Crossing an ocean without sails (but with a budget)
Discussion
Dave was now gone, we were alone onboard ! I know Sonya was nervous about this and suspected that we would soon be tagging (following) along with other boats as we made our way around the treacherous (in her mind) waters.
Sure enough the next day we were setting off with a sailing catamaran of similar size (and experience) up to the Yasawas. We knew at least one other boat from our rally group was heading that way too so there should be a few familiar faces at our destination.
Travelling with sail boats isn’t ideal as they often cannot take the direct route that we do, something Sonya hadn’t thought about, so we spent a lot of that day alone (apart from the resort boats, ferries, etc) with our companions several miles away.
Fish on ! I rushed down to find the smaller of our two reels letting out line at a great rate. I pushed the drag up as Sonya slowed us down and started winding in dinner. Well not quite, I got onboard the nastiest looking fish I have ever seen which proceeded to go mental and start thrashing around all over the rear deck. No idea what it was at that point but it looked edible so I’d better kill it, easier said than done when it was trying to remove my hands/fingers with its big teeth. Eventually I dispatched it and threw it in the chiller bin, unable to close the lid as its tail was sticking out so def the biggest fish yet. I filleted it while we were waiting for msg responses from proper fishermen we knew and was surprised at the lime green colour of the bones. A quick Google of, something like, ugly fish with green bones told me it was a needle fish that wasn’t great eating and could have worms – oh well, back in it went. Yes I know that’s wasteful but I didn’t know any better then, now I would give it to the locals to use as bait (or eat !).
Motors back up to speed and it wasn’t long until the line screamed again, same routine but this time there was no stopping the line peeling out even with the drag at max. Sonya brought us to a halt and I was able to start winding it in, slowly. Every five minutes or so it would make another run for it and take us back to square one with the amount of line out, I wish it had have taken the other lure on the bigger reeled rod. Not being a fisherman I had no idea what to do or how to make things easier, I even thought about just cutting the line but being a cheapskate and not knowing where to buy another 500m of braid stopped me. It was about then that I saw something amazing, whatever was hooked leapt from the water, shook itself and splashed back into the water. Its long bill and tall fin gave me an idea of what I had and I started shouting to my wife – ‘get a picture, no one will believe this’.
Long story short, after several leaps and splashes, I lost it and none of the fifty or so pics she took contained what I later found out to be a striped marlin – bugger !
Whilst approaching the anchorage outside Octopus Resort I was glued to the chart plotter and satellite pictures on laptop. Not the worst we had entered but it was still going to require some concentration, especially as there were now just the two of us onboard. I needn’t have worried and we made our way past the reef and into the large bay.
More worrying was the way some of the anchored boats were moving around, there was quite a lot of swell here by the look of it. We found a spot, a little further off the beach than our friends, and dropped anchor (as always feeling sorry for the windlass having to spew out about 70m of 10mm chain).
A radio conversation shortly after advised us against going ashore as it was coming into low tide and we wouldn’t be able to get our dinghy back over the reef/rocks when it was. Fine by us, we all met for drinks on another boat. Whilst there we watched a couple of monohulls pull anchor and head off, we met up with them later and they said it was just too ‘rolly’ in there for them. Actually the other cats that we met up with there said the same the next day, maybe it was because they were closer in than us ?
The next morning we headed out and further North aiming for Boat House, Nanuya which was supposed to be another welcoming spot for boaties. It was, we came through the pass and spotted about twenty boats anchored in a large bay. We found a spot (at the back) and dropped, a kite foiler whizzed past the back of LS followed by a, slightly slower, wing foiler – we had stumbled into the watersport capital of the Yasawas.
