Author Archives: Christine

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The one that makes it all happen

Life as a Pack Mule

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We were exhausted after visiting 3 countries and sailing over 1800 nautical miles in less than one month.  However, one of us had to be the pack mule. 

We needed boat parts to repair the boat and they were not available in Fiji.  So, we ordered all of the parts and had them shipped to my sister in California.

Imagine our surprise when we discovered it would cost $900 USD to ship a 20lb box (18″x18″x6″) from Los Angeles to Savusavu.  

In the past we used Fiji Freight and they were amazing!  However, they are no longer doing consolidated shipping.  They are only focusing on commercial shipping.  We looked at many shipping companies and shipping agents.  The cheapest price was close to the price of an airline ticket.

We decided it would be best to physically go to the U.S. to retrieve our valuable boat parts.

Savusavu to Los Angeles

A flight from Savusavu to Nadi and then Los Angeles will cost about $1,100 USD and will take 21-22 hours (depending on layovers).  

The one hour flight from Savusavu is on 21-passenger plane operated by Fiji Link.  This small plane pulls up to the equally small, single-building airport. 

I sat in the last row on my departing flight.

We had beautiful views of both Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. Markedly, a beautiful day!

I love that you can see the shadow of our airplane in the water.

Coming in for a landing at the Nadi International airport. 

The bottom left photo shows us making the approach to the airport. Can you see the air strip?

The Domestic terminal is super small.  One baggage carousel, a small cafe, bathrooms and 2 desks. 

It is a short 3-minute walk to the International terminal.

The flight from Nadi to L.A. was huge! Close to 250-300 passengers.  It was cruel that they had us pass by the business/first class area to get to our tightly packed economy area.

Hermosa Beach

I took a few extra days with my sister and her sweet 6-month old puppy Luke. 

We went on lovely walks each day, ran some errands, and gathered boat parts.

The only person I got to see was my uncle Matthew.  He came by for a short visit and lunch.

I enjoyed lots of walks between Hermosa Beach (above) and Manhattan beach (below).

Pack Mule

Enough funny business.  It was time to earn my pack mule title. 

It was time to remove all packaging and organize this chaos in a way that meets the strict luggage guidelines.

I was allotted one checked bag weighing 30 kilos (66lbs) and one carry bag weighing 7 kilos (15lbs).  

Lots of heavy bearings, a wash down pump, a full stainless tool kit, 2 sets of dive gauges, snorkel gear, and some clothes.

As it turned out my checked bag came in right at 30 kilos!  Man was I lucky.  My carry on was 5 kilos.

Matt took a photo of our plane coming into Savusavu:

Our blog posts run 8-10 weeks behind actual live events. 

I was a pack mule for Matt the first part of May 2025.

Be sure to read about our passage to Fiji here.

Onward to Fiji

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We spent a lovely week in Funafuti, Tuvalu.  But, it was time to make the journey south east towards Fiji. 

The forecast showed light winds, rain, and seas between 1-2 meters.  

Prior to leaving we filled up on duty free fuel diesel. 

Pacific Energy typically fuels 200 liter drums with their large nozzles.  These nozzles are too big for our jerry cans.  Our solution was to fill a 200 liter drum.  And then use a hand pump to transfer the fuel from the drum to our (10) jerry cans. 

We transported the (10) jerry cans across the street, down the beach, in the surf to the dinghy, and then on to the boat!

Passage to Fiji

We departed early on a Saturday morning.  We spent the first 5 hours motoring across the lagoon, out of the pass, and then down the eastern side of the island.

Day 1:  The first 24 hours were really calm. We had really light winds (4-6kts) and could not sail at all.  So, we motored for the first 24 hours.  

The night brought rain showers and squalls.  The days had sunshine and rainbows. 

However, Days 2-4 we had just enough wind to raise the main and genoa to full sail. The days were beautiful with full sunshine, blue skies, white puffy clouds and decent conditions. 

Yes, we could have used more wind, but with the boat “injured” it was best to have these light winds.

We wanted to go through the Somosomo Straight (between Vanua Levu and Taveuni) during the day.  However, we did not arrive until evening.  Lucky for us we had tracks and great charts. 

