.
12 - 17kt se, perfect
fortuna can still just be seen off our port aft quarter.
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en route to port vila, departed wallis 1000hr today
5 - 10kt se, motor sailing.
clear blue skies
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special status update for mike, hope you like where we are, very nice, flat water, nice breeze, e 10 - 15. last night in gahi, lots of rain, sw 20.
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finally the weather we remember, came around to the east side of the island, stunning, blue gin clear water, ne 5kts
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we have not moved far, but a very secure, sheltered anchorage, or be it 35m deep. nukuaeta island
weather has deteriorated significantly since tueday, torrential rain ( water tanks full ) wind gusting to 35kts.
the sea on the reef has to be seen to be believed, breaker bay in a big southerly comes to mind.
easing today, hopefully, if mr grib is right.
water temp still 32 degrees.
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Avg: 4knts
24hr: 94.9nm
@ wallis ,halalo.
just got back on distracted after clearing in, hitch hiking, fun.
now out to nukuaeta island.
all good
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Avg: 6.3knts
24hr: 151.6nm
beautiful day motor sailing, clear skies, hot.
wallis tomorrow am
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Avg: 6.1knts
24hr: 146.8nm
heaps of rain overnight, beautiful clear morning, not a lot of wind
all well
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Avg: 7.5knts
24hr: 180.2nm
pleasant sailing, se 10, occasional showers.
what has dani done with all the sea monsters?
very quiet out here.
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Avg: 6.5knts
24hr: 156.5nm
heading 034m, sog 7.6kts
s 15 20kts, rain squalls.
wallis on the bow
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on our way to wallis. stunning conditions. rain expected.
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back in savusavu on monday, off to wallis tomorrow afternoon
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off cousteau's resort
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arrived back in savusavu this morning, mixed feelings, wallis next week.
spent this morning fighting with "digicel", very hopeless or very dishonest, or both.
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arrived at vanua balavu
left komo early yesterday afternoon, tried to stop at lakeba, failing light, rain & se gusting to 28kts aborted the stop.
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arrived at komo island 0600 this morning, another paradise, water clear as gin, doesn't taste as good.
left totoya at 1700, motor sailed all the way, expected 20 - 25kt sw did not happen.
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after a week at matuku we have finally made the break to totoya island.
unfortunatly on the wind all the way.
another paradise.
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arrived at matuku island, 0800 this morning, another amazing island in paradise.
stunning sunrise behind totoya
left gau @ 1700 last night
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arrived at ngau island this afternoon. after checking out various possible anchorages ended up back at first choice, herald bay, how fantastic, stunning sunset / night.
tried to do sevu sevu tide too low.
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moved around to dere bay, not far, but took 15nm
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just arrived at koro island after a pleasant trip to windward, vatumatau bay.
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Avg: 6.1knts
24hr: 145.7nm
just arrived in savusavu
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on our way to savsavu, exited reef at beqa, 1300hrs, very pleasant sail
still in malumu bay. e-ne 25 30, heavy overcast, cellsite has stopped working, must be solar.
making most of being weather bound, possibly head for savusavu sunday ????
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anchored in malumu bay, beqa island, fiji
back at malumu bay, plenty of rain, so tanks full.
truelly beautiful bay.
will probably stay here for a few days judging by weather reports.
thunder, lightnin, and bloddy westerlies, thought they were meant to be easterlies
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another bay, another village, vega bay, very pleasant, no wind last night but may be off back to malumu bay as nw filling in.rain.
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had a great sail from suva to beqa, arrived about midday, now anchored in malumu bay, sun just gone down, meet villagers this afternoon, invited for lunch tomorrow.
water temp 31.7c
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Avg: 2.7knts
24hr: 65.6nm
n 10kt
all good
Avg: 6knts
24hr: 144.7nm
variable winds
all good, still motoring
Avg: 6.3knts
24hr: 150.4nm
variable winds
all good
Avg: 7knts
24hr: 168.1nm
variable winds, sw 10
all good
Avg: 15.4knts
24hr: 369.3nm
ssw 18kt
all good
bob making us do a chicane
Avg: 7.5knts
24hr: 181.2nm
ese 18-30kts
all good
Avg: 7.5knts
24hr: 178.9nm
se25 30kts
all good
Avg: 7.2knts
24hr: 171.6nm
se 25kts
all good
Avg: 5.3knts
24hr: 126.6nm
sw 15kts
on the wind all day yesterday, good sailing now
Avg: 7.7knts
24hr: 184.3nm
12kt westerly
all good
variable winds
all good
preparing to leave chaffers marina, wellington, for savusavu. 01 05 2013
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Distracted - fiji continued
we left koro island on 17 june and had a beautiful sail to ngau island. after a quick tiki tour around the reported anchorages, stopped in herald bay - a stunning day and bay. the sunset awesome. did sevu sevu at the village of sawaieke the next morning when the tide was high having now discovered that most of the villages are easiest to access at high tide. the chief was in the bath so we left our kava with his grandson! we left gnau at 5pm that day as the wind had veered to the ne and we wished Read more...