Quick reminder, this is winter in Fiji so the days were warm but quite short. As we had been moving almost every day before our motors were putting charge into the house batteries as well as the solar. I had been a bit slack on checking battery levels because of this and hadn’t noticed their gradual decline over a few days. We came back from the bar one evening and I switched on the TV and also decided to cook something. At 3am an alarm was going off, a loud bleeping, WTF was that ? Staggering around in the dark I was getting closer to the source, then I realised it was the low battery alarm from the inverter – oh s
t ! If we had normal lead acid batteries they would have been toast (although I’m sure the settings would have been different and I would have been alerted at 60% not the 20% our lithiums were on now). So at approx. 3.30am I was climbing down into a locker at the front of LS to fire up the generator that had only been used previously to check its start battery had power ! I hooked up the Projecta 25amp charger I had and waited and waited and waited. A 25a charger doesn’t do much to an 800a battery bank in the short term, at 7.30am (and several coffees) I think we were only on about 32% and the sun wouldn’t start putting anything in for another couple of hours. I felt terrible as we were, what I thought, quite close to other boats who would want to relax in the morning. Luckily, although our silent (haha, I’ll do the jokes Hyundai) diesel genset was only loud onboard, neighbouring boats could hardly hear it and those who did dinghied over to see if all was OK and not to moan about it. Lesson learnt, must check battery levels more regularly !
Sure enough the next day we were setting off with a sailing catamaran of similar size (and experience) up to the Yasawas. We knew at least one other boat from our rally group was heading that way too so there should be a few familiar faces at our destination.
Travelling with sail boats isn’t ideal as they often cannot take the direct route that we do, something Sonya hadn’t thought about, so we spent a lot of that day alone (apart from the resort boats, ferries, etc) with our companions several miles away.
Fish on ! I rushed down to find the smaller of our two reels letting out line at a great rate. I pushed the drag up as Sonya slowed us down and started winding in dinner. Well not quite, I got onboard the nastiest looking fish I have ever seen which proceeded to go mental and start thrashing around all over the rear deck. No idea what it was at that point but it looked edible so I’d better kill it, easier said than done when it was trying to remove my hands/fingers with its big teeth. Eventually I dispatched it and threw it in the chiller bin, unable to close the lid as its tail was sticking out so def the biggest fish yet. I filleted it while we were waiting for msg responses from proper fishermen we knew and was surprised at the lime green colour of the bones. A quick Google of, something like, ugly fish with green bones told me it was a needle fish that wasn’t great eating and could have worms – oh well, back in it went. Yes I know that’s wasteful but I didn’t know any better then, now I would give it to the locals to use as bait (or eat !).
Motors back up to speed and it wasn’t long until the line screamed again, same routine but this time there was no stopping the line peeling out even with the drag at max. Sonya brought us to a halt and I was able to start winding it in, slowly. Every five minutes or so it would make another run for it and take us back to square one with the amount of line out, I wish it had have taken the other lure on the bigger reeled rod. Not being a fisherman I had no idea what to do or how to make things easier, I even thought about just cutting the line but being a cheapskate and not knowing where to buy another 500m of braid stopped me. It was about then that I saw something amazing, whatever was hooked leapt from the water, shook itself and splashed back into the water. Its long bill and tall fin gave me an idea of what I had and I started shouting to my wife – ‘get a picture, no one will believe this’.
Long story short, after several leaps and splashes, I lost it and none of the fifty or so pics she took contained what I later found out to be a striped marlin – bugger !
Whilst approaching the anchorage outside Octopus Resort I was glued to the chart plotter and satellite pictures on laptop. Not the worst we had entered but it was still going to require some concentration, especially as there were now just the two of us onboard. I needn’t have worried and we made our way past the reef and into the large bay.
More worrying was the way some of the anchored boats were moving around, there was quite a lot of swell here by the look of it. We found a spot, a little further off the beach than our friends, and dropped anchor (as always feeling sorry for the windlass having to spew out about 70m of 10mm chain).
A radio conversation shortly after advised us against going ashore as it was coming into low tide and we wouldn’t be able to get our dinghy back over the reef/rocks when it was. Fine by us, we all met for drinks on another boat. Whilst there we watched a couple of monohulls pull anchor and head off, we met up with them later and they said it was just too ‘rolly’ in there for them. Actually the other cats that we met up with there said the same the next day, maybe it was because they were closer in than us ?
The next morning we headed out and further North aiming for Boat House, Nanuya which was supposed to be another welcoming spot for boaties. It was, we came through the pass and spotted about twenty boats anchored in a large bay. We found a spot (at the back) and dropped, a kite foiler whizzed past the back of LS followed by a, slightly slower, wing foiler – we had stumbled into the watersport capital of the Yasawas.
