Haul Out - Completed!

Besides completed, we didn't have any unexpected "surprises".  Which is always good news!

Great view from the hard

Plus, it only took 3 days.  That's our fastest haul out (and cheapest) ever.

Life out of water requires climbing ladders...

A Big Thanks to Kiti and Yuve Marine for keeping everything going well and on schedule.

Hanging in the sling

Besides having our bottom sanded and applying 2 coats of antifouling paint, they waxed and polished the hull.

Back in the water - yeah!

Moondance looks wonderful!

Mo's team at work - no ladder required

Plus, Thanks to the staff at Vuda Point Marina for keeping Moondance safe and her crew happy.

To Mo's crew for making the haul-out as stress free (as possible).

Lovely Ladies!

And to the office staff, Nikki and Maria, for taking such wonderful care of us - as always!

Doug tackled a few projects while we were out of the water - like shining up the prop, greased the thru-hulls, replaced zincs, patched the dinghy, and lots of little stuff.

He was a busy guy!  My job, sanding, painting, and hauling.  Oh boy!

Sunset Bar - our favorite!

During the haul out, we got to spend some quality time at our favorite Fiji Bar - the Sunset Bar.  Great staff; great food; great view.

And a great gathering place for the Yachties at the end of the day, plus love their specials - like Happy Hour, 2 for 1 pizza night, and more.

Experts at work

What do the Yacthies do when they close the Sunset Bar for the night? Throw a BBQ - why not!

Yachtie BBQ - always a good group

Great company and conversation and lots of food.

They are a good group and we are looking forward to seeing most of them out at Musket Cove for the Holidays.

Karen (and Cheryl) helping us out again

Now, we are back at Port Denarau Marina re-grouping and provisioning.

We hope to head to Musket Cove on Wednesday - Christmas is almost here.  Yeah!

PS:  A very special Thank You to our good friends Cheryl and Karen on s/v Interlude IX who are always there to help us when we need it - and always with a big smile!

Made it!

And it only took 3 days to move from Vanua Levu island to Viti Levu island!

Early morning take off - not our favorite

That is very fast for us and means getting up early and long days - well long days for us.

But, we had beautiful sunny days and calm seas.

Plus, we got some good sailing in.

Unfortunately, no fish were caught (or eaten).  Guess we have lost our touch!

Malolo island

Now, we are back moored at Port Denarua Marina - which feels like Home Sweet Home!

Beautiful sunset over Port Denarau

We spent so much time here last year that everyone knows us, plus we have all of our favorite places to eat, drink, and be merry.

Like Cardo's where we spent our first night relaxing and eating their tuna - hah!

Now, we need to get ready for our haul-out and bottom painting job next week at Vuda Point Marina.

It will be nice to get all that over with so we can start celebrating the Holidays!

PS:  It is pretty quiet around here - most of the Yachties have sailed away for the summer!

Nice sail today across Bligh Waters!

You never know.  Our path across from Vanua Levu to Viti Levu is only 27 miles, but it can get pretty roughed up.

Mountains around Tavua Bay

So, we were very happy to have a nice/fast sail across - very comfortable.

Now we are anchored in Tavua Bay off of Nacilau Point on the island of Viti Levu.

Anchoring was a bit of a challenge tho. 

We tried a new spot and we quickly went from 60 feet to 10 feet and found lots of rock.  We re-anchored quickly!

It is strange (in a good way), we haven't seen another cruising boat since we left Savusavu.  Very quiet this time of year.

We are getting closer to Port Denarua Marina - maybe tomorrow?  Depends on how early we hit the road!

Pukalani (hole in the sky)

So far, we have hooked a barracuda which we shook off, a mahi mahi that broke the hook (rats!), and caught a bird (stupid Booby).

It would be wonderful to catch some fresh fish for dinner.  One of these days!

Looking forward to drinking cold beer at Cardo's!

On the move again!

I know, strange for us, huh?

Captain Doug in action!

We finally left Savusavu and are heading to Port Denarua Marina on the big island of Viti Levu.

It will take us about 4 days of harbor hopping, but it is sure a good time to travel.

As you can see, we have nice flat seas and spent most of the day sailing along.

Very nice!

Calm coming thru the Nasonisoni passage - yeah!

We have big plans.

Getting hauled out at Vuda Point Marina and getting our bottom pained.

Plus, celebrating the holidays at Musket Cove with a bunch of Yachties.

Nabouwalu Village (Cocoanut Point)

Sounds pretty good!

Plus, we are looking forward to catching up with old friends and visiting old haunts.

We haven't been in that neck of the woods since May.

Hope the rest of our trip is as smooth!