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Musket Cove Regatta: Beachcomber Race

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The Beachcomber race is aptly named because it is a race to the island called “Beachcomber.”  This is a very unusual race as “anything goes.”  What does that mean exactly?  Well it means you can use your engines; you can use any sail configuration, and you can do pretty much anything to get yourself quickly to the island.

There are 3 prizes:  first boat to arrive, first captain to shore, and best pirate costume.

Here is the course:  it starts at the sand bank just south of Malolo island, then goes around the southern tip of Malolo and straight to Beachcomber.  The course is only 11nm so it should take us about an hour to get there in our super-fast boat.

On race day we have ridiculously light winds!  What a bummer, looks like it will be a motor sail.  We position ourselves near the start, wait for the horn, and off we go.  We are not first across the start line, but within 2 minutes we are in the lead.  Wow can motor at 10-11kts per hour with (2) 25hp outboard engines!  Yep, he has outboard engines.  Sugar Shack has (2) 50hp engines and we average 6kts!

A photo 5 minutes after the start taken from our stern.

It is pretty easy race as there is nothing we can really do under motor.  No sail changes, no tacking, no trimming.  So, the captain has us move up front to the bow to see if we can get more speed out of the boat.  And wouldn’t you know it, we gain a half a knot!

We are the first to cross the finish line and arrive at Beachcomber.

Dave, our captain jumps in the water as we anchor the boat.  He wants to be the first captain to shore. 

A Pirate’s Reception

After we secure the boat, a panga comes around to collect us.  We are immediately attacked by a bandit of pirates who hold us up at sword point and put nooses around our necks.  We are forced to walk single file, across hot burning coals, and told to take our rum vaccination shot!

Our winning team take photos under the Beachcomber sign

Outside there is a mass grave site and a hanging station.

Debauchery with Fellow Pirates

It is amazing how a little costume can make the inhibitions go away.  Well that and maybe a little liquor which was flowing freely.  These two lovely ladies are Mel and Claire.

Christine, Mel, Claire

Christine, Mel, Claire

Many joined in the fun with partial or full costumes.

Entertainment

After lunch, the Beachcomber resort brought out the dancers and fire walkers.  What a treat to see them this up close and personal!

Five dancers wowed us with their beauty, grace, and skill.

Then we went outside to see the fire walkers.  Not sure how they did it in the heat with the hot flames!

They lit flames using their hands and feet.

Truly amazing performers

AWARD TIME

Finally, it was time for the awards…First boat across the finish “Wow”, first captain to shore “Wow”, best pirate costume “Christine from Wow” we sweep the award ceremony.

I did not even know how they knew my name.

Time to head back while the sun was still out to show us the reefs.  We were the only boat to attempt to sail back, but it just got too much for the captain to be in last place so we turned on the engine about half way there.

What a spectacularly funny day!

The events from this blog occurred in early September 2022.  Our blog posts run 6-8 weeks behind actual events.  The world renowned Musket Cove regatta kicks off in our last blog. 

Musket Cove Regatta

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Matt and I are so excited to be here during the world renowned Musket Cove Regatta week!  We do want to participate, but we don’t want to race our home.  We do however, register Sugar Shack so that we are eligible to sign up for the hobie cat race, the SUP challenge, and we get access to the opening and closing night dinners.

About a month before the race, we ran into our friends on the sailing boat “Wow.”  We met them in French Polynesia and stopped by to say “hi.”  They were keen to race in the regatta and needed additional crew so we happily signed up.

Wow is a stealth 14GT and weighs in at a surprisingly low 5 tons.  To give you an idea of how light that is Sugar Shack weighs close to 14 tons.  Wow is super light and fast!

We spend one day practicing and getting to know the boat which is pretty different than Sugar Shack. 

Opening Night

The opening night was held at the local Island Bar located on the beach.  Tickets are required, free rum punch for the first hour, and dinner was served.  It was a great opportunity to get to know other cruisers.  We head in with the sailing team on Wow and our friend Chris (lower left corner).

There are three boat races that are held during the 5-day race week.  The first race is called “beachcomber” then the most challenging race is “Around Malolo Race” and the final is the “sand bank” race.

In addition to the boat races, there are hobie cat races, the SUP challenge, a fun run, and a beach cleanup.

Hobie Cat Races

The first race that kicks off is the hobie cat races.  Matt had sailed on hobie cats when he was in college, but I had never been on one before.  We had hoped we could watch a few rounds so we can see the course, check the winds, and figure out a game plan. 

But that was not in the cards for us. We were literally the first team, out of 60 teams, on the water! 

