Maybe I should start a bit before July. Most of May and June
we spent at Norsand Boatyard in Whangarei getting Havachat ready for cruising.
As we hadn’t spent all summer with Havachat, there was a lot to do…. And it was
sooo cold there! Three mornings we had ice on deck! As Pete said, it was like
living in an icebox! But we had our little fan heater and after two weeks I
relented and we invested in an electric blanket for the bed! Why didn’t I agree
to this earlier?
But we still had fun, going to the markets on Saturday morning, so Pete could get some oysters and I my veggies,
But we still had fun, going to the markets on Saturday morning, so Pete could get some oysters and I my veggies,
catching up with friends, visiting the sheep farm with Nicole, Toby
and the girls from Invictus.
So it wasn’t all hard work. Also, I decided this year I was going to make sourdough bread. I read up about it and started my culture, made up of rye flour and water – called Ryely.
But Ryely was refusing to grow in NZ, it didn’t like the cold either. I tried to put it in front of the heater, in the sun in the window, I talked to it a lot (Pete started to get jealous…), but nothing helped. I just had to be patient and wait for warmer weather!
So it wasn’t all hard work. Also, I decided this year I was going to make sourdough bread. I read up about it and started my culture, made up of rye flour and water – called Ryely.
But Ryely was refusing to grow in NZ, it didn’t like the cold either. I tried to put it in front of the heater, in the sun in the window, I talked to it a lot (Pete started to get jealous…), but nothing helped. I just had to be patient and wait for warmer weather!
Finally on the 16th of July we left Town Basin Marina.
The bridge is very unique, it's calles Te Matau a Pohe, or the "Fishhook of Pohe" and opens so the boats can get through.
It was a bit sad, as Whangarei had become our second home over the last four years and we decided that we probably wouldn’t come back to NZ in November, but bring Havachat home, so we could spend the summer with Marian and Carl, the kids and all our friends and still enjoy Havachat. We had a little goodbye drink on the boat on the Sunday to say goodbye to our beautiful friends we had made over the years in Whangarei. But finally we were on the go! We couldn’t wait to get going. First stop: Marsden Cove Marina to check out with Customs on the Tuesday.
Goodbye New Zealand!!!
And then we were on our way to Minerva Reef on Tuesday the
17th of July. The weather gave me an easy re-introduction of sailing
with very calm seas on the first day!
This was nice. But then it decided to get quite rough for a couple of days and I didn’t feel super crash hot. Luckily I have a caring, lovely husband to look after me. But after that we sailed nicely and arrived on Sunday the 22nd of July late afternoon at Minerva. What a special place! Two big reefs (South and North Minerva) in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, about 300nm south of Fiji. It is really weird to see this in the middle of nowhere.
I was very excited to finally be there, as Pete always
did the passages before with some friends. Monday we spend exploring the reef
(you can walk on the reef at low tide), so much to look at and Monday night we
went with the couple from the only other boat at Minerva on the reef to get
some Lobsters. Which ended up being us two ladies holding the dinghies and
chatting and the boys being the hunters and gatherers to pick up the lobsters
from the reef. At night the lobsters cross the reef and you can just pick them
up. So easy. A few more days at Minerva we spend relaxing, exploring and having
a nice BBQ Lobster lunch with our new friends.
This was nice. But then it decided to get quite rough for a couple of days and I didn’t feel super crash hot. Luckily I have a caring, lovely husband to look after me. But after that we sailed nicely and arrived on Sunday the 22nd of July late afternoon at Minerva. What a special place! Two big reefs (South and North Minerva) in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, about 300nm south of Fiji. It is really weird to see this in the middle of nowhere.
If you look closely you can see the breaking reef far away.
And off again on Thursday to our Fiji destination
Savusavu. What I was most excited about was seeing as we were getting closer
and closer the temperature going higher and higher… Already at Minerva we had about 24 degrees,
but as we got closer I could see the thermometer rising a degree every few hours
until it stayed at 28/29 degrees!! Finally!!! And not just Pete and I were
happy, but also Ryely! He finally started growing and I could attempt my first
try at making sourdough bread. The first try wasn’t too bad, but I have to
say, by the second loaf I was getting pretty good at this.
Savusavu – 29th of July to 3rd of
August.
The first day was taken up as usual with the formalities of
customs etc. Our friends from Pacifica, John and Janette were waiting for us
already and it was great to see them again. Now the holiday can start! It was
nice to go out for dinner; we explored the island with John and Janette and
visited the beautiful properties Janette has on the island.
Pete the sheep - named after Pete
At Fawn Harbour
Then, provisioning
again and of we sailed to Paradise resort at the south end of Taveuni to make
our way to Vanua Balavu and Fulaga in the Southern Lau Group
Dinner view from Paradise Resort - Havachat in the background
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