matuku island is a very sheltered harbour being inside what must have been a crater lake. arrived through the reef soon after dawn followed in by liberation (from nelson) and later 3 other yachts all of whom had sailed from suva (2 other nzrs) who were on their way to falanga (another 100 miles or so away to the east but meant to be the best island/lagoon in the lau group). not long after we were treated to a spectacular electrical storm and torrential rain so everyone was out collecting water and washing themselves!! the other boats either stayed one night only or simply had a sleep before moving on. we ended spending nearly a week here with no other boats about as we decided that there was no hurry until the wind and swells had abated and we could have a comfortable sail. the village at the head of the harbour is very small but very hospitable. chico the mayor of the village had been with the military in sinai and was a very interesting man whose family looked after us very well. on the sunday i joined them for church and gavin came in later for lunch put on by the whole village - a wonderful experience (and gourmet delight including an enormous sea crab, taro leaves done in coconut juice and island cabbage similarly). left matuku for totoya island on the 27th june having said our goodbyes and printed off some of the photos we had taken of them all. the $39 photocopier has been a very good investment and we have yet to change the colour cartridge!!. the villagers just love seeing themselves in print and such a small thing to give them in appreciation.
arrived on the western side of totoya island after a windward sail (se 15 - 20kts) about 2pm at the recommended anchorage straight in from the reef in a very pretty bay which was surprisingly sheltered. the wind eased in the evening and we were able to enjoy the beauty of the place, once again the only boat. the next morning walked across the isthmus to the eastern side of the island (following an old railway track) intending to do sevu sevu at the village on the other side but high tide meant we could not get along the foreshore to the village. so took lots of photos for a friend in nz whose father came from here. a truly beautiful island although not really one for the cruisers as the main villagers are all inside the main lagoon inside the island which is entered on the se coast and therefore very exposed to the se winds! left totoya at 5pm to sail overnight to komo island - a beautiful night sail.
komo island is very small but has a wonderful anchorage inside the reef with turquoise waters and little coral. arrived soon after dawn and spent an amazing day here in truly tropical weather. three other yachts already here - two of whom introduced themselves. we were given a mackerel from one for dinner - yum! we have been rather lazy with our fishing on passage. only spent one night here as the wind was forecast to increase to se 25kts the next day and the position of the island is such that we expected that it would not be that sheltered (veers around the headland). left at noon to sail to lacemba or failing that, to bavatu harbour in vanua balavu (the northern lau group). unfortunately, lacemba was not a viable option as the anchorage on the western side was too exposed to the strong se wind and the visibility poor with the rain squalls, so we pushed on to bavatu harbour. and what a good choice that was.
bavatu harbour is incredibly protected and very scenic, although the charts are inaccurate and entry through the reef is therefore a visual one using the leads and markers if in place. we were welcomed in by "streetcar", a yacht from the uk, who answered the vhf when we called the royal exploring isles yacht squadron. they were looking after the place for a couple of weeks. this is a small yacht club set up by tony philps, who owns the copra plantation there. he is keen for everyone visiting to use the facilities he has set up which are quite something and is also happy for visitors to walk the various tracks he maintains around the copra plantation. this includes a small village who it seems help maintain the place in a very tidy way. his home at the top of the hill is incredible and the view well worth the short walk. we were able to view the seas around us from there which we did on the second day when it was blowing 30 - 35 kts outside the reef, while we had no wind in th e inner harbour. met kate and rory off streetcar and vaughn and sharon off "reality", an american yacht, whom we spent time over drinks at the yacht club and/or walking the tracks. on the third day we visited the villagers who were making coconut oil - a labour intensive process but fascinating to watch. took lots of photos which we will post later. left bavatu harbour on the friday to sail back to savu savu on a beautiful day with a 10kt se.
arrived in savu savu the next morning and discovered that our friends lisa and lester on "obsession" (whangarie) were also there. we had been hoping to catch up with them as we met them originally in samoa on our last cruise in 2010 and ended up then going onto wallis island with them. it was a great evneing and ended up all having a chinese meal at our favorite chinese restaurant.had a great couple of days catching up and joined them on their last night anchored off cousteaus' resort. we returned to savu savu the next morning to finish re-provisioning. unfortunately the weather was not the best (rain on and off) and by the end of the week we decided to leave fiji and head north to wallis island, for some better weather hopefully. the weather window looked reasonable although wet and so the decision was made and we left savu savu on 12 july early afternoon after clearing customs.