Quick reminder, this is winter in Fiji so the days were warm but quite short. As we had been moving almost every day before our motors were putting charge into the house batteries as well as the solar. I had been a bit slack on checking battery levels because of this and hadn’t noticed their gradual decline over a few days. We came back from the bar one evening and I switched on the TV and also decided to cook something. At 3am an alarm was going off, a loud bleeping, WTF was that ? Staggering around in the dark I was getting closer to the source, then I realised it was the low battery alarm from the inverter – oh s
t ! If we had normal lead acid batteries they would have been toast (although I’m sure the settings would have been different and I would have been alerted at 60% not the 20% our lithiums were on now). So at approx. 3.30am I was climbing down into a locker at the front of LS to fire up the generator that had only been used previously to check its start battery had power ! I hooked up the Projecta 25amp charger I had and waited and waited and waited. A 25a charger doesn’t do much to an 800a battery bank in the short term, at 7.30am (and several coffees) I think we were only on about 32% and the sun wouldn’t start putting anything in for another couple of hours. I felt terrible as we were, what I thought, quite close to other boats who would want to relax in the morning. Luckily, although our silent (haha, I’ll do the jokes Hyundai) diesel genset was only loud onboard, neighbouring boats could hardly hear it and those who did dinghied over to see if all was OK and not to moan about it. Lesson learnt, must check battery levels more regularly !Happy New Year to anyone reading !
You may be pleased to know that the weather here over the hols has been pretty awful, lots of rain and wind.
We are currently on the marina pontoon at Musket Cove and unlikely to leave for next few days.
Infact we will prob stay here until 8th then motor round to the mainland where we are being hauled out for some minor repairs and maintenance
You may be pleased to know that the weather here over the hols has been pretty awful, lots of rain and wind.
We are currently on the marina pontoon at Musket Cove and unlikely to leave for next few days.
Infact we will prob stay here until 8th then motor round to the mainland where we are being hauled out for some minor repairs and maintenance
Hulls have now been jetwashed, antifoul (applied by myself !) has lasted pretty well in most places but its getting a light sand and another going over as I have no idea when we will be able to haul out next.
Now we have a PowerSnorkel hookah system looking after hulls/paint will be much easier and as the water temp is about 30C this time of year it wont be too much of a hardship
Next post will be a long winded story involving boats hitting reefs (not us !) I think
Now we have a PowerSnorkel hookah system looking after hulls/paint will be much easier and as the water temp is about 30C this time of year it wont be too much of a hardship
Next post will be a long winded story involving boats hitting reefs (not us !) I think
Whilst drinking coffee on the rear deck I saw a local kayak paddling towards us, she stopped and asked if we wanted to buy any fruit. She had a pile of coconuts and papaya onboard, we said yes and a deal was done. I cant remember what Sonya asked for but a couple of hours later she returned on her kayak with more fruit and some vegetables. We took the lot and off she went promising to come back in a couple of days. We were impressed, not having to leave LS to shop !
Not long after we saw another boat from our rally enter the bay, a small steel sailing boat. It went past us and weaved its way toward the front of the moorings, hmm I’m pretty sure there is a reef just there. Well I cant confirm but I believe that became the first of many ‘touches’ they had over the next few months (I think 6 was their tally for the season) one in particular causing quite a bit of damage to hull and rudder plus I dread to think how long it would take for the reef to repair itself.
The snorkelling around here was incredible, although I looked a bit foolish wearing my wakeboarding vest while floundering around, I’m sure I mentioned before I couldn’t swim !
The time had come to leave, we headed back to Denarau as we needed provisions and fuel plus we were collecting our first guest !
We decided to try the swing moorings rather than a marina berth, the savings are significant for a cat, $30 per night compared with $150, but you have to dinghy to and from land (about 100m so no real hardship but if its raining ……..).
It may not have been the best trip to use the swing mooring as this was our first big provisioning since leaving NZ. I was wondering how we would get everything from the small supermarket back to the dinghy dock but I needn’t have worried. The checkout staff are pretty quick to work out you are on a boat and they call for one of the young guys there to push your trolley(s) to the dinghy dock.
