Kiapa

Kiapa

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Kiapa is a 52ft Morelli Melvin gunboat catamaran, built in Oregon, USA. We bought her in San Francisco in 2011. Her owners are Lionel and Irene Bass, who hail from Perth, Australia.

Recent Updates

Kiapa - September 20, 2016
Posted:
Suddenly our time in Fiji is nearly over! Boy, the 4 months have flown by! But not before we enjoy the shenanigans of the regatta here at Musket Cove. Pirate Day, Coconut Olympics, hobie cat racing ... Read More
Welcome aboard, Georges.
  • Oh what a feeling! Celebrating our 3rd place in the Coconut Olympics.
  • As always, the staff at the Island Bar are stars! Ever friendly and happy.
Kiapa - September 16, 2016
Posted:
Back at Musket Cove after 5-6 weeks of exploring. Lovely to see everyone again. This morning there were around 75 boats moored/anchored here, and while kiting this afternoon about 10 more pulled in ... Read More
Kiapa - September 9, 2016
Posted:
Loving our sojourn here. Anchored up with 4 other cruising boats (all mates) so organised a most enjoyable bbq pot luck on the beach close by. Oh and this was after a great kiting session in the ... Read More
Kiapa - September 8, 2016
Posted:

Yip, it's windy here all right, and that's why we plan to stay here for the next little while! Kiters heaven!!

Kiapa - September 7, 2016
Posted:
Up early this morning to get a head start on the typically strong breeze across Blight Water. Spent the night at Nabouwalu (aka Coconut Point) after a great sail down from Savusavu. Nothing like ... Read More
Kiapa - September 6, 2016
Posted:
Quick overnight stop in Savusavu - did the laundry and offloaded a bag of rubbish last night and this morning will visit the market to buy fresh fruit and veggies before heading out again. 'Twas ... Read More
Kiapa - September 2, 2016
Posted:

We are now at Fawn harbour, anchored up with Bart on Tranquilo. Great kitesurfing to be had!

Kiapa - September 1, 2016
Posted:
After 4 fabulous days of diving in Viani Bay we're thinking of moving on...... the wind's up so we'll probably sail down to Fawn Harbour. But what a memorable time we've had here - Rainbow Reef ... Read More
No photo enhancing here - just a good camera with lights. These truly were the colours of the Purple Wall.
  • There were many shades of purple..........
  • The Cabbage Patch.
Kiapa - August 30, 2016
Posted:

Woke up to glorious 100% blue sky, a rarity here in the tropics. Off to dive the Purple Wall and Cabbage Patch later today. Yeehah!

Kiapa - August 29, 2016
Posted:
As they say in the classics......OMG!!! The scuba diving has been quite simply FRIGGING AWESOME. Those of you who have dived sections of the Rainbow Reef will know what I am talking about, but for ... Read More
The very well camouflaged Titan Scorpion fish.
  • We were fortunate enough to see a Blue Ribbon Eel (pointed out to us by our guide). Such a pretty colour.
  • A huge bed of Garden Eels. Of course as soon as one gets close they pop back down into their tunnels.
Kiapa - August 28, 2016
Posted:
After a great few days in snug Naiviivi Bay, Qamea, including a rather adventurous dinghy ride across the straight to the eastern side of Taveuni to do the scenic Lavena Coasteal Hike, we upped ... Read More
Kiapa - August 25, 2016
Posted:
Just WHERE does the time go? Maybe something happened when we sailed over the International Dateline? Suddenly it's the end of the week and we have moved from Paradise Resort on Taveuni to stunning ... Read More
Kiapa - August 21, 2016
Posted:
Had an 'interesting' sail across to Taveuni. Stared off motoring in 0.5k of breeze, but the it picked up to a very nice 15k half way across which had us blitzing - all the while in low cloud drizzle ... Read More
Kiapa - August 18, 2016
Posted:
In Savusavu for a few days - nice to be back after a couple of years. It's been raining quite a bit, so Kiapa is squeaky clean and our water tanks are full. Hired a car and went on an 'off the beaten ... Read More
One of the clearer petroglyphs we saw. I wonder what it means?
  • These 2 girls from the village kindly took us through the forest to the petroglyphs site. See the one at their feet?
  • The tranquil village of Dakuniba. We hiked into the forest you can see.
Kiapa - August 14, 2016
Posted:

Another great day's sail. After an early start (6.15am) we dropped anchor just off Cousteau's Resort 9 hours later. Caught a nice fish for dinner. Tomorrow we'll head in to Savusavu.

Kiapa - August 13, 2016
Posted:
Had an absolute rip-snorter of a sail across the notoriously rough Bligh Passage (between Fiji's 2 big islands) today. 20-25k beam-on winds saw Kiapa flying along at an average of 10k, as she (and ... Read More
Spinner Dolphins escorted us safely across part of Bligh waters.
Kiapa - August 11, 2016
Posted:
Arrived safely at the northern end of Viti Levu earlier this afternoon. This spot, Nananu-i-ra, is well known for its windy conditions, so we hope to enjoy a few days of kiting. The forecast looks ... Read More
Kiapa - August 10, 2016
Posted:
Yeehah, we are on our way north! Motor-sailed this morning and are now anchored, very peacefully, off the only stretch of sandy beach in 200km on this NW side of Viti Levu. Even caught a 'mystery' ... Read More
Kiapa - August 9, 2016
Posted:
Anchored off Denarau, waiting out the rain. (it's been 3 days now of rain). Kiapa is washed clean and the water tanks are full. Tomorrow we head around the top of Vitu Levu, the big island and to ... Read More
Kiapa - August 7, 2016
Posted:
Back at Musket Cove for a few days, waiting for the predicted 4 day "rain bomb" to pass. We were hoping to head north after dropping Steve off on Friday, but the weather gods won't allow this ... Read More

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