Goodbye, Fiji...Bonjour, New Caledonia!

Calm waters....leaving Fiji

Counting the Days….are we there yet?!
We are three days into our 6-day passage from Fiji on our way to New Caledonia.  We left on a weather window between passing rain systems, motoring out the Nadi waters in light drizzle. We exit Fiji out the reef at Malolo Pass. We watch surfers and paddle boarders on either side shooting the turquoise breaks, known as Cloud 9!   This is  Fiji’s surf spot with surf resorts on the islands passing by. It’s an eerie feeling sailing through this small opening in the reef out into open waters again!

Another beautiful sunset in the South Pacific

The seas are flat and we motor until evening when the winds begin to pick up -southeast trades.  With full Genoa we sail along at 5.5 knots. The seas pick up and into the night we get lumpy seas, a slight drizzle of rain and heavy flat grey clouds blanket the sky. There is no moon.
It’s dark on my watch. I have learned one thing about sailing and me…I’m not a sailor.  Sure, I know just enough to be helpful, but trimming sails is not my forte.

Getting the main sail ready...and look what almost was almost a stow-away!

Luckily for us, John is a really good sailor and “feels” when the boat is out of balance and when the sails need adjusting. But, I’ve discovered  that I’m a “Nervous Nellie”.  I didn’t think I was until now, here at the end of the trip, I worry... I worry about everything. ..”Will the winds, increase? Should we reef the sail? Is there a storm coming? Watch out for the reef.” I worry John will fall off!  I worry that I’ve made it this far and my “good luck” is running out! ( This comes from the rough seas experienced on passage from Niue to Tonga)  All I know is this worrisome chatter doesn't do any good.

What a difference a day makes.. choppy seas and wind...

I don’t like the nights on passage, unless theres a moon. I can’t see what's out there.  I imagine all sorts of catastrophes. I don’t like the boat’s rolling motion.  There's no comfortable place on a rolling boat.. Cooking is out of the question. And after 3 or 4 days like this, I’m ready to be done…but we have  more days to go!  I’ve just decided I’m not as tough as I thought I was!  I’m counting the days and hours to the end of this passage.  And to the end of our sailing adventure. We have 300 miles to  New Caledonia and 800 miles to Brisbane, Australia!

Oct 25- Sunny, Hot, and Clear

What a difference a day makes! I’m basking in the warm cloudless day with hardly a stitch of clothes on, enjoying sailing or I should say, motoring along because there is no wind.  Endless blue ocean desert stretches out in every direction.  This is MY Kind of “Sailing” Flat oily blue water.
I wrote my last entry after three bumpy wet days on the tail end of a storm. There was lightning in patches across the night sky as the squall broke up.
 Today, at least I can appreciate where we've been and the “how” we got here.  We have 250 more miles to go to New Caledonia.  The end is in sight.

9:00pm- My watch:  I see lights of the tanker, "SB San Francisco" bound for Fiji on my AIS locator. I hailed the Captain on VHF to confirm that he sees us. Sure enough, he hadn’t and was unaware of our sailboat some 6 miles away on his starboard side! We didn’t show on his AIS locator! He then checked his radar, which is a separate instrument and Yes, we did show up on his radar. I’m glad I called to confirm even though there was plenty of passing room.  From now on, I’ll call all boats just to be sure! .  All commercial boats are required to use AIS. Don’t know why this tanker 's wasn’t working.
Let’s do some mileage facts:
We’ll have been to seven countries in the South Pacific when we finish:
1. Mexico
2. French Polynesia
3. Niue
4. Cooks Islands
5. Tonga
6. New Caledonia
7. Australia

Sailed Mileage Legs: ( approx and not verified)
San Francisco –Baja= 1300
Baja- Mazatlan=300
Mazatlan- Puerto Vallarta=400
Puerto Vallarta- Las Hadas=250
Mexico- Marquesas =2800
Marquesas- Tuamotus=600
Tuamotus-Tahiti=250
Tahiti-Bora Bora-Tahaa-Raiatea (French Polynesia)=300+
Bora Bora-Suwarrow (Cooks)=500
Suwarrow - Niue=400
Niue –Tonga=400
Tonga-Fiji=600
Fiji-New Caledonia=600
New Caledonia- Australia=500
__GRAND TOTAL: 10,000 nautical miles sailed on the Wizard!

It’s 22,000 miles around the world…  Amazing.


