Buca Bay - 16 40.000S 179 50.700E

Aurora_b
Mike and Liz Downing
Sat 30 Jun 2012 06:28
Buca Bay (pronounced Bootha Bay) is where we didn't stop! We left Albert Cove yesterday, planning to stop at Buca Bay but the weather didn't cooperate. It was an overcast day, but a good 22 mile sail down to the bay where we had intended to anchor for the night. But in the last hour or so before arriving the wind went round almost to a north easterly. (The forecast was for east or south of east.) The wind was funneling straight into Buca Bay and even worse, quite a big north easterly swell was also funneling in too. The prospect of anchoring on a lee shore with the bow plunging up and down all night was not a good one, so we turned east round the south of Kioa Island and headed for Viani Bay. There are quite a few reefs to look out for on the passage, and with failing light it was a bit tense, but using a combination of Google Earth, the electronic charts on the chartplotter and the paper charts we have, we plotted a course and reached Viani as the sun was going down. As we came in it seemed quite appropriate that the only yacht here with AIS showing was 'Just In Time'.

Talking of yacht names, there's one we hear called Tuxedo Junction and another called Secret Agent Man - that sounds funny on the radio!