So with one trolley full of Fiji Gold (10x24 pack) and wine and another of groceries we left, our poor little dinghy (3.1m AB Ultralite w/15hp Yamaha) was full !
Our friend Glen arrived later that day so we got into the Golds then headed to Sails Restaurant for dinner, determined not to be too hungover for an early start the next day.
That didn’t quite go according to plan and it was a slow start for everyone in the morning, I think back to what I used to get up to and wonder how I survived, must just be an age thing.
It took us nearly five hours to get to Paradise Cove and we were lucky enough to be escorted by pods of dolphins for some of the way. We went ashore to the resort for some cocktails and to glean as much info as we could about the best snorkelling spots, we knew we weren’t far from the manta ray pass. Explaining to Glen that he could do what he likes while onboard and that he should just help himself to food and drinks was pretty easy. He understood that this was our lives (for a while) now and that it wasn’t just a holiday. We should have told ourselves this in stronger terms as we spent the next few weeks quaffing beer, wine and cocktails every day !
A couple of days later we were back at Boat House/Blue Lagoon, I got straight into filleting the 1.4m wahoo we caught on the way while Sonya and Glen headed to the beach.
They came back just as I was dropping the first of the crumbed pieces into the oil, maybe they saw me at the bbq on the back of LS ?
Sundowners is the term used by boaties around the world (Ithink) for an end of day drink, the buzz of dinghy motors starts around 4pm depending on the season and location. Either everyone meets at the bar, if there is one in the bay, or you see numerous dinghies tied to the back of the entertainers vessels. The NZ tradition of ‘buy your own’ means you don’t get involved in rounds when at the bar and you take your own if visiting another boat.
We only stayed a couple of days as the wind changed direction and what was a sheltered bay became exposed and quite rolly , we had an awful nights sleep (partially my fault as I hadn’t put the bridle on our chain so it was grinding on the roller) and could see lights coming on other boats and occasionally hear a motor fire up and boats moving. It’s a big bay but there were quite a few boats and, as previously mentioned, no one knows exactly where the anchors are or how much chain people have out. Add to that how differently boats swing when at anchor and you can have chaos.
Back to Octopus and that night we found out exactly why others had moaned about the roll/swell, it was awful.
Off we went again looking for the right bay for protection from the wind and swell, we headed into Navadra (also known as bikini island because of its shape). It seemed perfect, 15m deep anchorage, white sandy beaches all around, reef to snorkel – hold on, whats that in the water ? Hmm, a family or two of sharks were circling our boat. Closer inspection showed they were reef sharks (black tip) but still , there were a lot of them. We dinghied ashore and started exploring until we saw the signs advising us not to leave the beach, paddling it was then.
We went back to LS and as we were climbing onboard another boat entered the bay, all the sharks left us and headed over to greet them. We now know they are ‘friendly’ and are fed by the boaties and liners who visit, infact we have swum there several times now without issue.
Not long after we saw another boat from our rally enter the bay, a small steel sailing boat. It went past us and weaved its way toward the front of the moorings, hmm I’m pretty sure there is a reef just there. Well I cant confirm but I believe that became the first of many ‘touches’ they had over the next few months (I think 6 was their tally for the season) one in particular causing quite a bit of damage to hull and rudder plus I dread to think how long it would take for the reef to repair itself.
The snorkelling around here was incredible, although I looked a bit foolish wearing my wakeboarding vest while floundering around, I’m sure I mentioned before I couldn’t swim !
The time had come to leave, we headed back to Denarau as we needed provisions and fuel plus we were collecting our first guest !
We decided to try the swing moorings rather than a marina berth, the savings are significant for a cat, $30 per night compared with $150, but you have to dinghy to and from land (about 100m so no real hardship but if its raining ……..).
It may not have been the best trip to use the swing mooring as this was our first big provisioning since leaving NZ. I was wondering how we would get everything from the small supermarket back to the dinghy dock but I needn’t have worried. The checkout staff are pretty quick to work out you are on a boat and they call for one of the young guys there to push your trolley(s) to the dinghy dock.
So with one trolley full of Fiji Gold (10x24 pack) and wine and another of groceries we left, our poor little dinghy (3.1m AB Ultralite w/15hp Yamaha) was full !
