here is a complete itinerary for the world arc so you can see where we are going - please come and see us if you can get away from your corporate desks - see you in the pacific Download world_arc_0809_route_v2_070214.pdf
July 14, 2008
Muskett Cove - a great end to Fiji
We were all sad to be leaving Fiji - but what a great place Musket Cove turned out to be - a small marina in a hotel resort where all the fleet were made feel very welcome , described by one as a travelling village - as we hit the half way mark , it is a joy to walk down the dock and know nearly all the people on every boat . Adrian & Jens came back from their much needed break in New Zealand .To be moored in a marina opposite a bar,next to a beach what more could one want.
This was a return to the island where David & Diana had a holiday with Rebecca (aged 4) and Michael(aged 2)some 28 years ago, still same beach and wonderful water.
One facility that you'll never find in Europe - Bar b Q complete with wood and cooking tools - all you need do is bring along your food and cook it - conveniently located next to a bar - this coupled with the "official" ARC dinner ( a pig roast ) led to many more fun parties - even a 4th of July event ( yes we had to eat spam !)- with fireworks & flares lots of dancing in local costumes.
Some of the crew chose to utilise the full spa facilities of the resort and trust me after 6 months at sea , that full body scrub felt very cleansing .
Nick obtained his PADI licence making him a Paddy with a PADI , while David played for Great Britain in both the Beach Volley Ball , and Tug of War - results in the back of the Daily Telegraph .
So with 30 Knts forecast we left Fiji in the rain ( first day it rained ) and proceeded on a guided tour of the reefs to start the next leg to Tanna .
After a few hours with our new spinnaker up,called Kiwi for obvious reasons, wind dropped so we had 4 hours of motoring before we started sailing again.
Wind and sea picked up, 30-35 knots of wind so 3 sail sailing, we kept on the conservative side of things and apart from losing a dan buoy when the boat was swept by a giant wave we arrived with no damage.
Tanna - What a welcome - and an exchange of gifts
Well we had waited for this - the whole village turned out to formally greet the World ARC fleet - with tribal greetings , lots of traditional dancing ( just like National Geographic), all of the ARC fleet following the villagers around until we reached the lawn at the front of the " Yacht Club " - where the locals presented the fleet with a whole host of gifts - from hand weaved hats and bags , to lots of fruit and vegetables - and a live pig ! -
In return the fleet presented and equally large pile of gifts to the village - with a wide range including fish, fishing tackle ,t shirts , and lots of tinned food , and loads of educational materials - school books , pens and pencils ( I am sure some of those kids we hoping for a game boy! )
More Great Photos added
sorry for the lack of blogs - we have simply been having too much fun . more to follow real soon ( they are in draft! ) meanwhile lots of photos added from Fiji and Tanna - enjoy
June 29, 2008
One Amazing Day
With so many amazing days while sailing round the world on Kealoha 8 , some stand out more then others – yesterday was just so – having been invited to a local village of Nacula in the Yasawra group of islands north of Fiji ,for an annual fund raising event we had no idea what to expect
Having been invited by our excellent local guide, George, to attend , we set off in blistering sunshine at 09.30 to weave our way through the reefs in our trusty dingy ( good reason to have a big one! ) – to be greeted on shore by the locals . “Bula Bula” the local greeting was said by everyone we met and we returned the greeting. At Georges’ house we changed into local Fijian dress that he loaned us for the occasion , and watched as the brilliant colours of the local ladies outfits , prepared for their special day as they walked past his house . For this was the day that every woman in the village presented to the chief of the Island
Now we knew we were special , what we didn’t realise was that we 3 ( David Holliday , Rosie & Nick) were the only guests at this event with 250 locals , so after opening prayers , the men sat with the men , and Rosie with the local woman – under the shade of a temporary cover - men and woman divided by the enormous Kava Bowl .
