June – November, 2015
What a great cruising season this turned out to be! We loved our time in New Caledonia, and western Fiji was even better. With the exception of meeting up with some friends in Sydney, we were pretty much on our own during our months in Australia and New Caledonia. This made it feel especially good to reunite with old friends in Fiji.
Cruising is like that sometimes: you think you might not see someone again, then you end up back together, talking story and making new plans as though no time has passed at all. This season has held a lot of that for us, and we’ve especially enjoyed getting to cruise with our besties on Bright Angel and Local Talent along with reuniting with lots of others (Ieta, Kindred Spirit, Mersoleil, Patanjali, Tanga, The Rose, and Red) and making some new friends (Sea Whisperer and Freyja).
This is our senior (fourth) year out here, and we can tell any new cruisers starting out that it gets easier every year. We still call ourselves “the little girls on Legacy” because we start whimpering as soon as it gets rough, but we’ve made great strides when it comes to confidence and trusting our instincts. We’ve gone through a process that can be summed up like this:
Year One: Nervous even about following worn and proven tracks.
Year Two: Confident about following proven tracks.
Year Three: Confident about following less-used tracks.
Year Four: Making our own tracks.
Rich and I make a good team (aside from rowing, that is). I’m good at research and finding worthwhile places to go. He’s a wizard at using Google Earth Images and other such tools to get us there. Together we have gone from being “first-year nervous” to being gunkholers, people who will seek out new destinations off the beaten path. Usually it starts by my wanting to visit a certain resort or beach and asking Rich if it’s possible. Generally, he manages to make it so! This is how we came to anchor off Cloud Nine floating restaurant, Monuriki Island, Long Beach and Navutu Stars resort, and even made up our own new anchorage off Honeymoon Beach (on Naviti Island).
We’ve also learned how to sort through the advice of others. We read and listen and take it all into account, but sometimes people are just plain wrong. Interestingly, some of the worst advice comes from locals! One local told us we should never take our own boat to Poor Knights; we’ll end up ruining our holiday when we lose our boat. It turned out to be a place we’re so glad we made the effort to visit.
We know that newbies can be a poor source of information because they only know what they’ve read (lots of asshats write and even pretty-good guidebooks can have a slanted perspective), but old-timers can be a poor source because they know too much. Just because something can at times be dangerous, doesn’t mean it’s always dangerous. I don’t meant to imply we’re careless; we’re actually pretty conservative cruisers. But we weigh all the evidence when it comes to doing things we want to do and don’t automatically give up when we hear, “You can’t do that in your boat!”
Cruising seasons each have their own rhythm and feeling. Some are more comfortable as you revisit places you’ve been, while others are all about finding your way in a foreign place. Some are upbeat and social, while others are more subdued and solitary. Some have hurdles to overcome while others unfold easily, everything just working out. Some feel abundant with options, while in others you need to make the best of what’s available.
This season for us has been one of abundance with lots of great people, food, fun, and new places to visit. I think the best way to sum it up in pictures might be with a gallery of dinners (including some from a very fun Oktoberfest at Vuda Marina). Here’s a toast to gratitude for the past season, and to (hopefully) equally good times in the future.–Cyndi
Click to enlarge/scroll through photos above.
