Mana Island (Mamanuca Group, Fiji)

[Kyle]Our plan for the trip after Navadra was to make the long trip to Musket Cove, center of the Mamanuca boating scene. The direct line was long to begin with, then I decided to weave my way through the intervening reefs by taking a longer, scenic route. Then we had wind problems. There was plenty, but it was against us. Our choice was to spend all day motoring into it with the wind cutting our speed in half or sailing fast in mostly the wrong direction, adding several tacks to our already sinuous course. You know what I did.

It actually went pretty well. The wind behaved by staying more or less the same direction the whole time, which made figuring out the zigzaggy course through the shallows straightforward. There was no need to panic and tack quickly after an unwanted shift.

The speed was a different matter. We had both main and jib as small as we could get them and still get some upwind drive. Even so, we were still over canvassed until it began to ease a few hours later. The reefs and islands kept the seas nice and small, though, which made it all a lot less stressful than it could have been.

Views from the Passage to Mana Island

We headed south until we got to Monuriki island, then turned across the wind to pass as close as we dared to the fringing reef. Monuriki is where Cast Away was filmed, a story about a lonely volleyball who befriends and mentors a human going through a difficult time in his life. The real Wilson was lost at sea in 2003, but others have been placed on the beach in his memory. They also have an interactive dental station in the nearby cave where you can have a shot at removing a molar with an ice skate. It’s harder than it looks. It took me four tries to get the one I intended.

Actually, we didn’t land. The sails were already up and we were racing daylight so we settled for a close pass. Still, it was pretty cool to be there sailing by that actual island. The funny thing is that it is nearly surrounded by other islands, including Fiji’s big island of Viti Levu. Only by shooting toward the empty West could they convey the sense of loneliness so central to the film’s theme.

A tight passage into the reef of Mana Island

After a few more tacks, we finally made it to the reef entrance for Musket Cove. It was a bit late in the day and boats were streaming into the reef from all sides. We decided to postpone the chaos for another night, so we turned right instead of left and entered the pass at adjacent Mana Island. There we found a place all to ourselves in a cove just big enough for our chain. We were close enough to the reef that at low tide, locals would walk out to the edge and introduce themselves over the gap.

{Maryanne: We didn't explore Mana, just rested up at anchor so we'd be ready to enjoy Musket cove the following day}.