Tuvalu

Hi to everyone and welcome to the Sailing Azimuth blog. Last time we were anchored in Fiji’s Bay of Islands, enjoying the wonder of the place and recovering from a broken toe. In this post, we sail back to Savusavu, via a couple of anchorages. We stock the boat up in preparation to sail North from Fiji in to the very remotest parts of the Pacific. We check out of Fiji and sail North to Funafuti, the capitol of the pacific island nation of Tuvalu.

After our last post we still stayed in the Bay of Islands for another week, waiting for the weather to sail North again up towards Taveuni Island off the main Island of Vianu Levu. We took the time to see friends who were also anchored on the bay including a dinghy raft up together in one of the little bays.

The weather finally offered a downwind sail and it was time to wend our way back to Savusavu, we only had three weeks left on our Fiji visas. So we pulled up the anchor and set off for an overnight sail to the little island of Qamea, not far from Taveuni. The first problem was that the wind sensor, that has worked flawlessly for the last 6 years, decided to pack up!

The sail started well, but as we got further North weaving through the little islands and reefs that litter this area of the Lau group of islands, the swell picked up on beam, and that in combination with a downwind sail using just the jib, had us rolling horribly. it was with some relief as the sun came up and we got in to the shelter of the reef behind Qamea Island that the swell died and we sailed the last few miles to the anchorage in Namata Bay.

Namata Bay was stunningly beautiful, a white sand beach with coconut palms surrounded by steep hills covered in dense green rainforest. The water was incredibly clear as we dropped the anchor in 10 metres of water on to sand, we could still see the anchor from 30 metres away.

After a catnap, we launched the dinghy, and headed to the shore to say hello to Siah and Kia Marshall who’s extended family live at the back of the beach. They a wonderful plot where they grow their own food and fruit. We sat for a chat and pass some gifts we had for them. Siah offered to make us lunch for the next day which we both looked forward too.

I was still hobbling around, so we headed back to the boat and caught up on some sleep.

The next day we headed back in the rain to Siah and Kia’s house for lunch. When we arrived, they had set up a table for us on their veranda which a delicious array of food, beautifully decorated with flowers. it was a real treat for us, as we had been cooking for ourselves for at least the last 6 weeks.

We chatted with Siah about their life on the Island, the history of the Island and Fiji and compared notes about their and our children, always a shared subject wherever we travel in the world. Siah told us about the scary experience of being hit by a cat 5 hurricane in 2016 which almost destroyed their house and knocked over virtually all the trees in the whole bay. They live here with that constant threat, which is likely to worsen with climate change.

A couple of days later, I decided to test out the toe and take a walk along the beach and I shot this video of my walk:

We spent about a week enjoying this place before we felt it was time to move on towards Savusavu. So we said our goodbyes to Siah and Kia, and raised the sails moving a few miles to top of Taveuni to try and get some fresh veggies from the local town of Matea. The weather had other ideas, and the wind blasted through the anchorage leaving us not really fancying the long dinghy journey to shore. So the next day we sailed down the side of Taveuni and dropped the hook for a couple of days in an old favourite anchorage we had visited before and then finally we sailed the 40 or so miles back to Savusavu.

Everyone else had the same idea, and Savusavu was packed full of the boats. All the moorings were taken, and we couldn’t afford the price of the marina (and we don’t have the boat insurance you need for this), so we anchored out on the edge of the bay, not far from the ferry dock.

We have come to love this place. Its a vibrant town and provides all your needs. The atmosphere is always relaxed and the people are always friendly. The next two weeks would be taken up with shopping until we drop and meeting up with friends for one final time before we depart ways. Most of the people we know are either leaving their boats in Fiji and heading home for Cyclone season, or they are heading back to New Zealand. With us heading North, it is unlikely we will see people again for a long time, so its a bittersweet change for us on the long term horizon.

We managed to catch up with friends Shelby and Mike on Cala Lilly. We first met these guys on these guys in South Island in New Zealand. They are a lovely couple, and they have also been up to the Marshall Islands via Tuvalu and Kiribati, so gave us some great insight in to what to expect. We are really grateful to them for the information. Ailsa and I were feeling a little apprehensive about heading out in to the remoter parts of the Pacific, and having information is power. That apprehension has now been rekindled as excitement thanks to their help!

We did some serious shopping in town over the two weeks. Azimuth is full to the brim with cans, flour, rice, pasta, veggies and frozen meat. Enough to see us through at least 6 months we think.

We met up again with Ralf and Nora from Barbarella for one final lunch and to say our goodbyes. We hope to see them again one day!

I was keeping one eye on the weather for the 700 mile passage from Fiji to Tuvalu. Eventually the weather gods aligned and it was time to go. So we notified customs and headed to checkout. Up came the anchor and we left Savusavu on the 14th October at 3pm.