Clan by Clan the ladies went forward to meet the chief, generally each clan in matching dresses , Rosie got to join our hosts wife – with compare announcing the donations in a style not dissimilar to Terry Wogan in Children in Need . All the while the younger men of the village served tea , juice , cakes , and Kava to the elders ( and us ) as we looked on and applauded in the traditional Fijian Way - Our gift of Kava root was gratefully received and sealed our fate as welcome guests . Kava is made from kava roots or stems which are carefully mashed into the karva bowl to which water is added.It is drunk out of shaped cocnut shells,small ,medium, and large. In a surreal way the chief chose the music to accompany the ceremony and much was conducted to the sounds of Johnny Cash. The local ladies been enormously proud of their donations and dancing with joy as they returned form the Chiefs table some taking pleasure in getting David dancing to howls of laughter from all . What a colourful and fun occasion.
All the while George our guide , provided David Dimibly like commentary on the proceedings , kindly leaving every 2 hours to check and re anchor our dingy as the tides are quite big . All of the other elders were keen to talk to us and swap stories of life and adventures We also toured the makeshift outdoor kitchen , where whole pigs were been cooked in hot pit, and huge pots of food were been prepared . The BBQ consisted of two railway line like steels, with the logs burning underneath for a length of ten meters.
While all of the ceremony was in Fijian , the Island
Then to lunch with the Ladies and honoured guests ( us) heading into the partly completed village hall for a feast of all things Fijian - David had a seat reserved for him on the head table ( along with 25 of the female village elders) – Having sat crossed legged on the floor for 3 hours we were grateful to be found some chairs and invited to take food from the head table as well as the buffet. – Forget your Hotel and tourist events - this was a real feast, complete with young men fanning our food – to keep away the flies !
What did lunch consist of? Yams, five types of fish, pork, chicken in palm leaves cooked in the earth oven, rice ,curried vegetables, local spaghetti with mixed veg,
Limpets which were huge just to name a few, all pilled high. Eaten with fingers, followed by finger bowl which was a small washing up bowl. To drink, fruit juice.
We eat European size portions, with great care, the ladies just had huge portions,no wonder the Fijian rugby team are so big.
And so back to the ceremony where it was the turn of all the village men to pay homage to the Chief – we moved to sit in the shade with George (who was excused from duties to look after us) who continued to explain the proceedings as various gifts from the village were presented to the chief , a mix of very serious tradition, formal Kava offerings ( unfiltered – yuck! ) and much hilarity at some of the local war dancing as the woman sought to disrupt the men . – David & Nick were lucky to stay awake as the effects of a morning drinking – was leading to Kava Fatigue .
But it was great to hear that over all the village had raised more then Fijian $11,000 - $6000 donated by the Chief !
With the formal ceremonies over after a mere 6 ½ hours of tribal events , of we returned briefly to George’s house for late afternoon tea with his family - where they presented us with gifts of Kava Cups ( Small & Medium ) for David & Nick and a traditional dress for Rosie .
Prior to heading back to the boat . as we walked the beach with our guide , he paid us an enormous complement and said we were “very good tourists” . Meeting the chiefs of each village we visited ( along with presenting Kava root ) , asking permission to snorkel , and take photos . bringing gifts for the local school and tee shirts for villagers, tinned food from the boat – and donating money towards the village hall . – Apparently not all Yachtsmen are as considerate .
So forget National Geographic - this is real Fijian culture , bought to you by Oyster and the team on Kealoha 8
June 26, 2008
Fiji - Meet the Locals Pt 2 - BULA
BULA - the traditional greeting - we hear it every where - and have had a fantastic few days cruising the Yasawa Islands - a mix of beautiful isolated anchorages - some good snorkelling - but most memorable was the welcome we received on the islands we visited .
Local tradition requires a visiting yacht to come ashore and meet the local village chief - presenting him with a 1/2 Kg of Kava root - now this requires certain dress codes, ( e.g. long trousers ) , and a ritual to be followed ) - we are then granted permission to tour the island , snorkel the reefs and generally do as we please - FYI - for the fashion conscious - this is about the only time it is fully legitimate to wear trousers with legs that zip off - shorts for coming ashore , zip on legs for meeting the chief !
