Kiteboarding and a little problem with the wind generator
As we sailed back east around the north side of Viti Levu we
headed into the wind. The first day we motored for almost 4 hours until the
winds and waves coming towards us made it unpleasant. We anchored in Vitoga Bay
for the night. The next day we got an early start and motored into the wind and
waves for another 4 hours then dropped anchor in Vatia Bay. For the final push
to Nananu-i-ra Island, we set off at 7 AM and arrived about 6 hours later. This bay seemed to be home to some big jellyfish, which a local told us were harmless. We still didn't touch them and didn't swim until the next day when they all seemed to be gone (perhaps the wind or current moved them along?)
We went to Nananu-i-ra to take kite-boarding lessons from
Warren Francis, the owner of the Safari Island Lodge. Unfortunately, Dina had
hurt her back and was unable to take lessons. However, Malcolm did do the
standard progression from flying the kite while standing on the beach, to
flying it while dragging through the water, and began the difficult process of
putting it all together with having a board on his feet (the hard part). He did
“Superman” a few feet above the water a few times but had a lot of fun and is
hooked on the sport.
We spent over 10 days in Nananu-i-ra. A lot of the time we were waiting for good
wind for kite-boarding. Fortunately our friends on Free Spirit, Chuck and
Lauri, caught up with us and we had time for exploring and bonfires on the
beach. Malcolm tried out the “Time-lapse
video” feature of our new camera for one of the typical sunsets.
The wind can be pretty strong between the two main islands of Fiji, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, so we motored through the reef along the NE side of Viti Levu and anchored in the lee of Naigani Island before launching on the first leg to Vanua Levu. The next day we motor sail most of the day to Makogai Island in the Koro Sea between the two main islands.
![]() |
View from our boat at Nananu-i-ra |
Fiji sunset with Good as Gold and Free Spirit at anchor in Nananu-i-ra
The wind can be pretty strong between the two main islands of Fiji, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, so we motored through the reef along the NE side of Viti Levu and anchored in the lee of Naigani Island before launching on the first leg to Vanua Levu. The next day we motor sail most of the day to Makogai Island in the Koro Sea between the two main islands.
Makogai was devastated by the Tropical Cyclone Winston.
Volunteers, on sailboats and camping ashore, were there helping to rebuild
houses and schools. We visited with David from SV Anahata who was going onto
his fifth week of working with the Makogai community.
After visiting with David over a nice breakfast, we left for
nearby Namena Island. The island is a nature reserve and the reef around Namena
is famous for its dive sites. We entered the reef into the Namena lagoon and
hunted around for a coral and debris-free area to anchor. Unfortunately, the
island was ravaged by Winston in February.
The trees and vegetation is returning and so have the birds – Namena is
home to a Red-Footed Boobie colony, along with frigates and other sea birds.
The eco-friendly dive resort was reduced to just the foundations of the former
buildings. Without any facilities at the island, diving has to be arranged in
Savusavu, and a premium paid for the transport to and from Namena.
![]() |
Live-aboard dive boat in the sunset at Namena |
There was not much we could do while under way, other than
secure the wind generator pole to the arch. Once we arrived in Savusavu, we
were able to winch the wind generator up and out of the solar panel, stow the
wind generator, lash the pole to the foredeck and get the arch spot-welded to
reinforce it. Not only does the damaged solar panel still provide 50% of its
usual power, but when looking at the wind generator, it is difficult to see any
damage to it!