The wind was strong and the sea state bouncy as we headed out of the protection of reef outside Savusavu Bay. Just before the sunset, we arrived at the pass through the reef to head west. We had a big swell behind us, and it was with relief as we got behind the protection of the reef and the sea state settled again. The sailing was fast on a beam reach in to the night with a nice easy sea state.

At 9pm that evening, we crossed the reef again, and headed out in to open sea again, heading North West towards the outer reef that surrounds the North of Fiji. We bounced our way for the rest of the night, doing 9 knots on a broad reach, and as the sun came up the next morning, we finally passed through the outer reef and left Fiji waters. Ahead lay 500 miles of open ocean to Tuvalu.

The rough seas settled throughout the morning and we had a lovely sail North, still on a broad reach but with the waves on the beam. For next three days, Azimuth kept on going, sometimes the winds were light, and sometimes they picked up. Mood on board was good, and we enjoyed the sunsets and sunrises. The occasional squall at night kept us both on our toes, but the winds never got out of hand. Not that we would have known without a working wind sensor anyway!

We had Land Ahoy as the sun came up on the 20th October and we were whisked through the pass in to Tuvalu atoll. It reminded us of arriving at an atoll in the Tuamotus in French Polynesia, although this pass turned out to be easy. Its always a little stressful when you are watching a combination of the chart, the satellite image and your depth sounder to make sure you get through without incident.

A few miles inside the atoll and the sea smoothed out and we came to the anchorage off the town of Funafuti.

Here is a video of the journey that I put together to give you a flavour of our passage at sea:

The colour of the water was a clear turquoise in the sunshine. And it was HOT! The temperature has been a constant 30 degrees since we have arrived, day and night. And humid too.

The process of checking into Tuvalu was quite straight forward. This was in contrast to what we were expecting which was to traipse to many different offices and do clearance with each department. Once we dropped the anchor, we contacted Port control who asked to wait for a couple of hours and then told us to move to another anchorage off the customs dock

Another 2 hour wait, and then a boat appeared containing may different people who came onboard. We had Police, Biosecurity, Customs, Health and Immigration! But it all went very simply, 30 minutes of filling out the obligatory forms where you have enter your passport number at least 10 times in different places, and we were stamped into the country for 30 days. All in all, not the worst place we have ever visited.

We took the rest of the day off to recover from the journey and the next morning we went to investigate, as well as pay our customs fees of $195 Australian Dollars. Yes, the local currency here is Australian Dollars.

The first thing that struck us on arriving on the Island was all the motorbikes and mopeds. Everyone goes everywhere on one, no one walks anywhere. There are even cars too. This is on an island that is about 4 miles long and no more than 400metres wide. In some places its only 50 metres wide between the open ocean and the lagoon. And nowhere is the island more than 2 metres above sea level. Even so, the town has a population of some 6000 people, as well as government buildings, a port and an international airport! To say its crowded is an understatement. Even so, everyone appears to live in harmony. But we had to keep asking, where is everyone going?!

Even at night, we have a view of the road to the port from the anchorage, and a stream of cars and bikes go backwards and forwards all evening.

Much of Funafuti is less than one metre above sea level, making it highly susceptible to flooding. Projections indicate that by 2050, around half of the land area of Funafuti could be submerged during high tides as a result of rising sea levels, and by 2100, as much as 95% of the land may be flooded regularly. Rising sea levels are of course due to climate change, and this place like no other is a reminder of what we are doing to our planet. Before we arrived earlier in October, the Island hosted a pre COP31 conference where leaders of countries around the Pacific met to discuss climate change ahead of the COP31 conference due in November in Turkey. The people of Tuvalu are heavily invested in the outcome of these talks, after all, they stand to loose their entire way of life and look ultimately likely to be displaced in as little as 25 years from their country as a result of rising sea levels.

They are not standing on their laurels though, right next to where we are anchored, heavy machinery works all day building sea defences from huge sandbags, whilst a dredge pumps the sand, and land is reclaimed.

We have walked one end of the island to the other. Everyone is hugely friendly, saying hello to us wherever we walk. I think they look at us strange because we are not riding motorbikes, but are walking! Houses are basic but comfortable, and their is a thriving economy of shops and restaurants. Everyone is getting on with life. As well as indigenous Polynesian people, there is also a good deal of Indians and Chinese people too, all living together.

The airport takes up a good deal of the island and it seems they get one flight a day. We know when the plane is due because a siren goes off in the town telling people to get off the runway, which is otherwise part of the road system!

Did I tell you how HOT it is here?! Well, the obvious way to cool down and I have been doing this at least twice a day is jump off the back and take a swim. The water temperature here is about 30 degrees, so it feels like a tepid bath