Zulu News: Embarking on a Two-Day Full Moon Sail to Fulanga, Southern Lau, Fiji

June 24, 2013 

Provisioning; Going to Yangassa Cluster and Fulanga, Southern Lau Group; Blog to be updated in August with many stories and photographs; Sarah, my sunflower daughter is getting married September 28 on the beautiful island of Kauai, Hawaii

Provisioning

It is hectic! To say the least! Hit MH Supermarket first for dry goods and juices and jams and eggs and milk; next the Chinese wine store that specializes in Palangi stuff like Brie and Camembert and sharp cheddar cheeses; nuts; granola—all very expensive and for the pleasure of shopping there they will add 4% for using your credit card, which is illegal in Fiji. What’s another fee! 


Lastly the Saturday market and bakery. It is all colourful, but FRENETIC to say the least. Russ carries the bags and pays the vendors. I go through that market like a windstorm selecting the best fresh produce I can zoom in on: tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, sweet potatoes, potatoes, onions, bok choy, egg plant, green peppers, zucchini, long green beans, watermelon, pineapples, paw paws, passion fruit, bananas, lemons, limes, and cross-betweens. 4 loaves of hot bread: 2 seed, 2 long wheat loaves, 4 wheat rolls, 2 coconut swirls. 

Lug it to the dinghy, dinghy to the boat, load it, sort it, wash it, pack it, shower, cook for the journey. And before I collapse— Go out to dinner, listen to the music at the run-down Waitui Marina— Two musicians from Hawaii on ukulele and guitar, Indo-Fijians on the bongo drums, a Canadian on a fiddle. Yachties eat curry for FJ$ 10 ($US 5.70) a plate and drink beer and spin yarns. 

Sleep! Button Zulu up. 

Going to Yangassa Cluster and Fulanga, Southern Lau Group 

Within the hour Zulu will be free of her swing mooring in Savusavu and head out to anchor for the night at the Jean-Michel Cousteau resort. Catch our breath; dine on Greek lentil-lemon soup; couscous with mango, cranberries, mint, in a lemon-orange-olive oil dressing and topped with cashew nuts; rum over iced orange-pineapple-green coconut juice. Sleep to revitalize for the 2-day journey to Yangassa Cluster and Fulanga in the Southern Lau Group. 

Thirty three years ago we made our first landfall in Fiji in the Yangassa Cluster—sailing in from Vavau, Tonga. 

That night long ago, before entering Fiji , a whale 1-1/2 times the size of our 33 ft wooden boat came alongside within 12 ft. I had my year-old son, Ian with me. Russ called for me to come into the cockpit with the lifesaving gear. It was a moonless night. And you could hear the sound of the blow. He turned on the depth sounder and the whale sounded beneath our boat and disappeared into the void.

Our time in the Yangassa Cluster was unforgettable.We want to close the loop on those long-ago-days and go back to those uninhabited islands with turquoise waters and undercut mushroom islets and lobsters, as well as the villages of Fulanga. We hear Fulanga is a cross between the Marquesas and Bora Bora. WOW!!! I can't wait.

Blog to be updated in August with many stories and photographs 

There are many stories I have written and photographs taken these last two months sailing into the bays of Vanua Levu, Rabi, Taveuni, Matangi, Vanuabalavu—the Exploring Isles. These are banked until I find breath in me and time to complete them and post them inbetween swimming and walking and having fun and facing the challenge of living on a boat in a confined space with a ragamuffin. 

Sarah, my sunflower daughter is getting married 

The very EXCITING news is August 4 we fly to Hawaii to attend and celebrate our beautiful daughter’s wedding to Dannel Christian, from Portland Oregon. Sarah and Dannel have chosen the most beautiful island of Kauai, Hawaii to get married on September 28. My heart skips a beat knowing what a romantic and joyful occasion this will be. 

Until later, we send love to our loved ones. Enjoy these photographs as prelude to my future posts. Wish us safe passage threading through the reefs. We think of you! Times have been challenging, but the rewards are great. Love endureth all. 






 Viani bay's outer reefs, Vanua Levu. Taken from the dinghy looking down on water.



 































Bay of Islands, Vanuabalavu-The Exploring Isles-- Northern Lau Group. Not birds, but fruit bats.








Sea Hibiscus and my sunflower daughter, Sarah and her husband-to-be, Dannel Christian: Always in love.