Month: July 2013

July 4, 2013 in Viani Bay, Fiji

What a wonderful time we had on Communique tonight.  Joe and Cheryl invited the rest of the fleet over to their beautiful boat for a sundowner (cruiser speak for any excuse to get together and drink).  Good thing they have a 12 car garage! -Rich

July 4, 2013

The Great White Wall is a huge underwater wall, about 150 feet high and 200 feet long, that’s covered with soft white coral. Twice a month, the current is such that this coral opens up and blooms in an almost luminescent display of soft snowy whiteness. It’s one of the most famous dives in Fiji, made all the more special by the fact it’s only doable twice a month.

The thing is . . . it’s deep, about 90 feet, and generally for experienced divers only. I was a newly certified diver but had some experience diving at that depth many (many) years ago. Could I do the White Wall? Rich thought I was ready, and Helena, my instructor, gave me the go-ahead. It was exciting and intimidating at the same time.

Today Gato Go volunteered their boat for the outing. We had a big group this time, more than 20 people! A few had done this dive before and knew the route.

The dive starts about 40 feet down with a swim through a large tubular cave covered with sea fans and corals. This tunnel angles down, and by the time you emerge you’re 90 feet down alongside a wall that stretches above and below as far as you can see. This wall is covered in white soft coral that gets increasingly dense as you swim along its length.

After swimming alongside the wall, we ended up in about 60 feet of water in a fantastic area of purple soft corals, colorful fish, and arches we could swim through. Personally I thought this area was even more beautiful than the white wall.

Everyone came up excited about the dive and what they’d experienced. Rich later described the feeling as “compressed air therapy.” I realized then one of the benefits of diving is that the feel and sound of relaxed breathing, while floating and exploring a foreign world, can be a form of meditation. It’s natural to remain focused and in the moment, something that can be difficult for us ADD types to do on land. It made me sorry I didn’t get more into diving when I had the chance years ago, but I think something in me just wasn’t ready then. Now I was, and I was finding a lot to love about diving!

Below are pictures I pulled from our GoPro video of the dive. The quality of the pictures isn’t great, but I hope they convey the idea. The video is at the bottom. –Cyndi

(The videos we post on our website are now hosted on YouTube and that’s why the ads at the end of the videos. You can go to YouTube using the link on the bottom right of the player and see the video at higher resolution – or at least larger.)

July 4, 2013 in Viani Bay, Fiji

We were treated to a little “parade” of these flowers drifting from shore to our boat this morning.  Mr. Google says they’re Barringtonia Asiatica and maybe from a tree with the common name of “Fish Poison Tree.”  I sure love Google.

July 4, 2013 in Viani Bay, Fiji

July 1, 2013

Today brought us a good lesson and reminder. We make it a practice to close our hatches if we’re leaving the boat for any length of time because sudden, unpredicted showers do happen. There are those days, though, where the sky is so clear and sunny that we feel pretty stupid closing up the boat. The temptation to just leave the hatches open and let the air circulate is strong, but in the end, we always close up. It feels too much like tempting fate not to.

Today Morning Glory, a 43 ft Cat, had volunteered to take everyone on the next group outing. We were going to dive at the Fish Factory again, and then the Cabbage Patch. There were about 19 people on the boat, including Jack. By the time we got to the reef, we had a few clouds in the sky but not enough to be noticeable. We had a couple of terrific dives, while all the kids enjoyed snorkeling nearby.

After the second dive we got back on the boat and noticed the sky had gotten a lot more cloudy and gray. Interesting. Then someone pointed towards Viani Bay and wondered: is it raining over there? Rich and I looked at a thick wall of white that now obscured our view of that area. Not only was it raining over there, it was massively pouring! Mild panic ensued as several people had left their hatches open. They were now desperately calling friends back in the anchorage asking if they could please go close their hatches! (Yea, the friends would get soaked, but better a wet friend then a soaked bunk. Friends can be rewarded with dinners and drinks, but soaked bunks are hard to dry.)

Meanwhile the squall headed our way, the wind quickly picking up to 26 knots and the rain starting to come down heavily. I have to say I was impressed with Morning Glory. A suddenly 26-knot squall coming while anchored out on a reef would be a minor emergency on Legacy. Arthur and Morning Glory took it in stride, and soon we were motoring back to the anchorage without traumas and dramas except for the fact that it was surprisingly cold! By the time we got back in the bay, the squall passed and a couple of people were enjoying freshwater showers.

We were lucky that tonight’s lovo (the Fijian feast thrown by Jack) didn’t get rained out.  (Click to enlarge and scroll.)

We were back on our boats, the lovo over, by the time it started raining again. This time the rain was accompanied by some thunder and lightening. The rain lingered into the next morning, but the bright side was the beautiful rainbow it left behind. –Cyndi