Category: Voyages

Dear F&F, September 13th – 15th, 2011

We motored up to Lautoka after a last marketing and fuel up. This is where Kate and I first anchored upon arrival. The check out with the boss was uneventful. They seem to be trying to smooth the paper work as well.

Instead of just leaving, the Northern Yasawa\’s were tempting and on our way. So we headed back to Manta Ray Bay Island and hoped to meet up with Joe Tui as a private dive guide. Joe is the guy with the blue \”camo\” wet suit petting \”Tiger Girl\” in our photo gallery.

We had a nice smooth uneventful trip and anchored in the pass. This is also the place where the geneker sail was torn to shreds and lost. The next morning I took Anja out to the Manta Ray site and she had about a 45 minute snorkeling experience with two mantas. She was jazzed. As I had done this many times with Cindy, I just did the spotting from the dinghy so she could geta nice experience. There was quite a bit of current in the pass, so someone really had to stay with the dinghy and be able to chase the other person drifting away. It\’s effortless for the Manta\’s of course; sleek and graceful. As they are plankton filter feeders, Anja got to see them with their large hula hoop size mouths open while filter feeding.

The tourist boats arrived and this was our cue to go home as once the overly excited jump in, the Manta\’s don\’t hang around very long or at least go deep.

We were supposed to meet Joe today, but he literally \”missed the boat\” (Ferry from Denarau) and we had to wait another night here to get him the next day.

The next morning, Anja got the same private experience with the Manta\’s again and even got to pet one! What a thrill…believe me. These Manta\’s are small compared to the ones Cindy and I experienced in Mexico, but this is a life experience. If you ever get the chance, don\’t miss it.

Scott and Anja

Dear F&F, September 13th – 15th, 2011

We motored up to Lautoka after a last marketing and fuel up. This is where Kate and I first anchored upon arrival. The check out with the boss was uneventful. They seem to be trying to smooth the paper work as well.

Instead of just leaving, the Northern Yasawa\’s were tempting and on our way. So we headed back to Manta Ray Bay Island and hoped to meet up with Joe Tui as a private dive guide. Joe is the guy with the blue \”camo\” wet suit petting \”Tiger Girl\” in our photo gallery.

We had a nice smooth uneventful trip and anchored in the pass. This is also the place where the geneker sail was torn to shreds and lost. The next morning I took Anja out to the Manta Ray site and she had about a 45 minute snorkeling experience with two mantas. She was jazzed. As I had done this many times with Cindy, I just did the spotting from the dinghy so she could geta nice experience. There was quite a bit of current in the pass, so someone really had to stay with the dinghy and be able to chase the other person drifting away. It\’s effortless for the Manta\’s of course; sleek and graceful. As they are plankton filter feeders, Anja got to see them with their large hula hoop size mouths open while filter feeding.

The tourist boats arrived and this was our cue to go home as once the overly excited jump in, the Manta\’s don\’t hang around very long or at least go deep.

We were supposed to meet Joe today, but he literally \”missed the boat\” (Ferry from Denarau) and we had to wait another night here to get him the next day.

The next morning, Anja got the same private experience with the Manta\’s again and even got to pet one! What a thrill…believe me. These Manta\’s are small compared to the ones Cindy and I experienced in Mexico, but this is a life experience. If you ever get the chance, don\’t miss it.

Scott and Anja

Dear F&F, September 8th – 12th, 2011

After our arrival from Natodola Harbor, we soon discovered the \”noise\” in the washing machine was getting worse. It finally tripped the circuit breaker and I had our friends at \”Baobab Marine\” investigate. They found a huge aluminum metal piece on the back of the machine that spins the drum had literally dissolved in the salt air over the last 7 years. (See photos, not yet posted). I called the US Manufacturer to order the part, but they no longer carried it! As such, Baobab agreed to try and make a custom one. While they were doing this, we used the opportunity to make one last visit to Musket Cove.

In addition to Anja, we brought Barrie along with us. Barrie is from the UK and he works on one of the super yachts. He and Anja had hit it off and as he had a few days off, came along for the festivities.

We motored to Musket in overcast an rain, dodging the one rocky obstruction about half way to the cove (see photos on gallery, not posted yet).

It was Musket Cove Race Week . Peter and Diana of s/v \”Quickstar\” would be there too with friends visiting from Canada. I also was able to get a care package from Mike Lonnes sent with Geoff Deutschman of s/v \”Flashback\” just as we left the dock. Thank you both!

Barrie, Anja and I dove the next morning at Plantation Pinnacle. It was the best dive site in the area and the dive was fabulous, the weather very cooperative. The next day, crew off a yacht we met offered to take us surfing in their high speed tender. Barrie and I did the surfing and Anja did some snorkeling at \”Wilkes Pass\” and \”Namotu Lefts\”. It was nice, except the current was ripping and 90% of our efforts were staying in place at each break.

The parties began the next day. Barrie and Anja went aboard another catamaran, s/v \”Kia Kai\” which was a true party boat. I enjoyed a little time to myself aboard \”Beach House\”. That night, we watched Rugby World Cup games at the local resort on their big screen with about 150 people in attendance.

As we were feeling short on time and our part was to be ready, we headed back to Denarau Marina early Monday morning where the guys took much of the day re-assembling and testing the unit. It\’s still noisy, but works just fine. A luxury item to be sure, but I\’ve grown spoiled and am quite happy it\’s back in action.

Tomorrow we\’ll fuel up and head to Lautoka to do our final check out in Fiji Stay tuned, Scott with Anja