Author Archives : Chris French

Settling into village life


Our first couple days flew by. When visiting villages in Fiji it is important to ask permission from the chief and present an offering of kava. This is called sevusevu. Into the dinghy with our fancy clothes (sulu skirt and collared shirt) in a dry bag we headed to shore. We were met by an nice women, who after changing…

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Under way!


Everyone was up pretty early on the boat and Carl made the call for a 6:30am departure, perfect I love getting up and getting going. We were in the wind shadow of the big island, so no chance of sailing but also nice sea state. After seeing 3-4 meter seas all week on the south side of the island this…

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Let the cruising begin!


After a beat to get south to meet us, the day finally came to meet up with our friends Roxy and Carl. Traffic pushed us a little behind schedule but by 10:00am SV Sky Pond was on the fuel dock and all of the boat items we muled out to Fiji were aboard. After helping Carl and Jean get off…

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Whitewater rafting on the Upper Navau river


5:00am came really early, and there might have been some grumbling from Jean but we had a ride to catch. Today’s adventure would be white water rafting the Upper Navua river. This meant getting to Pacific Harbour by 6:45am which was about seventy-five minutes away. Would it be worth it? No way to tell, but we had heard great things…

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Finally a down day, kind of


We did end up having a mellow day, that started with a nice hike on the beach to enjoy the continuing windy conditions after which we drove back into Sigatoka for lunch, I continued the trend with another curry at King Singh’s. A beer felt appropriate so I added one of those too. And with that a 600ml beer stein…

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A mellow day, well sort of


The jetlag might have been a factor or it could have just been the go, go, go full day yesterday but regardless we decided to have a low key day. After another tropical breakfast at our hotel, we wandered across the street to the palapas on the beach. I had brought my snorkel gear but with the lack of sun…

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It’s only 120km to Suva…


After a wonderful breakfast including lots of fresh fruits we jumped in the car towards Suva, the largest city in Fiji. The drive was much more lush than on the western side of the island with a lot of small villages to pass through. With not much traffic, it was an enjoyable drive. About two-thirds of the way there we…

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Fiji or bust


Our friends Roxy and Carl on SV Sky Pond pulled into Fiji last July (2022) and after enjoying their time so much, decided to spend all of 2023 in Fiji. Lucky for us! A plan was hatched and finally the day came to fly to Fiji to join them. Well, after a bit of big island living for the two…

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Disassembly and Adjustment of Mechanical Components on Hunter Douglas Duette with PowerView (legacy)


For instructions on Programming and Resetting of Hunter Douglas Duette with PowerView (legacy) visit: Link The Hunter Douglas Duette with PowerView (legacy) limits are detected: Up limit is detected by the increase in current draw when the shade reaches the top Down limit is detected by the mechanical stop (causing an increase in current draw) 1. Slide off the side…

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Guide to Programming and Resetting Hunter Douglas Duette with PowerView (legacy)


For instructions on Disassembly and Adjustment of Mechanical Components on Hunter Douglas Duette with PowerView (legacy) visit: Link My bad, I screwed it up. Happy to admit that, but the bottom line was two of my shades were not operating properly. I spend a ridiculous amount of time watching YouTube videos, reading manuals, and reading other posts but ultimately I…

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