Circular Quay Sydney - 17h30 2 September 2008

Circular Quay Sydney - 17h30 2 September 2008

Circular in name and rather circular for this trip as I have come back to the same cafe I began my trip in Sydney on 8 August! I am meeting Nicky at the Rocks area later on and thought an early beer together with refreshing wedgies would be just the trick!

A busy few days in Sydney, which have been really good. Over the weekend we went up country to the Hunter Valley winemaking area and a spot of wine tasting on Sunday. The local speciality is the semillon grape, and very nice they were too! What I love about the Aussies and wine is that no one seemed to be using the spit bucket! Drink all that alcohol down, every last bit! The weather was not the best, but it was easy to appreciate the landscape up there. On the way there we dropped in at Newcastle which appeared to mirror its namesake in lots of ways - but we found the beach and fed the seagulls with our left-over chips - Aussie big portions.

Back in Sydney I have been busy taking in lots of sights - and the weather the last two days has been perfect.

Yesterday I went across to Cockatoo Island in the bay. Quite a history beginning as a penal colony and later becoming a shipyard, and a major one at that, particularly in WWII following the fall of Singapore to the Japanese. I did an audio tour of the island which was excellent.

They are increasingly using the island for cultural events - the shipyard closed its doors in 1990 - and when I was there a cultural event was on which I checked out too.

Today a shift in emphasis and a bit more exercise, taking in Bondi beach, a walk around the coast, through Sydney's leafy suburbs and back to the centre via the Sydney Cricket Ground - of which I did a tour! It was fantastic, we visited the Football stadium - home to three teams, one Rugby League, one Rugby Union and a football (the right version) team. Pretty impressive, but the cricket ground was the one I guess we were all keen to see: 150 years' history, Bradman, the bodyline series - why am I trying to sound knowledgeable about cricket - and the fact that they use the ground for Aussie Rules Football in the winter. So two stadiums next door to each other and five teams: only Australia.


So, now the sunsets - literally - over the Sydney Harbour Bridge and it is time for me to head around the other side of the Rocks to meet Nicky.

And nearly the end of this blog since I fly back home to chez les Belges tomorrow. No doubt I will add one final post when I get round to posting some more pictures from the trip.

Rob

Bondi Beach, Sydney - 15h00 29 August 2008

Bondi Beach, Sydney - 15h00 29 August 2008

Back in Sydney three weeks on and feeling a bit on the chilly side as I sit writing this in a Cafe - the Cafe Bondi - enjoying the first rays of spring in Sydney. Saying that, I wish Brussels' springs were a bit more like this! I arrived here this lunchtime following the flight over from Nadi in Fiji and I am here to visit Nicola Fell, a good friend from old Brussels times. I am enjoying a quiet VB after lunch while she makes her way over here - early finish for freelancers in Sydney on a Friday I think!

Anyway, we made it back to Lautoka on Wednesday morning and having visited the town a little in the afternoon we had our final end of cruise party back on board - fancy dress, me as an original pirate, while others excelled in the art of fancy dress in all manner of styles from the ugly sisters to Princess Leia...! Thursday was disembarcation day and around lunchtime we shot off down to Nadi where a few of us were staying in hotels a bit closer to the airport. We caught up in the evening, managed to get practically kidnapped into another kava drinking session in a souvenir shop... escaping with only a 2 dollar contribution to the ceremony instead of holding one of the charming fertility wooden carvings!

Not quite sure what plans are for the next few days, various ideas mooted from whale watching near Brisbane to hiking. No doubt we will settle on a plan over a couple of VBs - and I hope I can keep going: 8pm kiptimes were becoming a scary norm on the Soren!

Some more photo uploading now me thinks.

Rob

Navadra and castaways - 11h30 27 August 2008

Navadra and castaways - 11h30 27 August 2008



The last lunch on board Soren is nearly upon us as we head back towards Lutoka and the final port of call on this leg of their trip. As with all holidays, one is left wondering where the time went! On Monday night we sailed from Beqa to the island where - supposedly (disputed facts) - the Tom Hanks’ film Castaway was made.



I was on the 4-6 watch and saw a wonderful sunrise - my first, and it would appear only, on the Soren, off the starboard bow.

The colours take your breath away and I tried to catch the moment the sun popped up over the headlands on my camera’s movie film.

The rest of the morning was taken up with the completion of our journey, the responsibility of another watch, while I could catch up on some shuteye - and do some laundry!



