In August, 2006, S/V Toketie set out from Victoria, British Columbia and sailed South to Mexico, on to French Polynesia, Niue and Tonga following the well beaten path known as the 'coconut run' to New Zealand. In 2009 we sailed N to Fiji then on to New Caledonia en route to Australia! Toketie is now back home in British Columbia after a long passage via the N Pacific Ocean.
The Toketie crew have been exploring some of New Caledonia for a few weeks now! Unfortunately the internet service seems very poor here so we don't have very good access. Culture is interesting, very European flavor, with a mixture of the local indigenous Kanak population. Noumea is a small city with most of the country's people crammed into and has homeless people down by the waterfront. We did get out to some of the S anchorages though and on a hike managed to take this picture of Toketie from the top of a hill!
Toketie made it out of the anchorage in Noumea! The city was fine for a week, lots of bagettes and croissants! And the wine is excellent here...full bodied red Beaujolais and Bordeaux at prices even we can afford! But we are now sitting in a remote anchorage at the end of an inlet with our good friends from Sukanuk that we have not seen since NZ. Took a dinghy ride up a shallow river to a small waterfall and supposed 'hot springs' which were not hot but a nice pool anyway. Clouding over and a stationery front to the S will keep us here for a few days and then hopefully do some more exploring.
With 110nm to go, Toketie is on her final approach to New Caledonia! The sky is deep blue with a smattering of puffy white cumulus clouds or 'tradewind clouds' as we refer to them. The wind is very gentle from the SE and the seas are kind. One can not ask for much more in an ocean passage! We hope to clear Havannah Pass and enter the main reef early afternoon on Friday (in New Cal). The AIS (Automatic Identification System) we installed paid for itself in the wee hours of this morning as the 'Coral Coast', a very large freighter, was bearing down on us directly ahead on a reciprocal course to ours! Calling the vessel on its MMSI # alerted a crew member who then had a look out the window and confirmed he could see us! The vessel then very kindly altered course to pass us safely.
After sailing out of the rain and clouds overnight to clear blue skies and sunshine with a gentle tradewind large off the port quarter, we are having some of our best sailing ever! (touching wood)
Motored for 24 hours with no wind. Good offing from land, now sailing very slowly using drifter. Clear skies and trough ahead appears to have moved south.
Well, after a few very relaxing days in Momi Bay, Fiji, it looks like tomorrow, Saturday in this part of the world is a good day to go to sea! We avoided leaving port on Friday the 13th for fear of tempting fate. Weather looks fairly light ahead but we shall see what it brings. Managed to connect to Airmail so should be able to provide brief updates by HAM radio en route.
We have not actually left Fiji yet! We are anchored in Momi Bay, a small bay within sight of the main pass through the reef. The winds have been howling for days and a trough of bad weather is approaching New Caledonia so we thought we would hide out here and wait for things to calm down a bit before venturing forth. A 35 knot tailwind and cross seas is not our choice of sea conditions! It is forecast to start to settle down tomorrow so we will look at the weather in the morning again and decide whether to set out. Tried to get into Airmail over the HF radio today but had no luck connecting so might not be able to send updates along the way. We will, however, be doing a radio schedule with Derek and Anthea on Sukanuk who are in New Caledonia now. The extra day in the anchorage was welcome as we had a few loose ends to tie up before going to sea.
Well, we have left the security of the marina and are now anchored off the sugarmill town of Lautoka. A nasty looking cold front sits between us and New Caledonia, however, so we will cool our heels till it passes. We are fueled, watered, propaned, and otherwise provisioned to head West so when the weather looks right, we will clear customs and immigration and head out the pass for open water! It is about 40 miles to the pass from here, about a 600 mile passage and another 40 miles inside the reef to Noumea in New Caledonia. Hoping the Convergence Zone with its squalls and thunderstorms stays North of us and the tradewinds from the SE are steady along the way!
Once again….my apologies to all of our loyal vicarious blogging sailors out there! I know I have been negligent in updating you on our situation. There is no excuse, as usual, and I plead lethargy!
In brief…I survived two months of refitting Toketie…Linda arrived to restore me to sanity….and we escaped to Musket Cove for a few weeks of much needed rest. Soon being bored with resting, we took scuba diving lessons and earned our open water PADI diving certificates and made four ocean dives!