The night seas are calm and like a lake, oily flat not a ripple on the water.  There is an algae bloom, which coats the surface with dead organisms floating in swirls of green and brown like raw sewage.  At night the floating phosphorescence sparkles in the boat’s wake as we pass through.

Algae bloom carpets the flat waters

0ct 27
Again, what a difference a day makes! Strong trades winds with a southeast swell  hits the boat on the beam making an uncomfortable ride.  We are counting the hours to time an early morning landfall into Havannah Pass,  the entrance into the reef which surrounds New Caledonia. Timing is everything as the current can be quite strong. It's best to go through a pass during the tidal change of slack water.

Map of New Caledonia

6:00pm –
Only 75 miles to go!  We see the Loyalty Islands off in the distance on our starboard. Evening sets in and the winds and swells are dying down. We will slow the boat down to to 5 knots timing landfall for daybreak morning light! Nothing for
dinner, too rough and both of us are not hungry…just anxious to get this over with...

First views of New Caledonia!

 Pine Trees and red dirt mountains!

Oct 28
Are we there yet?!
5:00am –
Day break- We did it! We can just see land- New Caledonia 20 miles away!  We timed the speed of the boat to about 5 knots and calculated the arrival for 8:00am in the morning on the low tide to cross the pass. It’ll be another 6 hours through the reefs to Noumea, the capital and our destination for customs check in.

The colors are spectacular!

We sailed through the Havannah Pass, no problems and all day long around the southern point of the island up to the a very sophisticated French city of Noumea. I'm in heaven! I get my shopping and restaurant fix!

First sight of Noumea...hotels and beaches.

Port Moselle Marina  in Noumea, New Caledonia

We are enjoying the French island of New Caledonia. This is the most expensive island so far! It has the most infrastructure and transportation supporting a large tourist population. Dive tours, island resorts and more!  The tourists come from all over the are world; Australians, New Zealanders, Chinese and Europeans.

Any resemblance?

The bus system goes everywhere for cheap!  We ride out to Bay De L’Anse Vata, the beach area to watch the windsurfers and kite surfers and the “topless” sun bathers (John was WAITING for this!) Happy, John!

Royal Hotel 

Watching the kite surfers on the point

John is enjoying the beach scene!

Walking along Anse Vata

Baie de Citrons

Happy,  John!  Like his cool Star Wars hat?

  We stop for lunch at popular Snack Ulysses for my favorite tuna sashimi and John's favorite, hamburger and fries!

Happy! Happy! Sashimi!

Carved wooden bowl from Fiji at local art shop

Familiar street.

Halloween on the docks!

We meet up with several cruisers we'd met months ago in Mexico who have sailed the Pacific Islands to New Cal.  Many will go on to New Zealand others will sail to Australia.

Joachim & Anna  S/VPangea and Jim & Jan  S/V Haulback

Port Moselle Harbor

Casear salad french-style

 Anchorage in Baie de l'Orphelinat

We'll rest up in Noumea for a few days waiting for another "weather window" and then sail our last leg of the journey to Australia. Yahoo!

Stir it up! Vuda Pt. Marina

Rainy day!

WE went to Lautoka for shopping and fresh vegetables at the market.  We hired a taxi driver, Abdul #2, to take us to and fro…(you can learn so much about the country from taxi drivers!) I am amazed by the huge assortment of farm produce available, goods for sale and shops filled with “stuff”. The shops are mostly Indian owned. They are not the friendliest, they are a little suspicious, but I just think it’s a cultural thing.   We strolled into a shop where they sell beautiful Indian dresses, kind of like a formal wear shop and I asked for a short skirt by chance? Oh no, no, no! said the shopkeeper and waved us out of his shop!   We tourists walk around with big gaping smiles on our faces…(at least I do) and I don’t think this is the custom here. So we stand out. Little kids smile and look at us, and some of the younger generation are friendly, but it’s mixed.  The Fijians are really friendly. The market vendors are really friendly. Most people go about their business without “eye contact”…there are beggars here, but not too many. In 2012 Fiji was destroyed by both a flood and a hurricane that left many people destitute. (If Rotary Club in Glen Ellen needs a cause to support…this is the place!)

We did not go to the major tourist city of Nadi by the airport or to other famous marinas, like Musket Cove. WE are glad to have only seen the “real” Fiji.