Disrupted sleep patterns on the Soren is certainly one thing I shall not miss. Our trip, however, was worth it, as the island of Navadra - Castaway location or not - was all you would expect of a cut-off pacific island: huge breakers crashing over the dangerous reefs out on the horizon, swirling currents and a deep swell in the bay, surrounded by a jutting headland - in the shape of a crouching animal - and a curved promontory, linked by a spit of a sandbank.

Watersports were again on the cards and I spent most of the afternoon on the windsurfer, avoiding the reefs and the worst of the swells! In fact, it was probably a bit too much windsurfing as I have felt shattered since.

We said our farewells to the island early doors this morning after a final spot of snorkelling and began our short hop across the bay to the main island town of Lautoka. The Captain is keen to get there mid-afternoon to ensure that all the clearing, customs and immigration work is completed in timely fashion, before our final ship party - fancy dress again!

And so the Soren blog is nearly complete. A great trip - tiring at times - but all in all a wonderful experience. I have been wondering to myself if I could have done a longer spell at sea, like one of the deep sea crossings from say Auckland to Easter Islands. Part of me screams ‘no, you fool’ as the experience of ocean going just for three days felt long at times, but then the adventurous part of me thinks what an experience that would be; what a challenge. And for me, the best memories from this trip have been the challenging times, notably the first couple of days in the force 5 storms, the memory of being on the helm trying to hold a course, looking down the boat at a steep angle as the bow crashed into yet another wave, and then back up again. Brilliant experience.

The final words in this entry should be reserved for the crew, starting with the professional crew. A very friendly, able and professional group, allowing people to participate to the extent they wanted to in the experience, while encouraging people along. Led by the Captain, Darren (a Mancunian), First Mate, Matt (a Scot), Second Mate Gareth (another Mancunian), the Engineer, Gavin (New Zealand), the cooks - in my view the linchpin of the boat - Ali (a Scot) and Carson (American) - Cath, the Purser, (Australian) Laura, the bosun (Canadian) and the four deckhands, Gemma & Dave (English), Mike (American) and Darren (a Scot). And ably supported by the voyage crew of whose number there included: Ken (English), Sheila (Scottish), Gerlinde (German), Paul (Swiss), Gernot (Austrian), Crystal (American), Chris (English), Jon (English), Judy & John (English), Lyn & Jay (American), Jimmy (English), Jane (Irish), Jane (New Zealand), Geoff (Irish), Maureen (English), David (New Zealand) and Vince (English).

So « bon voyage » and a fair wind to the Soren Larsen and her crew on the next stage of her trip back home towards New Zealand! Talking of home, there is talk that she might return to the UK next year to mark her 60th anniversary - I shall be on the lookout for any sightings of her in Belgium or Holland!

More on the Soren Larsen can be found at http://www.sorenlarsen.co.nz/

My next stop is Sydney on Friday where I’ll stay a few days with a friend there before heading home the middle of next week. No doubt a few land blogs will appear along the way

Rob

A small ship’s fire... - 21h00 25 August 2008

Beqa, Lalita & a small ship’s fire - 21h00 25 August 2008



Fire?? Fire? More of this later… We departed the island of Beqa - bizarrely still pronounced in a similar fashion to the Arsenal manager - this afternoon around tea time, having spent the last day and night there. We sailed from Levuka early doors on Sunday morning, which I must admit I missed as the excesses of halliards were bearing down on me, and spent most of the day at sea on route to our next destination.

Little of note happened until our little incident around midday. I happened to be taking a pre-lunch nap at the time, and awoke to the sound of the engineer being called in rather urgent tones! One is not on a ship too long before the one realises that an engineer being called urgently is generally a bad sign - especially on a wooden boat such as the Soren. So we all quickly assembled on the forward deck, ably marshalled by our professional crew. It turns out the fire was more smoke than flames, and essentially was a small fire in the exhaust stack, caused by a build up of oil which ignited. Our engines were left to cool down for a while and we carried on under sail alone, which by then was feasible as the wind had picked up.



We arrived late afternoon in Lalita, having safely navigated the rather narrow entrance through the reefs, and with the Captain’s and Cook’s formal protocol completed with the local village, we were able to enjoy our dinner in a stunning inlet in a - nearly deserted island - well apart from an exclusive resort round the corner, which we later discovered was closed.Today was a day spent with the locals initially. I went ashore early doors with some of the other crew to visit the village and meet the locals: the children really took to our group and soon we had an enthusiastic entourage giving us the royal guided tour!


