Hallovertheplace: Woo Hoo! On the move again.

We are on the move again and it feels great, we are finally back out on the water, filling our sails with wind heading up north to Savusavu. I for one am glad to be heading to our next adventure, Musket was great but I now understand why it is called the "Vortex".

Our first spot was in a lovely little bay which we had to ourselves called Vitogo just north of Lautoka. Surrounded by beautiful mountains on one side and a glorious sunset on the other I realised just how much I missed sailing only to discover a new bay at the end of the day to settle into. The kids watched the fires being set on the mountains to our east and north and were amazed at the brightness and size of the flames. At one time there were 5 large fires burning brightly and lighting up the night sky. The sunset topped of a perfect days sail as we settled in for a night on the anchor.

We awoke early the next day, not by plan but as always the kids were up at the crack of dawn. This has created another problem for us on this trip. Even if they were to sleep in, they have us so well trained that we end up laying in bed awake and waiting for them to wake up. after a decent breakfast and some food preparation for the day ahead we set off on a 50 mile days run up to Nananu-I-Ra. The passage was within the reef system so it was all eyes on lookout. It ended up being a fairly straight forward motor sail across the northern side of Viti Levu. We managed to catch a decent sized Waloo on the trip over making it a tally of 3 for the trip. We caught up with John and Lyn Martin on Windflower here.

A welcoming rainbow appeared just after dropping anchor at Nananu-I-Ra

Off exploring the island

William and Olivia enjoying the rope maze at Sunset Point Nananu-I-Ra

Taking advantage of a rope swing hanging over the beach on our attempt to walk around the island

William leaping from the fallen coconut tree

Olivia and William daring each other to go further up the tree before leaping off

James and the Kids waling the southern beach

After a couple of days exporing the island and waiting out the stiff breezes that we were experiencing we travelled backwards a couple of miles to enjoy the resort facilities at Voli Voli resort and the potential of a better nights sleep. The kids had a swim, played on the beach, flew the helicopter tree pods and we enjoyed a fantastic family dinner in the resorts restaurant.

The flying seed pods the kids had so much fun with

The kids showing off their stash of seed pods

The sand spit out the front of Voli Voli resort

Olivia at the Resort Bar at Voli Voli

After enduring about as much of the 25 to 30 knot winds as we could take and getting no decent shelter from them in any of the anchorages. We decided to make a dash for Viti levu Bay. We motored into the 30 knot breeze and wind chop and found the effort to be well rewarded with a peaceful anchorage and 2 good nights of sleep. We anchored on top of the recommended anchorage in the Island Cruising Associations Fiji guide. This is soon to be released in the apple iTunes store.

The next leg was a 48 mile motor to Naingani Island then sail to Makongai Island. We motored from Viti Levu Bay through the reef system to Naingani island and encountered a succession of rain squalls with 30 knot winds and plenty of rain. Visibility was poor and luckily we were following a good set of tested way points provided in the ICA Fiji cruising guide. Once we reached Naingani the sun came out and the breeze steadied at 15 knots. We hoisted sails and in close company with Windflower headed to Makongai Island. just as we left the reef off Naingani we caught another Waloo, taking the total to 4. The breeze steadily increased and soon we were motor sailing with two reefs in the mainsail in a steady 25 to 30 knots. It was not comfortable for any of us. The well protected harbour of Makongai was a welcome relief to end the day. A quick sevusevu ceremony with the village chief followed by a tour of the grounds and Giant clam breeding program was enjoyed by all.

Makongai Island anchorage

We then returned to the boat to enjoy a Goat curry and Roti's for our evening meal. Joind by John and Lyn of Windflower. Olivia was in charge of roti rolling and was well assisted by John and his flour tossing techniques.

Olivia preparing the roti for the curry dinner

Our day began early with a 6.30am departure from Makongai bound for Dere Bay on Koro Island. This leg turned out to be the passage of the trip so far with a steady 13 to 18 knots for the day. We averaged about 8 knots with slightly cracked sheets.It was a truly magical day.

Olivia and William keeping watch

Windflower making good progress

More Windflower in action

William Helping Dad trim the sails

The kids enjoying the perfect day

More kids having fun

On arrival to Dere Bay we were greeted with a fantastic setting and free courtesy moorings for visiting yachts. All that is asked is that you purchase some drinks from the bar. We ordered dinner at $30 per person at lunch time and looked forward to our meals after a Snorkel on the reef at the entry to the bay.