Category Archives: Fiji

Musket Cove Regatta: Races 2 & 3: 2023

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Part II of the Musket Cove Regatta 2023.  Be sure to read Part I: Musket Cove Regatta: Pirate Day 2023.  Day 2 of the regatta is a “down day” and meant to be onshore for the games, activities, and hobbie cat races.  But Day 3 is the famed Around the Island Race.

If you might recall last year, on the sailboat “Wow” we had to leave the race without finishing because we tore the jib.  This year we were determined to simply go all the way around the island.  The problem is we did not have a boat to crew on.

Luck of the draw…we met this boat called “Wings” in Viani Bay a few weeks prior to the regatta.  They shipped “Wings” their beautiful 46′ Dehler from Austrlia to California so they could participate in the prestigous Transpac Race (California to Hawaii).  After they finished the race, they sailed from Hawaii to Fiji which is where we met them.  The race course around the island.

Racing on “Wings”

Ian, the owner was gracious enough to invite Matt and I on to their boat for the Around the Island race.  We were thrilled to be back in the game!  Even though this is a really sleek racing boat, I was not sure how well we would do.  I just wanted to finish!

Wings is made for racing and Ian takes her all over the world to compete.  In the top photo Wings has her racing sails up but for the Musket Cove regatta she used her standard ‘working sails.’

Well equiped and ready to race with easily visible instruments, and key performance indicator sheets.

The Race Photographer captured some great shots of Wings while underway.

Ian, being the master race captain, positioned us perfectly at the start line and we were the first to cross.  It was a packed start as we all were tacking up the narrow channel in a fight for air and position.

The crew: Ian, David, Mark, Alissa, Janesse, Matt and I.  Yes, it looks like we are hardly working, but the only time I can take photos is when we have a “lull”  It becomes super difficult to stop and take photos during a tack or jibe.

As it turns out, we were the 2nd monohull to cross the line.  We won’t know for sure until the awards ceremony, but we are 99.99% confiendt we came in second.

The Sandbank Race

The next day, 3 of the 4 crew members decided to go surfing.  Ian, asked if Matt and I wanted to fill in and we decided “why not?”  Of course, we don’ know 1/10 of what his crew does, but we muddled through it the best we could.

The Sandbank race is short and usually has very little wind.  Making it challenging to get this heavy boat to move.  Our start was not as good as the day before, but we made the best of it.  This is the race course:

We certainly did not do as well as we did on the Around the Island race, with little wind, and short 3 crew, but we sure did have fun!

Awards Ceremony

Wings came in 2nd in the prestigous Around the Island Race.  We won tons of prizes.  Matt and I received a bottle of champagn, a new hat, and a $100 fuel voucher.  We then won several drawings.  We got 2 months of free internet from Vodafone, 1 year professional subscription from PredictWind, and we won a huge bag full of wine, goodies, and more.  

Our crew on Wings and Salty.

We had many beautiful sunsets where the anchor lights dot the sky making it look like falling stars.

Soem Fijian Love

Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind live events.  This event occurred early September.  In our last blog we get down and dirty as pirates.

Musket Cove Regatta: Pirate Day 2023

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We were lucky enough to get on a winning catamaran called “Wow” last year during the 2022 Musket Cove Regatta. This year we arrived the day before the regatta and did not have a chance to secure a position for all three races.

There are over 100 sailboats in the anchorage and on the moorings.  It is packed!  About 80 boats signed up for the regatta this year.  But that does not necessarily mean that all 80 boats are racing.  For example, we signed up Sugar Shack but we don’t plan to race our home.  We signed up so we can participate in the challenges, games, opening and closing night dinners.

This is a great shot (taken by Musket Cove) of the Island Bar and the boats in the marina.

Day 1

Day 1 of the Musket Cove Regatta is the Beachcomber Pirate Date Race.  This is definitely the most fun race as anything goes!  We were lucky enough to secure a spot on a beatiful Fountaine Pajout catamaran called “Salty.”  We know Mel who is crew on it and she invited us on after we bribed her with jello shots and cookies.

Such a different experience from last year.  We were in party mode the minute we stepped onto the boat.  Everyone was carefree and jovial and ready for a good time.  With that said, we were still in a race and managed to get a pretty good position off the start line.

Like last year, we did not have much wind so it was a motor sail (anything goes in this race).  We sailed right past the marker with a bird who was just watching the excitement go by.  Matt tries to inflate his pirate sword and we arrive to Beachcomber island after 2hrs.  I think we were 5th in the catamaran category.

Once we get to shore we are immediately taken as prisoners.  They shout at us to behave or we will end up in the sandy grave yard.

We walk across red hot coals and are forced to take our rum vaccination. Can’t have a pirate day without rum!

Everyone dresses the pirate part.

The crew at the Beachcomber.

Funtabulous Time

This is Viki from Island Cruising, she is the organizer of our South Pacific Rally.

Cruisers like any excuse to dress up and drink.

My favorite pirate.

And then the silliness occurs…

Do I make a good sea monster?

Meet the “salty” crew.

Fijian Dancers

Such beautiful expressions

And the fire dancing

They really stepped up their show compared to last year!

The Salty crew successfully conquered Pirate Day!

Stay tuned for Part II of the Musket Cove Regatta 2023!  Coming soon

Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events.  This blog post occurred in early September.  Did you read our very cool post on Yadua and Yadua Taba?

Yadua and Yadua Taba

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Yadua was one of our stops during our multiple day passage across Fiji.  It was such a lovely island that I decided it needed its own post.  Yadua and Yadua Taba are located in the Bligh Waters situated between Viti Levu and Vanua Levu.  It can be a treacherous  journey getting through the Bligh waters as they seas can zip between these islands which strong currents.  But in the right conditions, Yadua can be idealic.  The smaller yellow mass is Yadua Taba.

We arrived late in the afternoon, dropped the hook and watched the gorgeous sunset behind the boat.  The next day we spent exploring this amazing spot on land and sea.  We are still experiencing the effects of the Super Blue Moon with excecssive high and low tides.  So, we wait until mid-tide to get to shore.  

High tide covers the beach in water and low tide doesn’t allow us to get the dinghy over the coral reef that lines the beach front.

There are 4 beaches in this bay along with a bazillion palm trees, some hills, and beautiful rock cliffs.

Expedition on Shore

We start out by exploring the beautiful sandy beaches inside this bay.  The sand is soft and the beaches are clean.

But we want to see more so we decide to try to climb the hill to see the beaches on the east side.  Of course we don’t find a trail to go up and over….(lower photo).  We utilize tree roots to climb the rock face, then avoid slipping as we walk the ridge before we make a new trail to the other side.  Seriously there has to be an easier way!

But the beaches on the other side are magnificent!

On the way back we see what looks like a “trail” up the hill.  We decide that it can’t be more difficult than the one we came in on so we take it.  And guess what?  It is an actual trail that leads us directly to the other side.  Jimeny Cricket!

Yadua Taba

Yadua Taba is a much smaller island located on the SW corner of Yadua.  It is forbidden to go ashore on this little island and its surrounding reefs are wildlife sancutuary for one of the rarest and most beautiful lizzarsd called the Crested Iguana.

We took the dinghy over to the island with the hopes of seeing them sunning themselves on a log or the beach but they were very shy and hid well from us.

Yadua Taba is special for another reason in that it contains tropical dry forest vegetation, one of the most (if not the most) endangered vegetation types in the world!

We had to continue on with our journey across Fiji as we need to make tracks to Musket Cove.

Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events.  This blog post occured in early October 2023.  In our last blog post we traverse across Fiji.