Two At Sea

August 20, 2013 in Savusavu, Fiji

These are gifts from Bob and Linda on Bright Angel.  Thanks.  You made our day! -Rich

It’s not always as much fun as you’d think.

August 13, 2013 in Savusavu, Fiji

We use propane as our cooking gas.  Filling a propane tank is usually a pretty simple process.  Disconnect the tank from the boat, unbolt the tank from the deck, lug it to the filling station, and reverse the process.  That’s what we did on Friday.

The man at Fiji Gas told us his fitting wouldn’t fit on our tank as our valve is vertical, not horizontal like most.  We can’t replace the tank with a different one without rebuilding half the boat so we set out to find or make an adapter.  We ended up at a local welder after exhausting our options at the local hardware stores.  He had an old tank with a horizontal valve and said he could braze a tube on it to connect it to our tank – a kind of adapter.  He did this and $100 Fiji later, (about 53 US cents to the Fiji dollar) we headed to the boat, attached the end from our barbeque hose (after cutting it off – we’ll have to worry about that later), and waited until today which would be our first chance to go to Fiji Gas again.

August 14…

This morning’s trip to the gas place was also a failure.  The heat of brazing on the tube ruined a seal in the valve.  We headed to a different welder to have the seal sealed.  Then we headed back to the gas place.  He tried to fill it again but this time, the hose I’d used to attach the “adapter” to my barbeque fitting blew off.  Back to the boat for some re-engineering.

After digging out every tool on the boat, grunting and straining, and rummaging through two of our bow bins for spare parts, we were ready to have some final brazing done to seal the fixes I’d made.

“No, Sorry” the lady at the welding shop said to us.  “Wayne (the welder) won’t be back until this afternoon.”

Next on agenda: consume mass quantities of Chinese food and try again later today.

August 15…

Finally, the welder came back and brazed our “adapter.”  Off to the propane place.  We felt like luck was on our side as the guy who doesn’t seem to like us wasn’t around.  Without a word of complaint, the guy who was there grabbed our tank and started the filling process but there was still a problem.  The propane was going into the tank too slowly.  There’s a restriction hole on the barbeque fitting I used and I would need to drill this out.  Back to the boat.

We drilled, walked and cabbed back to the propane station and this time, luck was not on our side.  The guy who doesn’t seem to like us was there and he happens to be the boss of the local operation.  This time he told us he was done with filling our tank… “No more.  No more filling tanks with non-standard fittings.  I told you this before!”  No.  If he had, we wouldn’t have spent a further $100 Fiji on our adapter.  So we went through the “what’s your boss’s name and number” routine and headed back to the boat to make calls.

The boss agreed with us.  He’d have our “friend” fill the tank.  Back to the gas place but our “friend” was able to talk his boss out of it.  Back on the phone with the boss.  Round and round.  The result was that they’d try to find a “proper” adapter, have it sent to Savusavu, and fill our tank.

After several further communications (and some additional drinking on our part), it looked like they’d found a fitting and promised to have the tank picked up, filled and back to us later that day.

August 16…

No propane tank.  Not until Monday as the fitting hadn’t arrived.

August 18…

The heck with it – we’re going to go out to the point with the boat for some snorkeling and to spend the night at anchor.  But to go, first we had to modify the barbeque tank to work on the boat’s main propane system.  That went well but it looked like a bit a kludge with the tank tied to our cabin top.  Oh well.  We got it done and had a really nice time.

August 19…

Yea, propane!  Our tank showed up this morning.  Now to remove the kludged barbeque tank, reattach the main tank, bolt it down, install the cover…

Ah, the life of leisure!

(We don’t post this to complain about the life, but rather to give those considering this path a realistic glimpse of what it’s like out here.  I hope you understand.  (That and it does feel kind of good to whine a little bit.) -Rich

Rich, now what do we have to do to get the barbecue tank hooked up again?–Cyndi

August 18, 2013

One of the attractions of the anchorage off the Cousteau Resort is snorkeling off nearby Split Rock. The challenge is finding it since it’s underwater. We knew approximately where it was and were able to confirm the location by watching the resort’s snorkeling boat. After they left, we headed over and tied our dinghy to their mooring.

We jumped into the water and were instantly swarmed by sergeant fish. It seems they’re used to being fed! We hadn’t thought to bring food, and after nipping at our fingers for awhile, they gave up and began to disperse. Still, we had some who continued to follow us around, close enough that I worried about accidentally kicking them.

It was easy to find Split rock, a mound about the size of a small house that’s split down the middle. What was really surprising was just how nice it is. We couldn’t believe the variety of fish and coral in this one place! And because they’re often fed by the resort’s snorkeling guides, they’re pretty friendly.

(The waypoint for Split Rock is: 16 48.4310 S, 179 17.4683 E)

The rock itself is beautiful, with a chasm that goes down through to the bottom, about 15 feet. In this chasm live an astonishing variety and number of fish, different from the fish that live on the outside of the rock. We spent quite a while snorkeling there, and then went to check out other nearby bommies. While they weren’t as fish-intensive as Split Rock, there were still plenty of fish, even a few hadn’t seen before.

We had to admit that this small area has pretty spectacular snorkeling, and we were kicking ourselves for not bringing a camera. We got pictures on subsequent trips, through; so I’ve borrowed some of them to use in this post. Below, a gallery showing some of the fish around the chasm. Click to enlarge and scroll.–Cyndi

August 18, 2013

Our next good weather opportunity to leave Savusavu was still a few days away. Meanwhile, we had a couple of days of light wind coming, and that can mean hot weather in Savusavu. Rich suggested we go to the nearby anchorage off the Cousteau Resort for a couple of days. It’s only about 4 miles away, but it feels like it’s worlds away.

Cruisers can’t go ashore; those Cousteau employees would be all over them like a June bug to a grasshopper’s ass. (I’ve no idea what that means, but my father-in-law used to say this, and I’ve always thought it was descriptive.) What you can do is swim, relax, and enjoy the scenery and cool breezes.

When we arrived, there was plenty of room to anchor, being careful to avoid the oyster floats on the way in. We’d motored by this place a few times, but I never appreciated what a nice spot it is. We should come here more often!–Cyndi

August 12, 2013… Namena, Fiji

We stood out in front of the Copra Shed Marina – us and 4 other cruisers – at 7 AM.  By 9:30, we’d been taxied to the other side of the island, sped along the 25 miles or so of open water to Namena Island in a small, aluminum boat, and were getting ready to dive in for what was billed to be one of the best dives in Fiji.  We weren’t disappointed!

Here’s a little video taken with our modified GoPro 2 video camera. While it’s pretty, it doesn’t do the colors justice. This was truly one of the nicest dives I’ve ever been on. -Rich