VULAGA (AKA FULAGA)
May 9, 2016
OPUA, NZ -
This will be my last post for a while as we are leaving NZ this afternoon… HELLO Minerva Reef and Fiji. So, I’m catching up on the last of the Laus we visited, the lovely Vulaga.
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| In the village of Navadamu, as in the other 2 villages, women gather clams and prepare them for shipping to Suva |
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| Before fishing inside the lagoon, make sure that you are not dropping your line into a "tapu" area Ask the Chief and your family during the SevuSevu ceremony |
I won’t post pictures, because if you haven’t been there yet, you want to be surprised and delighted. So, the only things I will talk about are the pass and the village anchorage.
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| Use Waypoints 7-11 to come in. Tested by DOMINO (1.2 m draft) and several other yachts in our group, with deeper draft |
Before coming into the lagoon, it’s not a bad idea to call VULAGA RADIO on Ch.16. Either Sarah (the nurse) or Sikelli (her husband) or Joe (Sikelli’s brother) will respond and confirm the tide time.
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| Plenty of room to anchor at the village. Go to shore immediately, walk 20 minutes up the trail, and bring your yangona!!!! |
The pass is pretty tricky, a dogleg, and a bit narrow. Coming in, stay close to the black rock on port, as the reef is pretty shallow on starboard. Best time to go through (check tide table at MOALA): About the same time as high tide and almost 2 hours after low tide. We got at the pass early (in both directions) and waited for slack, but this is about right.
Once inside the lagoon, it’s pretty smooth sailing, as long as you keep a good lookout. The village anchorage is in 5-7 meters, good sand, very good holding. To dinghy ashore, be prepared to shuttle your little craft back and forth or, better, consider kayaking.
Either way, the villagers are absolutely delightful. Go do your SevuSevu ceremony and the Chief will assign you a family. Make sure you go to church with your family on Sunday and enjoy the singing! ‘nuff said!, you need to discover the rest for yourself.
Till next time….
dominomarie