Suva: a curious trip Wednesday, 08/11/2023
The trip to Suva proved much more interesting than expected. The trip was easy: the bus was a proper coach, albeit one that was about 20 years’ old.
As expected, Suva was nothing special at all. An industrial city really, with a fairly busy port. But the area south of the centre was mildly interesting: the fine old Grand Pacific Hotel (reminding me much of the famous Raffles Hotel in Singapore), the British High Commission and the Fiji presidential palace. Getting close to the presidential palace was typical Fiji – incredibly friendly. I tried the back entrance, but there were two soldiers on duty, and unsurprisingly they wouldn’t allow me to go further. But the closest one insisted on shaking my hand and engaged wonderfully: he said, go right around and you’ll be able to see it from along the fence in front, you can’t miss it, it’s a huge white house. We then had a jolly chat, and I went on my way.
The highlight was much nearer though: the Colo-i-Suva Forest Park, the entrance to which was a 300 metre walk from the hotel. A beautiful spot: tropical forest with a couple of streams running through it. A 25 minute walk brought you to the Upper Pool, where a little waterfall feeds a large pool that is good for swimming. And swam I did, in natural silky water. There was even a little entertainment – two Fijian couples in their late 30s arrived at the same time as me, and we had a long jokey conversation while swimming in the pool. I then followed the water for some distance, passing through quite dense forest until I was very lost (there were no signposts!). But I soon found my bearings and discovered I was on the far side from the entrance, so simply had a 40 minute walk to get out. An amazing place, very atmospheric.
Staying at a rustic eco lodge nestled in the forest was surprising in a way I hadn’t expected. On Friday evening, my second night, I came down to the restaurant expecting a quiet meal. As I entered I was loudly accosted by three young women, urging me to dance with them.I laughed, sort of obliged, and got talking… They wanted to know what I was doing there. In response, they said We are also on a boat! Well, some boat…
Coming into Suva on the bus, I had seen a large grey warship docked. I thought it was probably American – a thought confirmed on Friday morning when I ducked down a side street to get closer to the water. There, hanging from its stern, was a large Stars and Stripes.
So I said, Hang on – you’re not on a yacht? No! I said Hell, you’re on the US warship in the harbour! Yep – the USS Pearl Harbor. A fascinating conversation followed, which went on over beer for the next three hours. The three ranged in age from 26 to about 33 and were taking a couple of days’ break from the ship. The youngest is a threats analyst who examines any ship coming within radar range to identify if there is any threat posed, and the degree thereof. And on this basis, then makes a recommendation – presumably up to “blow it out of the water”. The other two work broadly in human relations on board, ultimately concerned with the welfare of the crew. A more interested and thoughtful bunch you couldn’t hope to meet. They showed much interest in my solo sailing and it’s consequences for my psychological state – something which very clearly separated us. I said I suppose you have very little privacy on board – in unison they replied None at all! From there conversation ranged over travel, what I thought was the best of American literature (they wondered how I stayed sane when alone for days: I said reading), love, life (two are married) and being women in the US navy. In a nice observation on how the world has changed, the threats analyst said her grandmother cannot accept the career she has chosen, steadfastly maintaining that she should not be doing a man’s job…
One of the women had grown up in rural Tennessee, and said her uncle had been at school with Dolly Parton. I said Jolene, we need to hear Jolene! Her friend downloaded the song online and had it blasting out over the restaurant. I think I persuaded them that Parton’s line: “I’m begging of you please don’t take my man – please don’t take him just because you can” has to be one of the most heartbreaking in the history of song. I think I succeeded. (Whatever you might think of Country & Western, at its best it has a wonderful ability to take the tragedies of human existence and distil them down to a few unforgettable words).
Well, that was an unusual evening… I’ve met a lot of sailors, including quite a few professional ones, but so far nothing beats these three fine crew members of the USS Pearl Harbor. Absolutely cracking women – energetic, enthusiastic, realistic, optimistic.
[Oh, incidentally, the ship is classed as a “dock landing ship” – it transports and launches amphibious craft, vehicles and personnel in amphibious assaults. She carries up to 15 assault vehicles, plus two M1 Abrams tanks. The crew numbers about 420, with additional space for a detachment of over 400 marines, who do the invading.]
Since my return to the west coast on Saturday afternoon, I’ve been doing a few practical things and re-checking the requirements for entering New Zealand. One of these is to have a clean hull, to protect against the invasion of non-native marine organisms into NZ waters. You need a certificate and photos to prove that it has been done less than 30 days before arrival. I had two divers from a local company here this morning doing the work. They were very thorough, plus fitted new zinc anodes on my propellor shaft, so all is done nicely.
It’s now just really determining which day will be best for departure. It looks like next Monday, the 13th. While I have been looking closely at forecasts from PredictWind, to which I subscribe, there is of course the unknown element, the risk that longer term forecasts can be wrong – the voyage will take 8 or 9 days, so at this point I’m looking at projections up to 14 days out. If we can avoid any major storm and not spend too long becalmed, it will have been a successful trip.