Distracted - savu savu and koro island
left beqa island on 2 june 2013 and sailed overnight to savu savu arriving there early monday morning. a very easy downwind sail (sw 20kts) until the wind gradually died out and then motor sailed the last miles.
savu savu is very attractive and while the township small, were able to replenish diesel ($1 per litre cheaper than suva) and stores easily (including great meat from fiji meat supplies). the coprashed runs the moorings and is well organised with helpful pleasant staff. spent 4
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left savu savu on friday 7 june and sailed in a 15kt se wind to koro island, yet again another lovely sail even if upwind. anchored in matana bay on the nw coast and went into the village of nabuna by dinghy the next morning to do our sevu sevu with the village chief (a couple of miles east). this is a beautiful deserted anchorage with only a few houses to be seen on the hills which form part of what is known as the koro seaview estate (freehold land divided into 450 lots all sold but little frequented). the amazing thing about the northern part of this island is that there are three cell towers within as many miles, so the internet access is great. we even managed to listen to the 2 all black tests on sports radio to gavin's delight! moved 1.5 miles south to dere bay (14.5 miles around the outside of the reeef)on monday 10 june and picked up a mooring put out down by one of the two small resorts in the bay. met neil and hwei- ying who own a property here and own a ketch called "koro", although now for sale. have been here ever since as it is very sheltered and attactive being the south side of the estate. had planned to move on to gau island on wednesday but gavin has an infected foot which has taken some time to start to improve, despite the "old" nurseâs treatment with 2 antibiotics (2) and then medical advice from andrew in chch. it now looks as if we may have finally got on top of it. as gavin said, we are in paradise so what is the hurry!! the weather has been a bit of a mixed bag  - se winds 25kts with rough seas for most of fiji waters the last few days so a good place to be stopped. the bigger of the 2 small resorts here only has 2 visitors, so we have been truly spoiled by the local villagers, especially jone, and donna, with beautiful fresh fruit and veggies â yum. even been eating breadfruit!! also, had a great time meeting up here again with domino 2, who just happened to come into dere bay the same day as us, then overdraft (neil and gillian) living in auckland and with whom we exchanged goodies (gave us some beautiful fresh mahi mahi), visions of johanna (bill and johanna)from maine,usa, whom we first met in tahiti in 2010 then later in wellington and today, just in time arrives too!! should be a fun night ahead! our loose plans are to head south to gau island as soon as the winds swing more to the east / north, then down to the southern lau group, namely, matuku, across to totoya, komo island, lacemba and then make our way back to savu savu slowly. so will be in fiji for a while yet it seems. we are definetly now on fiji time - what a life!
Distracted - beqa island/ lagoon
arrived at beqa island and its surrounding lagoon by way of sulphur passage on the ne side of the island on saturday 25 may after a very pleasant sail from suva with a 20kts ne wind.
anchored in malumu bay, at the head of which is a small attractive resort and further into the bay the local village, lalati. made a customary visit to the chief and were taken around the village by max, who himself had spent time in auckland playing rugby (educated at the south pacific university in suva).
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motored down to vaga bay which is on the sw side of the island, through some incomplete surveyed waters but all good. anchored on the nw shore in 20 metres of water and spent a relaxing afternoon in nice weather. made a visit to the chief of the northern village (rukua) and by chance met another fijian, sai, who had lived in wellington (porirua). met his lovely family including 2 very polite boys who attend the local schools, one of which is a high school where children from villagers further away board by week. had intended spending some time exploring the bay but by the next day the wind had swung around to the nw and we decided it would be more sheltered to return to malumu bay! have been anchored in malumu ever since as a low pressure system moves across fiji with strong s/ se winds of 25-30kts gusting 35-40kts. a high pressure south of fiji is reportedly also responsible for heavy swells in fijian waters. this bay is reasonably sheltered with flat sea but the gusts still required us to take down our bimini etc. no different to cruising in the sounds except the wind and water is very warm!! so plenty of reading and catching rain water for drinking/tanks. the wind seems to be abating today (thursday) as is swinging more around to the east so we will move back to vaga bay probably tomorrow. the joy of cruising with no time limits is there is no hurry and always another day.
however, am looking forward to seeing some sunshine! moce! from distracted
Distracted - arrived in fiji!
we have finally arrived in fiji(12 days), although not in sava savu but suva.
arrived yesterday morning after an interesting trip of either no wind or too much wind - at which time we had to divert to the west for 2 days to miss the worst of a tropical low that formed south of fiji and headed directly our way!! the seas were big and made for a fast ride, although at times i was glad i was not on watch for more than 2 hours outside in the cockpit in those conditions. we had our storm sails
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hence our entry into suva as little wind and little diesel left.
are still awaiting on clearance from customs which we are told is to be this afternoon - so then we can go ashore!! in the meantime, furiously eating up left over food which we cannot keep now we are in fiji, before the health officials confiscate it.
it was great to have a day yesterday to catch up on sleep, clean the boat up and have a wine or two - the first of the trip, so all of our livers are in good shape:) hope work is not too frantic and the wellington weather kind.
the sea temperature up here is 30 degrees and the air temperature about the same, so our bones and bodies are taking a bit of time to acclimatize, although cold liquids are the order of the day.
will keep in touch. plan to re-provision in suva with the essentials such as water, diesel etc then will make our way slowly up to savu savu.
cheers from the crew of the good ship "distracted".
regards belinda