Last week with Kava in the Yasawa Islands, Fiji

We left the sanctuary of the Blue Lagoon early to get up to snorkel the caves at lunch when the big cruise ship takes their customers back for lunch.  There was a large front moving in... since we were only 7 miles from the caves we had to scoot up there and then get back down to Soma Soma for a protected anchorage... We are so close that there is no way we were missing this.  This was one thing I knew they would really like to do.

We all entered into the first cave and swam around in the dark with our flashlights... then Chris led the expedition to go to the far cave.  I took the girls back out to the main chamber with Arielle and we waited for them all to come back out safely.  I was so proud because this time Tristan, Alexia and kava all made way back into the last cave.  This isn't an easy pass and you have to be comfortable holding your breath for at least 30 seconds, swimming under water in the dark making turns through the caves.  Chris and Alexia found large salt crystals hanging from the ceiling and brought a few out to show the girls.  Science... check!

small girls waiting for the rest to go under to the far back cave

After the caves we boogied on down the coast.  There was a large front heading our way and the more northern you are in the chain the stronger the winds are because they get funneled through the two main islands of Fiji... So we headed south looking for a good anchorage for the projected 30+ knot winds that were predicted to hit that evening.  We decided to go back to Soma Soma and anchor for the night there and possibly do a night snorkel on the reef that we like so much.  Unfortunately the winds did hit and it made it a bit dodgy to tackle a night snorkel... Phew.... I am not sure I am up for that yet... I was going to try but I must admit I was scared.

First Fish caught... skip jack.. we were going to release it but it drowned on the way in because it some how got its tail tangled in the fish line and we had to pull it in backwards.. weird!

We decided to leave Soma Soma Bay for a more protected anchorage for the next 2 nights... We headed around the corner to Natuvalo Bay and hunker down for the winds.  It was quite a bumpy ride over the bay is protected by a highish mountain that really protects the anchorage.  It was so nice to be tucked in there.  You could see the winds were hitting the water 400 yards away from us and outside of the bay you could see the white caps... where we were anchored it was like glass and there was no swell... The bay has 2 backpacker resorts on it and the people there were so welcoming.  We explored the beach and George in one of the resorts invited us in for Tea Time at 3 and we had a lovely cup of tea sheltered from the rain overlooking the bay.  

Rainy day games on Shine (George and Tristan playing table tennis)

The weather cleared enough for us to make our way south.  We left early so that we could stop at the Manta Pass to try one last time to see the mantas... as we went past we quickly realized how challenging it would be to actually snorkel the pass with the wind and waves ripping through the channel so we moved on... Then we wanted to go into Navandra and stay the night but again once we got there we soon found out the anchorage was way to rolly and we had to head out.  Then we wanted to take him to Castaway Island but that was also not really possible to enjoy, so we went another 6 miles south and ended up at Mana Island.  Our friends on Javalot were there and told us it was just a beautiful spot to be in... Mana Island is a very protected anchorage.  It has a well marked channel going through the reef that surrounds the anchorage with crystal clear waters... We ended up staying there for 2 nights to enjoy Alina's 7th Birthday.  The weather had cleared up and the sun was blazing and there was a slight tropical breeze... it was heaven..

We got the sailing dinghy down and Kava claimed ownership and sailed everywhere with Arielle and the kids... It was really fun to see it being used again and in such a beautiful spot.

Amaia and Alina on recess break from school

The girls were really cute.  After seeing Kava sail they wanted to jump in and go too.  It was fun at first and then Alina wanted to come back, she was getting grumpy because Amaia was having a hard time finding the right wind angle to get back to the boat.  After about 30 minutes... she finally made it.  Now Amaia understands you can't sail directly into the wind and why we have to tack back and forth to go upwind.

Alina getting grumpy

Alina really grumpy

We had a great time snorkeling at Honeymoon Island before going to Cloud 9 Restaurant.  Honeymoon is a small island and only a day stop to snorkel the reef around it... it is incredibly beautiful with lots of varieties of coral and fish life... last time we were here a sea snake swam 2 feet away from Tristan...  My friend Kathi had asked if we had seen any evidence of the coral bleaching that they are talking about in the news lately... I hate to admit my ignorance but I wasn't familiar with it... so after a few google attempts I am sadden to say that I now see it everywhere we go... it seems that here in the Yasawa Island chain there are many good snorkel spots left but you definitely see the evidence of decay... We have found at every snorkel spot up and down the Island chain many Crown of Thorns Starfish that are wiping out the coral reefs by eating all the coral... and then also the Bleaching... it is really sad to see it happening before your eyes and there isn't much we can do about it.  

