Tag Archives: fiji

Rescue on the Reef

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Sugar Shack is anchored about 2nm from the main town of Denarau and 7nm from Vuda at a small island called Yakuilau island.  We had been here for a few days with our friends Mareike and Thomas (on “Scooter”) when we heard the mayday call.  We were in bad weather conditions which were not ideal for a rescue.

Mayday calls are for life-threatening emergencies where as “pan-pan” calls are for urgent situations that are not life-threatening.  So, we immediately thought the worst.  We listened to the VHF to try to determine where the vessel was to see if we could render help.

Within 5-6 minutes we figured out that the boat was on the opposite side of the island we were anchored behind.  The problem was the weather conditions were miserable.  Winds were blowing 18-20kts and the seas were about 1 meter tall with lots of white caps.  Not a time to be out in the dinghy, but we had to go see if we could help.

As soon as we turned the corner of the island we were smashing against the waves and were drenched.  But, we saw the vessel and quickly approached. 

Not sure what happened as the markers for the reef are easy to spot (as we rounded them to get to the boat). 

As we were trying to make a plan another vessel called “Coral Cats” came to help as well. 

1st Vessel Attempt

Coral Cats could not get close to the vessel because of the shallow depths of the reef so we utilized Sweetie to transport the tow ropes between boats.  Coral Cats has (2) 200hp outboards (much bigger than Sweetie’s (1) 25hp outboard).  They tried 3 times to rescue them from the reef before they had to stop because their stern cleat broke off.  Crap!

Bigger is Better: 2nd Attempt

Another roll on/roll off ferry approached while we were using Coral Cats to get the boat off the reef.  It is called BilliBilli and she had a full cargo load but still stopped for 2 hours to help try to rescue the boat.

This boat was much harder to maneuver, but had a lot more horse power.  We tried at least 5/6 times to rescue this boat off the reef.  Sweetie going back and forth multiple times as the lines had to be dropped each time the ferry repositioned herself.

We were able to turn the boat into the wind which was a huge win.  She no longer was side to the wind and waves which were pushing her further onto the reef. BilliBilli had to go as they were terribly late so we were left with this poor boat on the reef.

An Idea Comes to Mind

Matt has them drop their anchor and most of their anchor chain into our dinghy and we take it out as far as we can and drop it.  We tell them to winch in on the chain during each wave.  This will use the boat’s weight to slowly pull her off the reef.  But they had to wait for high tide at 1:30am to do most of the work.

We get a text at 3:30am that they are off the reef and anchored in front of Denarau. Thank Goodness!

What did not work?

We did not know that this is a ferro cement boat. Yep, you read that right, it is made of cement and super duper heavy.  There is or was no way our little dinghy could have done anything to help rescue her off the reef. 

We did try to use our dinghy to push her sideways while the ferry was pulling her out – that didn’t work.  We also tried to use their main halyard to pull them over and that almost flipped Sweetie – that didn’t work.

More Help

The next day, the owners asked us to help them bring the boat to the haul out facility and to be there to help assess the damage.

Why did they do that?  Well, I had texted my friend Dominique at Raiatea Carenage to see if he had any ideas on how we could help remove the boat from the reef.  He has a remarkably successful track record of rescuing boats in French Polynesia.  He actually knew the boat and the owners and told them that we would be good resources to help them.

Assessing the Damage

They haul the boat out and we were all shocked by the lack of damage!  It is a cement boat after all.  The keel is made of steel and had separated at the joint and curved in to starboard.  From the join down there is a curve but at the end there is a significant bend.  Had the keel been made of cement (like the rest of the boat), it would have shattered. The keel is made of metal because it is heavier.

The rudder also suffered some damage where it separated from the support and bent slightly to starboard.

The shaft and prop were untouched, the engine worked fine, and the hull didn’t appear to have any damage.

Overall, they were extremely blessed to have so little damage.  None of the three souls on board were injured and the boat can be repaired for a little money.

The events from this blog occurred in early September 2022.  Our blog posts run 6-8 weeks behind actual events.  Our last blog is on the beautiful Mana Island explored during low tide.