But we are back in the marina, doing the final preparations for leaving Fiji…a very mixed blessing….as we do not feel we have really finished with this place….but it is time to move on and the call of the West is strong so we get up early to take the 'chicken bus' into town…run around like mad photocopying charts and guides, buying whatever we can find to stock the cupboards for the journey ahead….one more trip up the mast, fuel, water, gas…all the nicessities…..and the parting with friends, always hard as everyone follows their own personal dream….but the ocean's track is not written and only by moving somewhat blindly into the future can it be known….so now we look at the weather charts and prepare ourselves to leave the safe confines of life ashore for the open sea….I think we are ready!
Toketie's 'todo' lists come in many flavours! The hastily scribbled note on a yellow sticky! Or worse the hastily scribbled note on a scrap piece of paper! The formal organized list for the day! Or the formal organized list for the particular marina or anchorage. Then, of course, each list will have the critical 'must do' items, perhaps prior to sailing or prior to a passage! And then there are the 'would like to do' items that are usually the ones scribbled on any available paper as they usually occur to us while underway or busy with something else! And then there are the 'dream on' items, things we would like to do but can't foresee a time when we can afford them. Routine day to day things that never make the list but take up a lot of time include preparing meals, shopping, cleaning the galley, doing the laundry etc.. But whatever flavour they come in, there is usually at least one list at any time. Occasionally they are consolidated and maybe even prioritized. I know it sounds pretty anal for the cruising lifestyle! But we find that if we don't make note of these things and refer to the notes, there is less chance of things getting done. And most days we can wake up and look at the list and decide what we feel like doing that day…if anything! We try to cross an item or two off the list each day. That way, we can enjoy the rest of the day without feeling guilty about not getting anything done, you know, that nagging feeling that you should be working instead of snorkelling or hanging out at the pool! The list(s) are like an accordion though. It seems that whenever something gets crossed off of it, two more things get added on! But that is the nature of the list! And slowly things get done and we can look around at our cozy little floating home and feel good about it! Bigger items, like the recent repainting of the decks, require lots of planning and resources (like money)! Smaller items only require that you find the necessary pieces and tools, usually well hidden or buried at the bottom of a locker. So often the smallest task can turn drawers or lockers upside down to accomplish. But then everything goes back to its place and life returns to whatever 'normal' is on board!
For example, at the moment the list is down to the following: Rig lazy jacks Soak rusty tools in diesel Polish and remount brass bell Test HF radio Support for cockpit table Call Willie to schedule paint touch-up Refasten lifeline netting Clear out V berth Pay VISA Provisions 2 cycle oil and diesel oil Battery water New fire extinguisher
So if you thought we were just lolly-gagging about in paradise here, well we do a bit of that but…..oops….gotta go….the list is calling!
Installing a new steaming and deck light on the forward face of the mast! Got it on just before the weather went south bringing a vigorous 50 knots to the anchorage overnight and heavy tropical rain. Deck light came in handy when someone dragged anchor and went steaming by in the middle of the night!
We have escaped the confines of the marina and are enjoying the Fiji the tourists see! Still have a list of things to do on board but much more pleasant doing them out here where we can swim with the colored fishies!!
The trades have finally arrived! Steady and strong from the SE....bringing lower temperatures and very cool nights to Fiji! Makes for much more comfortable days.....and nights you can actually fall asleep in! The locals are quick to put on sweaters and jackets but for us hardy Canucks....going from 30C+ degrees to 26 on board is easy to take.
We have bent the sails back on to Toketie! She rocks gently at the slip and teases us with her desire to leave the confines of the marina and once more feel the wind in her sails and the water gliding past her keel!
This week we hope to escape to Musket Cove and relax on the hook briefly while we plan our next leg! There is so much more of Fiji to explore but New Caledonia beckons so the plan at the moment is to sail 700nm West to sample the baguettes before carrying on to Australia......
Our good friend Andre that we met under very unusual circumstances in Mexico a few years ago has just had a book published. His views are very direct, always entertaining and contain layers of meaning.
You can find it online or through Amazon.com and it's called "Oceanborne Madness??? A self-alleged Aliens views about Humanity"
Well, I have moved out of Abdul's house....I'm sure the cockroaches(those that survived) will appreciate having the place to themselves! I am still not on board Toketie at night as I have sanded the floors and am varnishing them, between putting the portholes and deck hardware back on. Our friends Russ and Sue on Antipodean are off travelling for a week and I am boat sitting for them while they are away.
