Last Ships Visiting Savusavu In 2009

Gosh, it is December already, this year seems to have passed quicker than ever, it must be because we are getting older.

Well, we have had the last tourist boat in for the year, unfortunately we won't be getting as many visiting next year, this will be hard on the local handcraft sellers, that have had a good year with the amount of ships visiting over the last 11 months.

Last month we had a record 4 boats visiting, Pacific Dawn was the only large one, & as always the locals were very happy with the tourist dollars that were spent here.

We haven't been out fishing since the last entry about the sharks, but have to give it a try again soon.
With the introduction of daylight saving on Sunday, have to give our bodies a week or so to adjust, to the hour we lost.

Morning Lost To Sharks In Savusavu

Since my last entry we have had 2 cruise ships visiting Savusavu.
These ones didn't carry as many passengers as the Pacific Dawn & Pacific Sun, but at least they brought trade to the town.

The first one MV Bremmer had just over 130 passengers most of them being German.
The second Paul Gauguin had sailed in from Tahiti on her way to other Fiji ports, where she unloads her passengers at Lautoka, takes on new passengers, then will call back into Savusavu on Thursday on her way back to Boro Bora. She carried just over 300 passengers.

Thankfully the weather has been fine for the visits, here's hoping for the same tomorrow, when Pacific Dawn calls in for her last tip to Savusavu for a long while.

Reports from friends said Yellowfin Tuna had arrived on the sea mount, so Terry & I went to give Searov a run after doing a service.
On arriving at the mount we had a triple hook up, Terry being the only one on the deck tried to reel in the Yellowfin as fast as he could, as we saw the sharks around, needless to say he couldn't bring them in quick enough so lost all 3 fish, lures & line.

Next try was the same, so we quickly left to find somewhere without sharks.
Again we had a hook up & again a Shark, this time it took about 15 mins to bring him to the boat, at the boat Terry cut the line as he was too big to have around, we lost another lure, so it was time to head home.

A Good Morning Fishing In Savusavu

For the last month, the weather hasn't been great for fishing, and reports from fisherman going out haven't been encouraging.
This year we have had a lot of days with very strong winds, blowing 20 to 25 knots.
We did take a couple of trips out, but we only got as far as the entrance, it was too rough, & people got sick, so we had to make our way home.
Yesterday we did manage to get out past the entrance. Later on it became a little bumpy but the young couple were fine with it, the wife felt a little squeeze but was strong enough to put up with it for her husband.
We had to do a lot of looking around as the fish had done their early morning rise when we got to the mount. (A friend was out at dawn & caught some yellow fin).
There weren't any real work ups but we did manage to get some nice fish.
Our charter was a couple from Australia, & he was pleased with his catch.
We had to weigh his Trevally as it took him a good 15mins to bring in. It was 16.5kg on 15kg line.
Also caught Mahi mahi, Walu, Wahoo, Rainbow runner,& a couple of others.
Not a bad morning at all considering we also lost another 3 fish through foul hook ups

Diwali In Savusavu

Diwali is the Indian Festival of Lights, that is celebrated in Fiji in October.
It is a time when the women & men dress in their most attractive outfits.
Sales persons in shops all dress up in the Indian dress, even thou they are of different races.
At nightfall all the houses put on fairy lights & candles, around the house & grounds, it is a beautiful sight to see.
It is also the time for the children & adults to set off fireworks & crackers at night, each family having their own fireworks display.
It's a busy time for the Ladies who make Indian curries, sweets & savouries for days, so that they can give it out to their friends & visitors.

Tsunami Warning For Savusavu

After the disaster in Samoa from the last Tsunami, no one was taking any chances, when the warning went out on Thursday, of a possible Tsunami heading our way.

All the shops closed, & all the children were sent home from school.
Thankfully nothing happened & the all clear was given out at 12.30.

The fishing hasn't been all that great in the last few months, last month we took the boat for a run & managed to pick up a nice size Wahoo

Joe's Fishing

It is the last day in September, just don't know where this month has gone.
In between all the strong wind we have been having, we managed to get out on a charter with a young couple from one of the resorts on Savusavu.

It wasn't too bad outside the lighthouse but the wife wasn't too happy with the conditions, so we came back into the harbour.
Working our way along the reef, we managed to get a nice Walu, Joe also caught a couple of other fish he hadn't caught before, as most of his fishing was done on the lakes, so he was very pleased.

We also saw a school of dolphins, & two separate turtles along the way, so they were very pleased with the trip.
They managed to take some nice photos, of the reefs, dolphins & turtles, for the family back in the States.

This was caught near your spot Jim.

Yellowfin Tuna

On Friday morning the Pacific Dawn cruise ship arrived for another day visit, to our little town.
On Wednesday & Thursday the whole of the Fiji group, had experienced very, heavy rain, with a lot of places being flooded out.

We were so fortunate that on Friday it all cleared away & the sun shone through, to give our visitors a lovely day, so they were able to go on the tours, & wonder around the town, in a clear day.

On Saturday we took out a couple, & were fortunate to be able to catch another Yellow fin Tuna before the fishing went dead.
We caught the fish in the first 40mins away from the wharf.

The fish just don't seem to be around this year, no one has caught a Mahi Mahi for ages. Guess it has to do with the weather pattern or something!!!