Trillium - S/V Trillium: A Fine Fijian Farewell

A Fine Fijian FarewellThe time has come to say "until we meet again" to our Fijian friends at Vuda Marina. This has been our home base since arriving in Fiji on June 11. Not only have the guys in the yard been outstanding in their service, the gals in the office, laundry, store and restaurant staffs have been wonderful. This is the most friendly customer service focused experience so far on our circumnavigation. They all seem genuinely happy to have you there. Having scheduled a number of departure dates and then cancelled them due to repairs or weather (either too much wind or too little), we finally committed to leaving on September 1. We celebrated my birthday a day early with Joyce and John from S/V Starblazer, another Hallberg-Rassy yacht, at the Boatshed Bar. Joyce gave me a lovely. read more...

Trillium - Socializing with Other WARC Boats in Vanuatu

After a sail from Fiji on the first of September, we have been exploring the central islands of Vanuatu. The islands are about 900 km from north to south so you can spend a lot of time here and not see all of it. We have only seen Efate, The Maskelyne Islands, Epi, Lamen Island and a little of Malekula.We have had some wonderful experiences with the ni-Vans on the different islands. They are so friendly and eager to show us their villages and share their culture. The children have been fascinated by the photos we have taken on the iPad and then shown them. Even the adults were puzzled by the technology and wanted to have their pictures taken!For a week, we traveled with S/V Starblazer and met a number of other cruisers. Then they headed off to Ambrym or Pentecost and then to Espiritu. read more...

Trillium - Another Rendezvous in Musket Cove!

Another Rendezvous in Musket CoveAfter 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. read more...

Trillium - Trillium Travels to Rakiraki Area

Destination Rakiraki AreaWith the generator and water maker in fine shape now, we decided to venture from Vuda Point Marina across the top of Vita Levu toward Rakiraki. We had read about the wonderful snorkeling and diving in this area. Of course, the wind would be on the nose so the Iron Jenny would be our momentum. Besides, we soon learned that it is nearly impossible to sail windward through the reefs to cover this area.While the distance is not that great, it is a slow methodical trip. First of all, as everyone has indicated, the electronic charts are almost worthless! There are many unmarked reefs all over Fiji. In fact, the World ARC participants could probably create a book of all we have found and noted the latitudes and longitudes! Maybe it could be sold to support dental health. read more...

Trillium - Trillium Touring Fiji

Visiting Somosomo, NavitiOnce we had completed our sevusevu ceremony, Tewa asked if we would like to visit the market. Of course! I am thinking fresh fruits and vegetables. Wrong! The market was a few ladies sitting on the ground under a breadfruit tree with some fans and jewelry for sale. Dennis bought a bracelet and Sondra bought some pearls. I manage to buy a breadfruit off the tree so I could make breadfruit frites! Technique for making breadfruit frites:First boil the large green fruit for 20 minutes. Let it cool and then peel the tough skin off. Cut into French fries-style sticks. Fry in hot oil until crispy. Serve with mayonnaise and or ketchup (called tomato sauce in the South Pacific).Following our big purchases, we walked through the village with Tewa where we visited the. read more...