Big day yesterday! Rolled on the anti slip....today they pulled the tape off. I sanded the floor inside all day! Only eight days till the admiral arrives....have to get this old bucket shipshape!! Pictures to follow......on a side note, one Fijian, a security guard at the marina, is renting a few doors down from me.....he invited me over for kava but I have not been able to make it yet!
...the community seems to include Hindus as well as Muslims...though I have yet to meet one of them. Their Temple sits along the road to Abdul's house and I did see someone sweeping the dooway this morning.....the stupa in the background has a painting of Hanuman, the monkey king on it......if I recall my E religion classes.....
If I'm still around when they start cutting the cane and hauling it to the mill in Lautoka, I will get a shot of the cars loaded with stalks of sugarcane. This is the work crew heading back to town!
....mentioned to Abdul in passing today that I had a couple of cockroaches scurrying around last night....without missing a heartbeat, he said "well, keel them".....and I responded "I did"!!
So I rode the train into work today!No seriously!You might well wonder how that is possible.
Running parallel to the road to Abdul's house is a small gauge railway track.It is used by the miniature locomotives that haul the miniature flatbed cars loaded with sugarcane stalks to the mill in Lautoka.Probably close to par with tourism on the west side of Viti Levu, the sugar refinery is often a bane to cruisers who anchor in front of it to check into Fiji.The fine black soot from the chimney makes for very messy decks.
But this morning as I stumbled bleary eyed and coffee less out the front door of Abdul's house at 8:05, running behind my usual scheduled 7AM departure, I found what looked like a caboose with open benches on both sides and the engineer controlling it by a large lever in the center, working its way slowly down the track.Eyeing an opportunity too good to be missed and thinking how much sooner I could get that long black coffee to go, I waved and gave them the Bula Bula greeting common in Fiji.I was soon aboard and clickety clacking my way down the track with only one stop and a quick reverse of the engines….to pick up some coconuts that had fallen by the wayside!These four friendly fellows were a maintenance crew and were examining the track in readiness for the sugar cane harvest that would start later this month and run through to September.Jumping off at the marina entrance with a friendly wave, I scored my coffee and made my way around to find the crew getting set up for another day on Toketie's decks.The day went well, lots of sanding and filling and I slipped away in the afternoon for a dip in the pool at the resort, having to buy a cold Fiji Bitter to justify my transgression.
If the reference is too obscure, look it up!No, I have not converted to Islam….yet!But if these peaceful people are any indication, I can understand why someone might consider it!Being more of a Hindu, however, in spirit at least, I am finally feeling part of the community.This morning started at 7, long after the roosters had announced it, and after my daily ritual ablutions, I locked the door and started the trek down the road from Abdul's house.In no time, a car pulled over and picked me up.Turned out to be Fayez, Abdul's son.Abdul 2's son that is, the one who is away in New Zealand at the moment.Very friendly young man who only drove taxi on the weekends. Today he was on his way into Nadi to his job selling cars at the dealership.The Abdul family are definitely movers if not shakers!
A long day at the marina with many ups and downs, not only on the ladder.The welding job on the bowsprit had been going sideways yesterday so a call to the boss had him show up this morning to see how things were progressing.A few steps backwards, removing some of the work, and forward again to what we hope is a proper solution.Interlude on Camdeboo with a screwdriver to check their anodes….seems we will be going ahead with some refitting there as well.
And the Toketie decks were buzzing with bodies but not much seemed to be changing!Turns out they have been waiting two days for a couple of bags of silica sand to complete the sandblasting (all those spots I found that they overlooked the first round).A phone call to the boss again, who is in Suva for the week, but still accessible and not satisfied with that, I made my way up to their workshop and found the foreman who was filling in.More phone calls and the missing sand is on a truck and presto the truck goes whizzing by!So we hitched up the compressor, grabbed the spare gas can and back to Toketie, waiting patiently in the sweltering humidity of an overcast sky, threatening rain any moment.But the gods were kind and they blasted away while the welder welded away and they all had to work till dark to get the primer on the sandblasted parts.So lots got done, we dodged the rain bullet again and all I had to do was make my way back to Abdul's house!