Manta Ray Escapades

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One of the main reasons we wanted to come to the Astrolabe Reef was to see the manta rays.  We had heard that there is a “cleaning station” and a good area where they feed near Vurolevu island.  This is a mere 1.5nm from Yabu where we are anchored.  

What is a “cleaning station”? A Manta Ray Cleaning Station is a location where fish, sharks, and mantas gather to get a regular hygiene check by parasitic copepods and a variety of small cleaner wrasse. Mantas spend some hours of the day here to get their gills, and skin cleaned.

Vurolevu Island and the Manta Rays

The next morning we head to Vurolevu island with the hopes of finding a few mantas.  As we approach the northern tip and slow the dinghy down, we immediately spot a large manta in the water.  Sweet.  In I go!

There is a nice current here with the water flow delivering delicious plankton into the mouths of these gentle giants.  I enjoy the alone time with 2 medium sized mantas (wing span of about 2-2.5 meters).

Within 15 minutes I am joined by 3 other tourists and decide to head to where Matt is which is about 300 yards from me.  SCORE!  He found the cleaning station.  Check out all the little fish having a field day with these mantas!  They swim around, under, and inside the mantas.  Yes, they swim inside their mouth and come out their gills!  Silly or brave, not sure which?

Manta Rays will jump out of the water to rid themselves of parasites (if they are not near a cleaning station).  They also jump out of the water when they want to impress a lady and or to simply play.

A Cleaning Station

There was no current over where we were swimming, so we could literally just hang out and admire these beauties!  Even though these animals are ginormous, they are not dangerous.  Some of the manta rays that we saw here had a wing span of 4.5-5 meters!  We are talking really, really huge!

But, mantas are harmless and can’t hurt swimmers.  We have found them to be very curious creatures and will often swim up next to and below you if you stay calm and still enough.  They really are delicate animals with no aggressive behaviors and are known to not be predatory in nature.

What do manta rays eat?

Mantas are filter feeders feeding on microscopic plankton near the surface of the water.  They glide back and forth high current areas gathering plankton. A manta ray eats 19,200,000 pieces of plankton every week – that’s a lot of plankton!

Did you know that the closest relative to a manta ray is a shark?  Unlike sharks, mantas don’t have teeth.  They sieve plankton out of the water using a row of tiny plates in their mouth, which they funnel in as they swim. 

One manta came so close to me that I actually saw him looking at me – honestly, he was checking me out!

I wanted to show you how very large these creatures were, but Matt was so far away that it is hard to get a perspective.  And, he happened to go below with a juvenile, not a full size manta.

Hurt Mantas

The natural predators for manta rays are sharks and whales.  Despite their large size and fast speeds, they do get hurt.

We saw several mantas with broken wings and bites out of their tail area.  Their wings naturally flow seamlessly to a fine point, but two of the mantas had their wing tips bent down.  It did not seem to slow them down.  Another two mantas had semi circle bites out of their left tail area.

Did you know?

  • Manta rays have the largest brain to size ratio of any cold-blooded fish?  
  • They have huge brains – the biggest of any fish! 
  • Believed to be as smart and highly cognitive as dolphins, primates, and elephants.
  • Studies have found that their brains are especially developed for learning, problem solving and communicating.
  • Some scientist believe that mantas can recognize their reflection, a sign of self-awareness.

The events from this blog occurred in early September 2022.  Our blog posts run 6-8 weeks behind actual events.  We visit many island near the Astrolabe reef in our last blog post.

Foil Boarding: Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks

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Matt has been “eye-balling” kite and foil board gear for years and years.  In fact, when we lived in Austin, Matt bought a training kite to learn to kite in 2014.  As you might recall, Matt has been a water bunny for decades.  He was a water-skier, knee boarder, in high school, then jumped to wakeboarding, bought a ski boat in 1993 and continued doing all sorts of crazy tricks and stunts on the wake board. He moved on to surfing behind the ski boat in around 2004/5 when it became evident that the falls were taking longer to recover from.

Fast forward to today.  Matt tried foiling last year but did not have much success.  The board and foil were set up for experts and he was just beginning.  But he had fun trying and was not dissuaded!