Great fun. Later in the morning most of the village came over to the Soren for morning tea & coffee and the professional crew ended up carrying out welding repairs on two forks and an outboard engine!



Their generosity was rewarded with the gift of a crayfish from the elders for dinner this evening. The rest of the afternoon was spent on watersports, some swimming and one lone windsurfing enthusiast in me. It was good fun today as the wind was a good breeze.

Now I am looking forward to the last night watch I will do on board, I can’t quite believe how quickly it has gone.

I’ll be on the 4-8 and since we are on engines alone, the crew have decided to split the watch in two sections, with me opting for the 4-6 and what I hope will be a splendid sunrise - the sunset this evening was the best we have seen at sea, and the stars are very clear now that the full moon has passed.

I even managed to identify the nebula next to the Southern Cross before dinner by the big black blob of space in the middle of the maze of stars.

Signing off now to get some shuteye before the call comes, coming more quickly than one hopes every time!

Rob

Levuka & Halliards’ birth - 23 August 2008

Levuka & Halliards’ birth - 23 August 2008

What the hell? No, no, no unexpected natural births of any kind, rather the slow and rather enjoyable evolution of the game of the billiards…

But let’s start at the story’s beginnings: stranded as we were in Levuka, our stay was predictably extended mid-afternoon as the Captain informed the crew that passage to the south was still likely to be on the rough side tonight and that, as the forecast predicted, we were over the worst of it, it would be better to (motor) sail early tomorrow morning (like 6am early) to make the isle of Wenger (I’m hoping not like the manager….) by mid afternoon.

Fair enough, but « que faire » the crew of the good ship Soren in the interim?? As a fellow crew mate suggested, two routes opened wide in front of us: drink eat and drink, or drink eat and drink.

We opted for the latter, and quickly a small group set forth to revisit the Royal Hotel, scene of yesterday’s festivities. The bar waitress seemed genuinely happy (in the sense of more money, more hassle) to hear the Soren was delayed at port for a further 12 hours. Nonetheless, our group installed itself at the snooker table and quickly set about developing and refining the rules of billiards for groups of more than 2: suffice to say the blind leading the blind, but your blogger here sought to develop the rules below with the able and much accomplished assistance of Sheila, Vince, Paul, Dave and our American latecomer, Franklin (aren’t they always??).
A good night was had, of which no clear winner emerged, only the succinct and clear rules of the association sport which are recorded for posterity purposes below - and subjected to common approval, quite naturally:

Halliards: from Tallships to Billiards…

Article 1: General Principles

1. Each player (un)wisely commits himself to honest and gentlemanly conduct (in accordance with Anglo-Saxon accepted practice, implying subsequent flexibility in the rules’ interpretation);
2. Each player commits to be drinking the larger variety of Fijian beers only (or any consequent quantity of accepted volume, broadly 2 pints or relative spirit dosage).
3. The game is recommended for play on a full size snooker table.

Article 2: Rules of the Game
1. Each player takes a cue ball from the non-red colours. The cue-ball is specific to each player;
2. A red ball is placed on the black spot, acquiring the status of the target ball on the table;
3. Each player in turn cues off from the D with the objective of scoring points along the following principles (a player continues his turn until he scores no points):
a) Canon: a player scores 2 points if the cue ball strikes two separate balls following a shot, with the points increasing to equal the number of strikes (ie 3 points for 3 strikes etc)
b) A player potting the red receives 3 points. The red is respotted on the black spot.
c) A player potting any other ball apart from the red receives 2 points, and the potted ball goes dead for the rest of the player’s shots. At the end of player’s round, it is his responsibility to ensure the potted ball(s) are replaced on the black (or which ever spot of decreasing snooker ranking is available). The order of the respotting will follow the order of the initial potting.
d) In-off: a player potting his cue ball in-off a shot will receive two points and will be able to take a subsequent shot from the D with his cue ball. Points will be increased to 3 in the event of an in-off from the red, with the cue ball again respotted in the D.
e) A player missing any ball on the table will receive the penalty score of minus 4. The penalty is applicable at all times.
4. Winner: the winner is the first player to reach the sum total of 25 points.

Article 3: Supplementary Provisions
1. Timing allowances: a player taking more than 5 minutes to execute a shot shall forfeit that shot; a player taking more than 10 minutes to execute the next shot shall forfeit their position in the game with immediate effect.
2. The founding members submit « HASSLE » as the Halliards Association and Leagues as their associate body.