Our friend Glen arrived later that day so we got into the Golds then headed to Sails Restaurant for dinner, determined not to be too hungover for an early start the next day.
That didn’t quite go according to plan and it was a slow start for everyone in the morning, I think back to what I used to get up to and wonder how I survived, must just be an age thing.
It took us nearly five hours to get to Paradise Cove and we were lucky enough to be escorted by pods of dolphins for some of the way. We went ashore to the resort for some cocktails and to glean as much info as we could about the best snorkelling spots, we knew we weren’t far from the manta ray pass. Explaining to Glen that he could do what he likes while onboard and that he should just help himself to food and drinks was pretty easy. He understood that this was our lives (for a while) now and that it wasn’t just a holiday. We should have told ourselves this in stronger terms as we spent the next few weeks quaffing beer, wine and cocktails every day !
A couple of days later we were back at Boat House/Blue Lagoon, I got straight into filleting the 1.4m wahoo we caught on the way while Sonya and Glen headed to the beach.
They came back just as I was dropping the first of the crumbed pieces into the oil, maybe they saw me at the bbq on the back of LS ?
Sundowners is the term used by boaties around the world (Ithink) for an end of day drink, the buzz of dinghy motors starts around 4pm depending on the season and location. Either everyone meets at the bar, if there is one in the bay, or you see numerous dinghies tied to the back of the entertainers vessels. The NZ tradition of ‘buy your own’ means you don’t get involved in rounds when at the bar and you take your own if visiting another boat.
We only stayed a couple of days as the wind changed direction and what was a sheltered bay became exposed and quite rolly , we had an awful nights sleep (partially my fault as I hadn’t put the bridle on our chain so it was grinding on the roller) and could see lights coming on other boats and occasionally hear a motor fire up and boats moving. It’s a big bay but there were quite a few boats and, as previously mentioned, no one knows exactly where the anchors are or how much chain people have out. Add to that how differently boats swing when at anchor and you can have chaos.
Back to Octopus and that night we found out exactly why others had moaned about the roll/swell, it was awful.
Off we went again looking for the right bay for protection from the wind and swell, we headed into Navadra (also known as bikini island because of its shape). It seemed perfect, 15m deep anchorage, white sandy beaches all around, reef to snorkel – hold on, whats that in the water ? Hmm, a family or two of sharks were circling our boat. Closer inspection showed they were reef sharks (black tip) but still , there were a lot of them. We dinghied ashore and started exploring until we saw the signs advising us not to leave the beach, paddling it was then.
We went back to LS and as we were climbing onboard another boat entered the bay, all the sharks left us and headed over to greet them. We now know they are ‘friendly’ and are fed by the boaties and liners who visit, infact we have swum there several times now without issue.
Shafts have been pulled out and fitted with new Vetus dripless seals, the design looks a lot better than the previous brand (unknown).
Fibreglass damage (rear shaft support) repaired (I'll tell you more about that later, my fault)
Props polished, new anodes on shafts, its all coming together.
I have just swapped out raw water impellers, nearly 750 hours on them (checked every service) and still like new but they must be starting to break down ??? We have strainers on the inlets and on hoses inside so very little debris gets through.
Fibreglass damage (rear shaft support) repaired (I'll tell you more about that later, my fault)
Props polished, new anodes on shafts, its all coming together.
I have just swapped out raw water impellers, nearly 750 hours on them (checked every service) and still like new but they must be starting to break down ??? We have strainers on the inlets and on hoses inside so very little debris gets through.
NNK said:
My wife and I have quite a good system going now, reel screams I go out to rods while she takes over the controls.
If its safe to do so (no reefs around) she will come down when the fish is close and either gaff it or hang on to the rod while I gaff it and bring it on.
Luckily we have salt and fresh water hoses at rear as it generally looks like a crime scene after I've killed/ bled our victim.
Can confirm; a small amount of fish guts/blood looks like the aftermath of Marvin in Pulp Fiction. After struggling with knives we eventually settled on the hacksaw as the best way of dealing with larger fish with strong bones like Tuna. If its safe to do so (no reefs around) she will come down when the fish is close and either gaff it or hang on to the rod while I gaff it and bring it on.
