RoRC Report: Two Drifters report on sociable sailing in Fiji
by Jenevora Swann and Fergus Dunipace 16 Dec 2021 03:43 UTC
Sail to Fiji © Two Drifters
The last six months have been refreshingly sociable for the crew of Two Drifters, meeting up with many OCC friends over sundowners, dinghy drifts, scuba dives, bbqs, land tours and snorkelling trips.
Earlier this year, we decided to move on from French Polynesia and joined a WhatsApp chat group, started by Kate and Graham Walker of Barracuda, called 'Going To Fiji'. This popular chat group quickly grew to 69 members, who shared information, helpful comments and tips as they navigated their way through French Polynesia's complicated check-out procedures and gave valuable feedback on their subsequent arrival in Fiji.
We really enjoy cruising in company on long passages, so we joined forces with Kjell Dreyer and Kaia Samuelsen on 2K and Andrew and Alison Nelson on Venture Lady and we set sail for Fiji on 1 June. Sadly, 26 hours into the journey, Two Drifters suffered rigging failure, so we had to abort our trip; limping back to Tahiti, where all rigging was eventually replaced.
Six weeks later, we were ready to try again and were delighted to find ourselves sailing the 1,800-nautical miles to Fiji with Carla Gregory and Alex Helbig of AriB, Janaki Lennie and Graham Openshaw of Leela and David and Leanne Vogel of Perigee. Aside from a few boisterous days of weather, we had a great 13-day passage. It was lovely to have the camaraderie of the other three boats as we chatted via Iridium email - reporting in with our daily positions, weather updates and important news on any fish caught!
Arriving in Fiji with its pioneering Blue Lanes Scheme was a breath of fresh air. This well-managed system - created for arriving yachts - involves PCR tests prior to departure and also on arrival; it counts time-at-sea into the mandatory 14-day quarantine period and any extra days needed to satisfy the quarantine can be spent on your boat in a designated anchorage. So sensible and so safe.
Exploring Fiji
One of the many joys of travelling is discovering different cultural experiences. In Fiji, it's customary for sailors arriving into new anchorages to seek permission to be there from the village chief or patriarch and to take them "sevusevu" - typically a gift of kava roots, which is the main ingredient used in a mildly narcotic drink called 'grog'.
In addition to kava, we always like to take more for the families, perhaps some rice, pasta or flour; crayons and books for the kids or spare rope or fishing lures.
On our travels, we've had the warmest of welcomes and met some totally charming people, who were delighted that we had chosen to visit their islands. We've been embraced into their families as they've shared their local history, escorted us on hikes and given us endless gifts of homegrown fruit, vegetables and coconuts. Many asked us to sign a visitors' book, and it's heart-warming to see entries going back a decade or more from other happy souls and boats we know who have sailed the same waters before us.
Fiji is a very special place that's beautiful above and below the water. In just a couple of months of being here, it has given us priceless memories and is a highlight of our eight years of cruising.
This article has been provided by the courtesy of Ocean Cruising Club.