Nabouwalu, Vanua Levu Island, Fiji

• Nabouwalul
• Vanua Levu Island
• Fiji Islands Northern Group
• Fiji, South Pacific
• 16°59.5000"S/178°41.0000"E

Ahoy from Nabouwalu!

We finally escaped Savusavu at sunrise this morning and had a great sail, averaging 7 knots, 50 miles to the southern end of Vanua Levu Island. We are anchored for the evening in a small harbor with winds ripping thru here at 30 knots.

We kept trying to leave Savusavu. But everyday the weather got worse, as we were going to be going straight into the winds. our friends on the other Sandpiper, "Sandpiper UK", tried leaving yesterday. But they had waves coming over their bow. So they turned around and came back in just as we were getting ready to leave. So we bagged that and opted for some more beers at the yacht club with the other boaters who were trying to leave.

There is still lots of pumice (floating rocks) in the water. We had to pass a very long, narrow, pass between 2 reefs that was quite EXTREME. The swells got quite large entering because the current and winds were so strong.

We are anchored next to our friends on s/v Shiraz and we are going to both be crossing Blight Waters tomorrow morning to reach the north end of Viti Levu. After that, a 50 mile passage thru more reefs.

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