Hand steering for 10 hours a day I expected to arrive in Suva on Friday but on Wednesday Wild Fox decided to go for it. The boat logged a top speed of 9 knots and sailed herself at 6 knots average over 45 miles. I arrived in the anchorage after the quite scary reef pass at 0745 and was soon anchored by the Royal Suva Yacht Club.

 

The police launch came by. Oops, what now? "Good morning, sir, welcome to Fiji. We hope you enjoy your stay here". Nice people. Four officials then came aboard at about 1200 and all formalaties were completed in 20 minutes. Having been on my feet for 36 hours it was an early night for me.

A feature of the harbour here is the number of Chinese fishing boats. Fiji, like most Oceania countries, has sold its fishing rights almost guaranteeing the destruction of many coral reefs.

Fiji is beauitful but Suva is not its most photogenic part. But you can get everything here. And it is cheap, food especially. Beer 90p, ice cream 30p. And they drive on the left. Sometimes. My self steering replacement part is due to arrive on 11th June. In the meantime small jobs on the boat, rest up and explore. Then it is off to the islands. Yipeeeeeee....