Cowabunga: Coming Home - A Video

Here is the final video i have made of our time on Cowabunga, don't worry, there is still a couple more blogs to post about the trip; I just thought i would get this out there whilst the embers still burn!

This Video takes in the last 3 months of the trip across the Pacific with our time being spent in Fiji, Vanuatu and New Caledonia.

Hopefully you enjoy it nearly as much as we enjoyed filming it!

Vanuatu: Rain & Fire

We timed our run in to Port Resolution on the island of Tanna to arrive at first light, unfortunately it had rained the whole time from Fiji and young Josh had suffered quite a bit from the heavy weather. We only spent a few days here as a pit stop on the way to New Caledonia, the main reasoning for the stop was to visit the volcano, a short drive from where we were anchored.

Another passage and another Mahi, this one was a particularly bloody affair. Caught exactly halfway between Fiji and Vanuatu.

Port Resolution Yacht Club

The road from the Yachty to Town

Josh looking over Port Resolution, whilst Cowabunga waits patiently for us in the distance.

This guy and his son would always come by on their daily paddle around the bay.

The village was one of the most basic, or stereotypical, island villages we had been to, however they were all welcoming and extremely nice to us. After getting a lift up the volcano with Werry and Stanley, the locals who run the Port Resolution Yacht Club, we were greeted with nothing more than cloud, mist and the almost overpowering smell of sulphur billowing out from the bowels of the earth.

The Yacht Clubs "dinghy dock"

Yacht Club Guard Dog

Yacht Club Commodore - for some reason he would come up to us for a scratch, then as a thank you, would scratch some skin off our legs - that reason I believe is because he was born a cat.

Pretty disenchanted with the view and situation at hand , we climbed to the top of the volcano and stepped on the edge of its rim to look down and see the faintest tinge of red from the lava pot below. Still disenchanted but hopeful the weather would clear to improve our experience, we waited around as dusk was getting closer. As the light was fading the glow soon became richer and the sulphur clouds and mist began to clear as the volcano sprung to life with some deep rumbles and explosions that had some of us on the mountain running for cover. The explosions kept coming, each one seeming to eclipse the one previous, lava rocks were landing closer to us, some of these weighing up to 3 tonnes and getting flung over 200 metres in to the air.

Our walk up through the Sulphur to the top of the volcano; as you can see it was perfect weather for it.

Our first view of the scene, we all thought the situation was shit, but no one was brave enough to say it.

Josh, Me, Caitlin and Andy

Each explosion would start as a tremor beneath the feet, then the rumble and explosion with the customary burst of heat as the glowing red rocks would land all over the outer rim of the volcano. It was definitely a powerful thing to witness and one that made all of us remember just how insignificant humans are.

A few of these movements, made us start to run when we first saw it.

As night fell, it started to get more spectacular.

On the way down the volcano and back to the boat.

My solution for not having a remote flash? Just set up a long exposure and then take a flash photo with another camera

The next day we spent relaxing on the boat due to the rain, we did manage a quick surf and kayak around before spending our final night there eating the local dinner cooked by the ladies of the village at the yacht club.

Dinner night at the Yacht Club

The next stop on the journey is New Caledonia, 230nm away, one we are all looking forward to, in the hope of seeing the sun for the first time in 12 days. 

Leaving Port Resolution - Next stop, New Caledonia

Waking up on day 2, with 50nm to go to New Caledonia

Fiji Gold

Arriving in Suva, Fiji after another 3 day / 430nm passage from Tonga, we were greeted with the muck and mire of an industrialised, commercial harbour for the first time in a long time. Rusted out Tuna boats and shipping containers were the new coconut tree and golden beaches, however after a fair bit of time leading a rather nomadic existence we were excited to hit the city lights for a few cold drinks and some hot curry.

Squarky had been with us for over 200nm, he even had the nerve to watch us clean his shit off the boat!

 I went home to Brisbane for a week to visit family the day after we got to Suva and rejoined the boat in Musket Cove on Malolo Lailai Island just off the Fiji’s west coast. We made sure we arrived in time for the 28^th Annual Musket Cove Regatta, a fun cruisers-based race week with over 80 boats entered hosted by the island’s resort. The week long regatta included 3-races, and were really just an excuse to get the sailors away from the bar.

Tolly

Calling tactics for the Pirate Race

 Each race had a theme, the first one was the Pirate Treasure Hunt, which involved everyone dressing up as pirates and a few thousand water bombs, the finish of this race was Beachcomber Island Resort where the pirate party continued for the rest of the afternoon.

Jas

Sara and Jas

Le Mistral Race Team, Chris, Sara, Jas, Tolly, Andy, Caitlin and Me (Hannah took the photo unfortunately!)

