Leaving Fiji

We were scheduled to leave

Fiji

on Monday, October 10^th. However, since that was a national holiday,

Fiji

Day, no business could be transacted that day and the ship still had some unfinished business to attend to before setting sail. So, our departure was delayed until Tuesday and all hands were to be on board by 1100. Despite the announced plan to leave on Tuesday, the ship did not appear to be ready to go…a lot of supplies and cargo were yet to be stowed, two sails needed to be bent on and other details needed to be taken care of before we could sail. So I was not the least bit surprised when we were told Tues. afternoon that we would stay one more night and leave on Wednesday.

Monday was my day to work on the ship, after having had six days ashore.  When the watch mustered at 0800 to get work assignments for the day, the Bosun requested that someone volunteer to replace Pania on galley duty, since she needed Pania to do some other ship’s work. Having seen the work that was underway from the day before – chipping rust and grinding the ship’s steel superstructure – I was quick to volunteer for galley. Given a choice, I would much rather mess around with pots and pans than chip rust. 

Although Joe, the Cook, had told me to fix corned beef and boiled vegetables for dinner, the crew rebelled at having canned meat again while in port. Since it happened to be the Canadian Thanksgiving Day (we have quite a few Canadians on board), Kimberly, the ship’s Purser, told me to look in the freezers for an alternate meal. I found shrimp and made a Hawiaan shrimp stir-fry with wild rice, green salad and fruit salad. I also got permission from Greg, the officer of the watch, to serve Pina Coladas with the holiday dinner! After a long, hot day of work everyone appreciated the refreshing drink.

Tuesday morning, thinking that we would be leaving in a few hours, I ran ashore to spend the last of my Fijian money and use the last two dollars credit on my Fijian phone card by calling Carl for three minutes. After buying some fabric, one hour of internet time, a bottle of vitamins, a chocolate bar and a bottle of sherry, I returned to the ship with 21 cents of Fijian money. In fact, I hitched a taxi ride back to the ship with my shipmate Dave Matthews whom I fortuitously met at the liquor store shortly before we were due to be at the Yacht Club for the last skiff run to the ship.

Back on board the ship, all hands turned to on deck to stow lumber, trade goods to be sold at the ship’s store, food, etc. Shortly after 1300 the first mate asked me to go to the market and buy all the produce Joe had written on a shopping list: 40 pineapples, 2 cases apples, 1 case pears, 2 bags oranges, 20 heaps of lettuce, 5 watermelon, 15 pumpkins, 30 mangoes, and 15 to 20 kilos of carrots. The Captain handed me cash and said, “Don’t bring any money back.” Well, that’s one order I have no trouble following…spend all the money!!

The market is a large two story building that takes up the better part of a city block. It’s wide open inside with vendors lined up row after row. The first floor is all fruits and vegetables; the second floor is called “The Grog Shop” and most of it is kava root and kava powder along with some spices. Joe had given me some hints about which vendors to go to for some of the produce; for the rest I had to check prices and quality, being sure to buy some fruits that were under ripe as well as those ready to eat. Fortunately, I had two helpers from the ship, one of whom helped me find the best deals while the other sat in a shady spot just outside the market with the continually growing pile of purchases. And we hired a market boy with a wheelbarrow to cart the cases and bags of produce from each vendor’s stall to our pile in the shade. We had to hire two cabs to get all of it back to the Yacht Club.

While we were waiting for the skiff to pick us up, the Captain and Purser arrived with a van full of trade goods they had purchased for the ship’s store. It took two or three skiff runs to get all of it on board the ship. And more time to stow the food and cargo. Any of the cargo that was made of wood or natural fibers such as pandanus palm had to be sprayed with bug killer to be sure we don’t get an infestation on board. Then each piece is wrapped so it won’t break during long passages at sea, which can be rough at times.

We were stood down from all hands by 1700 and those of us who were not on the day’s watch were allowed to go ashore. Since our water supply on board the ship was nearly depleted and we could not make water again until we went out to sea, we were not allowed to shower on board. So I spent one more night ashore in an air conditioned room with a hot shower. Not surprisingly, quite a few of us showed up at O’Reilly’s, an Irish pub that had become a regular hang out for

Picton

Castle

crew in

Suva

.

Wednesday morning I got back to the ship an hour before the all hands call which gave me just enough time to stow my gear. Surprisingly, I was able to make room for all my new purchases and even found a little extra space.