Evidence of "Coral Bleaching" and if you look close there is a Crown of Thorns starfish underneath eating the coral.. Both are killing the reefs down here.

Crown-of-thorns starfish prey on nearly all corals, and their feeding preferences and behavior patterns vary with population density, water motion, and species composition. ref COTS typically prefer to feed on branching and table corals (e.g., Acropora). However, when branching coral cover is low due to overabundance of COTS or environmental conditions, COTS may eat other corals such as Porites or foliose corals (e.g. Montipora). In addition to hard corals, COTS may also eat sponges, soft corals, algae and encrusting organisms.

This is what happens when Chris and I both have cameras...  hee hee

Photo bomb... 

 Not much more to say about all the fun the kids have eating pizza and jumping off the top rail at Cloud 9.  We got there just in time because many of the large tour boats had gathered their crowds and were departing so there was just a handful of people at the restaurant.  Jump after jump... Kava started to do backflips off and then of course Chris and then last but not least Tristan.  I couldn't believe he did it.  Kava taught him how to and after that there was no stopping him.  Tristan was addicted.

Kava started to do backflips off and then of course Chris and then last but not least Tristan.  I couldn't believe he did it.  Kava taught him how to and after that there was no stopping him.  Tristan was addicted.  

There was a little light left so the kids decided to go wake boarding.  It was Kava's first time and he nailed it... it isn't that easy getting up being pulled by the dinghy for an adult.  

Kava Wake boarding for the first time and Ariel took this picture of him in the sunset..

With the night being windless we were able to launch a few of the floating lanterns successfully.  Only once did we have one drop down close to the dinghy and Kava had to lunge to grab the flaming lantern and toss it into the water... Thanks Kav!

Woke up in the morning and it was like a swimming pool.  The waters were so still that the sun was being reflected off the bottom.

                   

Kava and Ariel morning snorkel/swim at Cloud 9

Amaia Day Dreaming

Of course we couldn't leave without going by the famous surf spot Cloud break and stayed there for a bit for some surfing and lunch.  

They say 3 times a charm.... After 2 caught fish... first a skip jack and the second a barracuda, Kava caught our first edible fish on the way the way to Cloud Break and we had it for dinner that night.

After 2 caught fish... first a skip jack and the second a barracuda, Kava caught our first edible fish on the way the way to Cloud Break and we had it for dinner that night. 

On our way to Musket Cove we came across a large pod of dolphins (around 30) and they were very playful.  We ended up going around and around and they kept swimming to our boat to play in the wake the hulls make.  It was so fun to see them.  We haven't seen a large group like this since Mexico.

Finally... Dolphins and not just one.. but a bunch and playful with us!

On our way to Denaurau to drop Kava and Arielle off we stopped in the middle of passage to go swimming in the deep waters.  We shut off the motors and drifted for a little bit while we all jumped in and swam around the boat.... Kava was a little hesitant because you never really know what you will be swimming with or what may pass by you.  After seeing Alina and Amaia go running to the front of the boat and jump in and then Tristan do a back flip, Kava jumped right in.  It is still an eerie feeling to be 300 feet of water, but how can you pass up the beauty of the clarity.  It is truly just blue!

 Ugh... water up my nose.....

We are so sad to see Kava and Arielle leave us... It was so much fun having them with us and share some really special moments... We miss and love you guys tons and are looking forward to seeing you at christmas.  

School Assignment: Eyewitness Account, by Lexi Tzortzis

 Eyewitness story- Lexi Tzortzis (Calvert Schooling) Oct 22, 2015

           

Dear Reader,

I have so much to say but so little time. It all started with a simple conversation.

            “What are they?” I asked.

            “I don’t know.” Mom replied.

Some things in this world, you just can’t explain. But, I’ll try.

It was another fantastic day in Mexico as we had just sailed around the islands of Espirito Santu, a natural wildlife park, off the coast of La Paz. We swam with the sea lions for an hour or so, and came back into a small cove, big enough only for our 47 ft. catamaran, named Family Circus.

 My parents, sister, brother, and I, sat and watched the sun set over the sea, while my two little sisters played inside. The muddy, red cliffs that bordered three sides of the cove got darker and darker, until the only light was coming out of our boat.

