Musket Cove, Malolo Lailai 17:46:19S 177:11:38E
Well this is the fith
attempt to get this blog thru’. VERY, VERY frustrating!! We arrived in Musket Cove on the afternoon of 7th
July, after a very boisterous passage from Lautoka. Peter Seymour was once again presiding over Rally operations
and we were encouraged to hurry in to the lagoon on the Now this is an entrance that is strewn with rocks, sand bars
and reefs. So going flat out on a falling tide was not ideal. Especially as it
was gusting 30+ knots. By the time we arrived in the lagoon adjacent to the
marina I decided it was just too gusty in the marina, with very little water
and room to manoeuvre. Especially as we would be required to anchor stern too
the pontoon, So we picked up a mooring buoy and spent a charming night aboard,
that is after a run ashore in the dingy to join the BWR gang at a reception,
hosted by the owner of the island, Dick Smith. The next morning we dropped the buoy and headed in to the
marina, where there were many pairs of helping hands to secure us alongside,
still in very gusty conditions. In fact too many pairs of hands. It all got
very confusing with different folks all suggesting I park the boat in different
ways. Jennie was not a happy person at this point. BUT, it all went well in the
end and we in fact ended up at the very end of the row of boats in a private
“end of dock” spot…near to the famous four dollar bar. The
It has to be said that this is a truly beautiful spot. Island
View The The It has a well stocked store, fuel dock, and
“our” resort had a single restaurant and bar, which did Australian
resort cuisine. Not to everyone’s liking it has to be said. They would
certainly benefit form a new Food & Beverage Manager!! There was also one
other café which served dreadful food. They also have an activity centre. Here they rent out Wind
surfers, kayak’s, and Hobby Kats. These are huge fun and it was great to
go sailing close to the water with the spray splashing warm water all over you
and the thrill and sensation of speed as one of the hulls flies. Also Scuba
diving. Did a couple of dives. Very good dive sites but somewhat too laid back
dive masters. They got the second dive completely wrong and it could have
turned nasty. But, in the event it was a magnificent dive, with impressive wall
diving in 12 to 30 metres of warm, clear water. The landscaping and layout of the whole With more stunning
beaches………………. Where
is that Bounty Bar when you need it? The staff are simply delightful. Warm, friendly and always
smiling. They were almost exclusively ethic Fijians. I only saw two staff of
Indian extraction the whole time we were there. One night, after a Pig Roast Buffet, the staff gave us a
performance of traditional song and dance. This was very well done and
delivered with great enthusiasm………….. Whilst there, I had arranged for spares for the generator
and the Mast Head Unit to be sent out to us. At this point a special
mention has to be made for Judy Smith, Dick’s daughter. She is a great
character, and nothing is too much trouble. The spares got held up in customs.
Judy got on the case and they were on the next ferry from Nadi! Wonderful can
do service!! Once we had the spare parts, the Generator was sorted. Next,
Brin and Luke from Spectra came aboard and removed the MHU from the top of the
mast. The PCB pod was full of water. I changed the PCB over, and then Brin
fixed the MHU back at the top of the mast. Hey presto it worked. Marvellous. It
took me three weeks to convince the B&G “product expert” back
in the Finally, I got the “quality” information I had
been waiting for to get the Main Sail hoisting properly. This involved
adjusting a valve on the hydraulic motor in the Boom. It now works like a
dream. So, for the first time since the Crash Gybe back in The Marquasas,
every thing on the boat was working 100%. Hip Hip Hooooooooray!! The other two notable events in Musket Cove were the 50th
Birthday party for Pat Cage from Hakuna Matata, and the departure from the
rally of Hakuna Matata. Pat
& Jeremy marvel at the words of the song composed for them by Robert &
Wendy It was a great party for Pat. Her 80 year old mother had
flown in from the It was to be Bradley’s 13th Birthday during
their passage from Musket Cove to Bradley & CD player Elena and Jeremy at the poolside So it was (a tearful) farewell to the Hakuna Tribe. It was
great knowing you and thank you for all the Hakuna events. Good luck with the
new job Jeremy. Finally, it was here too that Peter & Liz from
Moonshadow were to leave the BWR. Liz is returning to the WE just loved Musket Cove. It was idyllic. We went for long
walks, we partied, we chilled out and had a great time. Sadly all good
things……..and so the time came to leave. Once again we were royally
looked after by Judy. She even arranged to have customs and immigration
officers brought over from the mainland to do the clearing out paperwork from We would most definitely come back here again. Even if the
food was a little disappointing. In fact the whole So it was that on the 16th July we departed
Musket Cove and |