Dear Folks,

          Having explored fabulous Fiji for about a month, we will be making the 600-mile crossing to Espirito Santo, Vanuatu, in the next few weeks.  I will post this letter when I can.

          The 1200-mile passage from New Zealand to Fiji last month went just fine.  The weather in that stretch of water has claimed two boats so far this season when low-pressure areas exploded into major storms.  So we waited, albeit impatiently, for a big, fat, safe weather window and rode it all the way to Fiji.  The crossing took exactly six days: two with no wind at all (we motored on a glassy sea); two with perfect winds (20-25 knots on the beam); and two under somewhat exhilarating conditions (25-40 knots of wind, close-hauled, with 10- to 20-foot breaking head-seas).  After a year on land, we were just a little rusty, but all's well that ends well.

          And ending in Fiji is definitely ending well.  There is no finer voyaging destination than this paradise of the South Seas.  The country is a collection of about 300 postcard-perfect islands and reefs scattered over more than 800,000 square miles of deep blue ocean.  To experience all of Fiji would take years.  Our visit has been confined to the westernmost bit -- the Yasawa Group, the Mamanuca Group, and Viti Levu.

          We have spent about half the time in tourist areas and half in the more primitive outer islands, which are controlled by hereditary chiefs of villages not so very different today than when Captain Bligh arrived in 1789.  (Well, ok, the villagers back then probably wouldn't have been wearing Nike t-shirts, and they no longer pinch guests to see if they would be tasty for dinner, but you get my point.)  Fijians take much pride in preserving the best parts of their traditional way of life  -- not behind glass in a museum but in the daily activities of many thousands of island villagers, eschewing television and all modern conveniences, usually even electricity; and choosing -- at least so they tell us -- to live in thatch-roofed, dirt-floored subsistence off the sea and the land.

          One cultural phenomenon is the practice of sevu-sevu.  On arrival, all visitors must pay their respects and secure the freedom of the village by presenting the chief with a gift of kava root, from which is made the hallucinogenic, dishwater-like ceremonial drink of kava.  One sets the bundle of roots at the chief's feet, waits for the clap of hands that indicates acceptance of the gift, and hopes fervently to avoid the honor of being offered a bowl of kava to celebrate the new friendship.

          Last year's violent race-based coup here is still a mystery, both as to cause and lasting effect.  As you may recall, a group of armed aboriginal-Fijians, led by George Speight and supported by the military, overthrew the newly elected ethnic-Indian prime minister and his cabinet by incarcerating them and some of their family members until they resigned.  In the process, the country's constitution was suspended, and many people were injured, some killed, in extensive rioting and looting. 

          The population here is now about half aboriginal-Fijian and about half of Indian descent.  Indians were originally brought in as indentured servants in the early 20th Century to work the sugar cane fields.  Now, although Fijian Indians are still prevented by law from owning real estate anywhere in Fiji,  they comprise almost 100% of the merchant and entrepreneur classes, and they control commerce.  Some say that when the country recently elected an Indian prime minister,  the ethnic-Fijians reverted to age-old tribal violence against the non-indigenous half of the population in a desperate attempt to prevent losing their own self-determination and traditional way of life, as native cultures certainly have lost elsewhere.  Some say that  cash was at issue -- massive profits confiscated in the coup for mahogany forests planted by Indian leaseholders 20 years ago.  Some say that people of different races and religions just can't coexist amicably, even in paradise. 

          All we know is that isolated, gruesome retaliatory murders are still taking place on the mainland; and that we have seen a tent city of hundreds of Indian families thrown off their (leased) land during the coup, with the losses of their crop, equipment, personal property, inventories, and livelihoods.  Even with the best of luck, the courts will be decades sorting it out.  If luck runs out completely, this country may be the odds-on location for the world's next bout of genocide.  If you are planning to visit Fiji, we would advise you to stick to the resort islands and avoid the Mainland in September during the elections and during George Speight's capital trial for treason unless you plan to cover the turmoil for CNN.

          Having said all that, I will stop speaking of Fijians -- who as individuals, by the way, are quite friendly, peace-loving, and among the most interesting we've met in the Pacific  -- and resume speaking of Fiji itself.  The beaches are soft and endless; the sea and reefs are brilliant.  Diving and snorkeling, we have seen nothing but beauty and abundance -- huge schools of pelagic fish; many large white-tip sharks; a foot-long lionfish; hundreds of different species of brilliant reef fish, many of them new to us; rays; sea snakes; giant clams; and a wide variety of colorful coral bursting with life.  

          We are particularly happy that Lynn and Sue, visitors from our hometown, got to see some of the best beaches and underwater show Fiji has to offer (even though they also had to go through a full-blown gale overnight on a mooring at Musket Cove!)  We can't wait to see their photos.

          And now we have some really good news.  Alan has been accepted to a fellowship in pain control (a sub-specialty of anesthesia) with Michael Cousins, a world leader and innovator in that field, at Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney, Australia.  So we are very happy to announce that we will be living in Sydney from October until next June before resuming our route around the rest of the world.

          In closing, we would like to pay our final respects to fellow voyager Rowland Smith -- a much-decorated former fighter pilot, Olympic sailing judge, fine man, and good friend.  While Rowland and his wife Kris were trying to save their boat Feisty Lady from a lee shore in a sudden storm in the Ha'apai Group of Tonga last month, Rowland suffered a heart attack and passed away.  Our thoughts and love are with Kris as she flies back to the States to bury him at Arlington Cemetery.  We got to know the Feisties when we crossed the Pacific together (on the same radio net with about a dozen other boats) in 1999.  Just a couple of months ago in New Zealand, Rowland joked with us about organizing a reunion at some virtually unreachable destination for that group of folks in about 20 years.  Rowland's bright dry wit, cherubic face, Santa beard, white ponytail, and waste-not-a-minute energy will never, ever be forgotten.  Our hats are off to Sea Witch, Frenzy II, and Yankee for being there for Kris in Tonga.  Friends can read Frenzy II's firsthand account of the storm by clicking here.   Bye, Rowland.  I wish we had done a better job of letting you know how much we admired and appreciated you while you were here.

Love, Liza