Went to Lautoka by taxi for shopping and fresh vegetables at the market.

$2.00 a heap!? That's funny! Prices were very cheep.

Fabric rugs at the market

Need a Tux? Indian men dress 

Stuff...."what ya need?", they ask

Busy, little city!

Yummm....chicken, eggs sandwich and fries

Yachties gather at the Sunset Bar

Were enjoying the marina life. Dancing to reggae, visiting with other yachties and eating out.

The bar scene in Friday Reggae night was quite fun! We danced to “Bob Marley” covers and everyone sang along to the songs! The band was quite good. The open air palapa dining with sunset views across the water just can't be beat!

Stir it up! Reggae band at the Sunset Bar, Vuda Pt. Marina

We’ve met all the cruisers and many are “expats” from different countries and many “lonely old’ sailors” living aboard their boats here is the marina. Evening “happy hour” brings everyone out to socialize with the new arrivals.

We have a small world moment when we meet Patrick, a 73 yr old sailor from our hometown, Santa Rosa, CA! Can you believe it?!  In fact, He and John even worked for the same union construction companies.  I also know his Coldwell Banker realtor, Melody Montero, an associate of mine! He has nothing but good things to say about her! I’m to pass on the “Hello” to her, as he doesn’t use emails.  What a small world! Patrick is a single hander sailor and plans to continue sailing until its: no fun” anymore. My hats off to him. Most men his age are on the way to a nursing home.

We also met a couple on S/V Evergreen, from Tracy, Ca who along with their 15 yr old son have dropped out to sail the world. Several Puddle Jump cruisers have rested here in Vuda before heading on to New Zealand or Australia.  We’ve met more English sailors than Americans. Many cruisers are our age, 60+ couples. Though there are many younger couples that have made the life-choice to sail and work as they go. Doing “what?” I always am curious as to how they manage.  We allowed a year of travel on our savings. We’ve just about used it up so it’s time to head home...but first, via Australia. 

We're enjoying the marina life, dancing to reggae, visiting with other yachties and eating out.

Vuda Pt Marina

Fancy, shhmancy!

Picture please! Such a ham...

Hand wash basin...nice!

Hurricane ready!

Australia ready!

Vuda Pt Marina is a “check out” port of FIJI.  There is a daily stream of incoming and outgoing yachts. Wizard is side tied to the cement wall at the customs dock so we get to see who is in or out.
We are sitting on our boat, waiting out the rain, waiting for Wednesday when we too will check out of Fiji and sail away….

Wish us fair winds!

Viti Levu-North Coast Passage

The reef watcher!

North Coast Passage Around Viti Levu
Oct 13
Naingani Island, Cagabuli Bay 17”-34”S/ 178”-41’E
We are sailing from Makogai Island in the morning headed across the Viti-I Ra channel to Levuka, on the Island of Ovalu, Island.
We don’t know which way we’ll sail around Viti Levu, the main Island, yet.  It all depends on the winds. So far, traveling in a westerly direction is our plan. Do we head northwest over the top, threading through numerous reefs? It’ll be a constant watch.  Or do we sail south around the bottom of the island to the capital town of Suva? The winds will tell us which way to
…


And so, in the morning, the strong SE trade winds make the passage to Levuka an uncomfortable sail, so we alter course to a downwind sail over to Naingani Island. Here we’ll spend the night before heading west around the island. The winds are strong in the “protected bay of Cagabuli as noted in our sailing guides.  The winds wrapped around the island and we hunkered down with an anchor alarm set. By morning, the winds settled, but we left early before they had a chance to pick up.

Calm waters 

Oct 14
Spent five hours picking our way through marked reefs on the North Coast Passage to our first marked anchorage, Viti Levu Bay 25 miles negotiating through GPS waypoints given by Curley's Charlets. The waypoints were mostly right on, as John noticed these are the same waypoints given as the recommended channel that shows on our Navionics electronic chart plotter.  Only a few slight course changes put us comfortably in Viti Levu Bay.  The winds were blowing SE on our stern the whole day, perfect downwind sail, if we had any sails up, but we chose to motor since we're sailing in and out of unfamiliar channels through the reef areas.
I stood reef watch on the bow all day squinting through binoculars, while John hand steered by chart plotter the course through the reefs marked only by tall-unmarked posts. Navigating by “sticks” in the reef was intimidating at first, until you got the hang of it.  The reef points can easily been seen in correct light and a channel develops. It’s not as hard as Curley makes it out to be!
We anchored off the village of Navanivi in murky muddy waters at the head of the RakiRaki river.  Cant’ see the bottom. Who knows what lurks below?! Were choosing not to put the dinghy down and go ashore as we are continuing in the morning. Two other boats arrive to anchor for the night.

