Day 17, Year 2: Arrival in Suva, Fiji
Date: Friday, May 11, 2007
Weather Today: Clear Blue Skies, Winds NE 10-12 Knots
Temperature: Air 81 degrees F; Water 81 degrees F
Latitude: 18 degrees 07 minutes S
Longitude: 178 degrees 25 minutes E
Total Trip Miles: 1104
Location: Suva, Fiji

Exactly eight days to the hour. That’s how long it took for our passage from Opua, New Zealand to Suva, Fiji. The GPS reads 193 hours, but that is because Mark turned on the GPS before the trip started. Actually it took 192 hours, noon Thursday of one week to noon Friday of the next. Even with the wind against us the last day and a half, we averaged 5.7 knots overall with the GPS showing our highest speed as 9.6 knots. We were flying through that ‘squash zone’ and I’ll be just as happy if we never have to fly through one again. Customs, Immigration, Agriculture, and Health officials came out at 2:30 to inspect the boat and officially check us in to Fiji. We passed inspection, have taken down the quarantine flag, and are now ready to make our first trip to shore. We are in the Royal Suva yacht Club anchorage and hope to meet Colette and Jean-Pierre of Safina and Marie and Paul of Ranger for Happy Hour. Ohana Kai is also here, but they don’t usually come to Happy Hour since they have two young boys. We’ll have to see them tomorrow. I found it really amazing that all of us that left Opua at the same time, even a catamaran named Balsam that went past us in the Veronica Channel as we left Opua, pulled in here at about the same time. I assumed a catamaran would have beat us here, but they came in an hour after we did. All of us arrived within four hours of each other. Dave of La Vie arrived here yesterday, but he left a day before the rest of us.

Viti Levu is a mountainous island. From our anchorage we look one direction and see a busy shipping port and look the other way and see beautiful mountains. I’m anxious to start exploring, but we’ll probably take it easy this weekend and start the explorations on Monday. Today is Friday here but Thursday back in the US. Our grandbaby Sam had his first plane ride today and I can’t wait to hear how that went. Heather, Jed, and Sam flew to Washington, DC, today to spend the Mother’s Day Weekend with Jed’s parents. On Sunday, Sam will get to meet his only living great grandmother, Muriel. She is Jed’s father’s mother. When we go into town tomorrow, I’ll have to check out the phone and internet capabilities. I have already checked and there is no wireless internet here. Sure hope I can find an internet cafe where I can take in my own computer and make Skype calls. I’ll definitely have a “Gramma Attack” if I can’t talk to and see Sam.

It’s raining right now which is pretty much a daily affair here in Suva. It rains and then the sun comes out. This rain is welcome as it is helping to rinse off the salt. But it’s time to get ready to go in during the next dry period. You’re probably getting the idea that I don’t like wet, and you are right.

070511 Day 17 Viti Levu, Fiji–Arrival in Suva