January,
We finally got a chance to take the ferry from Savusavu to Suva, the capitol of Fiji, on the thrice-weekly ferry service connecting the two islands. We got a ride with Shane and his wife Tamara and towards the very end of the month, we both had birthdays.
 |
| Waiting to load up in Savusavu |
 |
| Drive in, turn around, and park....so you can drive out. |
 |
| "First Class" section. Sleep anywhere... on the floor. |
 |
| Landing in Suva at 0530 in the morning. |
 |
| Be sure to follow directions.... |
 |
| Nancy and Tamara await opportunity to get off the ferry. |
 |
| Hiking into town after parking car. But first, we visited with Shane's sister and killed some time before businesses opened for another day of trading. |
 |
| Clever "wall paper" advertising. |
 |
| A bit of traffic |
 |
| A bit of water front shopping |
 |
| Heading towards a place to have lunch. |
 |
| Our view from the eatery |
 |
| Had some pretty good pizza at the I (heart) NY. |
February,
Engine parts arrived (from France!), and the mechanics all jumped on the motor parts and started putting in back together. By this time (since it was dismantled back in November), the parts were spread all over the shop, slowing the process of rebuilding because of the searches for various pieces, nuts, and bolts....and we were fortunate when tropical storm Gita hit the southern part of Fiji. We just got a lot of rain and some extra wind (topping out at one 50-knot gust. Nobody in our "hurricane hole" felt any need to worry. The moorings were as advertised.
The engine finally got back together, tested and painted. There were a few bolts missing here and there, but they weren't "critical". Time to drop it back into the engine room....
 |
| The repaired engine being lifted off the truck at the Ferry dock |
 |
| The freshly painted drip pan awaits the motor. |
 |
| Forgot the paint can that was supposed to be used to touch up bottom of oil pan... |
 |
| The Skipper gets involved in directing traffic |
 |
| Engine down, time to remove lifting chain |
 |
| Back at the dock and a bit of celebration with the mechanics |
Engine is back in boat, attached to propeller shaft, fuel, cooling water, electrical connections, control cables, liquids added (oil and cooling water). After starting and some minor adjustments, engine ready for duty once again! We departed the work dock and drove the boat under its own power to the mooring. What a relief..
We departed Fiji on the 18th to fly to California for Mom's 90th birthday party.
 |
| Grandson Steve congratulates his Oma |
Happy Birthday Mom!
Spent some two weeks in the States and attempted to fly back on the 30th. Upon arriving at the gate for our return (round-trip) flight, we were informed we could not board because we did not have a round trip ticket. We argued we were using the second half of our ticket. Not good enough for the LAX folks. We explained we had sailed to Fiji, our boat/home was there, and we were just trying to get back to it. One of the other attendants saw our dilemma, pulled out here cellphone, called the Fiji Customs office (in the middle of the night Fiji time) and spoke to the person on duty there. She passed the cellphone to me, I spoke with the guy at the other end, gave him all the correct codes, he asked to be put back on with the attendant, they spoke briefly, she hung up, they let us board...whew!
April,
Due to the flight time and crossing over the international dateline, we got back to Savusavu on Sunday, the 1st. Our ride was not waiting for us. We had a difficult time getting a taxi, since it was Sunday, and Savusavu is normally void of any businesses being open or cabs working. After about an hour, the local airport operator called a friend (who owned a cab) and talked him into coming out to get us. We were robbed...solar panels, cellphones (broken into).
Cyclone Keni came near, but we again escaped any serious effects. Our new inverter/charger (Xantrex XC2000) arrived and installed, replacing our old (14 years) Freedom 30, which stopped charging. We replaced the "window" (which had been temporarily repaired with clear packaging tape) that was torn in the storm back in October. We moved Shakedown to the working dock at end of month to make some repairs.
May and June,
At the work dock, we commenced the long needed replacement of our rusty old chain plates (they hold up our two masts, which makes them an important entity to say the least). Stainless steel was ordered from England, bought a nice wide (and long enough) piece of stainless from one of our neighbors, who had it left over from a similar undertaking on their catamaran. The new chain plates were welded and holes drilled during a one-for-one replacement process. This was going to take a long time.... |
| This is the ONLY dock in Savusavu Marina and is cobbled together from pieces left over from a cyclone three years ago |
 |
| Old and new chain plates side by side |
 |
| Old chain plate prior to removal |
 |
| New chain-plate mounted (foreground) |
 |
| Was a small hole....now way bigger, awaiting repair |
 |
| The hole from inside the lazerette |
 |
| More repair work at forward end of cockpit |
We also hired a carpenter to assist with locating and repairing the numerous leaks caused by rotting or broken sections of the "roof". Ezra (who did our bottom cleaning) became assistant to Tuti (his uncle and carpenter) in this effort. It was also a long and seemingly (for us anyway) painful process. The starboard rub rail was also removed and hull in that area patched. Then the entire hull was painted by hand by Ezra. We were always teasing Tuti about finding a small hole and making a large one from it and then fixing the larger hole....
July,
As we were getting closer to a potential departure from Savusavu, we found out we needed a cruising permit in hand in order to visit any other islands in Fiji. It wasn't hard to get one, and in hind sight, could probably have done without it, but why chance some unknown wrath of the Fijian government. While we were waiting for the permit, we started cleaning up our mess from the construction, packing supplies away, making the ship ready for the open sea and taking an evening off to join the few other cruisers for a "full moon" gathering
 |
| Full Moon party at the "Yacht Club/Marina Office/Laundry" |
 |
| A little Kava tasting |
 |
| The evening's sing-song session |
Every once in awhile, spend a bit of time to see who was selling boats on YachtWorld.com and came upon a "too-good-to-be-true" offering. But mulling over plans for the future, thought it would be nice to have such a vessel that we could use as a "retirement condo" of sorts. Well, after emailing the broker (in Florida) and having a number of questions answered, we ended up beating five other buyers to the punch, and, on the 12th, purchasing Grand Lady, a 1965 Stephens Bros. 65 foot flush deck motor yacht.
 |
| Lady Enjay (former Grand Lady) |
 |
| Has a bit or repair to be completed before she gets wet again |
On the 22nd, we said our goodbyes to our boating buddies, pulled away from the dock and departed the Savusavu Marina. We didn't go too far, passing the Copra Shed Marina and dropping anchor at the Waitui Marina until the 27th, then anchored off Cousteau's Resort for two nights, followed by Nabu Walu (to fix alternator belt), then across the nasty water between the two big islands to Volivoli Point on 31st, having now left the Island of Vanua Levu and have entered the waters surrounding Viti Levu, the larger island.
 |
| Waitui Marina...just mooring balls |
 |
| A goodbye from our friend Ezra |
 |
| And a "so long" to Savusavu the night before we depart |
Am trying to play catch-up with the blog....stay tuned for last portion of our stay in Fiji.....
No comments:
Post a Comment