Luckily we have salt and fresh water hoses at rear as it generally looks like a crime scene after I've killed/ bled our victim.
Oil and filters done on both motors
Gearbox oil done on Yamaha outboard
Sheet of ply cut into more manageable pieces and stored plus shelf my wife wanted is installed
Went to fit new anodes on shafts and found I have the wrong size, no stock in the chandlery here but Mrs NNK is in NZ at the moment so she can grab a couple.
My least favourite job next, emptying one of the composting toilets. Deliberately not used it for a week so everything should be broken down
Gearbox oil done on Yamaha outboard
Sheet of ply cut into more manageable pieces and stored plus shelf my wife wanted is installed
Went to fit new anodes on shafts and found I have the wrong size, no stock in the chandlery here but Mrs NNK is in NZ at the moment so she can grab a couple.
My least favourite job next, emptying one of the composting toilets. Deliberately not used it for a week so everything should be broken down
Today (Wed) is splash day !
High tide is 2.30pm so will go back in around then.
Only thing I didnt get round to is restaining the teak , couldnt be done while contarctors were working on hulls then it rained a lot. Oh well, the front deck I can do while moored but the strakes/rub rail will have to wait.
Overall very happy, contractors worked out less than I had budgeted, marina a fraction more.
Will probably come back here to refuel and provision in future instead of Denarau
High tide is 2.30pm so will go back in around then.
Only thing I didnt get round to is restaining the teak , couldnt be done while contarctors were working on hulls then it rained a lot. Oh well, the front deck I can do while moored but the strakes/rub rail will have to wait.
Overall very happy, contractors worked out less than I had budgeted, marina a fraction more.
Will probably come back here to refuel and provision in future instead of Denarau
Back in and tied on to marina.
Slight problem, neither motor would circulate raw water at start, loosened a strainer cap on port side and it started sucking/circulating but no joy on starboard. I had to use one motor and two dinghies to push LS out from ramp and into west basin of marina (whilst a squall came through, approx 25kn wind and lots of rain !).
Removed new impeller from stb and inspected, maybe it had not been pressed all the way in ? Filled all hoses with water and tried again - Hurrah !
Unfortunately broke the bleed screw on top of raw water pump so need to get that out today.
Excellent staff at the marina, nothing seems to phase them, one of them dived in the water whilst we were on the ramp to check there wasnt masking tape over the water intake !
Slight problem, neither motor would circulate raw water at start, loosened a strainer cap on port side and it started sucking/circulating but no joy on starboard. I had to use one motor and two dinghies to push LS out from ramp and into west basin of marina (whilst a squall came through, approx 25kn wind and lots of rain !).
Removed new impeller from stb and inspected, maybe it had not been pressed all the way in ? Filled all hoses with water and tried again - Hurrah !
Unfortunately broke the bleed screw on top of raw water pump so need to get that out today.
Excellent staff at the marina, nothing seems to phase them, one of them dived in the water whilst we were on the ramp to check there wasnt masking tape over the water intake !
Gary C said:
Fascinating insight to a different world.
One day it would be interesting to see the budget for such an adventure, but not now
I think everyone would be surprised at how frugally it can be done and also by how much COULD be spent.One day it would be interesting to see the budget for such an adventure, but not now
A couple of months ago we met a couple who own a powercat that holds the unofficial record for NZ to Fiji.
I believe they have done it in under 48 hours (we took 147) at 25 - 30 knots but they used 15,000L of diesel, 10 times our burn. Handy if theres some bad weather coming and you can afford it.
It sounds like our story will be published in an NZ boating mag soon, following up from a story they did recently on the prep of a new Maritimo 70 for the same adventure.
Very different ends of scale/budget !
And the weather warnings are coming thick and fast now !
Two cyclones building currently (cat 1 & 2) around New Cal & Vanuatu but expected to track south of Fiji.
Marina have started to move unskippered boats into their cyclone moorings by the sound of it but thats more so there isnt a last minute rush if anything does come close.
Two cyclones building currently (cat 1 & 2) around New Cal & Vanuatu but expected to track south of Fiji.
Marina have started to move unskippered boats into their cyclone moorings by the sound of it but thats more so there isnt a last minute rush if anything does come close.
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