2 July 2010
Dick Smith sailed here from Australia in search of his own little piece of paradise, found it here on the island of Malolo Lai Lai, and established the resort of Musket Cove. That was 30years ago. On our last visit Dick and his wife personally welcomed us to his island. He was then eighty years old. Sadly he is no longer able to meet and greet us but still sent a personal greeting to us through the resort manager. Coming here is like a having a little holiday before the rigours of our crossing to Vanuatu and Australia beyond. The Australians/New Zealanders have the business acumen, the Fijians do the work. That is the way it seems to be, but not only here, we found that in Tonga too. The Indians however predominate especially in the bigger cities and towns. It seems as if the indigenous Fijians are very much in the minority. It must be very hard for them. It is their country after all.....
Musket Cove is one hundred percent holiday resort and just 15nm from mainland Fiji a very [popular destination for tourists and yachties alike. Having a tricky entrance we negotiated our way carefully through its many reefs. We were pleased to see the island was still spotlessly clean and the marina facilities well maintained which was very good considering business is a little quieter these days. It is an excellent point of departure for the next leg of the rally even although it will not be our departure point. I couldn't help but wonder that if they can separate rubbish here on this small island then why can this not be implemented on the mainland. The WARC programme kicked off with a rum punch part followed by a barbeque. We had not had a drop of rain all week and what a shame that it poured just as we queued for our food. It did rather put a dampener on the evening! It was back to the sunshine the next day and David had a round of golf with Stephen of A Lady and Bob of Ocean Jasper. I went on a long circuit of the island taking in spectacular views of the surrounding reefs from several viewpoints on the way. A sports afternoon followed. Spectators only, David and I had great fun watching the antics of teams made up of rally crews. That second evening WARC hosted a dinner, a pig roast, held at Dick's place, the resort hotel restaurant. This time the rain held off and we really had a lovely evening. Good food, good company, and the staff put on a "Meke", an informal Fijian entertainment of singing and dancing.
And then there were twenty one.....
Our rally is shrinking. At last night's dinner, Andrew Bishop announced the departure of two yachts from the rally. Charles and Marie (Dreamcatcher) and Matthieu and Marie Anne and their young family on Noeluna. Such is the way of things. It is a shame. We have sailed with them both since St. Lucia, now about 10,000nm. You meet, you part. You may never know when you might meet up again. Charles and Marie are taking time out to go down to New Zealand for boat repairs with the intention of hooking up with the next WARC in two years time. Matthieu gave a nice farewell speech. Marie Anne I think it fair to say started out as a very apprehensive sailing partner, exactly the way I was when we first cast off our mooring lines from Rhu Marina in Scotland, six years ago. Now six months into the trip it is lovely to see how much she is enjoying herself and that confidence is reflected in the way that the whole family now feel able to "go it alone". We wish them and their lovely family all the luck in the world. Jan Morton and Viveke and their family from Ronja are taking time out from the rally to visit New Zealand but will rejoin again in Mackay, Australia.
Fijian friendships!
One of the first things I did on coming ashore to Musket Cove was to enquire after Sereana. She is the resort nurse and we had met four years ago under unusual circumstances. Christophe Rassy of Halberg Rassy yachts, an extremely generous and ebullient character whom we had had the privilege to sail around the world with, hosted a wonderful dinner for all the rally participants here in the hotel in Musket Cove. Seated at long tables I had just sat down, raised the first glass of wine to my lips, when I was tapped on the shoulder. "Please come quick". Eduard has had an accident. I am a nurse, long since retired but the only one on the rally. I grabbed Peter, my twin brother, a doctor, and we raced full pelt to the pontoon where Eduard lay. How neither of us suffered a heart attack on the way I do not know for we were completely out of breath when we got there. Eduard had missed his footing on the transom steps of his 49ft Hallberg Rassy, slipped into the water between the boat and the dock, severely injuring himself in the process. Peter and I found him lying on the pontoon having been fished out of the water, in a state of shock and extreme pain. Sereana, the resort nurse also arrived on the scene and to cut a long story short, after administering emergency treatment, it was decided to evacuate him to the mainland hospital in Nadi. In driving rain and high winds in a tiny catamaran it was the most frightening passage I have ever made in a small boat. I was absolutely terrified. There was not a single lifejacket to be seen and on that tiny boat there were seven of us. The party continued in Musket Cove but we knew none of it. Finally at about 1am when we had safely delivered our casualty to the accident and emergency department did we manage to buy a "carry out" at a street stall, the staff of Musket Cove finding accommodation in a downtown apartment for us three for the night. The following morning we all returned to the resort via the local ferry. Poor David did not know the whole night where we had gone. Back to Sereana. We talked at length about our professions and I remembered being hugely impressed by her knowledge and her skills. She had been trained in the traditional ways, many might say old fashioned, but they were tried and tested and.... they still worked. She seemed to me to be immensely wise and so you can imagine my delight that four years on I might make contact once more. I wondered if she would even remember me. I missed her by one day! So I wrote a letter and left it with her staff to pass on.
Reef Encounters!
We have heard now of seven rally yachts hitting a reef or coral head. This is very unlucky indeed. Of course it can happen to anybody but by zooming in to the chart plotter, checking distinguishing marks against the electronic charts, and careful eyeball navigation from the deck of the yacht, all help to reduce the risks. Entering a pass between the reefs is always disconcerting for me at the best of times but the sight of many vessels lying wrecked upon it further adds to that apprehension.. So it was when we came into Suva. From where we lay at anchor within the harbour we counted at least seven wrecks. Perhaps there is something to be said for a night arrival! I know David is an excellent navigator, I know we never take risks and I also know we err on the side of caution. So why all the stress? Knowledge is a dangerous thing and perhaps we know too much. During our last circumnavigation two yachts foundered upon a reef. One other yacht grounded and only had a lucky escape when another yacht pulled him clear with the use of chains around the keel. On the last WARC a yacht was lost off the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Now we have just heard that Grand Filou has run upon the reef at the entrance to Musket Cove and damaged his rudder. There must be many more "incidents" that we do not ever get to hear about but it is the knowledge of all these "events" that heightens my awareness of the dangers involved. My antennae are on full alert......
Return to Denerau
We needed no excuse to come back. We simply had to. Our vital generator part had arrived from Australia. Paul kindly arranged for us to be first in line to check out with the Fijian customs who had been brought across to the island specifically for that purpose. We were anxious to get going as soon as possible due to a falling tide which in a couple of hours would have made it impossible to leave. We bade farewell to the Dreamcatchers and the Noelunas. Marguerite had drawn a picture for every single yacht on the rally and I now have ours, complete with David wearing a kilt and playing the bagpipes, in my galley. It is these little offerings that are so touching. By noon to our great relief all our papers were completed and off we went. The wind was blowing 20plus knots. If we had been on our way to Vanuatu it would have been perfect sailing conditions. But it was a Friday and we had a date with Denerau. So three hours later we settled once more into our berth but this time as illegal immigrants! Two hours later our generator part arrived aned George, the electrician set to work to install it. He was as relieved as we were when the generator burst into life. He had only ever known two mother boards to fail. Ours was the third. Feeling elated I rushed off for some last minute retail therapy and then we dined ashore. Lamb always features on the menu and coming from New Zealand we just cannot resist. We had an early night in anticipation of an early departure the following morning for the start of the next leg. We had no desire to be left behind.
Susan Mackay