At Somossomo on Naviti - a local - Sophie met us on the beach and was our guide for the duration of our stay - her sister kindly arranged for a traditional Fijian dance evening - not like to Hotels / commercial event - but really personal - now the villagers looked poor, by mainland standards and were enormously grateful for some simple gifts of pens, pencils , copy books and off course K8 Tee Shirts -
While sailing to Nacula - we had a fishing first - we caught Half a fish - what started out as a big catch - arrived on board to find it was half eaten by a shark or big barracuda in a single clean bite ! - we figured it was a bad omen and returned the uneaten half to sea -
Our Arrival at Nacula - could not have been more fun - a pristine village - ( where the chief had to be awoken to meet us ! ) - we felt very welcome and were in turn directed to larger village - a little way down the reef - where before we even arrived by foot we had been adopted as a villager George -who took us on a tour and offered all sorts of insights to village life - we asked about the best place to snorkel - ( having read in the LP guide that there was the best snorkelling in Fiji) - and he agreed to take us the following day - we expected a 15 min dingy ride .
boy were we wrong - - Thus Nicks Birthday ( 26th ) started with a 40 min ride out across one reef to the open ocean ( while we are all trying to figure if we have enough petrol in the dingy ) and in across another reef bought us to a lovely private beach resort "Oarsman Bay" - where the head chief of the Islands lived - ( now , we weren't dressed properly , nor did we have any Kava) who greeted us warmly - directed us to his snorkelling area , provided us with a full tank of petrol and a lovely lunch . - after which George , our guide, sensing that we didn't like to open water route - took us back along the coast INSIDE the reef - depth never got over about 3 ft ! - and we arrived back t his village to visit the local school ( 20 children per class) meet the headmaster - who gratefully received more gifts of pencils , books etc - but really wanted a computer ! We again toured the village and had afternoon tea with George & his Wife - in the home. Now we were really beginning to feel like locals when they invited us to attend a once a year festival they have on the 27th - but feeling we didn't have the right traditional cloths - they offered to loan us the traditional dress !
So tomorrow - we are dressing as locals , and heading to meet all the islands chiefs, where we will share Kava and traditional spit roast pig. .what are you doing ?
June 20, 2008
Fiji - Meet the locals - Pt1
What a warm welcome we received in every way - at last back to that sun kissed , cloudless sky's that are the south Pacific - Timing our arrival - to the minute to coincide with dawn - allowing for the change in time zone ( again) - we made our way through the reefs to the port of Lautoka - ( the 2nd largest on the main Island ) and home to the sugar refining plant - after a very simple check in - with ever so friendly custom officials ( no we didn’t have to throw out any of the fresh fruit , veg or other " banned" substances. A $3 dollar Indian for lunch to return to the boat to find covered in dust from sugar refinery chimney, black! We were directed Port Denarau - ( as more suitable for a boat of our size - and what a place - hard to believe this marina does not exist on any of the charts - it is circa 20 min from the main airport , and adjacent to string of 4* hotels - complete with a waterfront shopping mall - all filled with very friendly Fijians. Now the marina service was amazing - we arrived to late to actually enter ( un-chartered waters , 0.4 m clearance , sun setting v quickly) -and so made it in at 07.00 the following day - to be greeted by efficient marina team ( Dawn et al) - and to find other ARC boat - Grey Lady already moored up - along with a host of other large yachts and power boats - it didn’t take us long to realise why - they could not have done more to help , and it was v cheep - e.g Med style services ( probably the best marina since leaving Las Palmas ) all for £23 per night .. inc electricity !
We knew we were on to a good thing when we met Nigel (Skeegs) and his fiancée Susan - who came for drinks - and proceeds to tell us all about the development , and life in Fiji - Nigel was fulfilling every skippers dream - having quite as the skipper of a 120ft Wally - he had taken to running a cool marina with a huge investment program . - More of Nigel & Susan later.
