South Pacific Cruise – 2011

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Back from four months in the South Pacific. Tonga – Fiji – New Caledonia.
Had a great time, met lots of wonderful people. Good to catch up with old friends in Savusavu and see that the young sailors at the Junior Sailing Club have improved their sailing, representing Fiji in the South Pacific Games in New Caledonia.
Let the photos tell the story.

We had some rough times on the passages, but also some lovely magical moments	It was great to meet up with old friends in Savusavu, Fiji
This is a view of Savusavu harbour from Freewind’s mooring	I spent about 2 months in Savusavu, helping the kids of the Junior Sailing Club

Optimist sailing in Savusavu	Laser sailing in Savusavu
While the next generation of sailors were improving their skills on the Optimist boats in Savusavu Bay, the seniors were practising their racing tactics for the big event of the year – the South Pacific Games 2011. The games were held in Nouméa this year, and opened on Aug 27th. Four sailors from the Savusavu Junior Sailing Club represented Fiji in the Laser racing competitions. The Copra Shed Marina, the Savusavu community, and visiting yachties all contributed to the great fundraising effort to send the sailors to the Games.
Saturdays were devoted to training and racing, but Sundays were for leisure sailing. Geoff’s refurbished boat Talanoa and Freewind were out enjoying Savusavu Bay, with the Cousteau Resort beach a favourite lunch spot.
Sunday morning sailing in Savusavu Bay	Geoff Taylor’s Talanoa

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   In mid-September I set out with Tim and Finn on the passage west to New Caledonia, meeting up with the Fiji Laser team and coach Geoff Taylor in Nouméa. The Games committee in New Caledonia did a fantastic job preparing a great venue for the sailing at Coté Blanche, Nouméa, and were perfect hosts for the South Pacific Games. Even though our Laser sailors didn’t win medals, the sailing was great, the competition world class, and everyone enjoyed the event tremendously.

The flags represent the 6 sailing teams: Samoa, Cook Islands, New Caledonia,Tahiti, Fiji, Papua New Guinea.	Coach Geoff and Mikey preparing the Fiji boat for the race.
The Cook Islands team before the race	The beautiful beach at Coté Blanche was a perfect setting for the races
Lasers sailing towards the Start line	Fiji men’s team Laser sailing

   

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 It’s great being back with family and friends in New Zealand and I’m looking forward to another charter season and plenty of fun in the sun.
 See you on the water,
                                                                    Ron

Sailing and Sustainability in Savusavu, Fiji

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Bula from Fiji!
Enjoying the sun and smiles in the tropics.
Freewind is currently moored in Savusavu where its full-on at the Junior Sailing Club, in preparation for the Oceania Games in Noumea, New Caledonia later this month. Four young sailors from Savusavu will be representing Fiji in Laser sailing and Freewind will be there too to support the team. The local community and visiting yachties have been very generous with their contributions to all the fundraising efforts and the club’s young sailors are training hard to be in top shape for the races. The strong trade winds that have been blowing this week are giving the kids a good run with the boats.

Savusavu kids sailing the Lasers in strong trade winds	The natural hot springs in town, next to the hotel

Eco-friendly innovative water heating at the Hot Springs Hotel, Savusavu

One of the attractions of Savusavu is the natural hot spring which flows right in the centre of town, next to the local primary school and the aptly named Hot Springs Hotel. Early in the morning, when it is still cool, yachts moored opposite the town can see the steam rising from the ground where the hot spring water flows into the sea – quite an unusual sight.

The heat exchanger used to heat the water at the Hot Springs Hotel	The heat exchanger being lowered into the hot geothermally active ground.

Last week, when visiting the Hot Springs Hotel, I had the opportunity to see the unique water heating system which takes advantage of the geothermal activity underneath the hotel grounds. All the hot water in the hotel is heated by a heat exchanger buried in the hot, thermally active ground. The water, which enters at a temperature of about 25ºC, gets heated to 50ºC. The system is gravity-fed, so as well as being a great eco-friendly way of heating water, it saves the hotel on the heating bill.
Read more on this in the Fiji Times article and see photos here.

Well, that’s all for now. We are starting to think about the next leg – the sail from Fiji to New Caledonia in about 2 weeks’ time. Freewind’s pretty much ready to go, so it will be mostly provisioning for the trip and the stay in New Caledonia (where food is much more expensive) just before we leave. Until then – warm greeting from Savusavu,

Ron                       

Tropical breezes

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Freewind arrived in Savusavu, Vanua Levu, Fiji at the end of May. It was an easy passage from Tonga, with moderate to light winds from behind. Good to catch up with old friends in the Copra Shed Marina and see how the kids from the Junior Sailing Club have grown and have improved in their sailing. There is a bit of work to do on the Optimist and Laser boats which will keep me busy for a few days, but it’s all worth it when you have such a group of keen young sailors sailing and racing every Saturday.

Savusavu anchorage from Freewind’s deck	Relaxing at the Copra Shed Marina
Savusavu anchorage from the house	Young Optimist sailor
Savusavu Junior Sailing Club	Young sailors on the Lasers

Freewind in the Bay of Islands

Just returned yesterday from another overnight trip around the Bay od Islands - Freewind is back on her mooring for a few days' rest.
Everyone enjoyed the lovely sunny, spring-summery weather during our tour of the Bay, and today's rain will keep everything looking green and bright. The sun should be out again before our next trip.

Apart from the blue skies and perfect breeze, we were also lucky on the fishing scene - caught enough Snapper to fill everyone's plate for Saturday night's dinner. And to top it all - our friendly dolphins gave all on board a great show of fish-chasing and jumping out of the water, not far from Freewind. The dolphins have quite a few young ones amongst them this time of year, and like all youngsters, they are frisky and full of energy and like to show off all the new tricks they have learned from the older pod members.

It's nice to have a day or two's rest ashore, but I always look forward to getting back on Freewind and "showing off" the Bay of Islands to our guests.
It is really a unique place and for us who live and sail here regularly, it's a constant reminder of how lucky we are to have this piece of paradise right at our doorstep. A warm welcome to everyone from New Zealand and further afield who have come here to enjoy the scenary and relax in this very special, layed-back part of the world.

See you on the water, fair winds and following seas.