Recalling how pleasant a walk I described only days ago, I set out again!The security guard said a bus was due about now but having learnt what 'about now' means in Fiji, I did not wait for it.Half way down the road, with the bugs chasing me and the darkness all around, a car came up and pulled over….this time it was Ali, Abdul's nephew.Another very pleasant young man and also in the taxi driving business…but apparently for someone renting Abdul's house, all local taxi rides are gratis!He pulled over near his house to talk to his friend along the road, a burst of East Indian dialect and the only phrase I caught was 'Temple of Gold'….movie night for the guys….a Bollywood special!
Back in my bungalow, the clink of ice cubes and it's a hot shower and Bounty Rum night before diving into 'Lord Jim' that I traded a spy novel for in the general store.
For those of you who have been following our blog faithfully these past few years, I apologize for boring you lately with the details of our refit(s)!I know a couple of you might be interested in the details but the rest of you armchair travellers undoubtedly have been holding your peace and wondering when I would get on with the adventure!So if you haven't completely given up on me and are still reading this….I will attempt to share a moment or two of cruising life between the cruises.
I have been back in Fiji for 5 weeks now and totally focused on getting Toketie back into sailing trim.But I realized today on the short walk back to the house I've rented from Abdul the taxi driver, that the refit is just the background to being here.I won't attempt to describe living on board in the yard.For those of you who have done it, you will understand, for those of you who have never lived on a boat in a yard…well, I don't think you could imagine what it is like.You board on a ladder, you can't use the head (that's the bathroom for you landlubbers), you can only run water to brush your teeth if you place a hose and bucket below to catch the water, then of course you have to empty the bucket!
And it is hot!Where Toketie sits she very rarely gets much breeze, if there is any in this marina.A small fan moves air around inside but it is stifling all day and about 2AM it begins to cool off and fresh air falls down through the hatches and I put down my book and breathe it in with relief, hoping at last I might be able to get some sleep.
Twice in these past 5 weeks, I have had to book into the First Landing Resort next door.It is not outrageously expensive.In fact, they have a reduced rate for cruisers from the marina next door.While we painted the bilges, I spent three nights in a bure, that's what the Fijians call a cabin, to avoid inhaling the toxic epoxy fumes.I enjoyed the luxury of my own hot showers, my own head, and even the odd dip in the swimming pool!And a week or so later, while sandblasting the topsides, I booked in again and this time they gave me a beachfront with a big soaker tub….I was in heaven!But like all good things, that came to an end and once more I turned the six volt fan to face me and read my book while dripping sweat onto a towel on board.I know, it sounds gross….you should try it sometime!
But tonight, after the workers left for the day, I had a bite in the yacht club bar and a couple of cold Fiji Bitters then decided to see how far a walk it was to Abdul's house down the road.The sun was setting to my left and after ten minutes the hardtop road turned to potholed gravel but the birds were holding forth in great chorus, the smell of the grasses from the fields, the miniature locomotive that hauls the sugarcane stalks to the mill going by and people in their yards doing what people do at the end of the day when the heat of the sun relaxes enough to allow you out to water the garden or burn the rubble.Several dog packs gave warning but kept their distance as I walked by.
Abdul's house is in a small Muslim village about 25 minutes walk from the marina.I have taken Abdul's house for an indefinite time, as the work on Toketie's topsides involves sealing all the hatches, removing the portholes, more sanding, and eventually spray painting the decks and cabin top!Impossible to live on board with that going on so in the interests of economy, I have taken Abdul's house.Abdul is a fixture at Vuda Point Marina.He is the source of all things and always there to help anyone find anything they need.He and his brother, Abdul 2, live about two miles down the road from the marina.The reason, I discovered, that they are both named Abdul is because their second names, which are really their given names, are difficult to pronounce, so for the 'yachties' convenience, they refer to themselves as Abdul 1 and Abdul 2!They own the last three houses on the road past the marina.Actually the road ends just before their houses and the bus makes its turnaround there.It is a three bedroom bungalow with big fridge and two burner propane stove, living room, some furniture, a fan, lots of windows looking out into the hills, hot water from a solar tank and lots of peace and quiet…which is maybe why I'm writing this.I surprised a gecko today, one of those little lizards that are everywhere, in the kitchen area.But they are friendly creatures and have probably seen more of life than mankind.They also eat insects so we welcome them.
