Saweni Bay, Fiji

It has been awhile since our last post. We arrived in Savusavu Fiji on Sep 10. We love Fiji! The check-in was efficient, the marina staff was very helpful, the market was awesome, and the people are very friendly. Think we will be coming back next season.

  Savusavu market  

    Happy hour on Meikyo

After doing some much needed provisioning, we left town and anchored for a few days off of the Cousteau Resort. We didn’t go to shore (they are not open to cruisers) but spent a few days doing some boat projects and snorkeling.

  Meikyo anchored off Cousteau Resort

Our plan was to sail northeast up to Viani Bay and Taveuni but the weather didn’t cooperate. We didn’t feel like beating 50 miles into the wind. Next year. So instead we sailed 20 miles south to Namena Island. We are sure glad we did.

Namena is surrounded by a barrier reef. The diving at the passes is fantastic. Paul and Mary from Bella Via joined us there for two weeks. Liliane, Paul and I went diving every day. Every other night we would all get together for cards or dominos. One morning they invited us for champagne breakfast to celebrate the birth of their first grandson. On the last evening with them we sang songs after dinner on Meikyo, Liliane leading us on the guitar. Great fun.

  And the band was born

Liliane and I dove on our rebreathers, felt good to be diving them again. The only downside about the diving is that the dive sites were between 2 and 3 miles from the boat by dinghy.  Paul has a larger outboard, so we used his dinghy. In return we lent him the gear and filled his tanks. The soft corals and fish life is amazing. This spot is certainly is on our agenda for next year.

Paul and I  also went fishing a couple of times outside the reef (Namena is a marine reserve). At the end of the second day fishing, we each hooked a large barracuda (about a metre in length) While Paul was fighting with his, all of a sudden his line went slack. When he reeled it in, a third of the barracuda was gone. A shark had taken that third in one bite leaving a clean cut. Amazing the power of their jaw to easily bite through the backbone.

We are currently at Saweni Bay. The plan is to take the bus to Latoka (2nd largest city in Fiji) to do some provisioning before Luc and Iris arrive from Canada.  They will meet us at Musket Cove marina for a week of sailing.