More Musket Cove

Dawnbreaker
Lars Alfredson
Sat 20 Jul 2013 06:36

20130720 Saturday

 

After breakfast Lars sets about repairing the broken boom. He’s managed to find a bolt to replace the bent one and a Tap to rethread the new bolt holes when they are drilled. For once it turns out to be a relatively straight forward bit of engineering and we soon have it bolted together and hoisted back onto the mast and ready for action..

 

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                       We have the technology

 .

Greg, our Aussie swims past giving his usual greeting, he’s still getting over the thrashing the British Lions gave his national side, poor boy!

 

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                           A sore looser?                                                                                                                  and his boat

 

There isn’t any wind and the temperature’s rising, although the sky is overcast. It’s time for a swim and as we’re heading out to Port Denarau we’re going to stop on the sand island which appears at low tide, on the reef by the entrance to the bay.

 

Approaching the reef we notice a yacht at peculiar angle just off the channel. Further investigation shows she’s hard up on the reef. Tonton, in inimitable fashion, goes over to investigate and offer our services but they’re not happy chappies and have even taken the trouble to tape a cover over the yachts name on the stern and boom.

 

 

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                             On the rocks                                                                                                              Our tracks-the green bits are the reefs?         

 

Unfortunately they have forgotten to turn their AIS off, which is still transmitting the ships details including their name, “Limitless”. Well I guess they know the “Limitations” of the electronic charts for this area!

 

It’s a popular spot and there are already a couple of dinghies ashore and a few boats moored just off the surrounding reef. Tonton rings the marina at Denarau to confirm our booking and find out why Leeann hasn’t answered our emails.

 

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              Every mans dream, an island full of women.                                                                         Where did it go?   

 

The answer to the latter is she’s off until next week and yes, our bookings are confirmed but they start tomorrow not today as we thought. Never mind we’ll stay here for another night and in the meantime the washing machine has just finished its run.  So with the boat looking like a Chinese laundry having everything hanging to dry, in the rigging we abandon ship and snorkel out to the reef.

 

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Visibility is excellent with the bottom rising steeply up to a very sparse reef, but with the most incredible amounts of fish in both shoal sizes and variety. Their lack of fear would indicate they are being fed.

 

The top few inches of water are full of blue finned Garfish that follow us around while below us is shoal of the long and thinner Needlefish. Rainbow coloured Parrot fish of all combinations of hues and schools of yellow finned Surgeon type fish add to the kaleidoscope of colour as we practically have to fight our way through them.

 

We make our way back to base just in time, as Catamaran load of trippers arrive and those that aren’t snorkelling were walking across the shallows to the sandbank. Meanwhile we lunch and watch the antics. Then it rains! A mad dash ensues to rescue the washing and that done we settle down to a beer and a read before we return to our anchorage we had left earlier.

 

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                               Trippers

 

 

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