Back on board. 

Dawn and I returned to the boat after our summer holiday in Guernsey.

We were soon joined by good friends from home, Alex and Arabella.

I’ve been hoping to get these guys on board for years, now it’s finally happening.

They made the long trip from Guernsey to Fiji and we welcomed them on to Escapade just as we had finished prepping the boat. Time to start having fun again.

Alex and I share many board-riding interests, plus he and Arabella are now waiting for their own Outremer catamaran to be built, so this was a great time to go sailing together.

We started off with a short cruise to Musket Cove.  Our old haunt was busier than we have ever seen it. Dozens of anchored boats, lots of familiar faces. The cruising season here is coming to an end and Musket Cove is a natural gathering point for boats sailing onwards.  Alex and Arabella hiked to the top of Malolo Island for this view.

So many yacht decks bristling with wing foiling gear!  This new sport is a big hit with the cruising yachties.  By chance we arrived on the weekend of the inaugural Musket Cove Wingfoil Regatta.

This was to be a casual, fun racing event organised via Facebook groups and some chat on VHF radio.

My favourite stipulation was that anyone caught taking the event seriously would be immediately disqualified.

Alex and I signed up for the racing and Dawn somehow became the event’s official photographer.  

The racing was in two formats, a figure-of-eight reaching course with gybes at both ends, followed by a longer, windward-leeward course. About 20 riders were competing and for most, this was our first experience of foil racing. 

It was windy.  20 knots+ all day, and the closing speeds on the reaching course were terrifying. No time to shout starboard as two riders crossed in the middle of the ‘8′ at 20kts each. 

It was a great event. Lots of laughs, no injuries and all the competitors were still buzzing at the Island Bar for the sunset prize-giving.

We had time for a quick trip to Namotu for some surfing and tow foiling.

Then it was time to meet the Malolo ferry to greet our returning crew, Bryan and Auriane.  Great to have them back on the ship and  everyone enjoying some quality Fiji playtime before we start sailing west. 

Bryan arrived with bags full of new toys, the latest wings and foils. 

There was no wind at all on this beautiful morning, so he had to improvise.

Our next port of call is in Vanuatu. 450 miles west. Now we have a promising weather window so everyone is busy with provisioning and formalities for leaving Fiji and arriving in Vanuatu, we’re also enjoying the excitement as Fiji progresses through the early stages of the Rugby World Cup. 

I’m sure I have written my farewell to Fiji on this blog before!  We sailed away from here late November 2022, never expecting to return. But plans change and we found ourselves back here again in May 2023, exploring Eastern Fiji.  I am grateful to have seen some more of this beautiful country.  Fiji is a hard place to leave.  I envy all the antipodean yachties who cruise here every winter, it’s their second home. But for us it’s so far from home, and it’s time to start moving the boat west again.  This time we are really leaving!  

Anyway, when you do leave here, the Fijians sing a beautiful farewell song for you.  The singing here is a big and joyous part of life. Almost every village, restaurant, resort, or even boatyard, can muster a choir who will sing a welcome song or a farewell song with wonderful harmonies. Always in full voice and heartfelt. Smiling faces, the women singing the delicate melody and the men intoning the rousing bass. The song flows under the soft night sky and wraps up all my feelings for this country.  We’ve heard it sung many times but on this last night in Fiji it was hard not to shed a tear. 

Thanks for the good times Fiji.

We’re off to Vanuatu…