Fiji Times

Arrive in Nadi early AM.  Abdule holding a sign with my name scribbled on it.   Abdule insists on showing me disgusting pictures on his phone in route to Marina where Sam and Simon are waiting for me on Mothership Nola. XXX rated porn of him screwing the biggest most rancid woman I have ever seen.  It's way to early for this shit.  Hop on Nola and head straight to check surf at Cloudbreak.  Blown out and small.  Head to Musket Cove for the night. Drink beer.  Sail North up the Yasawa Island group over next several days.  Awesome anchorages.  Aqua blue waters.  Catch lots of fresh fresh.  Eat good.  Read lots of books.  "Slash" is pretty entertaining.  Rekindle love for Guns and Roses.  Refreshing thunder storms almost every night.  Easy living.  Love sailing.  Love boat life.  Guitar lessons going reasonable well.  Must be careful to avoid driving rest of crew nuts with beer fueled guitar playing attempts.

Nola somewhere in the Yasawas

Finally get first surf off Namotu.  Small but good to be paddling around.  Get smashed in Denarau Harbor. Waaaay too many beers and tequila shots at the Hard Rock.  Waitresses pour fake tequila shots for themselves... shame shame.  Simon heads back to NZ with drunken tattoo of "I Love Nola" on chest drawn by his loving son.  Wongie and I head out to surf.  Anchor off Namotu.  Rise early and head to Cloudbreak.  Sip coffee as we pull up to glassy overhead sets reeling down the reef.  Giggle like little girls as we anchor.  19 guys out.... 10 guys out... 5 guys out... Wongie and I are left alone.  WTF?  Giggle like even littler girls as we get wind-free lefts at world class break to ourselves. Loving life.  Surfed out.

Wongie with a nice Wahoo... packed out the freezer with this one!

Head back to Denarau Harbor.  Afternoon squall comes in. 15 knots winds... 25 knots.... 32 knots.  Cold rain pelting skin.  Get into harbor.  Me behind the wheel, Wongie on Anchor.  Face Nola into wind and slow to drop anchor.  Put engine in neutral.  Start swinging to side in the wind... try to go into gear again to straighten out... SHIT!  Gears not engaging.  Getting blown sideways.  2 boats behind us about to get smashed by our steel hull.  "Wongie it's not going into Gear!!!"  "WHAT???"  Wongie runs into cockpit to make sure I'm not just an idiot, I run up to bow and drop anchor. Circus sideshow. Shallow mud is holding... thank you! thank you! thank you!  Another few seconds and we would have been explaining to boat owners why their boat is sitting at the bottom of Denarau Harbor.  Storm clears.  Nola is sitting pretty.

Uuuug ug ug ug ug.  Nola tied down for Cyclone.

Mechanic says our Velvet Drive transmission is fucked.  Might have another available somewhere in Fiji.  Not the case.  Has to be shipped from NZ.  Takes it out.  Tows us into a slip. Stuck in gross harbor for weeks.  Get very feverish.  Drink lots of beer.  Lose mind.  Practice guitar.  Decide to sand and paint Nolas rust spots on deck.  Use multiple "Rust and Stain Remover", "Magic-Turn-Rust-Into-Primer" and "Road Paint" products all together.  Add a few blue racing stripes. Looks good. Job well done.  She looks like a new boat!  Rains that night.  Rust stains come back as gross purple color.  And several gummy spots that dont dry.  Damn it.  LESSON LEARNED: Always do a small test area before mixing several weird chemicals together.  Sorry Nola.

Panapa, Jo and Arunny fly in from NZ for 3 weeks to join us on Nola.  Many false hopes of new tranny getting installed the next Monday... next Wednesday... Friday.. Monday.... entire crew losing minds.  Alcohol. Cyclone supposed to hit.  Lots of wind and rain.  Shit weather. Doesn't hit Fiji. Hire village boat to take us out to find waves as much as possible.  Score really good ones.  See: "The Magical Birdcage Sessions" post above.

Finally get new drive installed!  Start up engine... still no worky.  WTF?  Throttle cable was frayed and had finally snapped.... weeks in harbor and many thousands of dollars did not need to be spent on new drive after all.... just a new $5 throttle cable.  Bad mechanic... bad!  Lots of explaining to do to mechanic boss man.  LESSON LEARNED: Troubleshoot several reasons why something might not be working.

Spend last few days sailing around.  Surfing. Drinking.  Eating.  Laughing. Get into slip in Vudi Point and pack down Nola for the Cyclone season.  Panapa and I left alone to drink Ouzo and play chess.  Leave early am.  P's boardbag slides into harbor just before leaving in taxi. Laughing. P's goes off to meet locals and hopefully ended up in some strange village getting loaded off Kava all night. I board plane for Sydney!  Bye bye.