There are 4 hobie cats.  You race two teams at a time with a beach start.  We have mere moments to look at the boat before we start.  This is Matt and I with the marina manager, Patrick.  The lower right photo is just a silly hat that I had to share.

The course started at the beach, at the whistle, you run and jump onto the boat, and two pushers give you a shove to get you started.  As you can see, I had a rough entry!  I had to run around the pusher as the boat was moving and face planted!

We had a good start but it quickly went downhill from there!  The course had you go around two markers, past the start, back around the two markers, and back to the beach.  After 3 rounds they shortened the course to just once around the course.

The hobie cats are relatively simple. You have one-person steering using a tiller and another person working the jib.  I was up front working the jib. 

We didn’t do so bad on the first of 6 legs.

The Challenge isn’t the other boats, but rather the boat itself

With the first tack (attempt to turn the boat) we realized we had a problem.  The batons on the jib were too long and had a hook on the end.  Each time the jib passed the mast to make the tack it got stuck on the halyard preventing the jib from doing its job which is filling with air to help steer the boat.  It caused us massive fits and troubles and we lost valuable ground. 

Needless to say, I came up with some creative curse words and we lost by single elimination heat.  I can at least say we came in 2nd in a race with 60 boats were racing, can’t I?

As soon as we came back to the beach, the race committee tried to repair the batons on the jib – clearly it was not a Christine problem – well this one wasn’t at least. 

The good news is that we did not flip the boat!  Unlike another team.  Not sure how they flipped their boat as we had incredibly light, light winds.

And there were moments where we sort of looked like we knew what we were doing.

All in all, it was a fun day.  Not the outcome we had hoped for, but still loads of fun.

SUP Challenge

The SUP (stand up paddle board) challenge was held in the lagoon on the same course as the hobie cats.  The first leg was up wind until you rounded the first mark, then it was a nice down wind run until you rounded the second mark which led you to a cross wind run to the finish.

Matt was going to participate but his hands were covered in blisters so we both melded into the cheering crowd.

Next up we race in the Beachcomber race and participate in pirate day!

The events from this blog occurred in early September 2022.  Our blog posts run 6-8 weeks behind actual events.  In our last blog we finally arrive to Malolo Island after a few short stops. 

Malolo Island Passage

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It was difficult to leave Tomba Ni Ndaku (Vunisei village) on Kadavu, but we had to get back to Malolo island to prepare for the Musket Cove regatta.

We left Tomba Ni Ndaku and headed for an anchorage with a long beautiful beach.  However, when we got there, we found that there was no internet so we moved on.  Normally, we are not a slave to the internet, but this particular day we needed to be connected to communicate with family.

So, we motored a few more miles around the corner to the large town of Drue.  Two of our friends were also anchored here, but by the time we dropped the hook we were tired so we did not leave the boat.  It was a super lush hillside and anchorage.

The next morning, we had another beautiful moon rise with a little bit of fog.

The sail from Kadavu to Malolo is a little over 125nm which is near impossible to do during day light hours unless you have great winds.  Unfortunately for us, we were forecasted to have light winds so we decided to stop at a tiny island half way to Malolo. 

Vatulele Island

This little island is not visited often because the pass can be tricky to enter.  We had no tracks and no information from other cruisers.  All we had to go on was our charts.  The sail to Vatulele island is about 40-45nm.  As we set out for the day, we hoisted both sails and motor-sailed the first several hours.  The wind started to pick up so we turned off the engines and enjoyed a lovely day on the water.

By the time we got to Vatulele we had 17-18kts of wind and 1.5meter seas.   In addition, we some how managed to time the pass entry at low tide which was less than ideal.  The decision was made to skip this island as conditions were not conducive for a safe entry through the pass.

The left chart shows the little island just below Viti Levu.  The right photo shows you the narrow and very shallow pass.

So, we continued 33nm to Natadola Bay as we could make this anchorage just before sunset.  It has a wide pass; we have tracks coming and going, and our friends on SeaGlub were anchored here.

Natadola Bay, Viti Levu

We drop the hook and high tailed it over to SeaGlub where our friend Chris graciously offered to BBQ.  It was a lovely evening with good friends, tasty food, and cold beverages.

The next day, we motored 40nm to Malolo island where we claimed our anchor spot for the Musket Cove Regatta.

The events from this blog occurred in early September 2022.  Our blog posts run 6-8 weeks behind actual events.  We experience the full sevusevu ceremony from pounding of the root to consumption in our last blog post, and neither one of us gagged!