What started as a simple run ashore , with a nice Indian /Asian restaurant - turned into an exhausting " cultural " tour - of Fijian Night spots . having decided to have a simple nightcap - and train yet another restaurant to make Irish Coffees we found the staff only to willing to share with us their tips as to where people partied - and we ran into David & Nishka from the boat moored next to us .
First it was off to Ed's Bar - very local - but lots of fun and there were some other " white people " there . after a few hours watching pool, the dance floor , the Fiji /Japan rugby - the place finally closed at 01.00 - a sensible time to go home - but we though we should check out the all night location recommended by the restaurant staff - Kennedy's Hotel - not the most posh of hotels - drinks are served through a hole in the metal grill - but full of very friendly folks - including the staff of the restaurant we had visited earlier - who greeted us as the Kings of Irish Coffee ! - and so the night rolled on , about 04.00 we were invited back to the house of some locals, which included a stop at an illegal all night off licence - David & Nick finally managed to extract themselves circa 05.00 to return to the boat - very tired .
Now if that is not a local welcome - the following day, only got better - by the time we had a pulse back, we had to drag our tired bodies to Nigel & Susan's modest beach side mansion for a great Barb q - along with Sophie ( from Columbus) and David & Nishka from next door- all of this as a warm up for the England Vs New Zealand rugby match - we did bring swim togs - and use them - but somehow all ended up in the pool later in the evening with our cloths on - I think it was the 25ft long tapered St Georges cross flag that David produced form the bowels of the flag locker -
We wont write about the rugby - no doubt all who wanted to, saw it, we watched form a water side restaurant - where the owner insisted Nick make him and Irish Coffee ! suffice to say the Nigel - a New Zealander not only had the last laugh - but he won the sweep stake as well ! -so down hearted and depressed we returned to Nigel & Susan's home for more late night swimming - and a bottle or 2 of Rum . finally leaving at 02.00 -
Somehow the 3 of us managed to get up at 08.00 and make the 09.00 tide we had to catch - the local are very impressed with our stamina !
Thus we headed off to cruise the legendry Yasawa Islands
June 18, 2008
Fun and Fishing on the way to Fiji
While we are enjoying fun ride down to Fiji - we have, without really trying, managed to catch more fish then we know what to do with - usually in the form of post lunch entertainment - the line goes zing and up goes the cry of FISH ! - even with just the 3 of us on board we have refined our drill - and have no trouble getting them in ( killing them is another matter ) - David has done all the hard work on the reel - although we are convinced that a longer line , coupled with letting them hang out there a little longer while we shorten sail is making it easier to haul them in .
2 fish both HUGE - 1 Mahi Mahi and 1 Wahoo - both over 3ft long!
Mahi Mahi Wahoo
Rosie does and ever improving job in filleting the fish ( we really need more lesions form Adrian on his return ) - and as she had pre prepared lovely low fat meals for each evening - they are of course staying in the freezer - as we are having fresh fish at every opportunity. FYI the Wahoo is a tough fighter - we gave up trying to kill it with the knife and ended up using some (Blended) whisky in the gills - that does it every time !
Not long to go - we think we'll be through the main pass for a late breakfast tomorrow - only 100 miles odd miles - the whole customs palaver is a bit of a drag as we are sailing right past some very lovely looking islands - but cant stop on account of the need to "check in" ..
We know some of our readers will be surprised by this sudden "luck" with the fishing rod - no doubt Fishing Monthly will run a full story in due course :-) - so well save the trade secrets till then .
June 16, 2008
Goodbye Tonga - Hello Fiji
Well Tonga was lovely except that for the 14 days we were there ,we had clear sky's and sunshine for 2.5 days and no rain for 2 more - so 10 days of rain made it seem like long wet cruise in the west of Ireland , except the sea temperature was 26.7 degrees, and we never wore heavy oilskins.
