August 23, 2013
We arrived at Fulaga Island well before slack tide, but it was so calm we decided to check out the pass in hopes it might be calm enough to attempt. It wasn’t; standing waves covered the pass! I couldn’t believe the water could look so wild in one spot with such calm conditions otherwise.
Meanwhile, we could see in through the pass to the beautiful and surreal world inside. The water was many shades of bright blue, and the area was strewn with rock islands. I’d never seen anything like it, but Rich said it reminded him a bit of Palau. We were anxious to get in and see more, but with a pass like this, patience is imperative.
We spent the next hour motoring back and forth outside the pass, anxiously checking to see if the conditions had calmed yet, and getting reports from our friends Bob and Linda inside, keeping a watch on their end of the pass from their dinghy.
Finally, things died down as much as we could hope for. The water was very swirly, but the waves had flattened. We had a 2-knot current against us; yet now we were also getting current from behind us. This meant it was time to go for it; those standing waves would be back soon!
Here, a film of the pass, very brief because I was also supposed to be keeping watch. (Fulaga, Fiji)
The water rushed and swirled around us as we headed in. As soon as I felt it was safe, I climbed up on the boom to keep a better lookout, although I couldn’t see into the water very well. I was glad our friends were on hand to give advice. Rich followed the waypoints we’d been given, and they worked great.
(Here are the waypoints we used – usual disclaimer… “they worked for us but you’d be a fool to use them for anything other than entertainment!”) fulanga into anchorage
Once we met up with our friends waiting in their dinghy, they led us past a floating soda bottle that marked a dangerous bombie and advised us how to go around a particular rock island.
Once we were in, Bob and Linda took off back to Bright Angel where they were very kindly fixing us dinner (are these good friends or what?). We’d still have to keep a careful watch as we made the 2-mile trip across the lagoon to our first anchorage, but we’d made it past the scary stuff and could get in the rest of the way ourselves –Cyndi
