Cyclone Mick In Fiji

We can count our blessings this morning, as Cyclone Mick left Fiji shores.

In Savusavu we were spared the brunt of the storm, when it was first upgraded to a cyclone, the path it was plotted to take, would have brought it our way.

Fortunately for us, but not for Viti Levu, it changed direction & moved more west, & so took in the whole of the island.
Some reports coming out this morning aren't good, a lot of people have lost their homes or have had their houses flooded. There hasn't been much from the outer Islands as communications are still out.

At this stage there are 2 reported dead, & lots have lost all their crops & livestock.
This is very sad as Christmas is so close.
Still, we have to be thankful, it could always have been worse.

We did managed to get 1 charter out before the storm, even then, it was too rough to go pass the lighthouse.
We had to try, as the group had waited 5 days, & were to fly out on Sunday.

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!!!

Fishing

Friday 11th

The strong winds have been blowing for over a week, last Sunday & Monday all flight into Savusavu had to be canceled because of the weather.

All passengers had to fly into Labasa, then find their own transport into Savusavu, this isn't very good for the poor tourist that has never been to Vanua Levu before.
We had one such couple, arriving into Labasa not knowing Savusavu was a hour & half away by taxi, at a cost of $100.

Anyway, we had a booking for a charter, but there wasn't any way that we could go the usual spots, outside the entrance to Savusavu, as the weather forecast was for winds 20 - 25knts.
The family were leaving on Saturday so asked to try inside the harbour.

The winds in the harbour wasn't as strong, so we gave it a shot.
There just didn't seem to be anything around, though we did see a pod of dolphins, doing a display for us for about 5 mins.

Luckily we did manage to pick up a nice size Yellowfin Tuna, but lost a Wahoo, one of the daughters was playing the fish, but not having fished before, she had too much slack on the line, & after the second run, it through the hook.

How that they have flown out, the weather has come good with light winds & calm seas, good fishing weather!

Old Friends Of Savusavu

I It has been 4 yrs since our friends, Jim & Marty returned for a visit to Savusavu.
Jim & Marty were constant visitors to Savusavu for many years, enjoying at last 2 visits a year

They owned a house in Daku Resort until it was sold about 5 yrs ago.
Jim had his own boat, & took great pleasure going out fishing every time he visited.
Jim was well known for the fish he caught, he never came home empty handed.

The boys from the resort always wanted to join Jim on his fishing trips, as they were guaranteed some fish for the family lunch.

Hope you don't leave it too long, for your next visit to our Hidden Paradise.

Fun Day In Savusavu

I am a little late with this entry, have had friends visiting, so have been doing the rounds of the local restaurants, with them.
Pacific Dawn again graced our shores, for the usual 8 hrs visit, on 24th August
This time there seemed to be a lot more families, & lots of little children, happily out to enjoy the new town.
Thankfully it was again, a beautiful sunny day, with a gently sea breeze.
This trip bought a lot of revenue into the little town, helping a lot of families. the next boat isn't until 18th Sept, so that gives the stall holders time to get in more goods.

Rough Fishing Day

The morning didn't look too bad in the harbour, but the weather man said, the seas might be a bit rough.
The couple only wanted a 3 hr charter so it was going to be a challenge to find something in that time.

Once we got to the entrance, we could see it was a little choppy, so we put the gear out & worked our way along the reef.
This morning there weren't the usual birds working just pass the lighthouse, so we headed out a little further.

The wind was starting to pick up, & the Lady started feeling sick, so we had to turn back.
About half way back, one of the lines went off, thank goodness.

The husband got into the chair, & soon had the fish on board, a small Wahoo. Now it was time to pull the gear in & head for home, as the Lady was now getting sick, think it was the fruit she ate.

Launching Searov

Well the day has come around for launching Searov back into the water.
High tide is at 6.30am so everything has to be ready before that, so she can be pushed in at the top of the tide.

At 5.00am we were down at the boat, it was still dark, but all the ropes had to be attached to Searov then onto the trailer to hold her in place while she got pushed in.

I went round with Terry holding a torch so he could see what he was doing, by 6.15 everything was ready.

This time we got another person to push her in, & this man was here well on time, so once he was in position, the push began.

This operator was so much more careful, & soon Seavor was floating, ropes came off the trailer, & she was away.
A few minutes later the trailer was pulled back out of the water, to get washed down with fresh water & put away for the next time.

Now for the cleaning up, she was parked under a tree on shore, so there are a lot of leaves in the boat, it will probably take us the rest of the morning to clean her up.

Searov Has a Paint Job

Well we have been out of the water for nearly a month now, with luck Searov will be back in the water by the end of next week.

She has had her hull painted, & outdrives all checked & is ready to be launched, but there aren't any high tides until Wednesday, at 6.00am, which is a bit early for a digger to arrive, so it has to be Thursday.

