Hi
from Clare, 3-2019 Plenty of Company in Savu Savu 12th
June 2019
The
mooring field alongside the Copra Shed Marina in Savu Savu Fiji, is
flat calm. When arriving in this peaceful and picturesque bay after
being at sea, you can now relax. Just pick up a mooring ball, get a
good night’s sleep and enjoy all the facilities Savu Savu has to
offer.
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| The Copra Shed Marina Mooring field |
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| Night view from the Marina jetty |
We
spent many nights catching up with friends and meeting new friends
who, up until now, we had only spoken to on our daily radio net (The
South Pacific Cruisers Net).
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| Andrew (Eye Candy) Peter (Atla) and Pele (Loupan) |
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| Happy Hour with our Cruising Friends |
The
musicians in our group were keen to entertain us and have a jam
session.
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| Eva (Atla) Geoff (Mezzaluna),Jacob (Jonas) and Martin (Acapella) |
NOT
ALL PLAY
We
were still having trouble with our outboard running roughly at mid
throttle. We discussed buying a new motor but the one Andrew wanted,
a 9.9hp 2 stroke Mercury is no longer available in Australia or Fiji.
This engine weighs 26 kilos and has been replaced with one that
weighs over 40 kilos. We were very disappointed as 40 kilos is
heavier than we want to handle. So we resigned ourselves to putting
up with the old one. Imagine how delighted we were to find a new
9.9hp 2 stroke 26 kilo model in the Mercury shop at the Copra Shed
Marina. So we bought the new motor and then advertised the old one
for sale. It was sold the following day to a very excited teenager
who had been nagging his parents to upgrade their 2.5hp outboard.
The kid couldn’t stop smiling and we were happy to have the
additional motor off the boat - so everyone was happy.
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| Andrew with the new outboard |
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| The new owner of the old outboard |
GETTING
RESTLESS
By
last Friday after many dinners out, happy hour every night at The
Copra Shed and copious amounts of washing and shopping, everyone was
getting restless to move on. A lot of our friends went out east to
the Lau Group of islands. We did not go as we spent two months there
last year and we intend going to the Yasawa Group on the western side
of Fiji this year. Amongst the four boats going to the Lau Group are
our good friends Ellen and Martin on ‘Acapella’. Unfortunately
they hit a reef and were stuck there for twelve hours until they
could float off on the next high tide 11.30pm that night. They have
significantly damaged their rudder but the good news is, no water has
entered the boat. They are now busy repairing the rudder to make the
overnight trip back. Fortunately between the four boats it seems they
have the knowledge and equipment to make a good repair. Martin on
‘Acapella’ is staggered at what people have on their boats, fortunately for him – they had it.
WE
SHOULD HAVE STAYED PUT
Our
next adventure took us to the island of Koro some 25 miles south of
Savu Savu. There was some inclement weather coming but we thought we
would be well protected in this bay, but that wasn’t the case.
Koro
is an interesting island as a portion of the land has been sold to
foreigners who have built holiday homes. There are also a number of
resorts and eight local villages. Koro, like its neighbouring
islands, was badly damaged by cyclone Winston in 2016 so there is a
lot of rebuilding occurring. We took the dinghy ashore and went into
one of the resorts, it was deserted. Fresh flowers on the tables but
not a soul to be seen. In fact whilst on the island the five people
we saw, were workmen.
Anyhow
we headed south in search of the Chief to present him with some Kava,
(grog) and partake in the traditional greeting of Sevusevu. The
Chief would then grant us permission to visit the island and its
surrounding waters. The photo below shows a bunch of Kava root
bought in Savu Savu and parcelled up by the shop for presentation to
the chief. Each parcel costs $20 AUD.and is presented to the Chief
on arrival at every island visited. The Kava is pounded to pulp,
wrapped in a cloth, soaked in water and squeezed out to produce the
juice which is mixed with water to achieve the desired potency.
Apparently years ago the newspaper wrapping was also treasured by the
villagers as news from the outside world was scarce. But today the
villagers have cell phones, internet connection and the kids are busy
playing computer games just like the rest of us.
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| Bunch of Kava |
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| Kava after pounding to a pulp |
In
Koro, we didn’t make it to the village to do Sevusevu with the
Chief. The road was extremely steep and by the time we got to the
top of the mountain we could see on our phone we were about a third
of the way to the village. I wasn’t feeling well and so we
decided to return to the boat and see if we could go to the village
by dinghy. However upon our return to the boat we found Eye Candy
bouncing around in the anchorage due to the swell coming over the
reef. After a cuppa we decided to up anchor and return to the quiet
waters of Savu Savu until the weather cleared.
PEACE
AGAIN
We
anchored off Jean Michel Cousteau Resort some three miles from the
town of Savu Savu and enjoyed some snorkelling. The Cousteau Resort
looks very nice and the surrounding waterfront houses are also very
pleasant. I guess this is one of the better areas.
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| Jean Michel Cousteau Resort |
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| Waterfront Houses |
When
snorkelling we found a Crown of Thorn Starfish. An adult Crown of
Thorns can consume 6 sq metres of living coral reef a year. As
mentioned in our last newsletter The Giant Clams at Makogai are being
cultivated to help prevent an outbreak of the Crown of thorns
Starfish.
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| Crown of Thorns |
SO
WHAT’S NEXT
We
escaped Savu Savu this morning and motor-sailed twenty two miles to
Savuna Point on the S/W side of Vanua Levu. We are on our way to the
Yasawa Group of Islands but we are in no hurry. It is very pleasant
here and totally quiet. We are looking forward to a sundowner in the
cockpit tonight to celebrate our next adventure.
Love
Candy xx
