Category Archives: Locations

Places around the world

Onward to Fiji

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

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.

Tuvalu and its Charms

Tuvalu is such a small country but it is rich in its charms and culture.  We’ve met so many lovely people who have welcomed us with big smiles and hardy waves!

Formation of Atolls – David’s Drill

An great attraction in Funafuti is “David’s Drill.”

Scientists from the Royal Society of London conducted experimental drilling in the late 1800s.  Their goal was to test Charles Darwin’s theory of atoll formation. Darwin, the famous formulator of evolution theory, believed that all coral atolls rest on a volcanic base. The deepest bore at David’s Drill reached over 1,000′ and proved Darwin’s theory. The boreholes can still be seen to this day in Fongafale village.

Funafuti has the oldest, most comprehensive geological map of any atoll globally.  This provides a unique dataset for on-going contributions to the geological sciences.

Tuvalu Stamps – Tuvalu Philatelic Bureau

The Tuvalu Philatelic Bureau is located at the southern end of the township of Funafuti. Stamps depicting facets of Tuvalu are printed overseas and are highly collectable.

Since 1975, collectors from more than 60 countries around the globe have eagerly sought new issues of Tuvalu stamps.

There are over one hundred stamps on display that you can purchase.  You tell the worker what stamp you want and she searches the boxes (2nd row, left photo) for your stamps).

The popularity of these unique and original stamps grew rapidly.

These are the stamps I purchased:

Public Gym – Fitness Area

Near the beach with a beautiful view is a fitness area donated fitness equipment.  It looks a bit old (2019) but it all works.

Amazing Garden

It is very difficult for the people living on atolls to have any type of garden.  The reason is because they do not have any soil or dirt. 

However, the clever people of Tuvalu have created and maintain a spectacular community garden.  With much thanx to the Taiwanese. 

The Taiwanese provide the seeds, tools, and soil.  The locals built an area above the coral, covered it, added enriched soil, and started planting. 

They have dozens of enormous rain water tanks to keep things hydrated..

The locals use pig and chicken manure to enrich the soil. 

It also gives them an opportunity to sell the eggs and pigs for additional income.

The result is a rich, thriving garden. 

They sell tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, eggplant, peppers, bananas, lettuce, bok choi, squash and more.

To purchase items from the garden you arrive at 6:00am on Tuesday or Saturday. There is no shopping cart or bag.  A list is passed around that you write your order on. Then you wait for your name to be called to collect your bag.

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

Did you read about Tuvalu’s status as the 2nd smallest country in the world in our last blog post?