In the five weeks, I have seen friends come and go, mostly go, from the marina.This is not a place anyone chooses to stay.It is a place one stays only to get work done or the 'waiting for a part to arrive' syndrome is in play.No, life is much better out in Musket Cove or any of the hundreds of small islands that make up Fiji.Barry and Ann on Cat's Paw IV arrived a week ago and are having some rigging replaced that failed on their passage up from New Zealand.Looked like they got it today so I'll probably be waving farewell to them tomorrow!John and Linda on Madhatter left a few days ago with three of their children and two partners to cruise the islands for a few weeks.Then there are the 'characters' you find in every out of the way place!There is Bob, who is resurrecting an original John Hannah Tahiti Ketch that was going to be burned.He has it afloat and filled with Fijians.His plan is to fix it up and charter it.I hope he makes it!And Steve just arrived from Samoa where he rode down Main Street taking out telephone poles in Tulak during the tsunami last year.He has been sailing since the early 70s and is finishing the repairs here.And the retired criminal lawyer from Hawaii who sits at the bar reading a novel while the beer flows.And the list goes on….have to be careful or I could end up as one of these colourful characters!
I count down the days till my first mate joins me!Hopefully I will have most of the dirty work done and we can put things back together and figure out where to go from here.Our dear friends, Derek and Anthea, on Sukanuk left New Zealand for Australia a few weeks ago but sailed into the teeth of a very deep low and were hove to and blown North and East so ended up in New Caledonia!Reports are they are enjoying it and with luck we may catch up to them there or in Australia by Oct/Nov when the cyclone season starts again.
So life goes on and I must remind myself that it is not the destination, but the journey that counts….just as well because the destination is a little fuzzy right now!
Its been a really good week for Toketie. Deck and cabintop have been sandblasted on all the rusty spots and the topcoat is being peeled away like a layer of onion! We have a long way to go but so far the weather has been cooperative.
circus circus brings you death defying acrobatics on the high trapeze.....and sandblasting! Toketie is cocooned and the dust is flying....."out out danged rust"......
Big day today....stripped all the hardware off the deck and cabintop....including the hard dodger....getting ready to sandblast and paint the rusty bits and give Toketie a much needed paint job above decks!
I believe we have won this one! From forward to aft, we scraped, chipped and needlegunned everything down in the netherlands below the engine etc.....removing all loose paint and treating the metal, then priming, epoxying and topcoating till everything is clean and new! Hopefully to stay that way for many years! And now I have been busy stripping hardware off the topsides as we have decided to repaint the decks and cabintop where the years and ocean passages have not been kind! RUST BE GONE!!
It is a hard life, here in paradise! But the beer is still cold and the people move at their own timeless hypnotic pace so....BULA BULA....and we will get Toketie back into sailing trim! We still have not decided what lies ahead....but when the first mate returns in June we will look to that....perhaps New Caledonia! Australia? So many choices here in the S Pacific!
Meanwhile it is 30 degrees in the cabin and more when the sun beats down...the humidity hovers between high and higher.....but it still beats going to the office!!
Paradise is not always what it is meant to be! I have been back in the marina in Fiji for three weeks now and though I have sorted through several issues to get Toketie back into sailing trim, the old girl is looking pretty worn out where the tropics and crossing oceans has taken their toll. The long neglected bilge area has paint peeling off and the topsides, newly painted when we left Victoria in 2006, are now looking pretty sad with rust streaks and deterioration of the topside paint. Local resources are scarce and unpredictable so if we cannot resolve it here we are considering another season in New Zealand because we know the quality of work down there. Meanwhile, the air is stifling and right now the Tropical Convergence Zone is passing over us bringing lightning shows and heavy rain at times.
This was the condition of the starting battery after water got into the compartment and shorted out the terminals. Note the brown sludge in the background...this is dirty water! All terminals and connections had to be removed and cleaned as well as the battery box.
This entry is for my 88 year old dad!He taught me everything I know about right and wrong and after exploring the world for 62 years; I realize there is not much more to know!
……this is the story of a traveller who wandered the world and one day he arrived at the gates to a great city.Sitting at the entrance was an old man so the traveller walked up to the old man and said:
"What kind of people live in your city?"