It will be great to be able to get out to sea again, to see what fish are out there, & to put a line out.

Fijian Bambo Raft -Bilibili

There hasn't been a lot of business lately, so we pulled Searov out to get maintenance work done on her.
As there isn't a place to haul her out in Savusavu, the process is so different to places that have haul out facilities.

First, we have to push our trailer out into the deep water, than drive Searov slowly onto the the trailer, once on & in line, we secure Searov onto the trailer, then get a digger to pull her up the beach to a suitable place.

Searov was secured onto the trailer at high tide, but the digger was nowhere to be seen, the tide turned & started to go out, causing Searov to start banging onto the trailer.
Something had to be done quickly, as this could cause damage to the boat, & the digger still nowhere to be seen.

Fortunately, someone with a twin cab with 4x4 passed & pulled the trailer a little up the beach to preventing any damage to Searov .
A hour later, the digger turns up for a 10min job, but charges the rate for a days work, this is Savusavu so you just have to pay, & hope you don't have to do this again for a year at least.

Now the work begins for Terry, just hope the weather stays fine, as he wants to paint the hull, then start work on the outdrives.

Here is a picture of a wedding we went to, it's the groom & party arriving by bilibili (raft made out of bamboo).

Kids Sailing Club in Savusavu

27th June.
What a week it has been, winds have been too strong to go out & of course we had 3 charters booked.

We finally managed to take one of the guests out, but the seas were still very rough outside the entrance.

After trolling around the usual spots, we manage to catch 3 Mahimahi & 1 yellow fin tuna, but the conditions weren't that good, so headed home as Derek had a plane to catch that afternoon. He had canceled his morning flight, in case we were able to take him out, so we didn't want him to miss his flight, as he was leaving the country later that afternoon.

At the Copra Shed Marina, there was a welcome for the yachts that were in Port from New Zealand on a cruising regatta, some of the yachties, joined the Kids Sailing Club in a little fun sail.

Pacific Dawn back in Savusavu

25th June
The winds haven't let up all week & this morning Pacific Dawn is expected with close to 2,000 passengers.

Again we are fortunate that the rain kept away, & the tourist didn't mind the wind as it kept the place nice & cool as they wandered around the town.

The local bands kept the passengers entertained with all the local songs, while they sat under the umbrellas at the Copra Shed Marina, enjoying a taste of the local brew, from the Yacht Club.

There is always a lot of singing & merry making as the last group make their way, to board the last tender.

Sunday Cruise To Savusavu by Pacific Sun

After a night of strong winds & rain, it was such a relief to see dawn had brought us a fine day.

As soon as it was light, the local stall holders started putting up their stalls, in readiness, for the visit of Pacific Sun.

As the passengers disembarked, the local band sang Fijian songs & the girls gave out flowers while greeting passengers.

It was a better day for the visitors today as it was a lot cooler, all that rain over the last 2 days, cooled the whole place down, making it more pleasant for walking around the town.

Yachts in Savusavu

Last week was one of the best weeks we have had for a while, sunshine, calm seas, & a nice cool breeze, lovely to sleep at nights.

At this time of the year, Yachts begin to arrive in Savusavu, some to spend a few days here on their way to another country, filling up with provisions etc, others on their way cruising around Fiji, & this is the spot where they spend a week or more, before cruising elsewhere. Some boats have arrived here & decided to stay put, some staying a month or more.

The Minister Of Defence & his party were in Savusavu for a meeting on Thursday, we had the pleasure of taking them out on a short harbour cruise. He loves to fish, but this time meetings were more important.

Beautiful Savusavu Morning

27th May.
It was such a beautiful morning we couldn't resist not going out on the boat.
It was one of those morning, where you just wanted to keep going, & see where you ended up.

We did put out a line while we cruised around, but there wasn't much around, did manage to get something for lunch, so we were happy.

While heading out towards Koro Island, on the glassy water, something seemed to be bobbing up & down. As we got closer we sighted a pod of Whales swimming out in front of us.

What a beautiful sight to see, but as the boat got closer they went down, then came up as soon as we went away.
It's on a days like this that you really appreciate nature.

Weather In Savusavu

14th May.

The last few days haven't been very nice weather for tourist visiting Savusavu, especially the cruise ship Pacific Sun, visiting our shores from Brisbane Australia.
The morning start off not too bad, cloudy, but at least the rain was holding off.

At dawn all the stall holders started to set up their stalls so as to display their handcraft, & in the hopes of selling something to the visitors.

Just as the first tender pulled into the pontoon, we had our first shower of rain.
Luckily it was only a light shower, only lasting a few minutes, but that was how it continued all day, short showers than sunshine.

Fortunately, this didn't deter the passengers, who did the usual bus & village tours, & a walking through the town, looking for souvenirs to take home.