Baja-like barren hills of the North Coast of Viti Levu

Oct 15
Volivoli point
Motoring out the long muddy bay into open waters with the wind behind us again. Rounding the reef into Volivoli point where there is a tricky “zigzag” in the reef channels.  Suddenly, we see two dive boats fly out of nowhere, out the reef channel and into open waters. As we get closer to the marked points you can see the careful zigzag pass through the reefs!  John says it’s simple  follow.  I have a hard time seeing the passes with bin.  There is a dive center-resort around the point and anchorage on Nan-I-Ra Island.
 Motoring sailing with genoa helping push Wizard to 6.5 knots, winds behind as we cruise along barren desolate hills on one side and reef on seaward side.  Spotty little villages reminiscent of Baja, Ca with the huge Cakau Moi (reef) on starboard.

Can you see the post marker sticking out of the reefs?

Afternoon has us 25 miles further around the island and we stop at another large shallow muddy bottom bay called Nukuvov Bay.  We are all alone.  We set the anchor in thick mud. The anchor just plows through, never grabbing hold. Finally, we just let out extra chain, put on an alarm and call it good. There is not a breath of air. The bay is like a lake. We will not drag anchor.  This is sugar cane season and the hills are alive with burning fields. It looks like a war-zone with orange-glow fire spots. In the morning there is soot on the boat deck.

Oct 16
 Today we finish the last leg of 20 miles around the north coast passage of Viti Levu to the industrial town of Lautoka. John and I are both excited to go ashore for sight seeing, food, and beer!  After traveling for days, nothing taste better than an icy cold draft beer! We knew this would be a quick trip, with no stops. Fiji has many wonderful islands to visit, but we didn’t plan to spend  too much time in Fiji. It really requires a season to explore. We’re glad we passed through. It’s a unique country.

Oct 17
Lautoka
We arrive late in the afternoon t the busy industrial harbor of Lautoka. We see the large cargo ships unloading at the docks. We see the plum of burnt sugarcane spilling into the sky and hear a machine hum in the distance. This is a busy city! We pull up along side several other yachts anchored off the King’s Wharf and drop in thick mud, again.  Immediately, the soft rain of burnt sugarcane ash covers the decks! What a mess as it also begins a light drizzle of rain.  We see the largest pile of wood chips in the world with men and bulldozers plowing down the mountain.  This is used for export for what?! We quickly get the dinghy down and hitch a taxi ride into a busy little town with everything available you can imagine. This is the “Sugar City” and has plenty of money and services to go around. You can tell buy the crowed streets, people busy shopping. Hotels, restaurants and stores line the streets.  We slip into a hotel for a bite to eat and are welcomed with air conditioning that at first seems cold, but after a spell feels great.  We have a few cold brews, some chicken curry and feel quite civilized. Back to the boat and goodnight!

Anchor basin is next to the cargo docks.

In the morning, the boat is a mess! Ashes all over the decks! We decide to move one mile down to Saweni Bay, a popular yacht anchorage off a sandy beach.  Much more pleasant anchorage.
We want t re provision and get fueled up in a marina before we set sail f0r Australia. We call for a reservation at the nearest large facility, Vuda Point Marina, but they are really busy and have no space. We are on a waiting list! Wow! Didn’t know there were that many yachts in Fiji! We haven’t seen more than a dozen on our travels around! But this is the western side and more popular cruising grounds with the Mamanucas and Yasawa Islands close by.
Rained all day with thunder. Clouds dark and heavy. We hunker down. I busy myself with making cookies, and popcorn and blogging. Lots f Internet time!  The dingy fills with water like a bathtub! I decide to jump in and with shampoo in hand had a delightful bath in rainwater!

The dingy bath!

After the rains clears, we sail to down to Vuda Pt Marina.  The space available is rafted to the cement wall! We will be here for a few days. this is where we clear customs with Fiji. The Sunset Bar  is right next to  our boat  and offers a great scene with  a GREAT Reggae Band on Friday night!

Vuda Pt Marina cement wall tie!