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Approaching Fiji

The breeze eased off yesterday to next to nothing, and the forecast was showing a southerly coming up at around midnight. We were 175 nm northeast of the reefs at Fiji that stretch all the way down the eastern side. If we had continued on our same course, we would have had strong headwinds going through the pass and would have been in a poor position when we exited the reefs to sail through Fiji. So, with full tanks and trusty new water pumps on both engines, it was time to do some strategic motoring. You may have seen the course change as we started positioning ourselves for the breeze, and then another course change when the wind started. It was a few hours earlier than expected, but it didn't really affect our overall plan. It was pouring rain almost all night, with gusty winds up to around 25 knots, but it has settled down now to 18 knots from the SSE. I'm hoping it starts to come around to the south as we get into Fiji waters. We also had a bit of an adventure with the cha...
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Vortex of Doom

 Well, two important things happened yesterday – we left Vava'u, and it went on the list of places I don't want to go back to. Getting anything done was next to impossible. Even shopping was a struggle. One shop would sell garden forks, tomatoes, tin openers and pasta. The next had washing machines, tinned tuna, bacon and hoodies. The next would have bread, random car parts, noodles and size 6 boots. Since I needed to get some engine work done and didn't have a dinghy, getting to and from the boat was tricky. I found someone who was willing to rent me some dock space for a few days as he didn't have a boat on it. He came up with a daily rate of AU$900 a night. So that didnt happen. I managed to hitchhike a few times with people in dinghies, someone lent me what I called a 'wet bum' kayak for three days, and someone else eventually lent me a rowing dinghy. So somehow I managed to get around and get the things done that needed doing. We had the engine parts we nee...
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Land Ho!

Ship's time is still on Raiatea time, so it's around 4am when I get up for my watch and there is a glow on the horizon 10 nm in front that I hope is Vava'u. We have to go around the side of the island and then back all the way into a long indent where the port area is. I am not overly enthused about the check-in requirements, which mean tying up to a commercial wharf. I'd have thought they would have something a little more yacht-friendly. The last 24-hour run was 146 nm, and we had much the same weather as the rest of the passage, i.e. 12knts to the mid-20s, occasional rain and gloomy periods followed by sunshine. Apparently, the cold we are experiencing is indirectly an El Niño influence. The exact mechanics are a little beyond me, but El Niño helps shift the location and behaviour of the large anticyclones, and the circulation around them is sucking a nice stream of cold air north and straight into my cabin. If you look closely the is a darker black strip - Vavau ...
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Chilly Tropics

Well, we are looking at the last night at sea until Tonga. It's not been a long trip, around 1,400 nm, and we left on the 13th. We had a slow start with very little wind, a rainy middle and some mechanical adventures. And did I mention it's so cold? It's 140 nm to Vava'u, so we will be there first thing in the morning, and I am looking forward to having a stable platform to work on things. It really adds a new dimension to the project when the screwdriver you put down has rolled into the bilge and the packet of cable ties has slipped out of arm's reach. On a bit of a tangent, I heard a funny story yesterday, but I will have to give the background. Sometimes when we are about to leave on a huge passage, short-handed on a boat with a big freezer, I will go to McDonald's and buy 50 cheeseburgers and freeze them. Forty-five seconds in a microwave and they're perfect. A great snack if no one wants to make food because the weather is poor or they are t...
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Cold And Fast 2

The conditions remain variable and swing from blue sky and a nice 'trade wind' day to grey and miserable within a few hours. The wind is from 14 to 23 knots, and we are reefed down to the highest gust, and also to take the load off the autopilot. The 24-hour run was 156 nm. We have had a few big waves into the cockpit, which makes the mission to the engine room a little more exciting, but whether from timing, luck or both, there hasn't been any splashing-type incidents into the engine room.  It's not all gloom                        The galley pump on the engine seems to be happy in its new role, and everything is working better than I hoped. I only run the engine for charging for one hour at a time, though, as that seems to be the limit for the pump to start getting warm. It's a duty-cycle pump, so better not to push it beyond its limits. It's surprisingly cold out here. At night I am wearing a jacket, long pa...
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Cold, Wet and Fast

We are still keeping on. It's a little gloomy and rainy, the wind hasn't been able to make up its mind how much it wants to blow, and it's been anywhere from 11 to slightly over 20 knots. There has been significant progress in the engine department. Yesterday I tried everything I could think of to get water flowing through the cooling system, and nothing worked. I had a few minor successes, but even when I could get water flowing, it wasn't enough. With limited spares and tools on board, I am a little restricted in what I can do, but I managed to hook up a 12-volt fresh water pump to the engine plumbing and power it from the alternator with the only piece of wire I have on the boat. There was duct tape involved! It means I have to go into the engine room to connect the wires, and then we can start the engine and get it to run for charging. Given both engines have similar hours, I suspect the other engine can't be far behind, so I am saving that one to ge...
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Fast

 It's been a hectic 24 hours. The wind filled in yesterday evening and we pulled up the main and got the headsail out and have been making good time since then. Unfortunately, Robert didn't remain anyone's father's brother for longer than a day, so I am a bit stumped on that issue. I will have to dive down into the engine room when it gets a little calmer. At the moment it's 15 to 20 knots from the south and we are making great time, but it's a little 'splashy' to be opening hatches on deck above critical machinery, even if the machinery isn't machining currently. A couple of other minor gremlins have raised their heads and, while not major issues, they do need to be looked at. So unless I can work some magic over the next 48 hours, we will be stopping in Vava'u, northern Tonga, to iron out the hiccups. It's a tough call to make. Fiji has better facilities, but it's 500 miles further and there is a lot of reef and islands to n...
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