And the old man answered,
"What kind of people lived in the city you came from?"
The traveller said,
"They were terrible people.They lied and cheated and fought with each other."
"The same kind of people live in this city", the old man answered.
So the traveller moved on and soon another traveller arrived at the entrance to the same great city.Seeing the old man, he came up to him and asked the same question!
"What kind of people live in your city old man?"
The old man looked at him and returned the question saying,
"What kind of people lived in the city you came from?"
The second traveller looked at the old man and said,
"They were wonderful people, full of love and happiness and always kind to each other."
"The same kind of people live in this city", the old man answered!
The temperature is 35 degrees Celsius in the cabin today. That would probably be bearable if not for the 95% humidity accompanying it! But I have fallen under the spell of the tropics once again, the slow rhythm to life that greets you at every turn. It took a couple of days to adjust following 30 hours of travel from Victoria to Nadi. But Korean Air was wonderful and they made the transition as painless as possible. There are the cruisers who stayed for the cyclone season and those who have returned. There is the yacht club bar, the First Landing Resort and all the familiar haunts. Toketie has survived a direct hit by cyclone Mick and another that passed nearby. But she is showing her age with the wear and tear of the Pacific crossing and two passages between New Zealand and the tropics. The topsides have numerous rust spots and the December cyclone and its accompanying 100 mph winds drove rain below and flooded the battery box. I believe I have salvaged the house batteries, new in NZ, but the starter battery melted down when the water shorted the terminals. So after two days of cleaning out the compartment and all the electrical terminals, I am shopping for a replacement. Sounds simple enough but in Fiji, nothing is simple. It is difficult to source a new one and requires many conversations and trips to town. But the house batteries are up and running and charging so I have a fridge and a light to read myself to sleep. Fortunately the temperature drops and is almost bearable at night. Netting is required on all openings to keep the mosquitoes at bay. The fish on the barbeque was fresh Walu tonight and the beer is cold and cheap. So far from family and friends and missing my first mate dearly, I take a day at a time and dream of people and places yet to be found!
sitting in Vancouver airport waiting to board Korean Air flight 072 to Seoul and then on to Nadi, Fiji! Five months flew by very quickly but was filled with good memories to carry along on our adventures.
meanwhile project 'Daydream' continues...good progress in the yard with the mast stepped and the new shaft in place......
A short video clip of S/V Toketie hove-to in Fiji's Koro Sea. An 'anticyclone' is a localized high pressure system with extreme winds. We recorded gusts to 53 knots. The seas were huge and often the crests were blown horizontally!
A short video of Toketie on the passage down to New Zealand from Tonga. The 'squash zone' is an area of strong winds sandwiched between a high and a low pressure system. Makes for 'spirited' sailing!
A short video of Toketie after leaving French Polynesia enroute to Niue, the smallest country in the world! A mild taste of bluewater cruising for all you armchair sailors!
The Tuamotus Atolls in the French Polynesian islands has all the charm of a forgotten time. In this little anchorage we met these children on the beach and although very shy at first, their eyes grew wide when we asked if they would like to ride out to Toketie in the dinghy with us! Cruising yachts were a common sight in season so they must have been curious about these people who parked in their front yard! With lots of laughter, they came on board, had the tour and very politely ate cake and drank juice in the salon. They then spontaneously broke into song as a way of saying 'thank you'!! With camera at hand, I was fortunate to capture this 'moment in a lifetime'!
The island of Nuku Hiva in the French Polynesian Marquesas is a popular destination and stopover for cruising boats traveling downwind on the famous 'coconut run' across the S Pacific Ocean. This is a short clip of the entrance to the main anchorage.
Twice each year, when day and night are of equal length and the sun being vertically above a point on the equator we officially move into 'summer' in the Northern hemisphere! In Victoria the event passed with sunshine and warming temperatures!
....some shots taken in the shed where they are re-glassing the sidedecks....horribly messy dusty environment...the whole boat is covered in plastic...we took the new bowsprit out to do a prefit and mark the holes for attaching it.....
The project takes shape with the tip shaped to which the crans or crance collar is attached to hold the rigging. The notches will take the floors for the teak grating and pulpit!