You could smell the delicious cooking coming from our tiny kitchen, or galley, as its called on a boat, and I knew dinner was ready. Dad called us to the table for dinner, and we ate. After dinner, we cleared the plates and started to sit down to play cards, when my mom, who was looking at the stars, glanced at the water, and audibly gasped.

            “Tristan, Lexi, Kaela, Chris. Come look at this!”

As I leaned over the side of the boat I realized the lifeline netting and night was cold but the heat from my family crowding around me was keeping me warm. Staring Into the glassy water it seemed like it was reflecting the stars. Thousands of surreal shimmering lights in bright neon greens and blues are dancing everywhere in the water.

            “What are they?” I ask.

            “I don’t know.” Mom answers.

We learned later that the little lights were actually microscopic creatures that produce bioluminescence. The tiny bright organisms seemed like they popped straight out of a movie, one like Avatar where everything is glowing. Bioluminescence is the production of light given off by a living creature. While not technically correct, we started to call them “ocean phosphorescence”, or simply “phosphorescence”.

Watching the sparkles in the water made me feel special and excited to be able to see something that I hadn’t seen before, or wouldn’t have been able to see anywhere else. We watched in fascination for hours, or so it seemed. When I finally got too tired to keep my eyes open, or watch the little blinking creatures, I went to bed. I thought that they would be there tomorrow night. Had I known they would run away, I would have watched them longer. Had I known they would leave, I wouldn’t have gone away.

I dreamt all night of the little glowing creatures, except not in the water. In my dream, it was pitch black all around me, except for little flashing lights everywhere in bright greens and blues.

In the morning when I woke up I felt like I saw the world differently. I tried to walk around and spend more time outdoors. You can hear about something, or see a picture, but to see it for yourself first hand is definitely way better than hearing it from someone else second hand. If you get the chance to, I hope you learned from this experience as I did, and let nature surprise you.

                                                                        All My Love,

                                                      Lexi

Back in the Yasawa's again... so beautiful!

Hello Everyone,

We are back up at the Blue Lagoon again.  We have had a great week so far with Kava.  We picked him and Arielle up at the airport on Thursday the 8th and stayed for a night and then headed out.  We still had some to do items to complete on the boat especially since Kava had brought down with him a bunch of boat parts.  Christmas twice in one month.... best ever!

Kids Overnight..

We headed out of Port Denarau with our friends/family on Shine in blue skies and a soft breeze pushing us down the Yasawa Island Chain.  We had about 26 miles to go for our first night out of the marina.  We decided to stay at Waya LaiLai.  This was the little village that we loved so much with all the kids.   As we dropped anchor we were again welcomed with warm greetings.  Jim the acting mayor of the village waved us in from the beach and then we headed into the village.  We saw all of the familiar faces and were greeted with warm hugs from School Master Ben, his wife Eliza and of course all the kids.  We were asked many times where Oma was.  All the kids remembered us of course from the last time we were there and were looking around for Oma.  After we went to Jim’s house and we gave him the Kava and he blessed it and officially welcomed us to his village we wandered around a bit.  As we were hanging around playing with the kids a guy came down the path carrying rugby shoes.  Chris naturally gravitated to him to find out what he was doing and where he was going.  We found out that they were having a practice at the school grounds so of course we headed back to the school with him.  

 As we got to the playground the team started throwing the ball to Kava and Chris.  A little rugby tossing and then we were waved over for some backyard volleyball.  I had been playing a little volleyball with the ladies of the village and thought I was doing pretty good for an old girl.. I love volleyball but haven’t played in a long time... when Chris and Kava were done playing rugby they came over and jumped in on the game... Now I realized that the ladies were just being gentle with me... I was playing but they were just warming up... The balls were bouncing off the houses with extreme force... I was glad I was not in there... I thought someone was going to get knocked out... Dang they were good.

We also got to do another sevu sevu ceremony that evening with Ben and Eliza and the volleyball group... They invited us back to their house for dinner and sevu sevu after... Xesca from Shine stayed with the little girls on the boat and the rest of us went in for dinner.  Some guitar, some sevu sevu and a little drinking Kava for Kava and Arielle and a whole lot of fun hanging with these guys... at the end of the night one of the ladies who we had played volleyball with taught us how to make bracelets out of the material they make pandanus matts with.  

