Pitufa.at

Fortunately cyclone Mal is remaining only cat 2 and passing without directly hitting islands. Even though it’s a small and rather weak system, the wave forecast on windy looks scary enough (see below). The western side of Viti Levu will get some wind and there’s already flooding from the heavy rain ashore… Here in Suva no strong winds are predicted and the rain has passed,… Continue reading »

The European forecast model (ECMWF) quite often forecasts the opposite of the American model (GFS) for a week or so ahead, but sometimes even until the last day. Comparing we have found that the European model is often more accurate (at least for our area here). Today they agree for a change that something will hit Fiji on Tuesday–just where exactly and how strong remains… Continue reading »

Our nomadic life-style means that we meet many other cruisers briefly in one place, before our paths go in different directions again. Meeting up with old friends is therefore more precious to us than to other people I suppose. Revisiting the Lau group again with Soraya and Thomas of SY Garulfo we enjoyed our favourite places even more than before–shared joy is twice the joy!… Continue reading »

I met Liti on facebook (of all places), we got chatting about Fiji, the beautiful islands of the Lau group, the wonderful underwater world and the need to protect it. Liti volunteered to translate our brochure about sustainable fishing into Itaukei (Fijian) and did a great job! Thanks a lot for all your help–vinaka vaka levu!!

Over the years we have written tons of articles about sailing, DIY, life-style topics, etc. for different magazines. Now I have put 54 of them together in a book, basically a “best of Pitufa” It’s simply called “Cruising Know-How” and it’s available on Amazon as a black-and-white paperback and in colour as an e-book, paperback and even hard-cover! Prices range from 9,90 USD to 40… Continue reading »

Tiki is originally from Ono-i-Lau in the the Lau group, lives in Suva and gives her best to help her island with fund raisers and organising things for the islanders. When she heard about our project for sustainable fishing, she contacted us, so we met up yesterday for a chat, brought some of our newly made brochures for her to take to Ono-i-Lau and she… Continue reading »

The little Island of Matuku in the Lau Group is installing 3 big no-fishing zones around their island to guarantee sustainable fishing in the future. We have been trying to raise support for the project and a big thank you goes to all of you, who have donated for the project so far! This week we’ve been running around in Suva organising things and there’s… Continue reading »

When our neighbours in the marina gave away their Muir Cheetah windlass for free (they replaced most gadgets on their newly bought boat) Christian couldn’t resist and grabbed it–after all the Cheetah is the bigger (and younger) sister of our beloved, but elderly Muir Cougar. An upgrade from 1000 W to 1200 W, a newer motor–great! It turned into a major undertaking as we had… Continue reading »

Most people hear squid and think “Calamari fritti”, but here in Fiji we meet squids when we go snorkeling and these fascinating, colour-changing, curious creatures are so much more than the rubbery rings that are served in restaurants. Quite often they hang out next to the boat, preferably near the anchor chain in line formations, constantly chatting with each other by complicated shifts in colour.… Continue reading »