We spent a night at a nice little bay I’ve stopped in before (this is going to be a theme along this part of the coast!). The Beast - a large aluminium catamaran built in NZ got there ahead of us as was another power cat. However, by the end of the day, we were back to sail outnumbering power - 3 sailing cats to two power cats (though if you go by volume, The Beast won it for the power mob).

It was a very pleasant night, with just enough breeze to keep things cool. A gentle roll wicked around the point giving us a very soporific feeling onboard!

This morning, we were joined by Reef Endeavour, one of the Captain Cook Fiji cruise ships. It snuck in behind us quite quietly, then dropped its chain. WOW that was loud…

The Beast snuck out early, and after coffee we left for a bit of a motorsail north again. This time headed to Manta Ray Island. A good spot for a few nights - we can go ashore at the resort for pizza, swim with mantarays (if we’re lucky) and maybe a dive or two. The Beast of course beat us here - but they’re the other end of the little bay. All these anchorages are quite deep, so lots of chain and lots of swing room required. We also are a bit aware of the wind-over-tide situation but its not usually too bad an issue here, despite being anchored in the middle of the stream.

The resorts here are far enough north that they are really only serviced by ferry. Of course, that is done Fiji-style. The ferry stops, and the resort boats come alongside, in turn, to pick up, or drop off guests.

In the past, I’ve had friends arrive this way, and yes I had to go over in the dinghy and pick them up, just as the resort boats do. Very amusing!