The anchorage was really rolly so we had to make our way north.  We headed to the manta pass to do a little snorkeling and hopes to see the Manta.  You can only see the Mantas around high tide so we had to wait until the next morning to go to the pass.  It was an early wake up call with Shine yelling at us through our windows to hurry up and get our suits on to go on a manta hunt.  It was a bit cold and windy when we got out there.  There was one other cruiser dinghy out already looking for the mantas.. unfortunately they had said they looked the day before with no luck and also the hotel tour guide said they hadn’t seen the mantas in a little while either.  We dove in to snorkel the pass and check it out ourselves anyway... it is a really fun drift dive with a few pelagic fish.  Right when Arielle, Kava and Chris jumped in they saw a 6 foot white tip reef shark... and then just a little later a nice size waloo swam by.  The snorkeling bit didn’t let us down, unfortunately we didn’t see the mantas... such a let down.  We realize how lucky we have been in our past locations to see these beautiful creatures.  

The anchorage again became a little rolly so we decided to again head north up to Soma Soma Bay that is well protected from swell and wind.  As we pulled up our friends on Winterlude were there and told us about the really great snorkeling just off our anchors.  Soma Soma Bay has a huge white sandy beach, probably the longest we have seen in Fiji so far... after a little play time we went to discover what was underwater.  We weren’t let down... the coral garden was completely amazing.  So many colors, varieties and sizes... just beautiful.  There was also a lot of fish life.  

This bay is also known for a World War II plane wreck in the bay... We think it was a spit fire or a hell cat.. We jumped on Shine's boat to go check it out and we all were surprised at how small the plane was... cute little fish though.

Now it is October 13th.. My Birthday :@) and I was woken up with a happy birthday song and cards from the kids... I love it.  Chris promptly spoiled me with coffee in bed and then breakfast (bacon and eggs) my favorite.. I think it was our last bacon that we had stalked up on in Tonga... :@(..  

After Breakfast we headed up to Blue Lagoon for my birthday.  Our friends on Javalot were going to be there and of course Shine and us... Once we got here, even though the winds are quite strong it is a very calm anchorage so we were able to raft up with Shine and tie our boats together.  The wind direction never changes and it is nice for the kids and grownups to be able to walk back and forth to the boats.  With our boats tied together we can handle quite a few people so we invited our friends from Javalot over for sunset drinks, curry dinner night and some birthday cake that Lexi made for me.  It was a lot of fun to have everyone on the boat, hanging out and telling stories.

This morning we went to the my favorite little farm on Shine’s dinghy.  This is the little farm that you have to go through the mangroves at high tide to get to.  The tide was already going out by the time we got there so we had to hurry along in order not to be stuck there for 6 hours... They weren’t down in the river this time so we walked up into the valley where the farm is to find them out working in their fields.  We all got the tour, and filled our bags with carrots, onions, eggplant, bok choy, tomatoes, radishes, lettuce and then went up to the house for farm fresh eggs.  I had forgotten coconuts so they offered to deliver them to the boat tonight when they come into the village.  Fantastic!  We barely made it out in time before the tide came in... we had to walk the dinghy out in the mud for quite a ways and then once we got out to the reef there were two local guys directing us to help us get out... at times the water was ankle deep and it wouldn’t be so bad except for Shine’s mercedes weighs 700 pounds and we can’t carry it.  

Hugs and love to everyone,

Heath

Still in Denarau Marina

Hello everyone,

Well we are still in the Denarau Marina... it is Thursday and we will be leaving tomorrow to head back up the Yasawa Chain.  It is forecasted to be very strong SE winds for the next 4 days so we will need to find some protected anchorages.

It was really sad to see Oma go and we miss her tons.  We had so much fun with her here and she was an amazing trooper putting up with the boat life and I believe truly enjoying everything it has to offer (good and bad).  For the last 3 days we have been tearing the boat apart and fixing things.  We are trying to do all the little maintenance items that we have put off and it is really nice to get them off our list.  We also got the boat detailed and waxed by 8 rapidly working men in a 6 hour time frame.  They really did a great job and it is nice to have a nice sparkling boat again, even if it only lasts a short time because of all the ash that is falling on the boat from the sugarcane field burnings.

We picked up Kava and Arielle today... It is so nice to have him home and to see Arielle.  I haven't seen him in about a year.. (time flies) I really missed his big bear hugs and am looking forward to showing him everywhere we have been and to meet all of our new cruising friends.  I know this will be a much needed break for them with all that they have going on, moving, completing her doctorate program, changing jobs... etc.

So not much else to say... just a little down time and regrouping until we head out again tomorrow.

Hope all is well with everyone at home,

Hugs and love

Heath