This is a note to ask all you loyal Toketie blog followers to link our blog site to any other sites you might use, such as Facebook or Twitter or your own blog. Seems the search engines like a blog to be active and the more active and connected it is, the better results you get when searching for it! The whole google search business is a mystery to me and I guess that's the way they want it but I would like to at least get ours to the point where people can find it when they lose the direct link!!! Thank you
I guess we usually think of this blog as news for the people back home! But along the way, we have made friends who may be curious to know how we are faring back in the land of 'plenty'! Hard to imagine that over three months have gone by already! Being back in Victoria and connecting with family and friends is wonderful. The cyclone that hit the marina in Fiji in December caused some anxiety but hopefully no permanent damage to Toketie. We have been and still are very busy here! Linda has taken a six month contract with her old employer and David is helping a friend refit a Tayana 37. The Tayana project is fairly extensive and is currently in a shed having the decks cut up to remove rot that has occurred over the years. The chainplates are being replaced in preparation for the new rigging and all fittings topside have been removed. We recently discovered the bowsprit was rotten so I am making a new one as well. The Blue Water Cruising Association honoured us with an offshore award for our voyages across the Pacific. But our minds, mine at least, are already beginning to turn to the future and I expect to book a return flight to Fiji in late April sometime with Linda following in June. The suitcases are already overflowing with new instruments, blades for the wind generator and many other things difficult to find in Fiji. Not sure where we are going from there! Toketie has to leave Fiji by November when her visiting status expires. We had thought of spending another season there but are now leaning towards carrying on West to Australia via New Caledonia and maybe Vanuatu.
In the words of the immortal Bob Marley..."every little thing gonna be all right"!
Well, first reports are in from friends who rode out cyclone Mick on board their boats in Vuda Point Marina, Fiji. Winds in excess of 100 kts were recorded in the marina and very heavy rains. John and Renee on Scarlett O'Hara reported that it was like being at sea, the motion was so rough within the shelter of the marina. But in spite of this, no obvious damage to any of the boats has been found. We are having them check to see if any of the heavy rains found its way into the interior of Toketie! Others apparently were not so lucky. A cruise ship was blown ashore, two local fishermen never made it home and at least one sailboat in Musket Cove was blown onto the beach. Another sailboat in the Yasawa Islands group was reported to be in trouble but we do not know which boat or what the outcome was.
Meanwhile, back in Victoria, we have both found employment and will try to top up the cruising kitty so we can carry on with the 'real' life!
And as a special surprise, the Blue Water Cruising Association honoured us at the monthly meeting with a beautiful plaque recognizing our Pacific Ocean crossing!
and this just in....winds gusting to 130 kph......heavy rains and flooding....looks like an almost direct hit on Nadi Airport....Vuda Point Marina is very close.....
Well, we are back in Victoria, BC. We both have found short term gainful employment so the cruising kitty will be replenished. It has been below freezing for several nights now and they are forecasting snow this weekend. The weeks are flying by with family and friends. All is well and we miss our cruising buddies and lifestyle! Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season!
Back in Victoria! Caused quite a stir at airport security in my new duds.....they especially objected to my razor sharp samurai sword but I claimed religious freedom rights and threatened to cut off their heads.....currently hoping to make bail if any of my friends see this.....
Arrived in Seoul after 10 1/2 hour flight with Korean Air. They were very pleasant to travel with, reminded me of when airlines did not treat you like cattle! Incheon International Airport in Seoul is huge! Serving a city of over 22 million and acting as a hub to Asia, Europe and N America. The efficiency was impressive. We picked up our bags, cleared customs (non event) and boarded a modern bus for the 1 1/2 hour ride into town. We found our hotel with minimum fuss, people are very helpful though English is sparse. Leaving our bags behind and a bit weary, we wandered the streets in search of a late snack. We found a wonderful little restaurant full of locals and had a pile of bar b q chicken and other things I'm sure we'll learn the names of before we leave. Today we are off to see the town....no small feat!
Toketie has been stripped of all her canvas and much of her gear! She sleeps comfortably in 'the hole' at Vuda Point Marina in Fiji. We have packed our bags and fly to Seoul, Korea tomorrow morning where we will spend four nights before flying to Vancouver and Victoria. See you all (back in BC) soon!!!
Only about 60,000 nautical miles under Toketie's keel...so far....but actively working to add to it! Six years in the S Pacific, living the dream as they say, and now back in beautiful British Columbia!!
