Pitufa.at

We were planning to return to Suva in May anyway, but now we are forced to sail there slightly earlier, because our fridge has developed a leak… As soon as we’re back in the capital we have to have that fixed, then an overhauled pump will (hopefully) arrive from the US for our watermaker, we have to fix our sprayhood (the material we got for the window repair in Tahiti was too thin, so we have to do it again after just 2 years), the wind instrument on the mast no longer works and has to come down and then we have to do a last shopping round, prepare the check-in for Vanuatu and the check-out for Fiji and, and, and…
With all those tasks looming ahead like a dark cloud on the horizon we wanted to make our last day “out on the islands” extra pleasant, so after the usual morning chores (bread, laundry and then some hull cleaning) we took Pitufa out to the reef for the last time to go snorkeling there. We had a great time in the fabulous underwater landscapes of the barrier reef of Gau with some patches of healthy coral and others sadly bleached. Towards the end of the snorkel a sea snake came by and then a well-sized lemon decided to say hi and really make this a special day! So we saw our first proper-sized shark during our last visit to Fiji’s underwater world…
We finished off the day with a walk on the beach and a sundowner on Pitufa with the parrots ashore singing us a good-bye serenade (well, squawking a serenade, but it’s the thought that counts)

Here in Fiji we quite often encounter sea snakes while snorkeling and watch them foraging for food on coral reefs and heading up to the surface occasionally to take a breath. They are extremely venomous, but fortunately not aggressive and apparently their mouths are too small to bite something as big as a human (maybe a pinky toe would fit, but they are safely hidden in the fins , so we are not worried when we see one. All the ones we’ve met so far were less than a metre, but in Gau we saw one that was at least one and a half metres! We looked it up, apparently males grow to 80 cm and females to 1.40, so we must have encountered a fully grown, female yellow-lipped sea krait – exciting!

Many of the anchorages we visit even in remote places are devoid of life, no fish in the water around the boat, hardly any birds to be seen.
Therefore we really appreciate lively surroundings, like here in Ovalau: most mornings a group of dolphins swims by in the lagoon, swarms of tiny, silvery fish are skipping over the surface fleeing some larger predator, we hear a multitude of different bird songs from the neighbouring shore and snorkeling we encounter reef sharks and sometimes turtles. Most of them scurry away when they see people (they are still hunted here in Fiji), but this one seemed oddly curious or maybe just shortsighted…
“What’s that strange fish over there?”

“Let me take a closer look…”

“Oh no, it’s a human predator!!”

Windy and rainy days are maintenance days on Pitufa. The zipper on our lazybag had broken due to UV exposure–even though we had sewn on a protective flap a while ago: the velcro pads to keep the flap down weren’t big enough, so it got blown open regularly in strong winds and that was enough UV exposure to make the plastic of the zipper brittle.
We took down the lazybag before the onset of the squally weather and spent two days on the project: the hardest part was getting off the old zipper and velcro (about 8 metres of tightly stitched tenara double seam), then 4 metres of zipper left, 4 metres right and the same for the velcro–we couldn’t have done it without Miss Pfaff, our sturdy sewing machine…
Now the lazybag’s back on, the mainsail’s up as well and we’re ready to go!

This morning we awoke to a perfectly calm lagoon, Pitufa was floating in a sea of turquoise surrounded by coralheads, so Christian took the dinghy out to take some pics of our pretty, little Sparkman & Stephens. Of course there’s laundry on the line–you’ll hardly ever see Pitufa without this kind of decoration

When we set out we used to collect used clothes, towels, etc. in a bag that got smellier and grubbier every day until we finally found a washing machine somewhere to do a big load. In Isabela (Galapagos) we couldn’t load the machine ourselves, but the guy from the launderette took the bag from me to do it himself. He (literally) turned up his nose, gave me an accusing look and said “Es muy sucio” (it’s very dirty). Doing laundry clearly wasn’t his vocation, but I had to admit that he was right.
From then on we stopped accumulating laundry, but simply started washing a few pieces every day. Theoretically we’d have enough energy and water from the solar panels and watermaker to run a washing machine, but we don’t have the space to fit one, so we use a bucket and it’s really not a big deal to wash 4 T-Shirts one day, some knickers the next and from time to time a towel, bedsheet or duvet cover (when the weather looks stable).

Unfortunately this March was really rainy, so we accumulated more things than we usually do and then I found a whole locker containing our spare towels and bed sheets had gone moldy/smelly. Washing those big things in unstable weather conditions was a bit of a challenge, but today we finished the last ones!

Check out this April’s AllAtSea magazine for an article about the pros and cons of seasonal sailing versus all-year-round cruising!

After some sunny summer months we’re having rainy weather (it’s the rainy season after all) and Kadavu’s lagoon gleams in 2 shades of grey instead of the usual 50 shades of blue and green. We are accumulating more and more damp things on the boat without being able to dry them out, below deck it’s steaming with all hatches closed and mould is growing faster than we can wipe it off. Unfortunately the weather forecasts show that the convergence zone will keep lingering over Fiji, so more unsettled weather is coming. The western parts of Fiji are flooded and the risk of cyclones is also higher with an active MJO (Madden Julian Oscillation) crossing the Pacific.

Even though we only spent a brief time in the Caribbean, we’re still writing for the popular AllAtSea magazine there! January’s issue featured “Never bored aboard” about hobbies while cruising, there was a reminder to “Protect Parrotfish” in the February issue and now I’ve just downloaded the March issue and found our “Ode to the hydrovane” about our tireless helmsman Wayne Vaney
You can either pick up the AllAtSea magazine for free at most chandleries in the Caribbean or you can download the magazine for FREE!
I’ll keep writing as fast as I can to make sure there’ll be Pitufa articles in the following issues as well

Watching reefs bleach and die makes me ashamed to be human. All those fishies looking up at me, the little clown fish trying to seek shelter in his bleached and dying anemone, the chromis in the algae-overgrown skeleton of a staghorn coral–they don’t know why the reefs are dying. But I know.
Because of overfishing, erosion, pollution and of course global warming. All caused by one species: us (and don’t go and blame farting cows now, because they are bred by humans). Each fish or worm or whatever lowly creature plays their part in the eco-system, except for us humans. We think we are above those rules, so we have the right to destroy the oceans, the whole planet, just because we always want more. More comfort, more profit, more luxuries, more food for more people.
If only people could step back and reflect what they actually need and take less instead of more, more, more.

Sorry to be so negative, but despite the fact that we cherish each corner with healthy coral, try to console ourselves that a half-dead coral colony is actually half-alive, hold on to the hope that some species of coral seem to adapt and anxiously watch the weather for a cold-spell to give them a breather I’m afraid we are just bullshitting ourselves. The reefs are dying so fast, it’s heartbreaking. And yes, nature can adapt, but not when the changes come so fast and on such an extreme level.

If you’re visiting the Austrian boat show in Tulln this week, come to the Pitufino stand to see the demonstration of its many features! We won’t be there, but our colleague in Austria. We give a 20% boatshow discount, but we have extended the offer to the online shop www.currently-marine.com, so everyone who buys this weeks gets the discount

Exactly one year ago we had to swim for our lives in the ripping current of the southern pass of Matuku after our accident with a local boat. We somehow made it through the surf, somehow managed to hold on to the sunken boat for an hour while waiting for rescue. Poor Maikeli didn’t and today we think of him and his widow and daughter…
The last year was the toughest of my life and I’m still struggling with the injuries I suffered then, but we made it, we’re grateful to still be here. We’re still sailing towards the horizon.