On the Hard in Fiji – Week Two

Yahoo...we are getting closer to being finished with all the boat projects and can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We had a few setbacks, which is to be expected, including a few rainy days and having to order new keel boats from New Zealand. We were excited when they finally arrived, only to realize that they weren’t galvanized, so another two day delay waiting for this to be done locally.

Installing the new keel bolts so the keel doesn’t fall off!

At the risk of jinxing things, we are hoping to be put back in the water tomorrow. We had the bottom painted yesterday, today the new gel coat is being put on and sprayed and all the final bits and pieces done. It will be nice to have running water again, to eat on board and to be out of the crowded yard. Peter has organized a “thank you” party with the guys at the end of the day, since it is Friday and they all worked so hard these past two weeks. Fingers crossed it will all get done.

Our newly painted prop (in my favourite colour) with a new product previously unknown to us called Prop Speed. It never has to be cleaned so this saves Peter from having to scrap off the prop every few weeks. Will be interesting to see how well it works.

Living on a boat while on the hard is difficult to do, but the good thing is we are here at Port Denerau, which is full of restaurants and shops, so we have a place to stretch our legs and go for dinner.

The Port Denerau complex

There is a grocery store, spa, chandlery and lots of shops. There are specific stores that allow you to claim back the equivalent of our HST. We got a kick out of how they call it a “scheme”.

This complex has about 9 restaurants, so we’ve gone to each one at least once. We only went to the Hard Rock to watch the rugby game – otherwise, we avoid restaurants that you can go to at home. All the restaurants feature great outdoor space right on the ocean, with live music every night. Our favourites have been the Fiji restaurant and the Chinese Restaurant.

The square where dance shows are featured every Friday and Saturday night.

I’m going to go on a rant here, though. We have had to go out for dinner every night and I’m absolutely shocked watching people, who are all here on holidays. Almost every other table has a computer on it, or a mobile device, where the person is playing a game, surfing the web, checking email, etc. all while in the company of their significant other or family. Sadly, the other night there looked to be a honeymoon couple where the husband spent the entire meal on his iPad. His beautiful, possible new bride, sat sipping her wine while being totally ignored.
Whole families are on their various techno gadgets and not even being present with each other while here in paradise, supposedly trying to cram in quality time.

One of the greatest gifts about being able to sail around the world is seeing other cultures and their love of life and family. The pace of life is sane and the measure of personal happiness high. It seems that in North America we scurry around so quickly, chasing things, relentlessly multi-tasking and we can’t even turn off while on holidays, that it just seems that life is one big race, with no one coming out the winner. It is a sad reflection on family life when you see kids watching movies on their computers, while eating out on holidays in Fiji with their parents who are occupied on their cell phones! Enough ranting!

Peter & Di enjoying a dinner together with just each other - no gadgets!

We got more bad news again this week. An old friend of mine who used to work with us has been re-diagnosed with breast cancer and goes for surgery in September. Peter’s Dad went downhill very quickly from last week and is now confined to bed. He will be having an in-house assessment at the beginning of next week, so that he can get the necessary equipment to improve his quality of life such as a mechanical bed, wheelchair, scooter, etc. It will be hard for him to adjust to this lack of mobility, but he remains in good spirits. The circle of life continues though, with our grandmunchkin Addy now sitting up, crawling and almost standing.

Since I had a bit of extra time this week stuck in the cabin I added a function to this blog, which is called Blog Follower on the right hand side. If you click on it, it lets me know that you are reading this. I thank all our loyal family and friends for keeping track of us. We think of you all often and love to hear from you...so please send emails to svquickstar@shaw.ca.

Until next week….unplug for a day and enjoy being with those you love.