August 24, 1998-Passage to Fiji

August 24, 1998-Passage to Fiji & the Town of Savu Savu

The trade winds have been particularly strong this year and this has been aggravating. First we were pinned down in Bora Bora for two weeks. Then we experienced rip roaring sailing on the way to Samoa, and now we’ve got them again on the way to Fiji.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way on this trip. We waited in Samoa until we got a fairly good weather forecast from crusty and lovable Des on Russell Radio. He’d predicted 15 knots out of the east, and that’s also what the weather faxes showed, but when we got out there it was screaming, more like 35 knots. Judy and I just looked at each other.

When we next checked in with Des Judy reported the wind strength we were experiencing and he was astonished, couldn’t fathom where they were coming from, and I clearly could hear some skepticism in his voice at what we said we had. But he simply said we should have 15 knots the next day, so on we went, hoping it would get better. No, when the next day dawned we still had 35. This went on for the whole five day trip and in fact we had a howling wind right through the last night as we raced past Taveuni Island on our final approach to Savu Savu in another of those pitch black scary nights which we seem to have a bit too often. I never forget these kind of passages, where we are racing along blind through the night, knowing that off a few miles there is an island, hard and rocky and black, just calling our name, lying in wait. I know we are far enough away to be safe, but still, not being able to see it makes me nervous. I was much relieved when our GPS position indicated that we were past its southern point, and in the clear for the final run into Savu Savu.

Savu Savu, on the other hand, was delightful and peaceful. Instead of strong winds and dark skies, when we arrived in Savu Savu Bay it was a calm, sunny and beautiful morning. Our friend Carol talked us in on the radio, since we didn’t have much in the way of charts for the area and didn’t actually know where the town of Savu Savu was. We found the bay, but not the town or anchorage. It was seven o’clock in the morning when we turned the corner into the bay and found ourselves lost, so we were real happy to hear her voice come back to us after we hailed “Elyxir, Elyxir, this is Wings calling”.


“Wings, Wings, this is Elyxir, welcome to Fiji!”


She told us that the town is tucked up in a back corner at the mouth of a river coming down from the mountains. We motored along and sure enough, there it was.

Savu Savu was heaven after our experience of the last two months. It is protected, quiet, sleepy even, and scenic, with Palm trees swaying on nearby islands and tall mountains in the background. We backed Wings up to the sea wall at the Copra Shed Marina, concocted a Rube Goldberg boarding ramp to the shaky platform that manger Simon had built sticking out from the rocks, and rushed ashore for some hugs from Carol, who, with husband Bob Ely, had been sailing in the South Pacific for a year longer than us. It was Carol who had lured us to Fiji with the promise of an exciting regatta at Musket Cove, on Fiji’s West side, in September, and it was there that we were ultimately headed.

But before we left for Musket Cove with Carol on board, we planned on a few days of relaxation in Savu Savu, exploring the small Indian community and catching up with Carol and Bob.


Savu Savu



New Friends in Fiji

Simon



Fred & Judy, SV Wings, Fiji