 The second race of the regatta was a simple race around a sandbank after which another party took place on the sandbank. This time the party kicked on with some tug ‘o’ war and of course beer drinking competitions, the day concluding when the tide finally came in to remove any evidence of the shenanigans that had transpired.

Haven't seen Andy this excited... ever.

What turned out to be the most competitive event during the regatta was the Port Opua Hobie Cat Challenge. With over 40 boats entered for the one on one match race style competition, Andy and I entered quietly confident of our chances after seeing the form of some of the other entrants. Racing the resort owned Hobies was a challenge, with many of them full of water or with bits that just don’t work, and the race organizer stating that there are no rules, many races soon became an on-water version of a Destruction Derby. With races  held in the afternoon and starting and finishing at the beach bar, the drinks were once again plentiful as the competitors talked tactics between their races over the obligatory rum or gin. Unfortunately we got knocked out in the semi final, however we still claimed the real victory after knocking Tolly and Chris in a fiery and reckless quarter final!

No love lost between the Le Mistral team, us on the left getting the better of Chris and Tolly 

Between races

M Party dress ups - Mary Poppins, Michael Hutchence, Miss Musket and the Mechanic

The final race of the regatta was the round the island race, also known as the only serious race of the regatta (which meant only a “few” beers before the start and during the race, as opposed to the “many” beers that were had for the other races). Cowabunga had teamed up with Chris and Sara from Tulu to crew for Jaz and Tolly from Le Mistral for the three races and the team was looking forward to the “serious” race. Unfortunately there was a bit of a bingle between Le Mistral and another boat on the downwind leg, a broken steering cable forced the other boat to crash into us and do some serious damage, no one was hurt luckily, but it was definitely a sour way to end such a fun week.

Game faces 1

Game Faces 2

Once the regatta finished, most boats moved on, however with Bucko’s parents coming over to stay at the resort for the week, we stayed on making the most of the facilities and enjoying some much needed R’n’R after the mayhem of the previous week. Andy and I had a few surfs out at Cloudbreak, taking the little tender out for the 12nm round trip to the break, getting there just as the motor died on us, after some bush mechanics, she was soon fine to get back to the island, just not before a fun but crowded surf.

The Sandbank also came into its own as another epic set up for kitesurfing, and plenty of fun afternoon sessions at the bank were had over the week.

Kim showing us how its done.

Link up with Andy

Not the best for a non-waterproof DSLR

We took some time out from the resort life to head over to Cloud 9 one day, this floating pontoon restaurant on the inside edge of Fiji's Barrier Reef is one of the nicer restaurant settings I have seen.

Once Bucko’s parents left, we also packed up and departed Malolo Lailai, in convoy with Zissou and Sea Wolf. First stop of the tour was the island that featured in the Tom Hanks movie Cast Away. This anchorage became one of our favourites of the trip so far with plenty of snorkeling, spearing, kayaking and coconut trees to be had; It’s no wonder old Hanksy survived so long there! Setting up another campfire on the HELP ME beach featured in the movie on the first afternoon there, we all mentioned how it had been so long since we had seen the movie. Someone mentioned how it would be good to watch it whilst still here so plans we made for the following night to have a special screening of Cast Away.

Kim Hanks

The following afternoon we set up yet another fire, stocked up on coconuts for the coconut rums as Sea Wolf set up their movie projector on the beach. We Have all seen a movie that is set in some city they have been to before and excitedly saying “I’ve been there”, but to actually sit on the beach of Cast Away and watch Tom sitting on the beach in rags at the very spot we are sitting in watching him was quite a surreal and definitely memorable way to see it!

Andy Hanks

Cowabunga Hanks

 After leaving Cast Away, we spent the next week making our way further north through rest of the Mamanuca Islands and into the Yasawa Island Group. Finding many more empty islands and even a new surf spot that would only break once or twice a year!

Running low on provisions, we finally made it back to Denarau Harbour to spend a few days getting more food before heading off to Vanuatu. Hannah left the boat here to go home to New Zealand, and I made another trip home for a few days for my grandfathers funeral. Hannah had done just over 2200nm with us from Tahiti, which was a good enough excuse to go out for one final night in Da Crubs.

Bucko misses Hannah, but not so much her pouring skills as is evident in this photo.

I met our new crew, Josh at Brisbane Airport on our way back to Fiji a few days later. We only stayed for two more days before we said goodbye to Fiji, our next stop being the island of Tanna in Vanuatu, 480nm away.  Overall our 5 weeks in Fiji was a thoroughly enjoyable time with perfect weather, but we were looking forward to the new adventures awaiting us in Vanuatu.

Tuna Boat

Morning of our departure to Vanuatu.