As of effect, the South Pacific, 24 August 2008.

Rob

Lovoni, Ovalau Island - 22 August 2008

Lovoni, Ovalau Island - 22 August 2008

A second entry of the day, but we saw so much in relative comparison to a day at sea that I thought it worth recording. We made it over to the town of Lovoni, in the centre of the island, nestling snugly in the crater of the volcano which created Ovalau in the first place!

We were given a guided tour by a local chap, Epi, and his English wife, Joanna from Sunderland! Quite an incredible couple raising a family of four in a reasonably sized detached house on the outskirts of the town!

The tour began with lemon flavoured tea and a marvellous lunch, prepared at short notice by Epi’s 80 year old mother: it involved a lot of taro leaves - a South Pacific speciality - and other treats like fried aubergines with coconut milk.

They even made a non-fish option for myself and another member of the crew, not so taken with marine edibles. Saying that, I did try some of the fish dishes and they were pretty good.

Following the lovely lunch, Epi took us on a tour around the hills - read volcano crater - surrounding the village, where he guided us through various plants and their medicinal purposes, everything from cures for headaches, diarrhoea, eczema to more outlandish claims such as a cure for « slow » children, and perhaps more realistically, something to induce labour! All in all pretty impressive.

The part I found particularly interesting, though, was Epi’s descriptive narrative on how the island came to be populated in the first place. Essentially, his story was that two African families found their way to Fiji, fleeing a terrible plague on their home continent, travelling across the Atlantic and through the Pacific - some feat, even more so since it is not historically correct.
In any event, the larger Fijian island of Viti Levu was supposedly inhabited by two groups, one in the interior and one on the south coast. A chap with a fiery reputation and a tendency to find himself in trouble, was eventually expelled from the community and, legend has it, swam across to the neighbouring islands until he came upon one which was uninhabited - Ovalau. Setting up home here with his wife - a woman he had somewhat expropriated from one of the previous communities - there were eventually 16 grandchildren, around which the clans of the island developed, and which still exist today. Apparently, the clans and their lands spread out in star like design from Lovoni and the centre to the coast. A pretty impressive story.

A less impressive story perhaps, but no less important, is that of the arrival of European traders. The story goes that following somewhat initial difficult contacts with the locals (the islands were also known as the Cannibal Isles), some Norwegian whalers were told by the King of Tonga to present gifts to the local Fijians and say they knew the King. This worked and soon European trading centres for whaling were springing up, including Lovoni. The practice of exchanging gifts for concessions grew apace, with the local Chief on Ovalau developing a taste for whiskey which was ruthlessly exploited by the Europeans. All in all a very interesting tour.

On our return from the crater and the delights of Lovoni to Levuka, and the sweet smell of its industrial fish processing plant (!), we retired to the old colonial hotel, the Royal Hotel, for gin & tonic, Fijian beer and cava - and a round of billiards on a very old full size snooker table. As a beginner, I won 3-0, but this may have had more to do with my opponent’s consumption of G&Ts than any real skill on my part!

The weather is still not great, but it looks like we do depart tomorrow morning. The preferred option is to go south, but the prevailing winds and rough sea may not allow, in which case we will go north around the northerly coast of the main island, Viti Levu.

Levuka, 08h30 23 August 2008

The weather is still not great this morning but the Captain has decided that we will sail this afternoon to a place south of Viti Levu. This morning we have decided to scale Mission Hill, with its 189 steps (or so) - there is debate as to whether it is 189 or 199 - no doubt we will check.

Rob

Levuka, Ovalau Island - 22 August 2008

Levuka, Ovalau Island - 22 August 2008

A very quick update typed out at the town's local internet cafe.

We finally arrived yesterday afternoon and by the time we cleared customs and immigration - a thorough process, especially on the biosecurity side - we headed into the town.

Weather is not great, a Pacific storm, losts of wind and rain - just like home sweet home, albeit a bit warmer!

Lewvuka is an odd little port, quite a trading centre from the mid 19th century, and initially populated by escaped convicts from Australia. The atmosphere lives on...! We found the old original colonial bar and sampled the local beers before having dinner in an odd little place.

Today we are shooting off on a tour of the island, to see the volcano crater. I say "see" but how much will be visible in the clouds is anyone's guess! Best dash now or I'll miss the ride.

Rob