Another Rendezvous in Musket Cove
After exploring more of Fiji and enduring high winds more
often than we like, we have managed to return to Musket Cove. The generator
issues seem to finally be resolved. It is amazing what a few missing bolts and
loose clamps can do to create problems. Obviously the men working on it earlier
failed to do a proper job when reinstalling it.
To test it again, we set off for Mana Island where we heard
the snorkeling was good. Our beautiful day of motoring over and getting into
the lagoon through the reef was uneventful. A trip ashore helped us scope out
activities for the next few days. With plans in mind, we returned to the boat
for a restful night.
NOT! The winds kicked up and the rocking and rolling began.
By sunlight, we determined it was not looking like a place to spend a few days
based on the wind predictions into the 30’s. The anchorage is exposed to the
south and east and the winds are out of the east-southeast. So in very rough
seas, we picked our way through the channel and reefs to motor over to Musket
Cove on Malolo Island, south of Mana Island right into the wind.
Even though we had requested a mooring or berth for the
weekend, nothing was available as the other boats did not want to venture out
into the wind and sea under current conditions. So we anchored with 300’ of
chain and kept an anchor watch throughout the night as we were between two
reefs near the mooring field. Actually, one of the mooring balls broke loose during the night and a yacht ended up on the reef!
Upon arrival, it was great to be greeted by S/V Starblazer and S/V Chez Nous with both offering to help us get to the dock.
Unfortunately the wind prevented an easy lifting of the dinghy and Med mooring
in a tight space could have been more than challenging so we stayed at anchor.
So it was sundowners on S/V
Trillium the next evening. It was nice to visit with John, Joyce, Jonathon
and Donna. We had not seen S/V Chez Nous
since the World ARC Rendezvous at Musket Cove back in July! We had seen S/V
Starblazer earlier at Vuda Point Marina, where we just left S/V Caduceus
getting ready for our departure to Vanuatu on August 29th. The three
of us will be sailing together.
At this time, we don’t know if S/V Firefly and S/V BriZo
will be sailing with us or waiting for the last group to leave in September. Our little renegade group will all gather in
New Caledonia at the end of October to create the fleet of ARC New
Zealand 2014. It will be nice to have the group together again after nearly three
months apart with random link ups.
For more of our adventures and photos of Fiji during the past
several months of cruising Fiji, check out our blog at http://sv-trillium.blogspot.com. We
are having a wonderful cruising experience with World ARC and time off in Fiji.
Skipperette (Sherry Day)