Captains Log

Bula,

Another beautiful cruise through the Yasawas. On the 16th  while having lunch on the sundeck travelling from Matacawalevu to Drawaqa , west of the islands, passengers were overwhelmed with Dolphins swimming with the ship for at least half an hour. Lunch was not a priority for a while.

Captain Harvey

Bula,

We have just completed the Heritage Cruise and the highlight of the cruise was the crossing of the 180th meridian. Most passengers did not realize that we cross the meridian twice meaning theoretically we lost a day heading west and gained a day heading east.  This took a bit of explaining for some to grasp. Lucky we had Florian who would make a very good teacher in the classroom. Very convincing!! Our passenger divers were very delighted after their dives in Taveuni, Whispering Tide and Manava Cay. Their remarks, fantastic, awersome………..

Vinaka,

Captain Harvey - MV Reef Endeavour

Oh, I feel so sorry for all of you not on board Reef Endeavour here at Taveuni. Blue sky, sunny, nice and warm. Having Buffet lunch on the Sundeck at the moment and off for diving in the afternoon.

Over the last fortnight we have completed another Heritage Cruise (3rd to 10th January) and a week in the Yasawas.  Despite this being the low season from a tourism point of view we have still had welcomed a great mixture of nationalities (from both the northern and southern hemispheres); and also great to see so many local people getting to know about our cruises and taking the opportunity to experience more of their own country.

Another week has passed cruising the Yasawas, during which time we celebrated the new year.  New Years Eve was a great evening with a party following our usual first night Captains Dinner.  The party was held up on the Sun Deck in which all the passengers and crew participated – a night of talanoa (story telling); Yaqona (kava); perfect weather and even fireworks at midnight.  We even followed an old British maritime tradition whereby the oldest member of the ship’s company rings 8 bells for the old year and the youngest rings 8 bells for the new – 16 bells in all.  Passenger numbers were quite high with a great mix of overseas and local families – a great week enjoyed by all who were lucky enough to experience it.

We have just completed the 3 night Christmas Cruise during which we visited the Southern Yasawas.  All passengers aboard had a very pleasant and relaxing cruise. The highlight of the cruise was, of course, Christmas Day which we spent at the Sacred Islands.  We enjoyed a special Christmas Lunch while at anchor after which those who hadn’t eaten too much were able to do a little more swimming snorkeling before we left for the Yalobi Bay anchorage.  In the evening we enjoyed an on board  carol service and a short nativity play performed by the crew – a tradition developed over the 16 years that Captain Cook Cruises has been operating in Fiji – followed by a very pleasant buffet dinner served around the swimming pool with the tanoa and kava nearby – very pleasant and relaxing evening enjoyed by the passengers and crew alike.


Captain Chris

We have just completed another Yasawa 7 night cruise. On Sunday morning our two dive instructors, Tara and Mikey, plus Florian and I carried out another assault on the Crown of Thorns starfish at Sacred Island, netting well over 100 – making a total of over 700 removed since our campaign began.

Captain Chris

We’ve just finished another seven nights in the Yasawas. The 4 night cruise was featured our first Celebrity Chef cruise with NZ Master Chef Simon Gault and his team on board. The cruise was a great success with Simon offering two cooking shows each day with most of the ingredients sourced locally. Each main dish was a traditional Fijian delicacy with his own special culinary slant.  

Captain Chris

We have just completed the last two weeks in the Yasawa Islands. Water temperatures are down due to the persisting La Nina, however this augers well for the cyclone season with little activity being predicted in Fiji waters. This also accounts for the very wet conditions up around the Philippines area.  Weather conditions have been mixed in Fiji but with frequent balmy nights and beautiful days.

Our thoughts have been in New Zealand with the Rugby World Cup taking place. A very big congratulations to the New Zealand All Blacks for coming out on top and to France, Australia & Argentina marking up the top four.

Our passengers recently made a celebrity meeting with Prince Albert of Monaco and his new wife (with entourage). Taking a break on his private yacht (between France’s Semi Final and Final matches), Prince Albert visited Ratu Namasi School near Nabukero (adjacent to the Blue Lagoon and Sawa I Lau caves). The Prince delighted all by playing touch rugby with the school students and posed for photos with some of our passengers (pictures enclosed – Prince Albert is wearing the bright shorts and white t-shirt). Everyone was all a little excited on their return to Reef Endeavour.

One more week cruising the Yasawas and then off on the Heritage Cruise. 

Since the last message we have been cruising the Yasawas and the weather has improved with some lovely calm days with beautiful sunshine

Vow Renewal
One special couple (Mark & Barbara) renewed their wedding vows on Drawaqa Island. It was a lovely affair with the crew acting as Warrior and singers. The weather was lovely and according to Barbara it was “ just what they wanted”.

Film Crew
A film crew filming for Fiji Tourism and National Geographic , together with actor families from Australia, Hong Kong and Fiji, joined us for the 4-night cruise. Using the Reef Endeavour as a base, they were able to get some great footage of Fiji. It was interesting talking with the Director and camera crews about what they wanted to do and whether we could do it. Which of course we could and did.

Crown of Thorns
Another ongoing project is the removal of Crown of Thorns from the reef. The coral at Sacred Island is particularly beautiful so we have all been going out whenever we can to protect the reef – collecting approximately 600 Crown of Thorns so far.

Queensland Fires
This past week we have been experiencing hazy conditions, and today we heard from our weather man that this is actually due to the bush fires in Queensland. The smoke from the fires has risen up into the jet stream and been blown to the east. Due to the colder than normal air temperatures the smoke particles float down and reduce visability. As the air temperature increases the smoke particles will move onward and we shall soon have back our lovely clear blue skies.

So wherever you may be, please be safe and we all look forward to seeing you back on board. Oh yes and enjoy the World Cup

Captain Brian