We lost the wind completely between the two islands and motored through the narrow channel.  We arrived to the Savusavu channel perfect timing around 0800.  

  • Traveled:  Funafuti, Tuvalu to Savusavu, Fiji
  • Distance Travelled: 561 nautical miles
  • Total Time at Sea:  97 hours (4 days)
  • Motoring Time:  37 hours (ouch)
  • Average Speed: 5.8 and Max Speed 11kt

Matt and I under passage

The top red arrow is Funafuti, Tuvalu.  We passed many tiny atolls and islands in route to Fiji including Niulakaita Island (green arrow). And we re heading to Savusavu, Fiji the black arrow.

Arriving Fiji

Now, the tricky part.  We need to maneuver the boat in the very narrow channel to the mooring.  We had a local cruiser on stand by with his dinghy and Copra Shed Marina sent their staff to assist as well.

Savusavu, Fiji channel

Savusavu, Fiji channel

Matt was able to align the boat with a mooring.  However, before we could pick it up a large roll on / roll off tanker asked us to move so they could get past us.  He is barreling toward us and there is nothing we can do but try to reverse.

Unfortunately, once Matt reversed we had no way to get back to the mooring.

The marina guy towed us back to the mooring.  What a heart stopping event as we are surrounded by channel markers, buoys and boats.

We are here and settled.  This will be home for many weeks as we await our boat parts and start on all of the repairs.

Formalities in Fiji

Once we were settled on the mooring, the marina organized the officials. 

The Health official arrived first.  She checked under our beds, in our bathrooms, inside the fridge and freezer looking for bugs. 

We passed. 

Immigration, Customs, and Biosecurity were next.  A short 30-minutes later and we were officially cleared into the country!

Fiji Officials Clearing us into the Country

Fiji Officials Clearing us into the Country

A boat full of school kids passed by and shouted “Bula.”  It was the perfect welcome to this amazing country!

Our blog posts run 8-10 weeks behind actual live events.  We were under passage toward the end of April 2025. 

We celebrate the bombing of Funafuti, Tuvalu – check it out!

Bombing of Funafuti Celebration

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We are invited to celebrate Te Aso o te Paula which translates to “The Day of the Bomb.”  This is a ceremonial day for Funafuti where they celebrate surviving the WWII bomb and the minimal loss of life.

The main atoll of Funafuti in Tuvalu received the U.S. Marines on October 2, 1942.  Funafuti became a significant army and navy base housing a total of 350 aircraft and a brand new airport.

The Japanese didn’t know the Americans built a base in Funafuti, Tuvalu.  They were looking for other bases to the North of Kiribati, not to the south.

The Japanese bombed Funafuti seven months after the airport was completed on April 23, 1943.

Even though one local and two servicemen lost their lives they still celebrate this day of survival.

Fun Fact about Funafuti

There are two main villages on the island.  To the south of the Presbyterian church is one village. The other village is located to the north of the church.  The church sits in the center of the island between both villages.  

There is one chief over the entire island and the priest is “over” the chief.

Celebrating in Funafuti

The two villages participate in games all week long to see who is the superior village.  On the celebration day, the compete in dance and song.

A group of men surround a platform that they use as a drum.  Singers surround the drummers and the dancers face the opposite village.

The celebrations start out with lunch and speeches.  The U.S. flag and special plaque are on display.

The villagers decorate the hall with beautiful, handwoven crafts.

The Dancers

Every song and dance tells a story.  Threaded through every story is the gratitude for the gift of life.

The women dancers delight with their beautiful smiles and gentle hand gestures.

The men show their fierce nature with strong movements and stomps.

A few of my favorite performers.

The 80th Anniversary Celebrated in NZ 

A beautiful video of the celebrations in New Zealand on April 23, 2023. 

A survivor recounts the Day of the Bomb. 

She remembered over 40 locals running to the church.  And shortly after an American soldier told them to evacuate as the church was an easy target. The church was later destroyed.

Our blog posts run 8-10 weeks behind actual live events. 

We celebrated Te Aso o te Paula on 23 April 2025.

See more information on No Foreign Land 

In our last blog post I share the dramatic failures on Sugar Shack.