Calypso gets a new look

We may well have been stuck in Suva for a lot longer than anticipated but just look what we’ve managed to do.  Paul has completed a myriad of outstanding little projects as well as a few great big ones and Calypso is wearing new clothes.   I’m sure I’ve said it before but we had the most practical saloon cushions in the form of black leather but who says practical is paramount.  I’ve never been happy with them from the day we bought the boat but had to admit that they were very sensible.  Black doesn’t show the dirt and leather can be wiped down and polished up, but oh how I craved for something more attractive. 

 

 

Well, we now have it.  We found some great faux suede in Suva and an excellent guy to do the upholstery at an incredibly reasonable price so things have improved dramatically.  It’s much brighter and more homely and makes it look so much spaceier internally.   

With the old leather, we could never get throw cushions to stay put but now we can so I’ve probably gone overboard a bit but, wow, it just looks so nice.  I had help in designing the last two from Sylvie, a keen quilter, so a bit of artistry was brought in as well.   

Now I just have to figure out how to keep it looking good and away from wet, sweaty, salty bodies.

While I’ve been sewing everything I could think of, Paul has been working non-stop on general and preventative maintenance so things are looking quite spiffy at the moment.  Let’s just hope they stay that way.

 Paul also managed to get his visa for New Caledonia, something that should have been a simple process but….. well, of course there are always spanners thrown into the works somewhere along the line.  In order for him to apply for the visa, he had to prove that he had medical coverage which we don’t.  The solution would then be to just get some temporary insurance.  Simple?  No!  He’s past the age to find this easily and after contacting literally dozens and dozens of insurance outfits, he was turned down one after the other.  Either he was too old, or they only covered Fijian citizens, or they only covered those travelling by plane or, or, or, and so it went on.  Well, finally luck was with us and he found a firm on internet who quite happily gave him coverage and the French Embassy quite happily accepted it so now it’s all systems go.

We hope to leave here after fueling up and head to one of the smaller islands with clear waters so that we can scrape the bottom.  We’ll then move on to the west of Viti Levu and check out at Levuka before setting sail for New Caledonia.

In all the time we’ve been here, we’ve been hoping that Peter on Troutbridge finally gets his boat put back together so that he can travel alongside.  After his accident, he needs to know that his boat is going to be seaworthy and, as he’s now going to be single-handing, he obviously would like a bit of security in the form of some company for the first while.  At this stage, we really don’t know if this is all going to be possible as he’s still got a few major issues to sort out but, unfortunately, we can’t stay on forever.  We, too, have to move on with the start of the cyclone season.  We’ll see what tomorrow brings and hope that he has some positive news so that he can move on too.

We possibly didn’t make the most of touring Fiji this time around but we’ve enjoyed it all the same and will be sorry to bid it farewell. However, bring on the land of French baguettes, brie cheese and wonderful pâtés!

Waiting Around in Suva

A Fijian Drua or Vak Tepu (sacred canoe)
 passing us in the anchorage

There’s not much happening on the cruising front these day but….. well, we’re getting a lot of other issues sorted while we wait.  We’ve been waiting for spares (nothing unusual there) and drowning in the incessant rains that seem to be greater part of life in Suva. 

Yup, we’re still in Suva.  We came for a couple of weeks to buy batteries and fix the windlass but things just got carried away.  So, instead of being out there enjoying the wonderful islands of Fiji, we’ve been busy doing the usual – fixing things!

However, all is not doom and gloom as we’ve actually accomplished quite a few tasks that really did need attention and Suva’s not a bad place to do so.  It may be wet  (make that very wet) but, at least, it’s a warm wet.

The new battery compartment is complete and we now have power but that’s no thanks to the sun or wind – there just ain’t none.  Another boat has lent us a portable generator while we await the spares and subsequent repair of ours.  In the meantime, Paul, who has always had the zigs with our chain locker (as have I, as I’m always the one stuck in the forepeak trying to stop the chain from piling up on itself) has used this opportunity to enlarge the locker by stealing space from the front sail compartment.  This entailed a lot of cutting, grinding, sanding, fibre-glassing and dust but we now have a locker that is three times the size and will, hopefully, alleviate the need to flake the chain each and every time we raise the anchor.

 (Photo:  surfacing for some fresh air from the mess and dust in the forepeak)

Next on the list was a new table for our braai (BBQ) that got knocked off in a rather clumsy manoeuvre leaving the working jetty in Opua a while back.  Then he revamped the crockery cupboard as it was a nightmare to keep clean and now he’s busy with sanding and varnishing external woodwork prior to tackling the mammoth job of internal woodwork – a desperately needed task.

During all this, we met up again with Helmut and Kerstin of Lop To, the couple who lent us their camper van in New Zealand.  Kerstin and I had a few wanders through the sights and sounds of the city and found some wonderful fabric, just the thing I’d been wanting for recovering our saloon seats and at a price that was unbelievably cheaper than that in New Zealand.  A great find as it is really really inexpensive to have upholstery work done here.  So now Calypso is awaiting a new look; I’ve always hated the black leather; practical but depressingly gloomy.  Now, all I need to do is to make up some bright and cheerful throw cushions and voilà!

The same chap is also making up a shade cover for our spray dodger which we simply couldn’t afford in NZ and I’m hoping he can use some of our old canvas to make up a deck spinnaker bag.  It’s worth staying on to have all this done so we’re happily making the most of it.

On a culinary note, for over a year now, Paul has been busily occupied (amongst all the other things) making his own home brew wine.  He got the idea from our friends, Kim & Jim aboard Auspice last year and has continually had about 25 litres of rice wine on the brew since then.  He’s now spread his skills to making pineapple wine which is actually quite nice.  While we were in Kadavu, he tried a rice and coconut variety – definitely not to be recommended but the rice and the pineapple versions are quite palatable and he’s introduced the concept to our friend Peter of Troutbridge who’s also happily brewing away now.  All this has saved us a fortune as wine and spirits are exorbitant in Fiji.  Sadly, I haven’t quite acquired the same appreciation so I sneak off and purchase the odd bottle of the normal stuff for myself.

It’s mango season so, thanks to a fabulous fresh produce market here, we have also replenished our supply of mango chutney.  Thanks, too, our exotic spice supplies are restocked, the best I’ve seen since leaving South Africa.   There are a few things that are unobtainable here but the fruit, vegetables and spices more than make up for that.

PHOTO GALLERY:

Inside the forepeak (& we live like this?)

Suva's Fresh Produce Market

 

No shortage of the good stuff

All the colours

Paul's pineapple wine bubbling away