Fiji - Part 5

So, continuing on from Part 4, after our mini break we returned to Be and Be and found our new props awaiting us at the marina office. G got them antifouled and ready for installation, but found a spacer had ‘disappeared’ off the starboard sail drive propeller shaft while we were away… Another hold up as we waited for a new part to be shipped from Melbourne. Gave us time to complete some other maintenance work and catch up on school, so not all bad..

Science experiments..

The part arrived by Friday, G installed the new props and we were ready to splash. Timo the yard manager agreed to relaunch us on Saturday afternoon. We went into the water and as we reversed away from the ramp, the starboard sail drive made an almighty thump and bang and guess what? no drive and a very bad vibration. We limped around to our marina berth (again) and discovered two of our brand new prop blades had broken off (maybe we snagged a rope in the water?). It was fathers day the following day so G enjoyed a well deserved day off. TREATS!!!

G checked everything over the next day and decided to put our old prop back on while we waited for more parts. This involved borrowing some scuba gear off a friend and immersing himself in the cesspool of marina water. He couldn't see more that 30cm in front of his face. Thankfully it was a quick dip and then we tested the old prop. Success! P dashed to the marina office and told them we’d be leaving tomorrow, thanks very much!

A quick trip to town for some provisions and we cast off our dock lines and motored to Musket Cove. Along the way G checked the sail drives and made sure everything was in good working order. All of us were ecstatic to be out on the water again, heading to a new anchorage. Six weeks in the marina is not how we planned to spend our time in Fiji but never mind, we are all fighting fit.

We were only in Musket Cove 5 minutes and a dinghy approached with 3 kids on board. After a quick chat, all kids played for the afternoon, swimming and getting to know each other. The 6 kids and their parents have been sailing for the past 4 years across the Pacific.

The next few days were spent hanging by the pool at the Musket Cove marina resort and enjoying being back on the water. G, P, S, E and H went diving on Sunday to castaway passage, while J stayed and played with the new friends on Lil Explorers.

We planned to leave the next day, but as we were all happy and relaxed, we chose to stay at Musket Cove. E got stuck into running her tomato plant company - complete with business plan and all! No shortage of helpers, they did it for the love, not money

We celebrated E’s 12th birthday swimming at the pool with the kids from Lil Explorers, a birthday lunch at Dick’s place and then a BBQ at the beach bar. It was finished with some yummy cake which was enjoyed by all. Then the kids ran off to play while G and P chatted the evening away. Our friends from Sangvind arrived around 8pm, having not seen them for several weeks, it was wonderful to catch up again. The next day we had to say goodbye to them for a while, as they stay in Fiji before heading to NZ, and we continue our journey towards Australia. Sangvind was the first boat we met in Tahiti and we have shared many fun times together as we have traveled and maybe sometime they might come to visit us in Melbourne. For now we wish them fair weather and a safe journey.

A little bit of fun one morning when the seaplane’s final approach was about level with the middle of our mast and about 5 metres off our starboard side (that’s between us and the yacht with the red sail cover below)! Wish we had the camera out for that one!

We went across to Port Denauru and tied up on the super yacht dock. The berth was for an 80 metre boat, so our 13.61m Be and Be fitted without a problem, G’s parking was excellent (should have been, with that much room..). P, E, and J went into Nadi town the following day to get some money for Vanuatu, as on Tanna there is no ATM facility. Once done, we filled up with Diesel and then made our way across to Vuda marina for our last night in Fiji.

Early Friday morning all except for G went into Lautoka so the kids could spend the rest of their Fiji dollars and we could get groceries to last the next few weeks. By the time we returned, G had cleaned the boat and checked us out of the country. We untied our dock lines and motored out through the channel. Our passage will take about 3 days, next stop, Tanna, Vanuatu!