The next leg of my journey took me back to Bay of Islands to sail on a Lagoon 38 catamaran named Green Duck. Ludger is the owner, an accomplished sailor, having spent the last five years sailing from Germany, including sailing through the channels by Cape Horn instead of sailing through the Panama Canal. Another German woman, Elke, is also on board.

On April 15, we set sail from Opua, destination Fiji, specifically Savusavu Bay on the island of Vanua Levu, 1300 miles due north. We arrived 10 days later, without any catastrophes or inclement weather. Beginning of May is considered the end of cyclone season, but we saw a good weather window and decided to take a chance. As a result, we were one of the first international boats to arrive to Savusavu.

When you arrive by boat to a new country, you have to go through customs, which means you have to go to a port that has a customs office. Savusavu is a small town with incredibly friendly, helpful locals. When you call Waitui Marina on the vhf radio, Jolene sends a boat out to meet you at the mooring to hand you the mooring line. Shortly after, another boat comes out to greet you, this time with immigration, biosecurity, health, and customs officers with lots of paperwork to complete. We arrived at our mooring around 3 in the afternoon, getting to be the end of the day in Fiji. Right after this group boarded, the clouds burst with rain, so after we finished our business, we all sat around drinking coffee and eating cookies.

Officials heading to shore after completing our customs clearance, always smiling.

Savusavu is a curious place, one street with unpretentious stores selling a seemingly random variety of stuff predominantly owned by Indians. There is a daily outdoor market with a mix of Fijians and Indians selling fresh produce, kava kava, fish, eggs, spices, noni juice in reused plastic bottles.

Fruit bats living on the island by our mooring.  They are as big as ravens and there were dozens of them all taking flight in late afternoon. — Fruit bats living on the island by our mooring. They are as big as ravens and there were dozens of them all taking flight in late afternoon.

At night, locals use these bamboo boats to fish by lamp.  They shine a light in the water to attract fish and catch them with nets or poles. — At night, locals use these bamboo boats to fish by lamp. They shine a light in the water to attract fish and catch them with nets or poles.

This boat showed up yesterday afternoon.  A Frenchman single handed the 36' boat from Panama without stopping, for four months. — This boat showed up yesterday afternoon. A Frenchman single handed the 36' boat from Panama without stopping, for four months.