Foiling

Foiling is a challenging and dangerous sport.  You have to be able to surf, then foil, then fly using the wing. There is the board, usually between 4’.5”-5’.5’, the mast that connects the foil to the board, the back wing which is called the stabilizer and the front wing which is called the foil”.  The piece between the foil and stabilizer is called a fuselage.  And of course, you have the actual “wing” that helps you fly.  This is just for show, I pulled it off the internet 🙂

Step 1: Getting up and Staying Up

We hook up with our friend Chris on Sea Glub who has a foil board. Matt and Chris talk about getting up, going slow, learning the motion of the board and just moving forward (all before foiling).  We use “Sweetie” to pull Matt.  Getting up is easy for Matt as it is similar to surfing behind a boat.  First, he is on his knees, then is slowly stands, and then he is off – surfing on a small board with the foil underwater.

After a few rises, we switch to let Chris have a go at it and then Matt is back in the water.  This time he is confronted with a few waves from passing boats.

Step 2: Tapping

Matt starts to play with the foil by tapping the water.  He goes up a wee bit, then down, up, then down, rinse and repeat.  He is testing the foil, finding the sweet spot and trying to get a feel for the center of balance when the board is up on the foil.  You can see in the below photos that the board is starting to come off the water exposing the mast of the foil.

Step 3: Foiling

Just as the sun starts to set, we get some good photos of Matt foiling.  It was long and it wasn’t always pretty (bad form), but he was up and foiling on day 1!

All in all, it was an outstanding first go!  Matt is hooked and eager to try again soon. 

With all that said, don’t get me wrong, this was difficult even for Matt.  He had some epic falls that qualified for the adjective “Christine’d it!”  You have to be very careful when you fall as the wings on the foil are ridiculously sharp and can do some major damage.  They are so sharp that kiters call them underwater knives!

Adding the Wing

The next step, which was very premature, but worth a try, is to add the wing kite.  Our friend Chris brought it out to the beach to give it a try.  We did not add it to the foiling as it was much too windy day for the combination.  You can see how strong it is as it lifts Matt off the ground with ease.

Practice with the Kite (wing)

The wing is unpacked and ready to play! Matt blows up his new kite and places with it on the bow to get a feel for how he needs to use the wing to propel himself while on the water.

After Matt practiced using our friend Chris’s wing on the beach, he decided to take his new wing out for a spin using his SUP.  Why do you ask did he try the SUP over the new foil board?  Stability.  The SUP is much bigger, wider, and far more stable than the foil board.

It was a light wind day which gave Matt an opportunity to try to propel himself side to the wind.  (The first try he went dead down which is the easiest, but he is learning).  I think part of the difficulty was that he was on his knees and he could not properly turn the kite without getting it in the water…but what do I know?

A week or two later Matt got the foil board out.  He wanted to try to stand on it using a SUP paddle. But it was just too unstable.  He went upwind to get some space from the boat and tried to balancing on his knees first.  

That is when another foiler came by showing off….

Big Purchase From the States

Matt decided to pull the trigger and purchase a foil kite package from Kiteboarding.com.  After much discussion with many other kiters he decided to purchase the following:

  • A demo North 2022 Seek Foil board
  • North 2022 Nova-Wing Size 5 kite
  • North 2022 sonar carbo Eidition (CF85)
  • Sonar Reflect Front Wing 1850R
  • Sonar Medium Aspect Front Wing (MA1200)
  • Mystic 2022 Start wing foil board bag
  • Helmet
  • Life vest
  • Tow rope (to practice towing behind the dinghy)

We had it all shipped to Fiji Freight along with some other items that we thought we “needed to have.”  Wow, Fiji Freight provides excellent customer service! They are super knowledgeable and very reasonably priced.  We had 5 packages sent and the arrived, cleared customs and were delivered to us in Port Denarau within 5 days!

Matt could not wait to assemble the board!  We got back to the boat and he started right away.

Stay tuned for more training adventures as Matt learns how to master this new sport!

The events from this blog occurred in mid-August 2022.  Our blog posts run 6-8 weeks behind actual events.  Did you catch our last blot post where we 2 out of 3 races in the Musket Cove Regatta 2022?