The locals were very welcoming - they put a lot of effort in making us welcome - probably the best WARC reception yet. even if all the drink ran out, and a few fun runs ashore - one local publican in particular - Lawrence from the Bounty Bar ( sometimes called "the Mars Bar" could not have done more for the fleet - K8 in particular, everything from organizing a private Tongan Feast ( so so food , nice dancing ) to providing us with his own stock of mince meat . The parties continued as ever with including many attempts by the Irish Cultural Attaché to introduce the Tongan restaurants to Irish Coffee - very amusing ( and great too find Jemison's Whiskey ),however a misunderstanding over a missing coffee pot of exquisite design was soon resolved.
Local Mass on Sunday was very different - singing was amazing, beautiful harmonies for the male and females present, plenty of family groups, no hymn books - and then we were told that the regular choir were not present as they were in Australia
The locals have an 0830 radio net on channel 26 where they welcome new boats, tell you what is going on and most importantly give you the weather.
We also said our goodbyes as we left, to which Laurence of the Bounty Bar replied
"GOODBYE K8, SAFE JOURNEY YOU ARE THE PARTY BOAT OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC, PLEASE RETURN SOON."
Tonga
For now there is just the 3 of us on board ( Adrian & Jens having a much needed holiday in New Zealand, Mandy & Chris having returned to the UK, Erin & Andy to Australia)and we are trucking along to Fiji, in company with Storyteller and Southern Princess
Rosie doing a great job on low fat food - ( all 3 of us want to loose weight ) and we are reading continuously like a 6th form book club ( we do have the New James Bond Book on board :-) )
We continue to be depressed by the Rugby - both Ireland England
We have easterly trade winds of 15/20 knots and are promised sunshine tomorrow (Tuesday)
June 15, 2008
The Kingdom of Tonga - a whale of a time
What do you expect in Vava'u Island the most northern of the Tonga group of islands - we didn't expect 5 days of rain and strong winds - such that we have had to change our plans for cruising slowly down the islands, however we did manage to have a lot of fun - and were joined by Mandy , Chris , Andy and Erin who flew form the UK via Australia to join us, for a little R&R .
We still managed to have a blast , ranging from catching up with our fellow RTW's in the few bars of Neiafu, and actually getting out to some of the lovely local anchorages, eating the biggest lobster you have ever seen ( in a restaurant !) where we enjoyed great snorkelling . Thankfully we found a great dive shop ( www.dolphinpacificdiving.com
Fishing has been a challenge , Chris and Andy are fanatical about fishing - and will haul in anything on the end of a hook - ranging from Squid to small Tuna - sadly the big game fish have eluded them , but not for want of trying. - if we Chris ever does catch a big one - his support team will be there to help him land it ( our usual drill for the cry of FISH ! - having been tested by the modesty of some of his catches )
Mandy has looked v smart on water skis, wake board and ever elegant in the donut - in addition to making the best of the limited Sun we have had - 3 4 days of the 7 they were hear -! and all enjoyed a fun sail in the rain in 20 knts of wind - so that at least they could say they had been sailing !
So while the aquatic adventure has been fun we will all have to come back to Tonga as we were a little early for the Whale season ( this is the best place in the world for watching whales - or so we are told . but we are all a little larger after the week on account Jens yummy food , where we all felt like kings of Tonga judging by how we ate .
Other skills we have acquired this week , we have seen enough local Tongan dancing to become a judge at an international event , had varying styles of Tongan feast ( which range from hotel buffet, to a dinner that requires low levels of lighting ! )
Overall we were lucky to have a private weather forecast for the family visit - to have headed south could have been more 30 knts and big seas - fine if your sailing RTW - not what you want for a weeks holiday ( if you do - do a fastnet!)
We were sorry to miss the Ha'apia Group - but made the right decision staying north - there is really so much to do ( and Erin didn't really want to do an overnight passage in 30 knts :-).
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