After an uneventful passage from Tonga, we arrived early in the morning and right on schedule. When we were just one mile off the harbour, the heavens opened.

This was great because we need water in our tanks. It absolutely emptied down and with both rain catchers deployed, we collected gallon after gallon bringing our tanks to ¾ full.

A few more like that and we should be fully topped up, in time for Lynne’s and Janice’s arrival; girls must be able to wash their hair and take the occasional Holywood shower!

SavuSavu is a medium sized town by Polynesian standards, I know it is Melanesian I have as yet, no other experience by which to gauge it. The people are about the most friendly and helpful I have yet to come across. There are plenty of amenities with the usual supermarkets, bakeries, petrol stations etc. meeting all the basic provisioning needs of the cruising yacht.

We arrived on Saturday and by 2pm, were all cleared by customs, quarantine etc. The Q or Quarantine flag could come down and we could go ashore.

Technicalities of Clearing In:

First of all, the officials were the politest, friendliest and most efficient I have yet to come across. They were incredibly professional, reasonable and fair. They really went out of their way to give a good service. So-called First World officialdom would do well to take a leaf out of Fiji’s book! It is essential to get the paperwork for Fiji right but if you do you should have no difficulties. Most café and restaurants in Vava’u have a Information and Forms pack for Tongan$7 (US$4) which explains everything you need to know. DO NOT arrive in Fiji unless you have sent by fax or completed online, the 48 hour advance notice of arrival.  Fail to do this and you will probably have a very different experience. This, by the way, is a requirement of the G8, not Fiji. I was precise with my declarations of alcohol and had to pay import duty of F$42 (US$21). Otherwise, all charges are exactly as explained on their website and in the pack.

Back to the blog:

We had contacted the Copra Shed Marina and Yacht Club for a mooring (VHF 16). Pio was on duty and led us to it with his launch, contacted the officials and brought them out to the boat, at no charge. He also took our laundry which cost F$12 (US$6) for a 10kg load. The manager, Dolly Singh was also very helpful.

That evening, having a few beers at the club, we met some people who were going diving the next day and the owners of the Dive Company. So Sunday, Roger was off for a 2-tank dive. The first was good but the second fantastic with lots of long swim-throughs and chasms. Also, I saw my first magic or ghost coral. This is a dome shaped finger like coral that is usually brownish in colour. When you gently touch one edge of it, it changes to a ghostly white colour in a Mexican-wave-like manner, from the point where it was touched right over to the other side. It then takes about 30 seconds to revert to its original brown colour. It is truly amazing! The second time it was touched, I captured it on video which we watched when we returned to the dive centre.

I eventually got back to the boat and for the second time since I have had the camera, the first being in Tonga, I switched it on to see the screen message “Format Card”! Aaaaaargh!!! I tried various things but basically all the photos were gone; all the photos of the dives, of SavuSavu, of the countryside between the two locations. I am now trying another SD card in the camera.

That night we met Ross and Jo from Sojourn again. We had met them briefly at the Tongan Feats in Vava’u but now we chatted a lot more and got on extremely well. Anyway, they came back to Beaujolais to round off the night. After a few minutes, guitar was mentioned, Joe Robinson listened to and then I got out my guitar; not for me but for Ross. He is a fantastic player, can sing and knows all the Jimmy Buffet songs. We had a blast and several hours later reluctantly wrapped up the evening. I really hope we meet up with them in Muscat Cove or elsewhere in Fiji.

Monday morning Semi arrived with his crew of workers. Costa and Junior were going to free dive the boat to clean the bottom and then wash the sides and topsides. Sena? Was going to clean inside and Semi was going to supervise and do the stainless steel. They worked all day and did a good job. Most important was  the complete trust I felt in them and they did not let me down. I spent most of thew day completing the Clearing In process which involved a taxi ride to the hospital to pay the Health fees and a visit to customs to pay those fees. Then, later in the day my cruising permit came through so it was back to customs to clear out of SavuSavu. With the time spent provisioning and supervising the day was gone and our time was up. So much for SavuSavu.

Oh, in the morning Ever After arrived from Samoa. We first met Tom and Selme in the Marquesas and had last seen them again in Papeete, Tahiti. It was great to see them and catch up again. In Papeete, I had told Tom that the next meal was on me (he had given me some chain) and as 50% of the Fijian population is Indian, we sought out a good local Indian restaurant. A particular place was recommended to us so we went. Now when I said restaurant I had not thought of just a room next to a kitchen, two tables with plastic table cloths, and a staff of a mother and her daughter. The food tasted very good though and when I realized that the entire meal for all four of us, excluding the F$52 ($US26) of wine that I had bought from the wine merchants, cost just F$40 (US$20). I told Tom that the next meal was on him! Wine and Spirits carry very high duties and are very expensive in Fiji, though beer is not. It was a good evening but we finished early as Tom and Selme had just finished a 3 day passage and we had to be up bright and early in the morning for the start of our trip to Viti Levu.